Education
2024 โ Present: PhD GeoEnergy Engineering โ Institute of GeoEnergy Engineering,
Heriot-Watt University, Scotland, UK
2022-2023: MSc Biotechnology (Microbial) – University of Nottingham, England, UK
2019-2022: BSc Genetics – Swansea University / Prifysgol Abertawe, Swansea, Wales,
UK
Research Interests
- Geomicrobiology and its implications and applications within heavy industry
decarbonisation, energy infrastructure improvement, climate change mitigation and in
bioremediation - Investigation of the impacts of biofilm formation by microbes on multiphase flow in H2-
brine-rock systems. - Improving understanding of microbial community or at least co-culture e๔ฏects on
multiphase flow within porous media and on hydrogen metabolism in the deep
biosphere
About my PhD Project
Title: E๔ฏect of biofilm formation on multiphase flow and wetting properties during cyclic
injection of hydrogen in rocks
Hydrogen research is highly important for the UK where there has been a failure to adapt
heavy industrial processes such as steel production, chemical manufacture and freight
which has, in turn, lead to masses of job losses and heavy impacts on communities that
depend on those industries for their local economy. It is imperative that these industries
are given the best opportunity to decarbonise through a transition to green hydrogen
over the fossil fuels they traditionally use rather than be shut down entirely; it is this
way, that net-zero can be reached with a minimal, or perhaps even positive, impact on
the UKโs economy and workforce. The volumes of H2 needed to support this transition
are huge and gives rise to the largest barrier to the widespread use of H2: the safe and
e๔ฏicient storage of it. Underground Hydrogen Storage is a solution receiving much
attention but it requires much more research to be done to be implemented at a field
scale.
Hydrocarbon reservoirs reside within the deep subsurface which, while it may not seem
hospitable to life at first glance, is host to a wealth of diverse living organisms with a
genetic diversity that rivals that which we see here above the surface โ this ecosystem is
called the deep biosphere. Energy is scarce in the deep biosphere and without oxygen
and organic matter to sustain themselves, organisms survive though the utilisation of
energy rich metabolites present within the deep subsurface which, critically for UHS,
includes H2.
Biofilm formation and microbial activity within the deep subsurface poses a number
of novel challenges for the storage of hydrogen in depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs:
biofilm formation can physically block pores and biofilms may become dislodged
during hydrogen injection/withdrawal cycles causing new blockages that lead to H2
trapping; microbial biofilms are able to induce variable wettability alterations
depending on the microbe(s) present in the biofilm, the surface roughness of the porous
media and the minerality of the geological formation in which they reside; Sulphide
Reducing Bacteria and Methanogens are able to metabolise H2 using it as an electron
donor to drive respiration producing undesirable byproducts including methane and
hydrogen disulphide; altercations to media porosity though gas release and other
activity.
This PhD project will investigate these outstanding questions related to biofilm
formation and microbial activities. Batch and in-situ flow experiments along with 3D Xray
micro-tomography to characterise biofilms in rock samples at subsurface pressure
and temperature conditions will be performed as well as experiments to characterise
and improve understanding of relevant deep biosphere microbes and their behaviour in
the context of H2-Brine-Rock systems. These experiments will enable us to characterise
the pore space variations and wettability alteration due to biofilms and their impact on
flow properties and storage e๔ฏiciency for further cyclic injection of H2 in rocks.
This research will build upon recent work within the GeoEnergy group on 3D imaging of
H2 injection in sandstones without biofilms or microbes. This project will be conducted
in collaboration with TotalEnergies, France, and Bundesanstalt fรผr Geowissenschaften
(BGR), Germany.
email: cj2026@hw.ac.uk
