DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Ongoing Research Projects

A summary of the projects conducted at the Chemical Engineering Department is listed below.

Externally funded Projects

1. Sorbents for H2S Removal from Claus Process Tail Gas. (Closed: October 2010)
   Team: Dr. Cornelis Peters, Carmen Gutierrez
   Sponsor: GASCO/ADGAS
   
   
2. Intensification of Hydro-treating Process for Crude Oil or Fractions
   Team: Dr. Saleh Al Hashimi, Dr. Radu Vladea, Dr. Gisha Elisabeth Luckachan,
   Jamie Whelan, Anjana Tharalekshmy, Dr. Ionut Banu.
   Sponsor: TAKREER
   
   
3. Molecular Sieve Membranes and Solid Adsorbents for the Selective Removal of Dilute H2S in the Claus Process Tail Gas
   Team: Dr. Saleh Al Hashimi, Dr. Michael Tsapatsis (UMN)
   Sponsor: ADGAS
   
   
4. Improved Performance of Gas-Sweetening Processes
   Team: Dr. Cornelis Peters, Dr. Abdallah S Berrouk, Wael Ahmed (Phd Student)
   Sponsor: GASCO/ADGAS
   
   
5. Discrete Particle Modeling of Hydrodynamics and Heat Transfer in Fluidized Catalytic Cracking Reactors
   Team: Dr. Abdallah S Berrouk, Dr Hakim Koudil
   Sponsor: TAKREER
   
   
6. Conversion of Waste Plastics to Energy by Fluid Bed Gasification
   Team: Dr. Ahmed Al Shoaibi, Dr Abdallah S Berrouk, Dr C. S. Kannan
   Sponsor: Bourouge
   
   
7. Use of classical and modern concrete admixtures for oilfield cementing jobs
   Team: Dr. Ghada Bassioni
   Sponsor: WACKER CHEMIE
   
   
8. BTEX removal in the sulfur recovery process using adsorption
   Team: Dr. Ahmed Al Shoaibi, Dr C. S. Kannan
   Sponsor: Gas Research Center (GASCO, SHELL, TOTAL, PARTEX)
   
   
9. Surface-Engineered Self-Healing Anti-Corrosion Particle Coatings for Pipes and Storage Tanks               
   Team: Dr. Vikas Mittal
   Sponsor: Gas Research Center (GASCO, SHELL, TOTAL, PARTEX)
   
   
10. Evaluation of Regenerable Zinc Oxide Based Solid Sorbent “S6” to Absorb Low Concentrations of Hydrogen Sulfide from Process Gas Streams. 
    Team: Dr. Cornelis Peters, Carmen Gutierrez
    Sponsor: GASCO/ADGAS
    

Collaborative Projects

1. Systematic study of aluminum leaching process
   Team: Dr. Ghada Bassioni, Dr. Fathia S. Mohammad (AUS), Essam A. H. Al-Zubaidy (AUS)
   Sponsor: American University Sharjah
   
   
2. Characterization and Rheological behavior of nanofluids
   Team: Ghada Bassioni; Youssef Shatilla, Waka Tesfai, Pawan Singh
   Sponsor: MASDAR Institute
   
   
3. Adaptive modeling of complex systems using subspace identification
   Team: Dr. Uwe Kruger, Dr. Hongye Su, Dr. Lei Xie
   Sponsor: Zhejiang University. China
   
   
4. Modeling of large-scale non-Gaussian systems
   Team: Dr. Uwe Kruger, Dr. Hongye Su, Dr. Lei Xie
   Sponsor: Zhejiang University. China
   
   
5. Fault diagnosis in chemical systems using statistical model-based techniques
   Team: Dr. Guenter Wozny, Dr. Uwe Kruger
   Sponsor: TU Berlin. Germany
   
   
6. Monitoring of Chemical Systems with non-Causal source signals and unknown error distribution
   Team: Dr. Enrique Luis Lima, Dr. José Carlos Pinto, Dr. Uwe Kruger
   Sponsor: Univesidade do Rio de Janeiro. Brazil

PI  funded Projects

1. Studies of asphaltenes behavior under various conditions
   Team: Dr. Cornelis Peters, Dr. Francisco Vargas, Dr. Ioannis Economou, Dr. Ghada Bassioni, Dr. Bianca Breure
   Sponsors: PI-RAGS
   
   
2. Use of ionic liquids in H2S separation from industrial gases                
   Team: Dr. Cornelis Peters, Dr. Abdallah S. Berrouk, Maria Teresa Mota Martinez (PhD student)
   Sponsors: PI-RAGS. Collaboration with TNO Delft and Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands)
   
   
3. Use of ionic liquids for removal and sequestration of CO2 from industrial gases
   Team: Dr. Cornelis Peters, Mamoun Althuluth (PhD student)
   Sponsors: PI-RAGS
   
   
4. Desalination of seawater via in situ ethane hydrate formation
   Team: Dr. Cornelis Peters, Muhammad Naveed Khan
   Sponsors:  PI-RAGS. Collaboration with Colorado School of Mine
   
   
5. Catalytic Removal of Sulfur from Process Gas Streams without Hydrogen Addition: Effect of Zeolites Topology, Composition, and Mesoporosity          
   Team: Dr. Saleh Al Hashimi, Dr. Aditya Bhan (UMN), Dr. Michael Tsapatsis (UMN)
   Sponsor: PI –ADMIRE
   
   
6. Catalytic Alkane Metathesis
   Team: Dr. Saleh Al Hashimi, Dr. Aditya Bhan (UMN), Dr. Matteo Cococcioni (UMN)
   Sponsor: PI-ADMIRE      
   
   
7. Coatings for Catalytic and Photo-catalytic Processes               
   Team: Dr. Saleh Al Hashimi, Dr. Radu Vladea, Dr. Lorraine Francis (UMN),
   Dr. Michael Tsapatsis (UMN)
   Sponsor: PI - ADMIRE
   
   
8. Optimization of Petrochemical Systems: Integrating Engineering and Business Decisions
   Team: Dr. Ali Almansoori (PI), Dr. Saleh Al Hashimi (PI), Dr. Shapour Azarm (UMD), Dr. P.K. Kannan (UMD)
   Sponsor: PI-RAGS
   
   
9. Simulation, Optimization and Control of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Systems
   Team: Dr. Ali Almansoori (PI), Dr. Prodromos Daoutidis (UMN)
   Sponsor:  PI-RAGS
   
   
10. Sulfur Recovery from Gas Stream Using Flameless and Flame Combustion Reactor
    Team: Dr. Ahmed Al Shoaibi
    Sponsor:  PI-RAGS
    
    
11. Synthesis and Processing of Functionalized Polyolefins
    Team: Dr. Marc Hillmyer (UMN), Dr. Chris Macosko (UMN), Dr. Ahmed Abdala
    Sponsor:  PI-RAGS
    
    
12. Polymeric Membranes for Advanced Process Engineering
    Team: Dr. Frank Bates (UMN), Dr. Edward Cussler (UMN), Dr. Marc Hillmyer (UMN), Dr. Timothy Lodge (UMN), Dr. Ahmed Abdala, Dr. Sulafudin Vukusic
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS     
               
13. Graphene/Polymer Composites
    Team: Dr. Ahmed Abdala, Dr. Frank Bates (UMN), Dr. Chris Macosko (UMN)
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
14. Graphene-Based Masterbatches for Polyolefin
    Team: Dr. Ahmed Abdala, Dr. Sulafudin Vukusic, Dr. Christian Paulack (Loeben Uni), Dr. Gernot Wallner (loeben Uni)
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS   
           
    
15. In-situ Polymerization for the Production of Graphite-Based Melamine Nanocomposites               
    Team: Dr. Ahmed Abdala, Dr. Sulafudin Vukusic, Dr. C. Schwarzinger (Linz Uni)
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
16. Degradation studies of concrete              
    Team: Dr. Avin Pillay, Dr. Mirela El Kadi, Dr. Sai Fok; Dr. Ghada Bassioni, Dr. Sasi Stephen; Dr. Fadi Fegali
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
17. Novel late transition metal catalysts
    Team: Dr. Ghada Bassioni, Dr. Issam Kobrsi
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
18. Development of Catalyzed High Surface Area Porous Carbons for Gas Processing               
    Team: Dr. C. S. Kannan
    Sponsor:  PI-RAGS
    
    
19. Remediation of Sulfidic Wastewater by Advanced Oxidation              
    Team: Dr. Binay K Dutta, Dr Ahmed Al Shoaibi
    Sponsor:  PI-RAGS
    
    
20. Molecular Modeling of Fluid Phase Equilibria               
    Team: Dr. Ioannis Economou (PI), Dr. Ilija Siepmann (UMN)
    Sponsor: PI –ADMIRE
    
    
21. Mitigating asphaltene deposition in wellbore through changing well design parameters               
    Team: Dr. Francisco Vargas, Dr. Tao Zhu, Dr. B. Gosh
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
22. A Framework for Energy Efficient Systems              
    Team: Dr. Jamal Ahmed, Dr. Uwe Kruger
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
23. Polyethylene/Clay Nanocomposites              
    Team: Dr. Ebru Gunister, Dr. Uwe Kruger
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
24. Highly efficient catalytic system for production of syngas or hydrogen
    Team: Dr. Radu V. Vladea, Dr. Ghada Bassioni, Catalysis and Process Intensification Group
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
25. Effect of Aluminum Leaching of Cooking Wares on Food and related Impact on the Human Health            
    Team: Dr. Ghada Bassioni, Dr. Issam Kobrsi, Dr. Fathia S. Mohammad, Dr. Essam A. H. Al Zubaidy (Chemical Engineering, American University of Sharjah)
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS
    
    
26. Transition metal catalyzed methane oxidation in homogeneous phase
    Team: Dr. Ghada Bassioni, Dr. Radu Vladea, Dr. Fritz E. (Kühn Technische Universität München)
    Sponsor: PI-RAGS