CBM researcher awarded funding

A University of Queensland researcher working on modelling and visualisation technologies for use in coalbed methane (CBM; called coal seam gas in Australia) extraction and hydraulic fracturing has been awarded part of AUS$540 000 in research funding aimed at promoting innovation in the mining sector from the Queensland state government.

“Accurate simulation tools for these problems will maximise their outputs and minimise the potential hazardous effects, as well as improve our current understanding,” the Queensland government said in a statement. “Queensland will benefit from this research in the short term by introducing state-of-the-art-simulation capabilities for these key economic sectors and, in the long term, by contributing to the training of future engineers and scientists working in these areas.”

Dr Sergio-Andres Galindo Torres of the University of Queensland’s (UQ) School of Civil Engineering is undertaking the work in collaboration with Golder Associates. He shares the money with two other researchers: Dr Hong Peng of UQ’s School of Engineering for his work on bauxite processing and the Dr Pradeep Shukla, also of UQ’s School of Chemical Engineering, for his work on technology to produce cyanide onsire for gold and base metals mines.

The funding is part of more than AUS$10 million awarded under the Queensland government’s first round of Advance Queensland Research Fellowship and PhD Scholarship programme.

“These Advance Queensland Research Fellowships will assist the mining industry with addressing current challenges and developing innovative solutions to help Queensland remain internationally competitive,” said Leeanne Enoch, Minister for Innovation, Science and the Digital Economy.

Edited by Jonathan Rowland.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/cbm/20042016/cbm-researcher-awarded-funding-2016-638/