DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Research Facilities

Laboratories of Catalysis, Reaction Engineering and Process Intensification

1. New laboratories with research activities aiming to develop new heterogeneous catalysts, reactors, and process technologies with intensified intrinsic reaction rates and mass and heat transfer
2. The laboratories cover almost all major aspects of catalytic process development, i.e. catalysts preparation, catalysts screening and characterization, new reactors development, kinetic investigations and modeling, and process operating optimization
3. Most of the specific equipments will be functional by the end of 2010
4. Currently the research team comprises 1 Research Professor, 3 Research Associates, and 3 Laboratory Engineers. They are carrying out activities in the field of nano-catalysts supported on foams, rotating foam reactors, and supercritical fluids as reaction solvents. Their salaries are supported from industrial grants
5. The laboratories have (will have by the end of 2010) most of the equipments required for a high level research activities, e.g., Transmission electron microscope with STEM and EDX, X-Ray photoelectron spectrometer, X-Ray Diffractometer, NMR 400 MHz, FT-IR, UV-Vis-NIR spectrometers, confocal Raman microscope, scanning tunneling microscope, TGA/DSC, BET for textural characterization, TPD/TPR/TPO, Hg-porosimeter, fixed bed micro-reactors, Carberry spinning reactor, Berty reactor, gas chromatographs with various detectors, and many others

Polymer Laboratories

Three new laboratories are currently being established at the Petroleum Institute (PI): polymer chemistry, polymer characterization and testing as well         as one for polymer processing. These labs will function as both teaching and research laboratories and already contain state of the art equipment making them arguably the best     equipped academic polymer laboratories in the Gulf.

The equipment list includes: Gas Polymerization Reactor (Bench Scale/Teaching), FTIR with ATR, DSC, TGA-MS, Automated Solution Viscometer, Optical Microscope (Hot-Stage and Camera), DMA, Hardness, Heat Deflection Temperature, Charpy-Impact (Temp.), Electrical Conductivity, Tensile Testing Machine (Temp.), Mini-compounder and Micro Injection Molding Machine, Shear Rheometer,  Capillary Rheometer, Single-Screw Extruder (Bench-top/Lab Scale) with Strands, Blown Film, Take-off Equipment, Twin-Screw Extruder/Compounder (Bench-top/Lab Scale) with Take-off Equipment, Injection Moulding Machine (incl. ISO moulds), MFI, Thermoforming Machine . The majority of this equipment has already been installed and commissioned, while the remaining equipment plus vendor training is continuing. Faculty, research staff and students of both the Chemical and Mechanical Engineering Departments have already been carrying out on-going research projects in these labs in collaboration with the universities of Linz and Minnesota. Undergraduate laboratory courses have used these labs in the Spring Semester, 2010

Center for Applied and Environmental Chemistry (CAEC)

The CAEC is focused on organometallic chemical synthesis, construction materials testing as well as environmental aspects related to applications in these fields. The center has all equipment required to conduct high level research and is seen as an opportunity to seek external industrial funding. Dr. Ghada Bassioni, Assistant Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department, is leading the Center.