Issue link: https://htpgraphics.uberflip.com/i/433487
Advanced materials are playing an increasingly important part in BP operations in both its 'Upstream', 'Downstream' and Alternative Energy businesses. In the Upstream business one of the challenges is the extraction of resources in increasingly harsh environments, with pressures of 20,000 lb / sq in and temperatures of 350° F. In the Downstream business, challenges range from developing engineered molecules to put into BP's advanced lubricants and fuels through to materials capable of operating in the challenging environments in which BP's refining and petrochemical assets can be found. BP identified seven areas of interest within the advanced materials field: structural materials; functional materials; smart coatings; separations; energy storage; energy harvesting; and catalysis. Of these the first four form the current focus of BP's activities in the newly formed BP International Centre for Advanced Materials (BP-ICAM). Structural materials looks at steels, alloys and potentially new materials for harsh environments; functional materials examines, for example, the design and operation of advanced fuels and lubricants; smart coatings uses micro-encapsulation technologies which offer self-healing properties; while separations looks across a range of areas from enhanced oil recovery to chemicals and alcohol separation from water. BP - International Centre for Advanced Materials (ICAM) BP puts Manchester at the hub of its advanced research 28 CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP BP was struck by Manchester's desire to understand the challenges we were facing and assemble the multidisciplinary teams to address them. Dr Payam Jamshidi conducting compression testing of a carbon fibre composite material in the National Composites Certification and Evaluation Facility