Energy is the most important challenge for the mankind in the 21^st century; world-wide energy consumption in year 2001 was 404 x10¹⁵ BTU (~200x10⁶ BOE/d); the energy demand is expected to triple in this century. The challenge is to meet this increased energy demand economically without significant environmental cost. Nearly 85% of the current demand is met by fossil fuels, about 7% by renewables, and 8% by nuclear energy. However, easily recoverable light oil and gases are expected to last only about 50 years. There are, however, massive amounts of unconventional fuels (heavy oil, coal, shale oil, trapped oil in discovered reservoirs, etc.), which are considered unrecoverable with the current technology. Recovery of clean fuel from these sources can ease the transition away from fossil fuels in the second half of this century towards other options. At the Institute for Improved Oil Recovery, we are developing new technology for the recovery of hydrocarbons from these unconventional resources in a cost-effective and environmentally benign manner. For more details, please visit:

http://www.chee.uh.edu/faculty/mohanty/Institute%20for%20Improved%20Oil%20Recovery.pdf