Environmental Engineer Boosts Oil Production Efficiency With Department Of Energy Grant
Yandi Hu, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, was awarded a three-year, $204,000 research project to study the growth of barium sulfate, a scale-forming mineral commonly found inside of oil wells and reservoirs. Hu serves as a co-principal investigator (PI) on the project, which is led by PI Andrew Stack of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Hu’s research group goal is to reveal the fundamentals of barium sulfate scale formation to better control mineral scaling in oil production processes and sites.