The FAPESP-Shell Research Centre for Gas Innovation (RCGI) welcomed, May 22 and 23, Professors Vann Bush, Paul Glanville, Dennis Jarnecke, and Bill Liss, from the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), headquartered in Chicago, IL, U.S. Two days later, on May 25 and 26, the welcome mat was out for Yusuke Tokuda, Shojiro Osumi, and Tomoshiro Inoue, from Osaka Gas, which is one of the largest natural gas distributors in Japan.
Both of the delegations visited the Numerical Test Tank, where they were received by Professor Kazuo Nishimoto; the Fluid Dynamics Laboratory; and the Combustion Laboratory (all located at the Polytechnic School-Poli). They also went to the Fuel Cells Laboratory, at the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN). The GTI group, led by Professor Edmilson Moutinho (Energy and Environment Institute-IEE, of the University of São Paulo-USP), also visited the IEE and the Brazilian Association for Facility Compliance and Efficiency (ABRINSTAL). And the delegation from Osaka Gas was at the Chemical Engineering Laboratories, at the invitation of Professor Claudio Oller (Poli/USP).
The GTI is a nonprofit research institution that addresses energy and environmental issues with a focus on fossil fuels, and its objective is to ensure a safe, abundant, and economically feasible energy future. Besides visiting the laboratories and institutes at the University of São Paulo, they presented the mini-course New efficient technologies for residential/commercial space conditioning and water heating.
Osaka Gas is an important energy supplier in Japan, founded in 1897. The company takes natural gas to 7 million clients in the region of Kansai, central Japan, including the urban centers of Osaka, where it is headquartered, as well as Kobe and Kyoto. Besides the visits, they made presentations at the RCGI regarding three subjects: technology of burners, technology of air conditioning running on natural gas, and technologies related to biogas.
“In 2016, a delegation from the RCGI visited the headquarters of Osaka Gas, in Japan. This recent visit of the Japanese delegation to the RCGI, the laboratories, and the USP research institutes is the first fruit of the relationship that began a year ago. And, from among the subjects of mutual interest, we established these three: technology of burners, technology of air conditioning running on natural gas, and technologies related to biogas. There is no one working at the RCGI with technology for air conditioning, bu we are bringing Professors together who are dedicated to this subject,” explains Julio Meneghini, Scientific Director of the RCGI.