Tannaz Pak

Tannaz is a senior lecturer in petroleum engineering and the course leader for the BEng Tech Petroleum and Gas Engineering. She holds the Chartered Engineer status and is a professional member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (CEng MIMMM). She is a fellow of Advance HE (FHEA). Tannaz's research is mainly focused on groundwater clean-up, water purification, hydrocarbon recovery from subsurface, nanotechnology, soil remediation, waste management, sustainable material, and non-destructive testing.  

Prior to starting her academic career, Tannaz did a PhD in Geosciences at the University of Edinburgh in collaboration with Heriot-Watt University, completed in 2015. During her PhD she studied the dynamics of multiphase fluid flow in porous carbonate rocks, at pore-scale. During this PhD she worked with Petrobras and BG group as industrial sponsors and Brazilian universities as academic partners. She completed an MSc. in Reservoir Geoscience and Engineering (RGE) at the Institut Français du Pétrole (IFP School) in France. Tannaz graduated with a BSc. in Chemical Engineering-Safety and Technical Inspection from the Petroleum University of Technology in Iran.

• Groundwater remediation using nanotechnology
• Use of zero-valent Iron nanoparticles (nzvI) in Remediation of groundwater resources contaminated by chlorinated solvents
• Advanced manufacturing of biochar
• Digital Rock physics
• Core analysis studies for oil and gas industry
• Non-destructive material testing, using X-ray computed tomography technique 
• Porous media characterisation using a range of high resolution techniques in 2D, 3D, and 4D
• Application of nano-technology in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and groundwater remediation
• Asphaltene and oil/water emulsions
• Carbonate Rocks
• Pore-scale network modelling of fluid flow in porous media
• Understanding the structure-function relationship for biochar

Tannaz has extensive international collaborations specifically with partners from Brazil and Italy.

Tannaz has received support from the following funders:

• Advanced Manufacturing of Biochar in UK/ China/ Malaysia and Nigeria, British Council, £70k, 2020-2023
• Groundwater remediation using nanotechnology in Brazil, UKRI (GCRF QR), £40k, 2019-2021
• Global Challenges Research Fund – RCUK, 2018
• Brazilian National Council of State Funding Agencies (CONFAP), 2018
• São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), 2017
• Teesside University “working with business scheme”, 2016
• Newton Research Collaboration Programme awarded by The Royal Academy of Engineering, Academy Reference: 2015-2016
• Teesside University Research Fund, 2015

Currently I am willing to take two full-time PhD students to work on the subjects of interest outlined above. There is no funding available at the moment so the candidates should be funded.

Standard University entrance requirements apply, and a degree in Petroleum Engineering, Hydrology, Chemical Engineering, or close subjects.

The interested candidates can contact me with their CV and a letter of interest.

Available PhD topics:

Title: Nanoparticle-enhanced recovery of organic fluids from porous rocks

This project will design emulsions and foams by investigating the synergic behaviour of nanoparticle and surfactant systems to enhance the remobilisation and recovery of trapped organic fluids from complex natural rocks (sandstones and carbonates). We will use the state-of-the-art facilities at Teesside's University's Petroleum Laboratories.

This project’s findings will have implications for a wide range of applications including: (i) remediation of potable water aquifers contaminated by non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPL) leakage, (ii) oil recovery from hydrocarbon reservoirs, and (iii) storing CO2 in the geological formations within the carbon capture and storage technology. 

Title: Mobility of zero-valent iron nanoparticles in porous media

This projecty will study the progressive porous media clogging induced by deposition of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) used in groundwater remediation. We study this specific particle since it has proven to
deliver effective degradation of chlorinated hydrocarbons when injected in sub-surface layers contaminated
by these organic-based toxic substances. The technology is known as nanoremediation and is an emerging
technology with great potential for in-situ remediation of contaminated aquifers. For the degradation to
occur the nZVI particles need to be injected (in form of aqueous suspensions) into the contaminant bearing
sediments1. nZVI nanoparticles are highly reactive and excellent degraders of the chlorinated hydrocarbon
contaminants by reduction reactions. While the nanoremediation concept is proven to be successful at laboratory, pilot, and field scales, there are a number of limitations to the technique, including the mobility of nZVI suspensions in sub-surface sediment layers. We will use the state-of-the-art facilities at Teesside's University's Petroleum Laboratories.

Title: Surfactant Adsorption on Clay minerals

Injection of aqueous surfactant solutions in porous media is a widely used technique for facilitating removal of organic fluids (e.g. oil) from porous media (e.g. rocks or sediments). Some of the main applications are for improving (i) removal of organic contaminants from groundwater resources, and (ii) recovery of oil from hydrocarbon reservoirs. Clay minerals are one of the main constituents of naturally occurring porous rocks which form groundwater aquifers and hydrocarbon bearing formations. The amount and type of clay minerals impact the surface chemistry of the rock and hence influence adsorption of charged particles to the rock. One main challenge of designing an effective surfactant flooding process is to select the right surfactant based on the surface chemistry of the rock and considering the salinity of aqueous phase initially occupying the rock.  This PhD will, systematically, investigate the effect of clay mineral types and amount on adsorption of a range of surfactants including the most commonly used ones in industry (e.g. SDS, CTAB, etc.) and new but more environmentally friendly surfactants (e.g. biosurfactants).

The outcomes of this research will inform a prior selection of suitable surfactants considering the clay mineral contents of the rock.

Title: Toxicity Assessment and Environmental Safety Aspects of Nanoremediation:

Indeveloping new sustainable technologies one crucial step is to assess the risks associated with the materials/methods used. This will ensure the technology will have no adverse impact on the human health and the environment. Of particular importance is assessing the toxicity of the proposed materials and any by-products generated in the process.  This allows identification of the potential toxicity of novel products prior to their release in the environment.

This study investigates the toxicity and environmental aspects of nanoremediation technology.  Nanoremediation aims at remediation of contaminated groundwater resources by degradation of contaminants, in-situ, i.e. within the subsurface aquifers. This is achieved by injection of aqueous suspensions of nanoparticles (e.g. zero-valent iron) and through chemical reactions that degrade chlorinated solvents into less harmful substance.

Chlorinated solvent contaminants are among the most recalcitrant aquifer contaminants which can cause serious health problems such as kidney and liver damage, sudden abortions, and some are considered as carcinogenic. They are a significant problem, both in the UK and globally, due to their wide industrial use since the beginning of 20th century e.g. in metal processing plants.

This is a collaborative project between the School of Science, Engineering, & Design and the School of Health & Social Care of Teesside University.

Tannaz is a steering committee member of Interpore UK. This organisation serves as an excellent platform to strengthen the porous media- related research by creating the synergy between the UK-based researchers in industry and academia.

She holds Chartered Engineer status and is a professional member of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (CEng MIMMM). She is a fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Tannaz is a member of the I12 User Working Group at the Diamond Light Source, the UK's only synchrotron facility. This user group works with the beamline team to develop new solutions for performing advanced experiments at I12 beamline. 

Tannaz is the external examiner for three MSc courses at Heriot-Watt University. 

Tannaz works closely with the Brazilian Synchrotron (LNLS), specifically the X-ray tomography beamline. LNLS is part of the Brazilian Centre for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM).

Tannaz acts as reviewer for the journals Advances in Water Resources, Energy & Fuels, Water Resources Research, AAPG Bulletin, and Transport in Porous Media.

• Digital Rock physics
• Core analysis studies for oil and gas industry
• Use of zero-valent Iron nanoparticles (nzvI) in Remediation of groundwater resources contaminated by chlorinated solvents
• Application of X-ray computed tomography technique as a non-destructive method of analysing the internal structure of material, specifically porous material
• Porous media characterisation using a range of high resolution techniques in 2D, 3D, and 4D
• Application of nano-technology in Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and groundwater remediation

Tannaz is a fellow of Higher Education Academy (FHEA).