Ugelstad Laboratory - Colloid and Polymer Chemistry
Ugelstad Laboratory - Colloid and Polymer Chemistry
Ugelstad Laboratory is the group of surface, colloid and polymer chemistry and was established in 2002 in memory of professor John Ugelstad. Surface and colloid chemistry provides understanding of natural processes like formation of clouds, rain and lipid membranes, all prerequisites for life. In everyday life we encounter colloidal systems in cleaning, food products, cosmetics, pharmaceutical products and coatings, while industrial applications include transport and processing of oil and gas, water treatment, mineral recovery and paper making processes. Surface/interface phenomena are essential for the quality, efficiency and sustainability of products or processes in all these examples.
At Ugelstad Laboratory we carry out research at a high and, in some areas, internationally leading level within interface and colloid chemistry. Our investigations generally start from experimental or simulation studies of dissolved molecules and accumulation of these molecules at interfaces, via studies of how the resulting interfacial films influence the stability of colloidal dispersions, ending up with an understanding of how these microscopic phenomena govern large scale processes such as oil-water separation, water treatment, enhanced oil recovery, food processing, biomedicine and CO2 capture (see illustration).
The group collaborates closely with national and international industry, research institutes (IFE, RISE-PFI, SINTEF) and academic groups throughout the world. We continuously invest in new instrumentation, develop novel experimental methodologies and maintain high HSE standards in our laboratory facilities. In this way, Ugelstad Laboratory offers a unique and ambitious research environment for students and scientists, aiming at educating highly qualified Master and PhD candidates for industrial and academic positions.
Interfacial Engineering
An interface is the boundary between two phases where the properties are different from the adjacent phases. A colloidal dispersion is a multiphase system where particles, drops or bubbles, with sizes between 1 nm and 1 µm, are dispersed in a continuous matrix. Such suspensions, emulsions or foams can have enormous interfacial areas, which means that phenomena occurring at the interfaces are essential for the behaviour of these systems. Examples are interfacial tension, interfacial rheology, interfacial adsorption and desorption and interfacial forces, which are related to the stability of the dispersions. The stability must be promoted to prolong shelf-life and avoid alterations of texture and taste during the design of food products, for instance. In water treatment processes, on the other hand, the dispersions must be destabilised to obtain phase separation as efficiently as possible. The research at Ugelstad Laboratory is devoted to understanding how the efficiency of industrial processes and technical systems are linked to interfacial properties at the molecular scale.
Complex interfaces in stability and transport of dispersions
Industrial fluids are complex in composition, resulting in complex interfaces. The interfacial tension and interfacial rheology are important factors during microscopic processes like emulsion formation and coalescence of droplets, which again govern macroscopic processes like separation of gas, oil and water during petroleum production. At Ugelstad laboratory we are in the international research front when it comes to interfacial investigations and understanding the relationships between interfacial properties and separation efficiency of petroleum emulsions. Utilising renewable materials like lignosulfonates as stabilisers for particles and droplets is another example of our work on complex interfaces.
Complex interfaces will also influence transport of dispersions. When petroleum crude oil is produced, for example, it must be transported by pipeline from the wells to the processing plants or point of sales. During this transport various types of solids (asphaltenes, waxes, gas hydrates, naphthenates, scales) can form and lead to plugging of the pipeline and hinder transport. Specific methods must be implemented to prevent or remedy their formation (this is often called flow assurance). At Ugelstad Laboratory we determine the mechanisms of formation of these solids and develop new analysis and inhibition methods in collaboration with key oil companies and chemical vendors.
Complex interfaces in multiphase flow in porous media
Displacement of one fluid by another immiscible fluid in porous structures is essential for processes such as enhanced oil recovery, contamination of ground water and geological CO2 sequestration. Transport and retention of drops, solids and bubbles in porous structures are determining the efficiency of processes such as re-injection of produced water into reservoirs during petroleum production (see illustration), membrane emulsification and membrane filtration. We develop advanced microfluidic methods for studying these phenomena at Ugelstad Laboratory.
Microfluidics
Microfluid methodology is a supreme way of controlling and visualizing the behaviour of fluids and dispersions in micrometer sized channels and networks. In addition, it can offer a faster and more accurate measurements then traditional measurement methods due to fast heat and mass transfer. Currently, we are developing microfluidic methods as a viable way of studying multiphase systems at timescales, temperatures and pressures relevant for industrial processes. More specifically; investigations of drop-drop and drop-bubble coalescence, phase displacement and dispersions in porous media, which are important phenomena in produced water treatment, gas flotation, enhanced oil recovery and re-injection of produced water, respectively. Furthermore, we use microfluidics in the development of solar cells.
Rheology
Rheology is the study of deformation and flow of continuum matter. Complex fluids often exhibit unique rheological behavior which is attributable to the interfacial-intensive material structure. Rheological investigations provide a bridge between material chemistry and large-scale flow behavior/hydrodynamics in industrial systems. Pristine wax-oil gels exhibit “irreversible non-ideal thixotropy”, which is manifested in a deformation-dependent structural state. During restart of gelled oil pipelines, deformation-dependent gel rheology gives rise to a coupled pressure wavefront which combines the properties of a diffusive viscous compression wavefront and a rheological degradation wavefront. The rheology of wax-oil gels modified by inhibitors and heavy polar components is a current topic of research at Ugelstad Laboratory. In addition, drilling fluid rheology and resultant cleaning performance is a research topic at Ugelstad Laboratory.
Universal Microfluidic Platforms
Tensiometry
Dispersion characterization and stability
Thermal analysis
Particle and surface characterization
Optical and spectroscopy techniques
Digital Video Microscope (Nikon Eclipse ME600) for imaging of dispersions.
Chromatographic methods
Miscellaneous
- Karl Fisher Coulometer (831, Metrohm) for determination of small amounts of water.
- Critical Electric Field Emulsion Stability Cell for testing stability of water-in-oil emulsions.
- Density/Concentration Meter (DMA 5000 M, Anton Paar) for measuring the density of solutions.
- Titrando titration device (Metrohm 809) to determine the total concentration of acids (TAN) or bases (TBN) present in a sample by titration.
- pH Meter (Mettler Toledo) for measureing pH in solutions.
- Rotavapor (Laborota 4003, Heidolph Instruments) is used to separate liquids by applying vacuum and heat.
- Conductivity Meter (Inolab Cond Level 2, Wissenschaftlich-Technische Werkstätten) is used to measure conductivity in solutions.
Information will come soon
Information will come soon
SFI SUBPRO - Subsea Production and Processing Centre
- Effect of production and EOR chemicals on produced water quality
- Emulsions in porous media, produced water reinjection
- Multiphase Separation and transport model library
Petromaks II
- ELCO - New strategy for separation of complex water-in-crude oil emulsions – from bench to large scale separation
- Green EOR - Green high-performance systems for Enhanced Oil Recovery
- Optimized hydraulic behaviour in well construction
NANO2021
- NanoVisc - Development of high-performance viscosifiers and texture ingredients for applications based on cellulose nanofibrils
- Development of ionic liquid super capacitors
Other
- Development of novel microfluidic methods for investigating mobilisation and displacement mechanisms in EOR processes (VISTA)
- Ligno2G: 2nd generation performance chemicals from lignin (BIA)
- CO2 capture in confined geometries (CLIMIT)
- Microfluidic Augmented Nanostructured Solar Cells for Low-Cost Sustainable Energy Alternatives (NV faculty)
- Understanding the growth and properties of hybrid nanomaterials for biomedical applications (NV faculty)
- Wax crystallisation with inhibitors
Information will come soon
Academic Staff
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Brian Arthur Grimes Associate Professor
+47-73590338 brian.a.grimes@ntnu.no Department of Chemical Engineering -
Kristofer Gunnar Paso Associate Professor
+47-73593147 +47-93676364 kristofer.g.paso@ntnu.no Department of Chemical Engineering -
Johan Sjøblom Professor
+47-73595505 +47-90586028 johan.sjoblom@ntnu.no Department of Chemical Engineering -
Gisle Øye Professor
+47-97567011 gisle.oye@chemeng.ntnu.no Department of Chemical Engineering