Assistant Professor in Fuel Science and Technology, University of Nottingham
I am a petroleum geochemist and environmental scientist with a range of research interests across the energy portfolio. I have a PhD in Petroleum Geochemistry (2001), and an MSc in Environmental Biogeochemistry (1996) both from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. My BSc was in Geological Sciences (1994) from the University of Leeds, and have been with the University of Nottingham since 2001.
I am a member of the Low Carbon Energy and Resources Technologies Research Group.
My research specialises in developing innovative pyrolysis techniques to tackle applications in petroleum geochemistry where traditional techniques fail. Over the past 18 years I have lead the development and commercialisation of hydropyrolysis (HyPy) as a novel pyrolysis technique for the characterisation of organic macromolecules. The use of high hydrogen pressure and suitable catalysts gives HyPy the unique ability to liberate high yields of hydrocarbon biomarkers covalently bound within source rock kerogens and petroleum asphaltenes, whilst minimising their structural or stereochemical alteration. This enables the technique to be used for petroleum geochemical applications where conventional approaches using the "free" solvent extractable biomarkers cannot be employed including the characterisation and correlation of heavily biodegraded oils, samples contaminated by oil-based drilling mud, oil field solids (tar mats/pyrobitumens), and for deciphering basin filling history of migrated petroleum fluids.
How we discovered UK shale gas reserves are at least 80% smaller than thought
Aug 26, 2019 04:24 am UTC| Insights & Views
Over the past decade, the UK has tentatively begun to exploit its reserves of shale gas through a process best known as fracking. But according to our new research, UK shale gas reserves are substantially lower than...
Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility
Why Germany ditched nuclear before coal – and why it won’t go back
Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board
Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight