Sara Borazjani

Sara Borazjani

School of Chemical Engineering

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.


I completed my doctorate in 2016 at UoA, I gained the University Doctoral Research Medal for outstanding research. In 2017, I received an Early Career Adelaide Vice-Chancellor Research Fellowship, and in 2020 was a finalist for a University award for outstanding achievement in the category of excellence in research.
I have established myself as a leading researcher in the mathematical modelling of two-phase flow in porous media – a complex and valuable research area with applications in the petroleum industry, Carbon capture and storage, environmental management, medicine, and drug delivery. I have been an integral member of the Formation Damage and Enhanced Oil Recovery (FDEOR) Group at UoA’s Australian School of Petroleum and Energy Resources (ASPER). The group has expanded since its inception in 2010 to become a leader in the field of hydrocarbon recovery and suspension flow in porous media, in part due to my unique contributions.
I have actively participated in three ARC DPs, two LPs, three other projects with the industry, and one industry consultancy. I have published several peer-reviewed papers: in high-impact scientific journals, book chapters, and full papers in conference proceedings.

Research Profile

  1. Multiscale mathematical modelling for injecting CO2 and H2 into aquifers and depleted gas fields, accounting for geochemical reactions, dissolution, and fines mobilisation – with consequent formation damage. The work develops systematic multiscale modelling to address the fundamental experimental and modelling challenges for H2 injection into a reservoir with CO2 as cushion gas. Lab tests will be based on the mathematical models and the functions determined upscaled to predict CO2–H2 behaviour in fields. We will validate the theoretical methodology by applying it to the OITC H2–CO2 storage site.
  2.  Determination of relative permeability and capillary pressure during CO2 storage. Unsteady state method is developed for relatively long reservoir cores. During continuous injection of equilibrium saturated gas, the total rate, pressure drop across the core and its first section, and breakthrough component concentrations are measured. The extended Welge-JBN method, recently developed at ASPER for the cases of phase transitions and chemical reactions, is transformed for CO2 and hydrogen injection. For short cores, recently developed at ASPER so-called steady-state-transient-test (SSTT) is under development for CO2 flow in aquifers and depleted gas fields. This development is the result of 7-year sponsorship by Wintershall (Germany).       
  3. Multiscale theory physics theory for secondary migration of hydrocarbons. This work involves exact and asymptotic solutions of small- and large-scale equations of secondary migration of hydrocarbons. The project has developed a new multi-scale theory that can be applied to any petroleum basin to predict the filling of geological “traps” (reservoirs in which oil is trapped by geological seals).

     

  • Appointments

    Date Position Institution name
    2022 - ongoing Adjunct associate lecturer University of Adelaide
    2016 - 2022 postdoctoral fellow The university of Adelaide
  • Awards and Achievements

    Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount
    2017 Award The University Doctoral Research Medals The university of Adelaide Australia -
    2017 Fellowship The University of Adelaide Research fellowship The University of Adelaide Australia -
    2016 Award Dean's Commendations award for Doctoral Thesis Excellence The university of Adelaide Australia -
    2012 Scholarship Adelaide Scholarships International The University of Adelaide Australia -
  • Language Competencies

    Language Competency
    English Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
    Persian Can read, write, speak, understand spoken and peer review
  • Education

    Date Institution name Country Title
    The University of Adelaide Australia PhD

2017-2018 -The University of Adelaide research fellowship 

UA182746 Low Salinity Fines-Assisted Waterflooding: reservoir prediction tools & field study, Contracting Party: Wintershall Dea GmbH, Years: 2019-2021, Investigators: Bedrikovetski, Pavel; Badalyan, Alexander; Borazjani, Sara; Carageorgos, Themis; Zeinijahromi, Abbas

Enhanced oil recovery

Formation damage and productivity enhancement

Transport and properties of porous media

 

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2022 Co-Supervisor Analytical Modeling of Carbon dioxide (CO2) with Low-Salinity Water Injection in Hydrocarbon Reservoirs Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Kofi Ohemeng Kyei Prempeh
    2021 Co-Supervisor Environmental colloidal transport in aquifers: modelling and laboratory study Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Amin Shokrollahi
  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)

    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2019 - 2023 Co-Supervisor A novel laboratory method for simultaneous determination of relative permeability and capillary pressure from laboratory corefloods Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Nassim Hemmati
    2017 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Analytical Modelling and Upscaling of Multicomponent Suspension-Colloidal Transport in Porous Media Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Gabriel de Veiga Cabral Malgaresi
    2017 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Low Salinity Waterflooding: Effect of Fines Migration and Ion Type on Oil Recovery Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Alan Gussmann
  • Editorial Boards

    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2020 - ongoing Associate Editor Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering Elsevier United Kingdom

Connect With Me
External Profiles