Master Student Vipul Khosla wins First Prize of the UfD-EBN Geo Energy Master Award 2012
14 May 2012 by M&C Applied SciencesOn 17th April 2012, Mr Vipul Khosla has won the First Prize in the UfD-EBN Geo Energy Master Award 2012. The price consists of EUR 6500. Vipul Khosla is a Master Student Chemical Engineering at the Faculty of Applied Sciences of Delft University of Technology. His Master End Project, entitled “Visual Investigation of Annular Flow Dynamics and the Effect of Wall Wettability “ was carried out in the Department of Multiscale Physics under the supervision of Dr. Luis Portela and Prof. Ruud Henkes.
The project is part of collaborative research between TU Delft, TNO, and Shell. Gas is produced through using subsurface wells connected to the reservoir. Some liquids, being water and light oil, are co-produced with the gas. When the pressure in the reservoir is gradually reducing over time, the liquid tends to stay behind in the well, which prevents the further production of gas. This is the so-called liquification of gas wells.
Vipul has studied the fluid mechanics of the multiphase flow in a lab model of the well. He has shown how using a hydrophobic coating prevents a liquid film to be formed at the wall, which postpones the onset of the liquification to a significantly lower gas velocity. Therefore using such coatings in real life wells is a promising new technology to extend the field life of gas wells.
The Geo Energy Award is an initiative of the UfD (Universiteitsfonds Delft) and EBN (Energie Beheer Nederland). EBN is natural gas exploration, production, transportation and sale company owned by the Dutch Government. EBN aims at maximizing the natural gas benefits now and in the future for the Netherlands. Three students from Delft were nominated for the prize, based on their Master Thesis, all on a topic related to new technologies for the Dutch subsurface.
The three students were asked to give a summary presentation during a public event in the presence of the jury, chaired by Prof. Fokkema. The contribution by Vipul Khozla was selected to be the most innovative and to have the highest potential impact. The second prize (EUR 4000) was for Floris Veeger (Master Applied Earth Sciences) and the third prize (EUR 2000) was for Andrea van Overveldt (Master Petroleum Engineering).
