Biography:

Jehad K Abu Dahrieh is Lecturer of Chemical Engineering at Queen’s University Belfast. She originally studied BSc in Chemical Engineering at Jordan University of Science and Technology. She obtained her MSc in Chemical Engineering from University of Jordan. She received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from Queen’s University Belfast. Since then, she worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Associate at Queen’s University Belfast (2010-2014) in the group of CenTACat. Her research interests lie in the area of heterogeneous catalysis, reaction engineering and energy, especially with respect to catalysis for energy applications and heterogeneous catalysis.

Abstract:

Nowadays, more and more attention is directed at the production of alternative environmentally friendly fuels, thereby reducing dependency on crude oil and yielding associated improvements in air pollution mitigation. There are a number of options available for example biogas, hydrogen or dimethyl ether (DME), with the latter being one of the more promising alternatives. DME is the simplest ether structure and the absence of a C-C bond means fewer undesired combustion by-products such as hydrocarbons or particulates generated. DME is mainly produced in one of two ways; the indirect method whereby methanol is dehydrated over a solid catalyst or increasingly by the direct synthesis method from synthesis gas over hybrid catalysts comprising a metal oxide to facilitate methanol synthesis and a solid acid for methanol dehydration (MTD) reaction. Here solid acid catalysts such as γ-Al₂O₃, crystalline aluminosilicates, zeolites (ZSM-5), and phosphates including aluminium phosphate are employed, with the most common being γ-Al₂O₃ and zeolites. The main objective of this work is to investigate and compare the potential benefits from loading Cu onto such alumina for the dehydration of methanol to DME.

Biography:

Shigeru Yao, Doctor of Engineering, now is a Professor of Department of Chemical Engineering, Fukuoka University. He got his Engineering Doctor’s degree at Kyoto University. His Doctor thesis is “Viscoelastic Properties of Concentrated Disperse Systems of Polymeric Microgels”. Currently, he research focuses on self-organization mechanism of polymer especially the crystalline supramolecular interaction between side chain crystalline block co-polymer and crystalline polymer. He found that by using the interaction, the surface properties of crystalline polymer, such as polyethylene and polytetrafluoroethylene, can modify without any physical treatment. He also focuses on the material recycle of polymers.

Abstract:

Recently, we polymerized a block copolymer that was constructed of two monomers: A monomer with a long alkane side-chain (more than 10 carbon atoms) and another monomer with solvent affinity. This block shows side-chain crystallization. Thus, this block copolymer can crystallize due to its long alkane side-chain (Side-Chain Crystalline Block Copolymer: SCCBC). We found that the side chain block of the SCCBC is adsorbed on PE crystal. At this time, PE crystal and the side chain block of SCCBC are considered to form a quasi-crystalline structure. According to this, the solvent affinity block unit covers the particle and changes the particle surface easy to wet solvent. This is because, SCCBC can act as a dispersant for a concentrated PE particle dispersion. In this time, we added only 0.5 wt% of SCCBC to wax/oil mixture.  Without the SCCBC, the wax/oil mixture was solidified at lower temperature, however with adding the SCCBC, the wax/oil mixture was not solidified and we could measure the viscosity and viscoelastic modulus. We also found that the crystalline structure of wax was changed with adding the SCCBC.

Biography:

Cen Song has completed her PhD from University at Buffalo (SUNY) School of Engineering in US for 5 years. She has published 2 papers in reputed journals.

Abstract:

In recent years, Chinese oil companies and Iraq's oil companies cooperate in exploration and development project under the service contract model. Iraq service contract mode has its unique way of income distribution and harsh terms of the fiscal taxation, which bring risks to relative investment company. Combined with the current situation that international oil price fluctuation is bigger and more frequent, the current situation of international petroleum is very serious and the risk factors of social environment have upgraded again. This paper not only explores the service contract pattern, finance and tax terms analysis financial risk factors on the impact of China's oil companies through forecasting the future of the international oil price trends, but also put forward advice on how to avoid financial risk. This article suggests the cooperation risk factors that China's oil companies should consider in advance under the international petroleum environment of the in the service contract mode, in case to mitigate risks in time.

Biography:

Akkihebbal K Suresh completed his PhD from Monash University. After a brief stint with Hindustan Lever Research Centre (a Unilever company), he joined the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay in 1988 and has been with the Institute ever since. He currently holds an Institute Chair in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He served as the Head of the department from 2005-2008, and as the Dean of Faculty Affairs of IIT Bombay during 2009-2014. Apart from an abiding interest in liquid phase hydrocarbon oxidations, his work encompasses other themes in transport and reaction engineering. He is a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering.

Abstract:

The oxidation of cyclohexane, important in the production of the nylon monomers adipic acid, hexamethylene diamine and caprolactum, is one of those processes which, in spite of a tremedous amount of research effort, has resisted any substantial improvement in terms of the selectivities achieved. Industrial conversions have to be limited to about 4-8% in order that the selectivity to the primary products of alcohol and ketone (the mixture being known as KA-oil) does not suffer seriously. While soluble cobalt catalysts are commonly used in industry, environmental concerns and potential improvements have been powerful driving forces towards heterogenization. This talk reports on a new generation of synergistic, ketone-selective, cobalt-molybdenum mixed oxide catalysts, which provide a conversion of about 7.5% with a KA-oil selectivity of about 94%. The most promising of these catalysts, CoMoO₄-11 (with a Co:Mo ratio of 1:1), has been studied in detail and the kinetics modeled. The catalyst is deactivated at higher conversions by product adsorption, but the activity is completely restored on recalcination. Studies have also been carried out on supporting the catalyst particles on mesoporous silica supports to facilitate use in industrial processes, and the results with FDU-12 are particularly encouraging. An interesting feature of the catalyzed oxidation is the significant contribution of the uncatalyzed reaction, which at times makes for somewhat counter-intuitive trends.

Biography:

Yunling Liang has completed his PhD from Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China. She is the Assistant Professor of China University of Petroleum, Beijing, China. She has published four papers in reputed journals.

Abstract:

This paper mainly describes the impact of oil price changes on several key aspects of the Chinese economy and come to a result through long and short-term empirical studies of changes in international oil prices and the national economy, especially through the study of second and third industrial relations: In the long run, international oil price volatility is not obvious, it already keep steady for 20 years and there is no significant causal relationship between rapid development of national economy and the change of oil price; under short-term conditions, rising oil prices showed a significant effect on the national economy of the second and tertiary industries, In addition, oil prices rising is usually before the economic changes. To strengthen China's oil security and reduce the impact of changes in oil prices on the national economy, this paper put forward counter measures and suggestions.

Biography:

Kyeong H Park obtained his MEng in Chemical Engineering at University College London (UCL) in 2013. He started his PhD in September 2013 at the same institution. His study focuses on flow pattern transitions in oil-water flows.

Abstract:

In the petroleum industry, the characterisation of multiphase flows in pipes is of fundamental interest in both upstream and downstream processes, such as drilling, transportation and separation. When oil-water mixtures are transported, different flow patterns occur depending on fluid flowrates and properties together with pipe diameter and material. Understanding such flow dynamics is crucial as different patterns largely influence heat transfer, pressure drop as well as corrosion of pipes and the pump power requirements. The current study focuses on liquid-liquid flows in horizontal pipes and more specifically on the transitions from stratified to dispersed flows and the development and separation characteristics of unstable dispersed flows along the pipe. The experiments were carried out in an acrylic test section with 37 mm ID. Tap water and a kerosene oil (Exxsol D140; ρ=830 kgm^-3 and µ=5.5 cP) are used as test fluids. Different flow patterns have been observed and the flow conditions where the transition between the flow patterns occurs were identified. Pressure drop and conductivity of the mixture at the pipe periphery were measured at different axial positions along the pipe revealing the development of the flow patterns. In dispersed flows, drop size changes along the pipe were also recorded that were linked to the tendency of the two phases to separate.

Biography:

Muhammad Ali Theyab has completed his BSc in Chemical Engineering from Tikrit University/Iraq, MSc in Petroleum Engineering from London South Bank University and currently, he is a PhD student at the same university. He is an employee at Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq.

Abstract:

Wax can precipitate as a solid phase on the pipe wall during production when its temperature drops below the Wax Appearance Temperature. Wax deposition can result in the restriction of crude oil flow, creating pressure abnormalities and causing an artificial blockage leading to a reduction in the production. A series of experiments were carried out at different flow rates (2.7, and 4.8 litre/min) to study and measure the wax thickness. The performance of some of wax inhibitors was evaluated to determine their effects on the wax appearance temperature and the viscosity of the crude oil using the programmable Rheometer rig at gradient temperatures (55 – 0°C) and shear rate 120 1/s before and after adding 1000 ppm and 2000 ppm of inhibitors to the crude oil. Three different inhibitors which were not tested before were prepared in the lab of this study. These inhibitors works efficiently compared with its original components. The first inhibitor was coded Mix01 by mixing polyacrylate polymer (C16-C22), and copolymer + acrylated monomers. The reduction of pour point of the waxy crude oil was up to a 16.6ºC at 2000 ppm concentration and this reduces the crude oil viscosity to about 61.9% at a seabed temperature of 4ºC. The second inhibitor was coded Mix02, by mixing polyacrylate polymer (C16-C22), alkylated phenol in heavy aromatic naphtha, and copolymer dissolved in solvent naphtha. At 2000 ppm, the reduction of pour point of the crude oil up to a 15.9ºC and decreases the viscosity to 57% at a seabed temperature of 4 ºC. Finally, the third inhibitor was Mix03, by mixing polyacrylate polymer (C16-C22), and brine (Hâ‚‚O+NaCl). At 1000 ppm concentration, the reduction of pour point of the oil was up to a 14.4 ºC and reduced the viscosity to 52.5% at a seabed temperature of 4 ºC. This unique blend of the inhibitory properties and significant reduction in pour point temperatures and crude oil viscosity is providing a novel progress in flow assurance technology.

Biography:

Anaam Al-Shaikh Ali is currently a PhD candidate at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) from 2013-present. She received the Master’s Degree at Manchester University, UK in 2011. She has been working as a lab scientist for Saudi Aramco, Research and Development Center, Saudi Arabia from 2006 to present. She obtained the Bachelor Degree in Chemistry from King Faisal University in Damman, Saudi Arabia. Her main research interests are heterogeneous catalysis and metal nanoparticles for industrial application.

Abstract:

A liquid organic hydride couple, methylcyclohexane (MCH) – toluene (TOL), has been industrially considered as potential and effective route for efficient hydrogen storage and transport. The beauty of this process is that the hydrogen is chemically bound to a liquid carrier with high gravimetric and volumetric energy density at ambient pressure and temperature. Moreover, the system upholds a closed carbon cycle which significantly diminishes the chemical and thermal pollution formed by greenhouse gas emission. It is, however, essential to have very selective catalysts for both hydrogenation and dehydrogenation to close the mass balance. It has been reported that the Pt based catalyst is the only selective catalyst for the dehydrogenation of MCH to TOL which is disadvantage due to its high cost. Thus, it is required to develop non-noble metal catalysts that can substitute Pt, making the process cost-effective and wide availability. Ni is a well-known dehydrogenation catalyst, but the major drawback of Ni based catalyst in this dehydrogenation reaction is its hydrogenolysis activity leading to inferior selectivity. The aim of this research is to find an alternative non-noble multi-component catalysts that can show excellent catalytic performance, particularly achieving high selectivity comparable to that of Pt based catalysts. Ubiquitous bi-metallic nanoparticles catalysts have been synthesized using homogeneous deposition precipitation method. Among the catalysts investigated, the Ni-Zn based catalysts have shown outstanding high selectivity of TOL (>99% at low conversion), with an only trace amount of benzene and methane as the major by-products comparing to the corresponding Ni based catalyst. The main role of Zn over Ni based catalyst in promoting the selectivity towards dehydrogenation of MCH to TOL will be discussed.

Biography:

Hayatu Bashir is a PhD student at the University of Salford. He has a Master’s degree in Gas Engineering from the same university. His research area is in methane gas storage in shale reservoir specifically clay rich shale.

Abstract:

Shale reservoirs have become a major source of natural gas with the United States leading in production. This has led to new and innovative techniques which have led to improvement in exploration and production techniques. The process of quantifying adsorption is through experimental methods with results fitted to an isotherm to determine the total adsorbed gas. This study was conducted with the aim of fitting four isotherm models, namely: Langmuir, Freundlich, and Redlich Paterson to correlate experimental adsorption data using cored clay rich shale to determine the best fit isotherm. In order to determine the best, experimental methane adsorption data of two cored clay rich shale (Bandera, Scioto) were fit to isotherm models by non-linear regression using Mat lab R2016A software. Fitting results indicate that the Redlich Paterson model fit Bandera methane adsorption data better than the Langmuir, Freundlich or Sips model for the Bandera sample. For the Scioto, the Langmuir fit better than the other isotherms. These suggest that both Langmuir isotherm model and the Redlich Paterson isotherm model can generate a satisfactory fit to the experimental data, while Freundlich isotherm model cannot, the order of the isotherm best fits for the two clay rich shale samples are Redlich-Paterson >Langmuir> Freundlich. A number of studies have been conducted on organic shale and kerogen and fit to two or more isotherms to determine the best fit, but to our knowledge, this is the first study that has been carried out on cored clay rich shale to determine the best fit of adsorption isotherm.

Biography:

Maria Astrid Centeno is doing her PhD at London South Bank University. She has a Master’s degree in Drilling Engineering and is a Senior Lecturer of Petroleum Engineering at London South Bank University. She has eleven years of progressive experience within the petroleum industry, six years in the academic area with experience as Senior Lecturer in Petroleum Engineering courses. She did a research project in chemical flooding enhanced oil recovery.

Abstract:

The success of polymer flooding as a method of oil recovery has been attributed to the profile control mechanism depending on properties such as viscosity, concentration and molecular weight. As polymers are injected in the reservoir, are exposed to chemical, physical and mechanical degradation processes depending on reservoir characteristics, fluids, temperature and pressure. Therefore an extensive screening process that include evaluation of variables such as polymer stability to salinity, temperature and flow conditions between others need to be considered in the selection of the best system for EOR(Enhanced Oil Recovery) for any particular oilfield screening case. A systematic study and screening of commercial polymer PHPA (Partially Hydrolysed Poly Acrylamide) and modified comb-polymer for effective application on a sandstone reservoir under high salinity multicomponent brine, with divalent ions Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ is presented. Polymer HPAM (hydrolyzed polyacryl-amide) of different molecular weights was compared with special modified co-polymers. Rheological results were adjusted according to correlation between viscosity, salinity, shear rate and polymer concentration. Core flooding experiments were performed using a sample of crude oil from the North Sea that has specific gravity 21ºAPI and Bernheimer sandstone core samples. Synthetic brine was prepared considering a composition of production water from a reservoir at the North sent Sea with high content of divalent ions Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺. The reported viscosity of polymer solution increases with polymer concentration. There was a stronger effect for high molecular weight polymer, whereas viscosities of copolymers were less affected by polymer concentration than PHPA polymers. Core flooding experiments were numerically simulated to compare the efficiency of the different polymers. Results showed that polymer PHPA with high molecular weight (MW) can be effective for EOR applications because less amount of polymer is required to achieve high viscosity under high salinity conditions. However, this polymer was more affected by changes in shear rate than polymers with low molecular weight.

Biography:

Bum Jae Lee has completed his PhD from The University of Akron in Polymer Science and is currently Professor of Department of Applied Chemical Engineering since 1995. He has published more than 25 papers in reputed journals and has been applied for 15 patents.

Abstract:

Conventional polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomers have a variety of merit. But the copolymers including block, graft and blend types have some limitations due to their low use temperature. In this study, novel polyolefin-g-poly(t-butylstyrene) as one of the promising high utility temperature polyolefin-based thermoplastic elastomers was synthesized by the graft anionic living polymerization from the initiation of styrene unit form the poly(t-butylstyrene) hard grafts along the poly(ethylene-ter-1-hexane-ter-divinylbenzene) backbone as the soft block (0.3~0.5 mol% of graft sites). Phase-separation occurred in these polyolefin TPEs when the Mn of poly(t-butylstyrene) was more than 5,000 g/mol, which was evidenced by the presence of two distinct Tgs(-20°C of polyolefin soft block and 125°C of poly(t-butylstyrene) hard block) observed in DSC and DMTA. These high temperature polyolefin TEPs exhibited distinct mechanical property with high modulus and toughness even above 125°C. And when the content of P(t-butylstyrene) over 28wt%, excellent mechanical properties: high tensile strength (>21MPa) with high elongation (>1,100%) could be obtained, similar to that of S-EB-S(30wt% styrene content). The multi-carboxyl functionalized polyolefin-g-poly (t-butylstyrene) could be synthesized by the incorporation of high vinyl oligo-isoprene at the end of poly (t-butylstyrene) hard block via sequential anionic polymerization followed by the thiolene click reaction with thioglycolic acid to incorporate multi-carboxyl groups at the pendant vinyl units. The contact angle of these result multi-carboxyl functionalized polyolefin (12-COOH/molecule) was decreased to 58° compared to 95° in case of the non-functionalized polyolefin TPEs.

Biography:

Nurkadyr Mansurov is Bachelor student of Kazakh-British Technical University, Faculty of Oil and Gas Industry. He has completed Republic specialized physical and mathematical school in Almaty. He is the silver winner of the International Competition of Scientific Projects on Physics, Baykonyr, Kazakhstan, 2015. He has published 3 papers in Proceedings of International Scientific Conferences. He is interested in Petroleum Geology, Safety of Environment in Oil and Gas Industry.

Abstract:

Petroleum products play an important role in economic development of any nation. At present oil producing sector takes a leading position in the structure of national economy of Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan's oil producing sector is quickly developing. Crude oil production grew from 40 in 2001 to 80 million tons in 2015 i.e. for 2 times.

The oil and gas basins of Kazakhstan can be grouped into four revealed or prospective oil and gas provinces in the Republic of Kazakhstan. They are:

1. The Pre-Caspian Basin lies in the western part of the country, behind the Mugodzhary Mountains. The geology of this province is made up of Paleozoic sediments covering a Proterozoic basement.

2. The Mangistau-Usturt Basin lies in the Mangistau and Aqtobe areas of Kazakhstan.

3. The Central Kazakhstan Basin lies in the eastern and southern areas of Kazakhstan.

4. The Western Siberian Basin is in the northern and northeastern region of Kazakhstan, north of the Kokshetau Mountains. The geology is of a platform type, with a Mesozoic cover overlying a Paleozoic basement.

Also, in the territory of Kazakhstan discovered huge amount of oil sands, which accumulated in over 50 fields. Its reserve is more than conventional oil of Republic. These oil sands resources are called unconventional oil to distinguish them from oil which can be extracted using traditional oil well methods. Oil sands situated in Western part of Kazakhstan, such as Aqtobe, Atyrau and Mangistau regions.