Mathematics and IT

Emerging in the 1990s, the notions of geoheritage and geodiversity have been receiving growing attention from academic communities, international organizations and public authorities. (...) It was in this context that, in 2020, IFPEN signed a partnership agreement with UNESCO, one of the objectives of which is to share digital tools facilitating the promotion of geoheritage and geodiversity to the general public...

To address the challenges of the energy transition, the subsurface has an important role to play, both in terms of providing resources and offering storage solutions. (...) Numerical models can help gain a better understanding of the subsurface with a view to its long-term management and optimal use. Developed for a number of years now at IFPEN, initially for the petroleum industry, such models cover scales ranging from the sedimentary basin to the reservoir...

A large number of simulators, whether they relate to the design of reaction processes, the evolution of oil reservoirs or combustion systems, require access to thermodynamic properties. In order to provide these properties, IFPEN has been developing a library of calculation modules, called “Carnot”, named after the famous French thermodynamics expert. These calculations, in particular those concerning phase equilibrium (also known as flash calculations), generally require the use of substantial calculation resources due to the complexity of the systems considered, and represent in many cases the most time-consuming step in the simulation process.

Semantic segmentation conducted on microscopy images is a processing operation carried out to quantify a material’s porosity and its heterogeneity. It is aimed at classifying every pixel within the image (on the basis of degree of heterogeneity and porosity). However, for some materials (such as aluminas employed for catalysis), it is very difficult or even impossible using a traditional image processing approach, since porosity differences are characterized by small contrasts and complex textural variations. One way of overcoming this obstacle is to tackle semantic segmentation via deep learning, using a convolutional neural network.

Over the last decade, deep learning applied to image analysis has rapidly developed in scope to cover numerous fields. However, its potential remains underexploited in geology, despite the fact that it is a discipline that relies to a large extent on visual interpretation. To contribute to the digital transformation of industries related to the underground environment, researchers at IFPEN have implemented deep learning in three “profession-specific contexts”, each involving different types of geological images.

Today, characterization of geological reservoirs, a long-standing theme in petroleum exploration, becomes a base of interest for a variety of applications, such as CO2 and hydrogen storage as well as geothermal energy. In recent years, the combined use of 3D microtomography (or micro-CT ) imaging and advanced simulation techniques has allowed the emergence of a digital approach to computing the petrophysical properties of reservoir rocks (Digital Rock Physics). This represents a real complement - and in some cases an alternative - to traditional laboratory measurements.

The design of high-quality porous materials is a major challenge for the energy efficiency of industrial processes in the fields of catalysis and biocatalysis and separation and purification operations. For such applications, these materials derive their properties of interest from their specific microstructure, incorporating a large quantity of empty spaces that are organized and connected on a nanometric scale. IFPEN and Saint Gobain Research Provence (SGRP) joined forces to acquire a tool that will ultimately facilitate the development of porous materials optimized for given usages.