Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum Volume 2012 Issue 1

Background: The coral ecosystem in Qatar is very important as it provides a foundation habitat for many aquatic species. An extensive two-year field study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) fluorometry in monitoring the health of sensitive ecosystems such as coral reefs along the coast of Qatar. The study demonstrated that PAM fluorometry can provide reliable and objecti Read More

In the present work, we reported the performance of the gas sensor based on polyaniline-polyvinyl alcohol (PANI-PVA) thin-film to develop a usable sensor. The PANI-PVA were doped with camphorsulphonic acid (CSA), naphtalenesulfonic acid (NSA), dodecyl benzene sulfonic acid (DBSA) and p-toluene sulfonic acid (PTSA). CSA doped PANI nanocomposite sensors were fabricated on glass substrates by dripping and their gas sens Read More

Qatar is the world leader in fuel production from gas-to-liquid (GTL) technology and home of the largest GTL plant in the world (Pearl GTL, a joint development by Qatar Petroleum and Shell). In the GTL process natural gas is converted into liquid fuels and waxes. Fischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is the key part of that process. FTS is a heterogeneously catalyzed reaction in which a mixture of CO and H₂ is converted into a wide ran Read More

With sponsorship from Qatar Science and Technology Park to support Qatar Airways' vision as a world leader in alternative fuels, our research team started work in this field in 2009 as part of a unique academia-industry collaboration model. The undergraduate student researchers are funded by Qatar National Research Fund and play a major role in this project, participating in all its experimental, computational, and theoretical p Read More

We implement a novel and accurate discrete fracture (DF) method to simulate fracture-matrix flow in geologically representative networks. The aim of the work is to study the interplay of viscous, capillarity and buoyancy-controlled displacement. We eliminate the smearing effect created by combining fracture and matrix control volumes in current finite element approaches that average fluid properties (saturation, density, e Read More

Addressing challenges in design of effective air quality (AQ) monitoring network is important to ensure quality and representativeness of collected AQ data. Ideal locations for a network of fixed AQ stations are difficult to determine in Doha owing to the unavailability of existing AQ data, and uncertainties associated with the AQ site representation. This paper is intended to demonstrate the use of an emerging nano- technolog Read More

Soil plays an important role in life, especially in the cycling and supply of nutrients and water. Soil degradation is a serious global problem. It is caused by improper use of soil for different human activities. Soil degradation can lead to a significant decline in the productivity of agricultural lands. On a global scale, the annual loss of 75 billion tons of soil (mostly through desertification and soil erosion) costs the world about U Read More

A simplified mathematical model was developed to describe the performance of a submerged membrane sequencing batch reactor for the treatment of synthetic greywater. The greywater was characterised by low soluble carbon and relatively high nitrogen content. The developed mathematical model describes volatile suspended solids (VSS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO) , NH₃, NO₂, and Read More

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology is one of the most promising alternative energy systems for an environmentally friendly, sustainable energy economy. Among the various types of fuel cells, PEM fuel cells are expected to be a dominant technology in the near future because they can operate with various types of energy carriers including hydrogen, ethanol, and methanol, run at relatively low temper Read More