Human Resources Program in Nanotechnology and New Materials Applied to the Oil, Natural Gas and Biofuels

Abstract

The high technological demand in the oil, natural gas and biofuel sector is driven by new discoveries and growing global consumption of oil and natural gas extracted from new exploration frontiers. This sector interacts with other industry sectors to meet their general and specific demand for new technologies and new materials. In this scenario, the need for qualification of technical personnel is not limited to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies but extends itself to energy generation from renewable sources and suppliers of products and services, in Brazil and abroad. The sector is, at the same time, a generator and inducer/consumer of new materials and associated technologies, including chemical products, elastomers, composites, metallic and non-metallic materials for piping and structures, coatings, construction materials, as well as materials for generation of renewable energy, such as photovoltaic and wind power. In this context, new lightweight materials, resistant to high temperatures, high pressures and aggressive environments, and subject to wear, combine with nanotechnology to offer solutions that meet the challenges of this sector. Therefore, it is important that the technical staff of companies that supply and consume products and services for the sector present contemporary and innovative training in materials, including a matrix of skills and abilities that enable them to specify, select and inspect components manufactured from new materials and nanomaterials, as well as their combinations. The Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte has a long and consolidated history of work in the oil, natural gas and biofuels sector, including the generation of basic and applied knowledge, placement on the market and continued training of professionals in activities related to Materials Science, Chemistry and Engineering. UFRN (IGC 4) has maintained an undergraduate course in Materials Engineering (CC 4) since 1999, with a range of optional subjects containing specific curricular components for students interested in strengthening their training for this sector. Furthermore, the Postgraduate Program in Materials Science and Engineering at UFRN (CAPES Grade 7) and the Postgraduate Program in Chemistry (CAPES Grade 6) maintain research in new materials and nanotechnology applied to the solution of demands from different industry sectors, including oil, natural gas and biofuels. UFRN has been a prominent player over the last 20 years developing projects in public/private partnerships based on the specific demands of the sector. The present program is organized in the following research lines that represent the institutional competences in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and applied research in the area of Materials:1. Drilling and Cementing Materials and Fluids;2. Applied nanotechnology;3. Metallic piping and coatings and4. Non-metallic piping. (AU)