Prakash Purswani
Dr. Prakash Purswani is currently a Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. His research revolves around multiphase flow through porous media with applications to geologic hydrogen storage, carbon sequestration, and energy recovery. He has experience with complex experiments and modeling in reservoir rocks and 3-D printed fractures for energy recovery and geologic gas storage. His current research includes basin-scale modeling of natural hydrogen systems. He earned his MS and PhD degrees in Energy and Mineral Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University in the US and his bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from BITS, Pilani-Hyderabad campus in India.
Geologic hydrogen can provide a pathway to achieve the net-zero energy transition. Initial estimates suggest that geologic hydrogen resources can be massive with some suggesting about 23 Tg of total hydrogen flow annually, corresponding to >7.5GWh/yr of energy potential. Fundamental research on geologic hydrogen, however, is still evolving, with several unknowns. In this research, we investigate the occurrence and availability of geologic hydrogen regionally near the Albuquerque basin in New Mexico, United States. We have curated evidence of hydrogen shows from several historical oil, gas, and water wells across New Mexico. We investigate the geology surrounding the wells with high hydrogen production with the largest one located in Cibola County, New Mexico, showing ~32% of hydrogen. In addition, we reveal the interplay of key components, including the availability of source rocks conducive to geologic hydrogen generation, an active fault structure near the source, and a reasonable seal rock that allows for accumulation of the occurring hydrogen. Moreover, we consider potential loss pathways and by integrating these components, we develop a basin model for the Albuquerque basin to quantify the potential of geologically occurring hydrogen in this region. We also conduct a sensitivity analysis on key generation, accumulation, and loss parameters to account for the inherited heterogeneity of the subsurface systems and quantify the uncertainty associated with geologic hydrogen potential. Our research provides a methodology for prospect identification and quantification for geologic hydrogen in a specific region with a demonstrable example from New Mexico.
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Director’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the Earth and Environmental Sciences Division
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