Texas A&M Gas & Fuels Research Center

Presentation to Industrial Advisory Board, Chemical Engineering Program,Texas A&M University at Qatar

May 21, 2013

Center’s Major Objectives• To advance gas and fuels processing research activities in

gas utilization, clean energy and in production of fuels and value-added chemicals.

• To establish multidisciplinary projects and collaboration models with both industry and academic institutions in Qatar and worldwide.

• To provide consulting services and training courses in areas of specialty.

• To integrate Texas A&M University resources and to support Qatar’s 2030 vision in advancing its human and research facilities in clean energy field.

• Seven Texas A&M University professors from both Qatar campus and College Station campus will be participating in this center.

• Multidisciplinary specialties in critical areas in gas and fuels processing technologies.

• World class research facilities and labs at Texas A&M Qatar and in College Station.

• Highly skilled research staff, graduate and undergraduate students.

Center’s Structure

Center’s Principal InvestigatorsProf. Dragomir Bukur

Catalysis, Reaction Engineering, Fischer -Tropsch and Gas-to-Liquid technology.

Prof. Perla Balbuena

Computational design of materials, catalysts and processes.

Prof. Mahmoud El-Halwagi

Process integration, synthesis, simulation, and optimization, sustainable process design, and molecular/product design.

Prof. Marcelo Castier

Thermodynamic models of complex mixtures, confined fluids, electrolyte solutions; applications of thermodynamics to chemical process safety.

Center’s Principal InvestigatorsProf. Ioannis Economou

Molecular thermodynamics and molecular simulation of complex fluids for chemical process and product design.

Prof. Nimir Elbashir

Reactor Design, Catalysis, Fuel Processing and Gas-to-Liquid technology.

Prof. Ken Hall

Hydrocarbon Processing, High Pressure Fluids Thermodynamics Natural Gas Conversion

Name Funding (2008 – 12)

Source Representative collaborators

# publications

Group size

Balbuena $ 3.5 mil. DOE, NSF, ARPA TAMU, Sandia, Brookhaven, industrial

>170 papers, 5 books

7

Bukur $ 2.8 mil. QNRF TAMU, TAMUQ, QU, Kentucky, AUTh

>130 papers, 2 chapters

3

Castier $ 0.8 mil. QNRF TAMUQ, QU, Delaware, FU Rio, SU Maringá

> 80 papers, 3 chapters

6

Economou $ 2.3 mil. EU, industry UCL, Leeds, INERIS, industry

130 papers, 5 chapters

10

Elbashir $ 5.3 mil. QNRF, industry TAMU, TAMUQ, Auburn, DTU, industry

> 50 papers 11

El-Halwagi $ 10.8 mil. QNRF, NSF, DoE, DARPA, industry

TAMU, TAMUQ, UT, Wisconsin, DTU, etc.

175 papers, 55 chapters

8

Hall $1.3 mil. DOE, Dow, Chevron

TAMU 259 papers, 7 books

7

Highlights of Principal Investigators

Gas and Fuels Research Center

GTL

Catalysis Fuel processing Reactor design

Intensification of gas processing plants Fluid PropertiesSimulation of natural

gas processing

Resources in Qatar

Texas A&M Fuel Characterization Lab

State-of-the-art experimental facilities

9

Support Detailed Composition & Hydrocarbon Products Properties

Catalyst synthesis Catalyst characterization

Catalyst testing(slurry and fixed bed

reactors)

Kinetics of heterogeneous reactions

Reactor modeling and simulation

Applied Catalysis Group

Applied Catalysis Lab

Advanced Reactor Technologies for Catalyst Testing

Applied Catalysis Lab

Current Collaboration with Industry in Qatar

Collaboration with Academia