Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum Volume 2012 Issue 1

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

Synthesis of super/hydrophobic solid surfaces is an active area of research in recent years because it forms the basis for multidisciplinary applications such as agricultural, environmental, and biological processes, such as the prevention of the adhesion of dust to antennas and windows, self-cleaning traffic indicators, waterproof and corrosion resistance coatings. Inspired by the self-cleaning behaviour of lotus leaves in na Read More

The mineralization of organic matter in marine sediments by microbial activity was studied in Umm Alhool sabkha. In intertidal surface sediments, the development of steep compositional and physico-chemical gradients was a common phenomenon. Rapidly, oxygen is consumed within the upper few mm of marine mats and sediments. In permeable sediments, however, oxygenated bottom waters may have flew through th Read More

Al Shaheen is located in the central part of the Arabian Gulf and represents the largest offshore oil field in Qatar. Maersk Oil is operating the field on behalf of its partner Qatar Petroleum. This area is also a highly productive marine environment due to a combination of high nutrient loading, strong currents and high temperatures. Observations first reported by offshore platform workers suggest that Al Shaheen hosts one of t Read More

A 3-dimensional hydrodynamic model was developed and calibrated to simulate the thermal mixing zone and predict the fate of residual chlorine and chlorination by-products (CBP) from industrial cooling water discharged from Ras Laffan City. This model is novel since the individual and cumulative effects of cooling water discharges from several outfalls are estimated in a single simulation instead of requiring separate m Read More

Background: Polymer-clay nanocomposite (PCN) materials have become a focus of research due to their unique characteristics and potential commercial applications. Clay addition in polymers improves their properties and may result in better features. PCN materials are reported to have enhanced thermal, mechanical, flame retardation, corrosion protection characteristics. Objectives: This study investigates the effect of Read More

Background: In-plane properties (e.g. stiffness, strength and energy absorption) of two-dimensional cellular structures are generally far inferior to their out-of-plane properties. Therefore, cellular structures with modified morphology and organization, such as hierarchical and functionally graded structures with varying wall thickness or cell size have been developed to improve the in-plane mechanical response. Among the Read More

Three types of polyethylenes (low density: LDPE, medium density: MDPE, and high density: HDPE) were used to investigate the effect of chain branching on the dispersion and adhesion in glass fibre (GF) reinforced polymer composites. The compounding of LDPE/GF, MDPE/GF and HDPE/GF was carried out in a Brabender twin screw extruder. In each composite system, glass fibre was 20% weight and the main matrix was 80 Read More

Today, the use of standard tools of petroleum organic geochemistry is the most convenient way to characterize and quantify contamination of environment by fossil fuel. Good knowledge of natural processes that alter the hydrocarbons during biodegradation, weathering, oxidation or simply evaporation, can also be applied to predict the fate of a pollution. For instance, organic geochemistry played an important role in Read More

The effect of air pollution on human health is considered a major and serious problem, globally. The purpose of air quality monitoring is not merely to collect data but to provide the information required by scientists, policy-makers and planners to enable them to make informed decisions on managing and improving the environment, as well as to present useful information for public end-users. Monitoring fulfills a central role Read More

Maximizing recovery in oil and gas fields relies on geological models that realistically portray the spatial complexity, composition, and properties of reservoir units. Present day arid climate coastal systems, like the coastline of Qatar provide analogues for depositional and diagenetic processes that control reservoir quality in ancient reservoirs. Many major reservoirs in Qatar are formed under conditions that are remarkably simi Read More

Background: Titanium dioxide (TiO2) films have been extensively studied due to their interesting electrical and optical properties. They have the potential to be used for a number of electronic device applications such as dye sensitized photovoltaic cells and also anti-reflective coatings, gas sensors, electrochromic displays and planer wave guides. Objective: Measurement of the electric properties and surface structure analy Read More

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers have played and will continue to play a key role in ocean gas transportation with the increasing demand for energy. Safe operation of LNG carriers requires the knowledge of global and local fluid pressures imposed by the sloshing liquid. As LNG carriers are required to operate in different environmental conditions, safety is a primary consideration in such operations. LNG carriers are often su Read More

The use of conducting polymers as sensing elements in chemical sensors is attracting attention due to their high sensitivity in change of the electrical and optical properties when exposed to different types of gases or liquids. The ease in synthesis of these polymers and sensitivity at room temperature add to the sensors' advantages. This can be of importance particularly considering CO2 sensors that are used in different a Read More

Application of nanotechnology in industrial applications is receiving increased attention this century. Nanotechnology could be used to improve performances of heat exchangers, which are widely used in industrial applications by augmenting heat transfer characteristics of working fluids. Nanofluids, which are engineered colloidal suspensions consisting of nano-sized particles (less than 100 nm) dispersed in a base fluid, ha Read More

This paper describes for the first time the difference in species reactions to the treatment type of date palm fiber. Male and female date palm leaves from two different cultivars--Sheshi female and unknown male--have been considered. Characterization was done for both untreated and NaOH-treated date palm leaves by infrared spectroscopy, thermo gravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopic techniques. T Read More

The Nile delta basin has a rapidly growing population exceeding 40 million with a need for renewable natural sources of energy and water. This study presents a reliable exploration tool for identifying hydrocarbon reservoirs and aquifers in the Nile delta basin using horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratios of ambient noise measurements. More than 100 measurements were taken using broadband portable stations at three p Read More

Engineered colloidal suspensions of nano-sized particles in base fluids (nanofluids) have shown promise in heat transfer research as a potential for future heat transfer fluid. However, the conflicting reports on the thermal properties of these fluids necessitate a detailed look into the physical mechanisms behind this enhancement. As heat transfer is a surface phenomenon, near-wall fluid flow and temperature measurements Read More

Wind power is one of the world's fastest growing renewable energy sources. Design and performance of wind turbines greatly depend on the atmospheric turbulence on the plant site. Furthermore, turbulent characteristics of the atmospheric boundary layer are of utmost importance in modeling the large-scale meteorological processes, diffusion of atmospheric contaminants, heat transfer and evaporation off of the eart Read More

Alkanolamine solutions are widely used for the removal of acid gases such as CO2 and H2S from process streams containing these components in the industries. The technique has been proven to be reliable and has found wide application in many chemical industries such as ammonia production, coal gasification and natural gas processing. In this work, equilibrium data of CO2 absorption in aqueous solutions of single a Read More

Background: The pool of experienced oil, gas and chemical plant operators, mechanics and other plant personnel is not keeping pace with demand in active oil and gas hubs like in the State of Qatar. Many individuals new to the oil and gas and related industries are being hired. A premium is being placed on getting these individuals quickly trained and qualified to assume increasing job responsibilities. This places great pressur Read More