Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference Proceedings Volume 2016 Issue 1

Industrial revolution, a consequence of the rapid economic growth, has contributed to ever increasing demand for energy and has resulted in about 40% rise in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, from 280 ppm in 1750 to 400 ppm in 2015. Abundant use of fossil fuels has become a cause of concern due to their adverse effects on the environment, particularly related to the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2), a major Read More

Characterizing the content and understanding the distribution of organic carbon in sediments is a key element for the exploration and the production of new or revisited petroleum prospects. Developed by Total, the LIPS has a set of unique features: ∘ it is poorly destructive: indeed, the laser impact affects only 1 mm3 of material, ∘ it generates very large datasets / big data (typically 10,000 data points and more fo Read More

Aquatic ecosystems across the globe are under significant threat, suffering from various forms of anthropogenic disturbances, which is greatly impacting global biodiversity, economy and human health. Reliable monitoring of species is crucial for data-driven management actions in this context, but remains a challenge owing to non-standardized and selective methods relaying on physical identification of species by visua Read More

In the present work we examine how recent progress at our collaborating laboratories, over various solar thermochemical technologies, can be brought to bear on the advancement of renewable resource utilization in Qatar. Specific examples of such technologies include solar water splitting for H2 production, solar CO2 splitting thermochemical energy storage in reduced metal oxides, solar cracking of CH4 for production of c Read More

Petroleum refining, not only consumes large quantities of water but also generates large quantities of wastewater. Large quantities of petroleum refinery wastewater are generated worldwide, approximately 3.5–5 m3 of wastewater generated per ton of crude oil processed. This wastewater is considered as a major source of environmental pollution. Various chemical and biologically based technologies have been developed for Read More

The availability of fresh water and energy is the key factor of the development of many countries particularly those of over-populated arid areas. Potable water supply shortage and recent technological development have led to wider application of conventional, and yet advanced saline/brackish water desalination plants. Today, desalination methods require large amounts of energy, which is costly both in environm Read More

The catalytic decomposition of methane (CDM) on suitable surfaces offers the prospect for lower or zero-carbon routes to energy using natural gas or methane derived via biomass options. The carbon from the decomposition could be stored (buried), used for specific applications or perhaps converted to electricity using carbon fuel cells, according to which the overall process is near-zero or low carbon dioxide producing in ch Read More

The ability of date palm tree to survive under adverse abiotic conditions renders it as an important fruit tree growing in hot and dry regions. Nevertheless, the optimal conditions for date palm growth and production are also suitable for fungal growth leading to major diseases such as black scorch. The aim of this work was to develop a genetic control of date palm to Thielaviopsis punctulata, the causal agent of black s Read More

Air pollution, global greenhouse gases (GHG), water pollution and water resources degradation are among the most serious environmental concerns that encounter the Qatar country. In nowadays, it is commonly known that the effects of environment degradation exceed its direct negative impacts on climate changes to cover its impacts on Human health, nation livelihood and cultural integrity. So, we advocate that Read More

In this study a decentralized combined cooling-heating-and-power (CCHP) plant fueled with liquefied natural gas (LNG) is integrated with photovoltaic (PV) technology to reduce fuel consumption and improve the economics of the CCHP plant. In their previous publications the authors have investigated the potential of an LNG-fueled CCHP at different configurations and system capacities, where the inclusion of PV techn Read More

Background & Objective: Air pollution is a major problem that has been recognised throughout the world for hundreds of years. In the middle ages, the burning of coal in cities released increasing amounts of smoke and sulphur dioxide to the atmosphere. In the late 18th century, the Industrial Revolution, beginning in the UK, led to escalation in pollutant emissions based around the use of coal by both homes and industry.Polluta Read More

Fresh fruit and vegetables are an important part of a healthy diet as they are a significant source of vitamins and minerals. However, fresh fruits and vegetables can also be a source of toxic substances such as pesticides. Pesticides are a several and diverse group of chemical compounds, which applied to crops at various stages of cultivation and during production and post-harvest treatment of agricultural commodities. Re Read More

Fadwa El Mellouhi1, Akinlolu Akande2, Sergey Rashkeev1, Mohamed El-Amine Madjet1, Golib Berdiyorov2, Carlo Motta2, Stefano Sanvito2 and Sabre Kais1, Fahhad Alharbi1 1Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar Foundation, Doha, Qatar 2School of Physics and CRANN, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland In the past four years, the solar cell field has experienced an unprecedente Read More

Karst is ubiquitous on the peninsula of Qatar, including depressions, sinkholes, and caves. Faulting and fractures play a major role in the development of karst, where fluids find pathways through limestone and dissolve the host rock. The resulting fissures may grow larger as more surface water is funneled through to form cavities or karst. Sinkholes may also form, when cavern roofs collapse, and it is this last chara Read More

Bimetallic catalyst shows distinct physical and chemical properties differ from its monometallic catalyst due to the high synergy between the monometals. Bimetals of transition metals shows different applications in the field of catalysis, batteries and solar energy conversion etc. CuCo bimetallic catalysts are excellent candidate for the applications in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, solid state sensor, energy storag Read More

Energy-related activities are a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A growing body of knowledge clearly depicts the links between human activities and climate change. Over the last century the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil and other human activities has released carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other heat-trapping GHG emissions into the atmosphere and thus increased the concentra Read More

In the present architecture of the electric power grids, energy is generated in large-scale that is remotely located from consumers and transmitted using passive high-voltage transmission networks to substations. The electric power is then delivered to consumers via medium and low-voltage distribution systems. Line frequency transformers (LFTs) enable high-efficiency and long-distance power transmission by stepping up the Read More

Qatar peninsula is an arid country with limited water resources. With little rainfall of approximately 80 mm per year and no surface water, aquifers are the only source of natural water in Qatar. The groundwater aquifer receives around 50 million m3 per year as natural recharge, whereas annual groundwater abstraction is more than 220 million m3, mainly used for agriculture. Groundwater occurs in a form of fresh lenses Read More

Qatar seeks to generate 2% of its electricity from solar power by 2020 (Bryden et al., 2013, REN 2015), and 20% by either 2024 (PV Insider, 2014) or 2030 (REN, 2015). Since electricity is produced almost entirely from natural gas in Qatar, these renewable energy targets introduce the prospect of natural gas savings that can be made use to increase trade and/or reduce carbon emissions. Electricity production in Qatar has been Read More

Among the diverse catalytic processes, the heterogeneous catalytic CO oxidation is an important reaction for removal of small amounts of poisoning CO in fuel cell applications and environmental remediation. Therefore, there is a great need to develop highly active and stable nanocatalysts for catalytic CO oxidation at low temperature. Plasmonic nanocatalysts supported on reducible metal oxide such as CeO2 Read More

The current study is a laboratory investigation to estimate the levels of activity concentrations of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) in groundwater in the Dukhan area in the State of Qatar. The primary radionuclide associated with clear gamma-ray decay signatures of concern in NORM wastes is 226Ra (from the 238U decay series) and its decay progenies 214Pb and 214Bi. Previous studies which were conducted Read More

Abstract Background: The plant growth and production rely on the supporting favorable environmental conditions throughout its growing stages. In harsh environmental conditions such as in Qatar, agricultural growth is limited by water availability, salinity and drought, leading to low yield. In soil, there are different kinds of microbiota including fungi, bacteria, actinomycetes, algae as well as various types of plant species. Fungi are Read More

Municipal solid waste management is one of the major challenges facing Qatar with more than 2.5 million tons of municipal solid waste each year, a very high waste generation rate in a country with small land mass. Solid waste in Qatar consists mostly of organic materials (60%) with the remaining made up of recyclables, such as glass, metals and plastics. Qatar's ambitious development strategy targets environmental su Read More

The Northeastern Qatari coast is comprised of diverse and sensitive flora and fauna such as seagrass meadows, turtles, algae, and coral reefs/patches that tolerate harsh environmental conditions. In the near future, this area may see a rise in anthropogenic activity in the form of coastal development projects, which will add to the existing natural stresses, such as high temperature, high salinity and low rates of pre Read More