Developing systems to capture, store and reuse the vast amounts of waste heat generated through industry could be a huge opportunity for the UK to strengthen its industrial competitiveness and reduce operational costs for businesses, as well as accelerate progress towards net zero. Industrial heating accounts for around 14% of UK emissions, yet approximately half
Decarbonisation of buildings is one of the main challenges for the energy transition. In particular, the provision of heating, cooling, and ventilation to maintain a comfortable and healthy interior environment can be very energy intensive. Three approaches to help with the decarbonisation of buildings are: (a) upgrading the building envelope, especially the insulation, to reduce
One of the challenges with modelling subsurface flows is the uncertainty in measurements of geological properties, mostly due to limited resolution in observation methods. Typically, the observations of subsurface systems have a resolution of order 1 m, and this leaves a large amount of uncertainty in the small-scale variation in properties such as permeability. Many
In small rocky planets, the interplay between pressure and temperature profiles may cause the iron-rich liquid core to solidify from the outer boundary inward. As pure iron crystals form, they are denser than the surrounding liquid mixture. Consequently, they sink into the core before remelting at greater depth due to the increasing temperature. This process
Aquifer thermal energy storage systems can provide a heat source in the winter by extracting warm water from a subsurface reservoir. The extracted fluid cools as it passes through a heat exchanger and is then injected into a colder aquifer. The cold fluid can provide a source of cooling in the summer, absorbing heat rejected
Chemical gardens are self‑assembled structures of semi‑permeable precipitates. They attract significant interest due to their relevance to sub‑oceanic hydrothermal vents and the origin of life. A group of researchers including PhD student Mingchuan Zheng and professor Alex Routh have run new experiments to investigate the growth behaviour of chemical garden walls in a horizontal Hele‑Shaw
Buildings require ventilation to supply fresh, clean air and so ensure that contaminants and heat do not accumulate. Ventilation strategies such as displacement ventilation may be used in different seasons or climates to minimise the building’s energy requirement. A new paper by Dan Toy and professor Andy Woods explores the effect of a rapid change
Carbon dioxide-induced corrosion of industrial equipment is very common, costly and particularly poses new challenges for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) systems. The role of impurities, such as SOx and NOx, which are also present in the stream, can also be important and has been discussed recently (cf. Corrosion Science, vol. 236, August 2024). A
Carbon storage in deep saline aquifers has become an important part of plans to decarbonise the energy system. Typically, aquifers are composed of a porous, permeable rock containing formation water. As CO2 is injected into an aquifer, some of it migrates towards topographic highs within the aquifer, while some is retained in the pore spaces
Parkinson’s disease is linked to the aggregation of the intrinsically disordered protein α-synuclein (aSyn), but the precise triggers and mechanisms driving this process remain unclear. Local environmental factors, such as ion concentrations, can influence aSyn’s tendency to aggregate. A team of researchers including professor Alex Routh have explored how physiologically relevant ions, mainly Ca2+ and