讲演者简介：

Dr. Zhehui Jin is an Assistant Professor in School of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at University of Alberta, Canada. His current research focuses on the application of first-principle quantum mechanics, statistical thermodynamics, molecular modelling and simulations on the development of unconventional, low-carbon, and renewable energies through multidisciplinary studies. The active research areas include phase behavior and flow of fluids in nanoporous media, enhanced/improved oil recovery (EOR/IOR), interfacial phenomena, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), catalysis, electrochemistry, lithium (ion/solid) batteries, etc. Dr. Jin has published more than 20 papers in peer-reviewed journals that have been cited more than 860 times and currently have an h-index of 12. Dr. Jin has been regularly invited as reviewer for top peer-reviewed journals, including Society of Petroleum Engineering Journal, Fuel, Environmental Science and Technology, Nanotechnology, etc. Dr. Jin holds a BS degree in materials science and engineering from Tsinghua University and a PhD degree in chemical engineering from University of California, Riverside.

报告摘要：

Booming in the shale gas/oil industry in the past few years has stimulated profound interest in exploration and production activities. In order to predict the well productivity of shale reservoirs, the knowledge of phase behavior of hydrocarbons is essential. The thermodynamic properties in shale media are drastically different from that in conventional permeable media. Unlike the conventional reservoirs, shale has a widespread pore size distribution ranging from a few nanometers to micrometers. In small nanopores, the properties of hydrocarbon fluids are greatly different from the bulk. The failures of conventional equation of states have inspired extensive efforts to develop statistical thermodynamics studies from molecular perspective. Statistical thermodynamics provides a framework to connect the microscopic properties of individual atoms and molecules to the macroscopic properties of the fluids. Molecular modeling and simulations are valuable tools in this endeavor as they can explore the length scales that are not accessible to experiments. The fundamental understanding from molecular modeling and simulations can provide important insights into reservoir simulation and well productivity in shale porous media.

My research is to apply statistical thermodynamics and molecular modeling to phase behavior in shale media. I am particularly interested in the fundamental issues surrounding the hydrocarbons under nanoporous confinement. In this seminar, I will present my work on the dependence of phase behavior and flow on the microscopic structure and thermodynamic properties of confined fluids in nanopore by using statistical thermodynamics approaches. I will conclude my talk by discussing the potential and importance of the molecular modeling and simulations in hydrocarbon recovery from shale reservoirs.