Qatar Foundation Annual Research Forum Volume 2013 Issue 1
- تاريخ المؤتمر: 24-25 Nov 2013
- الموقع: Qatar National Convention Center (QNCC), Doha, Qatar
- رقم المجلد: 2013
- المنشور: ٢٠ نوفمبر ٢٠١٣
301 - 400 of 541 نتائج
-
-
Monitoring efficiency: Metrology systems for temperature dependent semiconductor characterization
المؤلفون: Hans-Fridtjof PernauSince more than two decades Fraunhofer IPM works on metrology systems for semiconductor characterization. The physical transport properties and their determination are fundamental for the development and improvements of semiconductors regarding solar and thermoelectric applications. Therefore special designed setups for temperature dependent measurement of Hall-coefficient, charge carrier concentration and mobility as well as Seebeck-coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity were developed and high accuracy reached. A wide range of metrology systems have been developed to measure thin films as well as bulk samples over a broad temperature range from below 100 K to over 1000 K. In this presentation we will show the interplay of these transport parameters and the critical influences regarding their determination. In closed collaboration with national and international metrological instituts Fraunhofer IPM developed a standardized measurement method[1] as well as reference samples for the so called power factor, a number for the conversion efficiency of thermoelectric semiconductor materials. These efforts will also presented.
-
-
-
Smart grid opportunities for Qatar
المؤلفون: Mladen KezunovicSmart Grid Opportunities for Qatar Summary Smart grid is defined as the next generation of the electricity grid that meets the following objectives (according to a recent NETL study funded by the DOE in the USA): * Enabling informed participation by customers * Accommodating all generation and storage options * Enabling new products, services, and markets * Providing the power quality for the range of needs in the 21st century economy * Optimizing asset utilization and operating efficiently * Addressing disturbances through automated prevention, containment, and restoration * Operating resiliently against all hazards. This paper will explore each of the above objectives focusing on some generic technical issues and challenges, as well as some specific circumstances defined by geopolitical and strategic Qatar enablers. The generic technical issues will focus on the technology, new applications and implementation issues related to smart grid solutions. The technology discussion will focus on advanced sensors, communications, data processing, and visualization solutions that are relevant to the new smart grid applications. Topics that will be discussed are big data and their role in smart grids, as well as the importance of cloud computing and pervasive web applications. Special attention will be placed on the issues of interoperability and standardization. The discussion of applications will be related to advancements in outage management, asset management and demand side management. The implementation issues will focus on the IT infrastructure, availability of good power system models, and future trends in EMS/DMS deployment. Special attention will be placed on the cyber-physical security and privacy issues in smart grid deployments. The specific Qatar circumstances that will be of interest are the ability to exploit the solar energy and to introduce large scale use of electrical vehicles, as well as an ability to provide hardened power grid for ultimate reliability and security of power supply to the end customers. Integration of such solutions into the existing power grid in Qatar will also be discussed. The research issues that need to be pursued to better understand circumstances of how to get the best use out of such advanced technologies will be the final point of the paper. The paper will end with some examples of smart cities developed around the world to offer an inspiration about possible smart grid projects in Qatar. Examples of recent developments in the USA, Europe and the Far East (Korea, Japan and China) will be mentioned as examples. The need to define unique Qatar approach to the smart grid development will be emphasized at the end.
-
-
-
Reduced switch count asymmetrical flying capacitor multi-level inverter for variable speed drives application
المؤلفون: Atif IqbalThis paper discusses a reduced switch count topology of multi-level three-phase voltage source inverter for variable speed drive applications. In the investigated topology, the number of power switching devices and the number of capacitor/neutral voltage clamping devices are drastically reduced when compared with the existing Neutral Point Clamped (NPC), Flying capacitor (FLC) and Cascaded H-bridge (CHB) multilevel solutions. The number of devices for different types of inverters are shown in Table 1. The number of devices is reduced more when number of output level is increased. The converter configuration is proposed in the literature for seven-level and thirty-one level single-phase output and named as asymmetrical flying capacitor or Packed U cell (PUC) inverter. The same concept is extended in this paper for three-phase output and for variable speed drives application. The emphasis is placed in the development of three-phase seven-level voltage source inverter with asymmetrical flying capacitor configuration. The number of power semiconductor switching devices used in the proposed topology is only 50% of the number used in conventional NPC/FLC/CHB. Hence there is a saving of 50% in number of devices. The proposed solution offers transformer-less topology with reduced dv/dt and reduced switching losses. Modeling, simulation, control and implementation is conducted and reported in this paper. The developed model is validated using Matlab/Simulink simulation and experimentally verified. Simple multiple carrier-based Pulse Width Modulation techniques (PWM) is employed. Unlike the NPC inverter, this topology does not require any clamping diodes and is also free from issues like neutral point fluctuations. A carrier based PWM technique combined with a PI controller for balancing of the capacitor's voltages is used for the control of the seven-level inverter. Here balancing is in the sense that the voltage across the clamping capacitor is to be maintained at 1/3rd of dc link voltage. The major disadvantage of the proposed topology is the requirement of isolated dc supplies. The problem may also arise in case of dc link voltage unbalance. The electric drive system employing the proposed inverter topology find application in high power ac drives such as in oil & gas industries, electric/hybrid electric vehicles, ship propulsion, traction etc.The proposed topology is shown in Fig. 1 and sample simulation result is presented in Fig. 2. The detailed results and theoretical analysis will be reported in the full paper. The results will also include the effect of unbalanced dc link voltage.
-
-
-
Regional hydrodynamic modelling for environmental impact assessment due to desalination plants of Qatar
المؤلفون: Hazim QiblaweyDesalination of Arabian Gulf is intense. But the environmental issues as not yet addressed on regional scale. Key issues are the concentrate and chemical discharges to the marine environment, the emissions of air pollutants and the energy demand of the processes. For sustainable use of desalination technology, the impacts of each major desalination project should be investigated and mitigated by means of a project- and location-specific environmental impact assessment (EIA) study and long term impact based on the global climate change. In this context, this study is aimed to address the impact of desalination with global climate change on a regional scale. A hydrodynamic model covering the Arabian Gulf driven by Arabian Sea tidal levels was setup to establish the hydrodynamic condition of the Gulf. The model was driven with level and velocity components from the global tidal model TPXO. The results are compared with the predicted tides from ATT (Admiralty Tide Table) of standard ports as well as secondary ports and available tidal streams at the Diamond Points. This is an attempt to make a calibrated working model that drive the coastal Qatar hydrodynamic model which ultimately drive dispersion model with long term climate parameters to assess the impact of climate change on the dispersion of concentrated brine. The model validity compares well with the ATT predicted tides and tidal steams of Admiralty Chart No. 3787. The regional model is shows very good agreement on predicted tides along the regional model and velocity vectors at the admiralty diamonds on chart. Free surface of the model was compared with the ATT predicted tides at ports Mesaieed, Al Wakra, Doh, ras laffan, Jabal Al Fuwarit, mina salman, MINA Saud, Khowr E Musa Bar, Bharder E Shaid Rajai and Port sultan Qaboos. As the bathymetry and coastline near south east part of Qatar were not well resolved, model comparison could not be carried out at this site. The model was run with an updated bathymetry from the navigational charts to resolve the tides of coastal Qatar. Except at Al Wakra, the predicted levels were in good agreement with the model results. Tidal streams on BHO Chart No. 3787 were also compared against the model velocities during spring and neap stages of the tide. The velocity values obtained from Admiralty Diamonds during spring and neap tides are based on very short-term observations. Since the estimates are based on data collected during different periods, it could be used as an estimate of the tidal currents only in the absence of other data. Comparisons between model current speeds and BHO chart values of tidal streams indicate good matching during spring tides while during neap tides the model over-estimates the current speeds at all Diamond points. Variations in tidal current velocities between peak flood and peak ebb at different parts of the gulf convincingly indicate diurnal reversal of the tidal streams.
-
-
-
A wind turbine emulator system
المؤلفون: Mahima AggarwalThis paper aims to provide an in-depth overview of all the findings presented in recent research papers available on wind turbine emulation design methodologies. It discusses about the existing possibilities for developing the emulator and ultimately uses the suitable method for building a wind turbine emulator keeping all those issues discussed in previous research papers in mind. A wind emulator system is developed to investigate the wind energy generation system at laboratory scale i.e. instead to an actual wind turbine and generator, an emulator is built to emulate the identical characteristics. An emulator system consist of wind turbine model, wind generator model and control system. Maximum power point tracker is employed to extract maximum available power from the wind turbine. A study of the state-of-the-art indicates that most prior efforts involved maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control strategies, generator torque control, blade pitch control system and rotational speed control. This paper presents the maximum power point tracking process which tracks one maximum power point from turbine input, varying the ratio between the voltage and current delivered to get the most power out of it. Of all the MPPT algorithms, incremental resistance (INR) control algorithm with boost converter has been used for simulating the wind turbine system. The development of simulator involves simulation of the designed control system using MATLAB/SIMULINK software and then laboratory implementation. The model on SIMULINK consists of wind turbine module, wind alternator, MPPT controller circuit, PWM signal generator circuit, boost converter and resistive load. In laboratory implementation, a microcontroller will be used for wind turbine characterization, MPPT control and PWM signal generation for more efficient and lower cost system development. The proposed topology is shown in Figure. 1 and sample simulation result is presented in Figure. 2. The detailed results and theoretical analysis will be reported in the full paper.
-
-
-
Advanced passive technology for water saving, sustainable food supply, and comfortable urban space
المؤلفون: Mario GrossoThe advanced technologies presented in this paper are based on a low-environmental-impact, energy-saving,and health-fostering approach, able to fit to the extreme climate and environmental conditions of Qatar. They are addressing 3 of the 12 Cross-cutting Grand Challenges within the Energy and Environment thematic pillar. 3. Sustainable food supply: c (Explore the feasibility of hydroponic, aeroponic and new greenhouse technologies). The advanced technology proposed is applied to a greenhouse which is able to grow hydroponically fresh vegetables in the desert under extremely controlled conditions taking care of water, air, waste management and energy production. Based on previous aerospace experience, the greenhouse proposed is something that surpasses the current state of the art: the energy production for all the hydroponic greenhouse facility is ensured by the use of flexible and transparent solar panels which allows for solar light to illuminate the hydroponic cultures; simultaneously electricity is produced by an integrated PV system made of high-tech conductive polymers embedded inside the plastics of the external walls of the greenhouse. 1. Water reuse: f (Develop and adopt safe and efficient methods of wastewater reclamation and reuse). The water for the alimentation of the hydroponic cultures will be used in closed circuit avoiding losses through a constant monitoring of its key parameters. A series of ion-selective electrodes connected with microelectronic hardware, follows through metering pumps the concentration of nutrients in the water to integrate those depleted during the circulation. Water circulation in the hydroponic culture implies also its enrichment by metabolites such as oxalic acid coming from plants, and the water can accumulate and grow undesired micro-organisms which can build up undesired and noxious biofilm or which could be dangerous for the plants. To eliminate these risks, a patented in-house technology permits to destroy selectively the undesired metabolites released by the plants using the photo-ozonolysis treatment, which not only destroys metabolites like oxalic acid converting them into CO2 and water, but destroys completely all noxious micro-organisms which may grow in the hydroponic water, preventing the undesired bio-film to build-up. 5. Sustainable Urbanisation - Doha as a smart city: d (Develop state-of.the-art technologies in infrastructure systems and materials unique to Qatar but adaptable to global industry) and i (Design and build environments that foster healthy behaviours). A technological transfer from the above-described systems to the thermal mitigation of urban confined spaces is envisioned in this third part of the presented proposal. The greenhouse selective solar ETFE envelop can be applied to outdoor confined spaces in order to realise thermal comfort conditions inside through solar radiation control. The close circuit water pump system is used to sprinkle water from the ceiling of the envelop inducing passive down-draft evaporative cooling. The aeroponic technique allow for vertical vegetation growing on the facades of buildings which become the inner walls of the outdoor confined spaces, thus increasing the cooling effect by transpiration and low-emissivity irradiation. In addition, ground cooling is applied to inlet naturally cooled air from floor vents connected to serpentines of buried pipes under the urban space pavement.
-
-
-
Isolation and characterization of fungal pathogens causing date palm black scorch and false smut in Qatar
المؤلفون: Fatima Al-NaemiIsolation and characterization of fungal pathogens causing date palm black scorch and false smut in Qatar Fatima A. Al-Naemi1, Resna K. Nishad1, Talaat A. Ahmed1 and Osman Radwan2 1Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar 2Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA The ability of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) to grow in hot and dry regions of the world makes it an important subsistence crop in most arid areas. Nevertheless, the conditions for date palm growth and production are optimal for some fungal diseases that cause significant yield loss. In Qatar, fungal diseases affecting the productivity of dates are black scorch, which is caused by necrotrophic fungal pathogen, Thielaviopsis punctulata and false smut, which is caused by biotrophic fungal pathogen, Graphiola phoenecis. This study aims to ultimately reduce the yield loss attributing to palm diseases by increasing our knowledge about pathogen, host, host-pathogen interactions and the factors that alter disease severity. In order to isolate and identify these two fungal pathogens, infected date palm samples were collected from 8 agricultural farms located in northern and southern Qatar and the fungal pathogens were isolated. Microscopic examination and physiological characterization revealed that T. punctulata (anamorph of Ceratocystic radicicola) is the causal fungal pathogen of black scorch disease. Although previous reports have showed that the closer species, Thielaviopsis paradoxa, as the causal agent of this diseases; this is the first report from Qatar demonstrated the involvement of T. Punctulata in black scorch disease. To examine the pathogenicity of this fungal pathogen, date palm healthy tissues, were infected by the pathogen and typical disease symptoms manifested within two weeks. On the other hand, characterization of the false smut disease showed yeast-like fungal colony reflecting the hallmark of Graphiola phoenecis. Molecular characterization of the isolated fungal pathogens is being performed by using sequences from the ribosomal region spanning internal transcribed spacers region 1 and 4 (ITS1 and ITS4). Additionally, real-time RT-PCR is being conducted to early identify the most important pathogens of date palm. Information from this study will help scientists to design effective strategies in controlling date palm diseases. Keywords: date palm, black scorch, false smut, Thielaviopsis punctulata, Graphiola phoenecis
-
-
-
Viability Test For Wild Plants In Qatr
المؤلفون: Elsayed ElazaziAbstract: Preservation seeds of wild plants for longest period with high viability is a great challenge in gene bank. Germination test is one of seed viability tests methods to determine percentage of seeds in an accession will germinate under favorable conditions and generate normal seedlings capable of development into reproductively complete plants. Different methods have been developed successful to determine germination of seeds especially for endanger and rare species. Germination test is an important factor in order to determine the ability of seeds to be preserved in gene bank for long term. This study showed initial germination of some wild plants which collected from wild habitat and were processed for ex-situ conservation in short-term conservation and long-term conservation units at plant genet resources unit. Seed germination tests were carried out in seed viability unit, under favorable environmental conditions for each species. The aim of this work was to evaluate the seeds germination in the first stage of ex-Situ conservation processing. Seeds were collected according to the principals and guidelines of plant genetic resources collections set by Biodiversity International and international gene banks. The germination tests process according the international conservation rules, and International Seed Testing Association. Results showed that some species gave highly germination percentage without any treatments for example: Anastatica hierochuntica (100%), Lycium shawii (85 %), Ochradenus baccatus, (65%), Blepharis edulis (70%). On the other hand other species gave low germination percentage for example: Acacia ehrenbergiana (41%), Prosopis juliflora (50%) and Citrullus colocythsis (0%). Key words:Viability, Seeds, Germination, Wild plants, Gene Bank, Qatar.
-
-
-
Predicting offshore oil and gas pipelines condition
المؤلفون: Mohammed El-AbbasyCrude oil and gas products transported using pipelines systems is safe and economical all over the the world. Nonetheless, such pipelines can still be subject to various degrees of failure and degradation generating hazardous consequences and severe environmental damages. As a result, it is important for these pipelines to be effectively monitored and assessed for optimal operation. Many models have been developed to predict pipeline failures and conditions. However, most of these models were limited to use corrosion features as the only factor to assess the condition of pipelines which can lead to inaccurate condition prediction. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to develop models that predict the condition of offshore oil and gas pipelines based on several other factors including corrosion. Regression analysis and artificial neural network (ANN) techniques were used to develop condition prediction models based on historical inspection data of three existing pipelines in Qatar. In addition, a condition assessment scale for pipelines was built based on experts' opinion. All necessary statistical diagnosis have been checked showing sound results for the developed models. The models have been validated and the results showed their robustness with an average validity percentage from 96 to 99%. The models are expected to help pipeline operators to assess and predict the condition of existing oil and gas pipelines and hence prioritize their inspections and rehabilitation planning.
-
-
-
Energy Efficient Cross-Layer Design For Wireless Body Area Monitoring Networks
المؤلفون: Alaa AbdellatifThe rapid increase in the number of patients with chronic diseases requiring constant monitoring has created a major impetus to developing scalable Body Area Sensor Networks (BASNs) for remote health applications. In this paper, to anatomize, control, and optimize the behavior of the wireless EEG monitoring system under the energy constraint, we develop an Energy- Delay-Distortion cross-layer design. This cross-layer design aims at minimizing the total energy consumption subject to data delay deadline and distortion threshold constraints. The source encoding and data transmission are the two dominant power consuming operations in wireless EEG monitoring system. Therefore, in the proposed cross-layer design, the optimal encoding and transmission energy are computed to minimize the energy consumption in a delay constrained wireless BASN. This cross- layer framework is proposed, across Application-MAC-Physical layers, under a constraint that all successfully received packets must have their delay smaller than their corresponding delay deadline and with maximum distortion less than the application distortion threshold. In addition to that, to decrease the computational complexity, a distributed algorithm that finds the optimum encoding and transmission parameters for each sensor node is proposed.
-
-
-
Design Of Shunt Active Power Filter For 3X5 Matrix Converters To Eliminate Harmonic Distortion In Input Current
المؤلفون: Moidu ThavotThe matrix converters are silicon based converters without bulky and expensive DC link capacitors other than its counterpart voltage source inverter (VSI) converters as an ideal voltage source and feed to ideal current source. Power electronic converters are a typical source of harmonic currents and during each switching cycle, the matrix converters produce unwanted harmonics and this will inject back to the AC mains. This harmonic current effect the overall operations of an AC supply. The main approach to the mitigation of this power quality problem is providing a filter in input side of the converter. Conventionally, passive filters with LC component were the choice for the elimination of harmonics and to improve power factor. These passive filters have the disadvantages such as large size, series and parallel resonance and fixed compensation. Active filters avoid the disadvantages of passive filters by using a switch mode power electronic converter to supply harmonic currents equal to those in the load currents. Active power filters can compensate both harmonic and reactive power simultaneously. In design of an active filter for matrix converter, a high displacement angle of input line current may compensated by matrix converter itself setting as reference for the input current a lagging displacement angle. It makes the reduced voltage transfer ratio for the system. So the control of the impedance interaction between the input filter and the voltage converter is mandatory. This paper propose a shunt active power filter for a 3x5 matrix converters to eliminate harmonic currents and to compensate reactive power for linear and non-linear loads. The paper presents the various design aspects of shunt active power filter for a 3x5 matrix converter. The control logic is made by using p-q theory and calculated the reference currents in order to compensate zero, harmonic and reactive currents (Fig. 1). To validate the proposed filter design, matlab simulation tests are conducted and results are presented. Simulations are carried out for the RL load and analysed the output with and without filter. These results shows less harmonic distortion in input current as well as reduced total harmonic distortion by using a simple active filter in input side. This proposed methodology has good results as compared with the conventional input filter. Fig. 2 presents simulation results of 3x5 matrix converter without any input filter. 80% of total harmonic distortion (THD) is reduced after accommodating an active input filter in to the same system (Fig.3).
-
-
-
Five-Phase Sensorless Induction Motor Drives With Lc Filter For High Power Applications
المؤلفون: Ahmad AbduallahMulti-phase IM drive systems are nowadays seen as a possible alternative to the three-phase drives due to their features that are especially suited for high power applications such as Oil & Gas industries, electric vehicles, traction drive, ship propulsion, robotics and mining and huge number of application. The main advantages of the multi-phase machines are higher power density with reduced volume, lower torque pulsation at higher frequency, lower dc link current harmonics and lower noise and keep going. This fault tolerance capability of the multi-phase machines makes them highly attractive for safety critical applications listed above. The trend in the drive industry is to employ sensorless topology to make the system more reliable, robust, lower hardware count, reduced cabling, reduced cost and less maintenance. The purpose of this project is to design and develop five-phase speed sensorless induction motor drive system with inverter output LC filter. The drive system are supplied using PWM voltage source inverter and the growing switching speed of IGBTs pose additional problem of high dv/dt. The high dv/dt of the inverter output leads to several problems in the drive systems such as doubling of motor applied voltage (especially for drive with long cable), high voltage stress on motor, leakage and bearing currents leading to the bearing failure and high electromagnetic interference (EMI) etc. To mitigate these issues particularly passive filters are used. This paper focuses on using an LC filter at the output of the five-phase inverter. This paper investigate the design issues of output LC in conjunction with five-phase drive system. The LC filter causes delay and phase shift in the output voltages that affect adversely the motor control especially in sensorless vector controlled drive system. The presence of LC filter is to be incorporated in the speed estimator system. Hence the modification is necessary in the control structure. The effect of inverter output LC filter on the behavior of a sensorless vector controlled five-phase induction motor drive system investigated in this paper. Modification in the control structure and algorithm will be implemented. The whole approach based on theoretical study, simulation verification and experimental implementation. The work on existing Five-phase induction motor drive system at QU. The effect of LC filters on long cable length drive system and the use of composite type of filters will be evaluated in future project cycles.
-
-
-
A study at the GCC power grid with the STATCOM tailored application to the network in between Bahrain & Qatar
المؤلفون: Tariq MasoodThe GCC region has become a hub of major economic growth in the world. It is providing financial support and incentives to the GCC countries. Hereby, it has witnessed population growth and large scale industrial activities in the GCC countries. This has led to increased demand for electricity. Current demand for GCC power consumption is about 60 GW and it is projected that it will reach 180 GW within next 25 years. In order to maintain a reliable, sustainable, and well controlled power transfer between the GCC countries. FACTS controllers are, therefore, strong candidates' technology options. This paper presents a non-traditional control and operation of a STATCOM connecting Qatar and Bahrain in the Gulf Cooperative Council Interconnection. The primary aim of this work is to address the transmission system operational challenges by implementing advance transmission technologies. This study indicates that the STATCOM device will provide proven technical solution to address these operating challenges being presented in between Qatar and Bahrain at the GCC power grid. Hence, the STATCOM device allows for improved and sustainable power transmission system operations with degree of precision. The main benefit of the STATCOM device is to provide the 'cycling per repeatability' during reactive power compensation and ensure a smooth control that comprises power electronics based switching. The STATCOM device has a strong positive impact to improve voltage quality and power system stability in between Qatar and Bahrain. This has been selected by using Wideband Delphi technique. It has also a positive impact on infrastructure investment, environment and implementation time compared to the construction of new lines. The simulation results demonstrate precisely STATCOM control parameters, improving the power transmission system performance at different transmission system's contingencies. These results are clearly shown an increase of the loadability, reduction of the losses and enhancement of the sustainability in the GCC Interconnection. This is divided into two basic segmental links, neighboring to neighboring and common-link topologies. Firstly, Oman and UAE are interconnected through neighboring to neighboring control topologies. Secondly, Qatar, Bahrain, KSA and Kuwait are interconnected through common-link control topology and this is also known as the Northern System. In the third stage common-link topology demonstrates UAE national grid and Oman northern grid interconnection; this is known as southern systems. Thirdly, southern and northern power systems are connected through hybrid link control topology. In this study a STATCOM's three control limits have developed and synthesized at (minimum (+/-) medium (+/-), and maximum (+/-) compensation. These control limits are adjusted by configuring their corresponding PI control values by using D.J. Cooper PID control Technique for (1)Increased Power flow (2) Improved reliability & controllability (4) Enhanced angle and voltage stability. Fig.1 illustrates the designed power exchange in between GCC countries and Fig.2 shows an inter-tie connection in between the GCC countries. Fig.3.Wideband Delphi Process Flow Diagram Fig.4. Wideband Delphi repeated process Fig.5 shows the network without STATCOM. Fig.6 shows the STATCOM impact on GCC power grid. Fig.7. Transfer functions of the PI compensator. Fig.8. indicates the PI control values
-
-
-
Modification of wood by radio-frequency discharge plasma
المؤلفون: Igor NovákMODIFICATION OF WOOD BY RADIO-FREQUENCY DISCHARGE PLASMA aIgor Novák1, a,bAnton Popelka1, aMarian Valentin, aIvan Chodák1, a,cIgor Krupa dVladimír Vanko, dJozef Preťo aPolymer Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia bCenter for Advanced Materials, Quatar University, Doha, Quatar cCenter for Advanced Materials, QAPCO Polymer Chair, Quatar University, Doha, Quatar dVIPO, Partizánske, Slovakia Email: [email protected] Abstract The modification of wood surfaces is of considerable interest with the respect to construction of the strongest wood adhesive joints. Great efforts have been made in developing various kinds of furniture using wood or plastics veneers in adhesive joints wood-adhesive-veneer. The radio-frequency (RF) discharge plasma is currently an efficient method for modification of surface and adhesive properties of wood, and is considered as the 'green' ecologically friendly method. For a common industrial wood application various woods have to possess a large set of various surface characteristics, including polarity (hydrophobicity or hydrophilicity), dyability, scratch resistance, tailored adhesive properties, antibacterial resistance etc. In experimental work we have been focused to study of surface and adhesive properties of beech (Fagus sylvatica) wood modified by RF-discharge plasma. There are two reasons why in the case of wood to apply discharge plasma modification. Firstly, discharge plasma in air itself significantly increases hydrophilicity of the wood, because of formation various polar groups (e.g. hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, etc), and, the wood macromolecules are also cross-links (up to a few microns) what leads to the increase in scratch resistance and to the improvement in barrier properties of the wood material. Second reason for the plasma use is an increase of adhesion in adhesive joint between wood substrate, that is important for industrial applications. The contact angle of re-distilled water drop on the beech wood surface was measured immediately after drop deposition. The contact angles showed a steep decrease from 66 deg (pristine sample) to 40 deg after 120s activation of wood by RF plasma in air. The decrease of the contact angles of polar testing liquid (water) can be explained by an increase of the hydrophilicity of beech wood surface due to the treatment by RF plasma in air. The hydrophilicity of the surface depends on the formation of polar oxygenic functional groups on wood surface during the plasma modification in air. The surface energy and its polar component of beech wood increased with time of plasma activation. The surface energy of beech wood treated 120s by RF plasma in air increased from 66 mJ.m-2 (pristine sample) to 78 mJ.m-2, and the polar component of the surface energy increased from 17.4 (pristine sample) to 27.2 mJ.m-2 (120s). The shear strength of adhesive joint beech wood modified by RF plasma in air-epoxy adhesive vesrus activation time increased non-linearly from 5.2 MPa (pristine wood) up to 7.8 MPa (120s activation by CCRF plasma). Acknowledgements This contribution was supported by project No. 26220220091 by Research & Development Operational Program funded by ERDF, as well as the project „Application of Knowledge-based Methods in Designing Manufacturing Systems and Materials", project No. MESRSSR 3933/2010-1.
-
-
-
Oil fingerprinting and its application in Qatar petroleum
المؤلفون: Ahmad AldahikPetroleum Geochemistry is an established science to study the formation, migration, accumulation and alteration of petroleum. It is routinely applied to understand the exploration and recovery of oil and gas, both for "conventional" hydrocarbons as well as "unconventional" resources like shale gas. Due to its diverse origins and subsequent alteration processes during migration and accumulation processes, many hydrocarbons constitute of unique chemical components and markers that can be identified, a technique called Oil Fingerprinting. Routine applications of Oil Fingerprinting are: o solving reservoir production allocation o identify production from commingled reservoirs o connectivity/compartmentalization issues o identification of wellbore mechanical problems o characterization of reservoir bitumen and tar mats Qatar Petroleum Research and Technology Center (QPRTC) is in the process of establishing a state of the art geochemical laboratory to study and research Oil Fingerprinting applications. High Resolution Gas Chromatography (HRGC) is used to have a wide range (C1-C40) of chemical constituents of crude oil. The Multi Dimensional Gas Chromatography (MDGC) technique is used to separate a unique set of geochemical components sensitive for reservoir processes. QPRTC is now conducting research activities to support QP operations utilizing Oil Fingerprinting.
-
-
-
Towards green / white mosque certification
المؤلفون: Djamel OuahraniIn Qatar, more than 1000 mosques can be concerned by the results of this study to improve their energy performance, save energy and consequently reduce their environmental footprint Five mosques have been investigated and indoor environment have been monitored. There are compound mosques and large neighbourhood mosque. The measurements and interviews results indicate that thetemperature setting are adequate but can be slightly increased to save energy in cooling. The simulation study indicates that an energy saving of 30% can be achieved by optimizing the cooling setting time and an optimized insulation level.
-
-
-
Identification of gender-associated molecular markers in the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) genome
المؤلفون: Maria TorresDate palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is one of the most distributed and well-adapted fruit crops in the Middle East, and plays an important role in the history and diet of the Arab world. Dates constitute the primary exportable agricultural product in Qatar and current efforts are being made to improve its production. Over the years, clonal propagation has been used to maintain selected varieties with desirable morphological traits, leading to the establishment of uniform palm orchards. This, however, significantly reduces genetic diversity among palm plantations, making them potentially more susceptible to pests and diseases. Although research on date palm has increased over the past years, the genetic markers responsible for desirable agricultural traits, such as fruit color, fruit size, ripening time and gender remain unknown. In commercial plantations, one hundred fruit bearing female trees can be pollinated with a single non-bearing male tree. Still, half of the date palm offspring that is planted is expected to be male individuals. One of the biggest challenges that date production encounters is that female trees can only be distinguished after flowering, which occurs five to eight years after planting. Previous cytological studies have suggested the presence of heteromorphic sex chromosomes in date palm, however enzymatic approaches intended to anticipate gender determination have been unsuccessful. The recent genome sequencing of P. dactylifera in WCMC-Q, allowed the identification of a gender-linked genomic region. This single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-rich region was shown to segregate with gender, and is predicted to extend to 24 scaffolds. Only a limited amount of information about this region is currently available, and this study proposes the use of a deep-sequencing approach to significantly improve the date palm genome assembly, with an emphasis on the male/female segregating region. A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library, with a 12x genome coverage and an average insert size of 125 Kb was constructed. BAC-end sequencing of at least 96 clones, associated with the polymorphic sex-linked region, will allow the generation of an optical and physical maps of the sex-determination region. This will be the first time that a full genetic map of a male/female region will be available for a plant. Our main goal is to ultimately generate molecular markers that have the potential to allow identification and selection of female trees before germination. Furthermore, standardization of this sequencing procedure, will also allow us to characterize other genomic regions associated with desirable commercial properties of these fruits. This in turn, will provide a valuable tool for the development of marker-assisted selection programs, for the improvement of date palm production.
-
-
-
Clean development mechanism: An efficient instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and ensure sustainable development in the Middle East.
المؤلفون: Remi PietThe 18th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention to Climate Change has taken place in December 2012 in Doha and brought some fruitful results in defining the future climate regime strategy. The parties acknowledged that, during the first phase of the implementation of Kyoto Protocol from 2008 to 2012, there had been a number of truly important achievements, in particular in setting up mechanisms aimed at the reduction of emissions locally and involving strong participation of the private sector. The lessons learned in the first phase of 2008-2012 provide valuable pointers for the future and will hopefully make an even stronger contribution to sustainable development in the years to come. This article offers an overview of the international climate policy framework and analysis of the probably most successful and promising instrument - clean development mechanism (CDM) - that has really boosted clean technology transfer, sustainable development and climate change awareness in the Middle East over the last 5 years. This article also reviews the implementation of several Global Environmental Fund (GEF) projects on renewable energy technologies diffusion in Tunisia, Egypt and other developing nations. It specifically addresses the inclusion of private actors (banking sector, equipment producers, private developers) throughout the definition phases and implementation of the projects. This paper analyzes the compatibility of the stakeholders' interests and the adaptation of public regulations and mechanisms in developing a fertile framework for the creation of private initiatives. The choice of cases allows for the study of the most relevant set of domestic parameters (such as legal, political and cultural variables) to unsure the capacity building and sustained contribution of private actors. The author worked for the United Nations Environment Programme during the development of the initiative and introduces in this paper a range of theoretical and analytic tools to underline the success and shortcomings of public-private partnerships in environmental technologies diffusion programs The article concludes by extracting the best practices that provide insights on how to develop similar projects within the GCC in general and Qatar in particular. Analyzing the shortcomings of some of the projects and the achievements of most, it will provide leads as to the establishment of a framework of public policies and program developments that could serve as a relevant foundation for the sustainable development of the country and the region.
-
-
-
Food Ecologies in Qatar. Interdisciplinary approaches to sustainable systems: Food prints, food chains & food urbanisms
المؤلفون: Anna Grichting SolderThe desert climate of Qatar presents numerous challenges to the sustainable and secure provision of food for its increasing number of residents. This research looks at how the producing of food can be implemented in a resource efficient and sustainable way, using systems thinking to maximize the quality and quantity of food produced and to minimize the energy and resources consumed. Approached from a spatial and urban design and planning perspective, this research looks at the different ways that Food Production can be integrated into the cities and landscapes of Qatar, both in new projects and in regeneration or retrofitting projects. The Method of research looks at international trends and case studies to see how they can be applied to the context of Doha and Qatar. The importance of systems thinking implies that the food product is evaluated and measured in its total chain, as well as the energy and resources consumed and recycled. Another important aspect, which complements the quantitative measures, is the quality of the food produced, and the quality of the urban landscapes that result from the implementation of edible plants and trees. Increasingly, we are becoming aware of the importance of pesticide and additive free nutrition and these new ways of producing food must also provide more harmonious environments and balanced diets. Results. A number of case studies developed with students in the Masters in Urban Planning Design at Qatar University developed scenarios to implement different food systems into the urban and architectural landscapes of Qatar, from individual gardens in compounds and villas to vertical farming in high rise buildings, and from University Campuses to reclaimed waste water ponds. Conclusions. New Food Ecologies for Qatar imply that we not only design our buildings and landscapes in new ways to integrate the production of healthy food and medicinal herbs, but that these new visible ways of nourishing the populations includes an embellished environment and a more aware and discerning approach to the consumption of food, in short, a more holistic relationship to what our bodies consume.
-
-
-
Propagation of potential native plants for urban landscape in Gulf countries
المؤلفون: Arvind BhattGulf Countries have an arid/hyper arid climate with little precipitation, a low groundwater recharge rate and no reliable, perennial surface water resources. The total consumption of ground water resources in these countries exceeds with times its natural recharge capacity. However, urbanization expansion and the need for green landscapes in most of the Gulf cities increase the demand on the irrigation water. This puts great stress on the limited water resources in the Gulf Countries. One way for the sustainable use of the limited water resources is through the use of native desert plants in landscaping the cities. Native plants are those that have evolved naturally under the harsh environmental conditions of the GCC countries. They can tolerate very high temperatures, drought (water deficit) and high salinity. Native plants provide a beautiful, hardy, drought resistant, low maintenance landscape while benefiting the environment. Besides that they are adapted to the local climate, geography and hydrology and should require little or no fertilizers and water for growth and maintenance, given that native plants have adapted and evolved to local conditions over thousands of years. In addition, the beauty of native wildflowers and grasses creates a sense of place. The native plants increase our connection to nature and provide a beautiful place to relax. Native plants are also resistant to most kinds of local insects and resistant to most pathogens. Consequently, using native plants would reduce the use of the hazardous chemicals and hence save the environment in a sustainable way. In the present study, we screened more than 100 plants native to the GCC region to select the most potential in landscaping. Plants are selected based on their appearance, texture and tolerances to drought and salinity, fit as ornamental plants. Priorities are given for species that have wide ecological amplitudes. These species can tolerate wide range of environmental (especially soil factors) and hence would be more successful under new conditions in of the urban environment. The main challenge facing the use of native plants in landscaping is the great dormancy in their seeds, which results in very low germination rate. In addition, there is a lack of propagation information for most of the native desert plants used in the urban landscaping. Our results showed that large number of studied plants have little dormancy and can germinate in a wide condition of temperatures and light. However, many other potential plants have very deep dormancy. Treatments with different growth regulators, such gibberellic acid, kinetin and thiourea and fusicoccin are currently in progress to break physiological dormancy. Other treatments, such as sulfuric acid, are also carried out to break physical seed coat dormancy. In addition, seeds are stored under different conditions to break the morphological dormancy.
-
-
-
Simulating the heat transfer process among geofluid and the surrounding in a geothermal production well in Qatar
المؤلفون: Mohamad KharsehGeothermal energy has been a well known renewable sources for power production. Continuous non- stop of energy production along the year is the main aspect for a preferable way to generate power. As it is well known that geofluid is harvested from a production well which is used as the main input for the plant process. Consuming this geofluid for heat transfer process or by directly generating electricity in a steam turbine will relatively drop its temperature. Thus, geofluid is re-injected back to the well to regain the heat loss from the surroundings. The more the temperature of geofluid is, the better the power generation will be. Studying the heat transfer process occurring in a geothermal well is a vital need in such a plant to improve the geofluid temperature magnitude. This is applicable by using a highly sophisticated software "FLUENT GAMBIT" were a three dimensional model can be built by drawing it on "GAMBIT" and exporting the mesh to "FLUENT" for heat transfer process simulation. Dimensions such as the oil well diameter and the closed loop pipe where the geofluid flows must be known and obtained. The range of the surrounding reservoir temperature of the well is considered as well. This operation is highly recommended for whom is interested to know and innovate renewable resources such as geothermal energy for power generation. This is done by choosing the best material of the geofluid pipes that ease the heat transfer process as said before. Defining the optimal flow rate of the geofluid that helps in gaining the maximum heat from the well taking into account the porous medium where the heat flows from the reservoir to the well. Getting such a result through this study will increase the potential of hosting and implementing this renewable resource in Qatar and will cover most of the hidden obstacles that may face the researchers.
-
-
-
New record of a lizard species for Qatar: The Persian leaf-toed gecko, Hemidactylus persicus Anderson, 1872 (Gekkonidae)
المؤلفون: Aitor ValdeónWe report here the discovery of a gecko species, the Persian leaf-toed gecko Hemidactylus persicus Anderson, 1872 (Gekkonidae) in Qatar that was found on Halul Island. According to the Qatar National Biodiversity Surveys and the available international literature H. persicus was not previously recorded in Qatar. Its known range covers the north east of the Arabian Peninsula, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and south western Asia. Our findings bridge the current geographic gap in the known distribution of the species from Saudi Arabia to Asia. We believe that the species could be also present in the Qatar peninsula. A thorough field survey is needed in order to map the range of this species in the State of Qatar.
-
-
-
Addressing two challenges of matrix acidizing in carbonate fields: High permeability contrasts and water mitigation
المؤلفون: Oussama GharbiContext and objectives The dominant majority of the oil and gas reservoirs in the Middle East and in Qatar in particular are composed of carbonate porous media. Therefore, a better description of the heterogeneous carbonate porous media is a key challenge that will ultimately lead to efficiently unlock and develop new reserves. One of the main characteristics of carbonate rocks is their high reactivity in contact with hydrochloric acids. Therefore, matrix acidizing producer wells in carbonate formations is a common operational practice that helps to increase the permeability of the damaged or tight near wellbore region. One of the main objectives of matrix acid stimulation is to achieve a good zonal coverage with the acid, especially to stimulate hydrocarbon production from low permeability zones, especially in the presence of high permeability contrasts. However, field applications show that matrix acid stimulation leads often to an insufficient increase of permeability in the targeted region as well as an increase in water production from watered zones. Solution In this context, Qatar Petroleum and TOTAL are jointly investigating improved acid stimulation methodologies in carbonates. Within our testing facilities at Qatar Science and Technology Park (a member of the Qatar Foundation) and in liaison with TOTAL's research headquarters in France, we performed high pressure and temperature single and dual core flooding experiments over a range of four different carbonate rocks with different permeability and pore structures. Results Live and emulsified acids were used as well as Relative Permeability Modifiers (RPMs) and particle-laden diverters. Changes in permeability were measured in real time during the injection across the length of the cores. In addition, pre and post-injection micro-CT scanning allowed the visualization of different dissolution patterns (mainly dominant worm-holing). Changes in porosity induced by the chemical reactions were also deduced based on image analysis. We compared the response of different acid types and assess the impact of RPMs on brine and oil flow. Conclusions The test results will serve as a basis for elaborating new acid pumping sequences for well stimulation an also to benchmark different commercial and academic acid stimulation software. The results can be used to different applications such as carbon storage in heterogeneous carbonates.
-
-
-
Building a workforce for a sustainable developement based on a national global scientific & hightech improvement
المؤلفون: Brahim ElouadiIndeed human resources, national technological projects and energy are the three main pillars for any sustainable social-economical development of all our societies at the national-local, regional and international levels. In a global modern World with already existing means of communication and technologies' transfer, the improvement of the materials and economical welfare could be enhanced in order to show visible results even after half a decade form the starting of the projects even in the sectors where times needed has been counted by decades in the western presently developed countries. It must be underlined that the presence of energy resources and global financial capabilities does not lead automatically to a sustainable harmonious social development. However in such conditions, the latter can be easily conceived provided that a voluntary driving force of human resources is made available to fix clear and timed goals. Indeed, imported technologies and managing experts can make a national technology starting with some welfare. Notwithstanding sustainable development requires building a sound national strategy for rooting the desired technology with all its requirements: i) human force, ii) advanced technology education, iii) energy resources, iv) appropriate research institutions, v) economical motivation, vi) workers qualifications, v) etc. It is worth to underline the importance of the national technological project. The historical review of the human technological evolution showed that the so far sustainable development of the technologically advanced communities has been started around some key projects like steel industry, machine tools, etc. The present situation of the humanity is crucial as with population increase and natural resources decrease. Therefore recycling of raw materials and new energy sources will be the driving forces for the future environmentally compatible life and existence survival. Advanced education and scientific research within a peaceful and healthy society are the tools to achieve such goal. There is a room for developing countries to access to materials welfare, if investment is made in time. The success can be expected only for a community where emerged a Wise Central Force (WCF) capable to monitor the following main centrifugal forces: i) Societies & Increasing Young Individuals, ii) Sciences & Technology Fundamental and R&D, iii) Education & Qualification for Employment iv) Healthy & Friendly Environment Some comparative examples will be given from developed, emerging and economically advances countries. Recent results of the OECD programme like PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) will discussed for comparative purpose of international performances of comparable countries.
-
-
-
Economic viability of exploiting oil wells for electricity generation in Qatar: Performance and parametric investigation
المؤلفون: Mohamad KharsehOwning to the awareness of the correlation between fossil fuel consumption and the ongoing climate changes, there is general acceptance that deploying more renewable energy resources is an urgent issue. Recently, geothermal power plant has been introduced as a smart solution to reduce fossil fuel consumption. Unlike other renewable energy resources, the available energy of geothermal energy is constant all year long. Geothermal refers to existing heat energy in deep rock and sedimentary basins. This energy can be used to drive a power turbine to generate electricity. The depth and temperature of hot rock remain the major obstacles to the commercial viability of enhanced geothermal energy. The fact that such energy is only available at high depth creates technical and economic problems. From an economic viewpoint, the high initial capital cost of geothermal power plants is the main barrier to commerciality of geothermal energy. Exploration and drilling of wells account for up to 40% of the total cost of the project. On the other side, oil wells are drilled to the depth where the temperature could be higher than 100 C. Since organic Rankine cycles (ORC) can operate between smaller temperature difference, harvesting energy from a low temperature source such as oil wells is possible. Thus, utilizing these wells means a significant part of initial capital cost of geothermal power plants can be eliminated. This way the economic viability of geothermal power plant becomes bigger. The current study presents thermodynamic and economic analyses of a binary geothermal power generation system for commercial electricity generation in Qatar. The optimal working fluid and optimal design at working conditions of Qatar are defined. The levelized cost of electricity and the payback period of geothermal POWER plant will be calculated for optimal working design.
-
-
-
The ecology of Qatari barchan dunes
المؤلفون: Sara Abdul MajidThe mobile Barchan dunes in Qatar are restricted to the southeastern region of the country. They are currently a disappearing natural habitat, due to the northwesterly Al Shamal winds which are scouring the landscape and spreading desertification as they pass. The study's aim was to understand the ecology of an active dune, in terms of resident species and their populations. Traps were placed along three dunes and animals were collected over a period of three months. Species captured included the skink (Sincus mitranus), a number of Tenebrionidae beetles, in addition to geckos, scorpions, and spiders. The skinks were PIT tagged in order to estimate population size, along with life history data. Recapture data showed that there has been no migration between dunes, indicating that each dune represents it's own self-contained ecosystem. We are currently sequencing skink DNA to determine familial relationships between skink populations on individual dunes. It has been observed that skinks exhibit colonial behaviour in individual dunes. This is one of the initial efforts to determine skink populations on mobile dunes, and forms a baseline to future studies on the ecology of these unique ecosystems.
-
-
-
Molecular and cellular responses of date palm roots to salinity stress
المؤلفون: Osman RadwanThe ability of date palm (Phoenix dactylifers L.) to grow in hot and dry regions of the world makes it an important subsistence crop in most arid areas. Nevertheless, salinity and drought are the main abiotic stresses causing loss of date palm yield. Here we employed the next generation sequencing technology for high-throughput sequencing of date palm transcripts in response to salinity. cDNA libraries, from roots treated with 100 mM Sodium Chloride and mock treated roots, were sequenced via Illumina HiSeq2000 system. Data analysis identified 1940 genes that are differentially expressed between treated and mock treated roots. MYB transcription factors, protein kinase, E3 ubiquitin ligase, calmodulin, polyamine oxidase and acetyltransferase transcripts are regulated in response to salinity stress suggesting potential roles of these genes in tolerance to salinity stress. Additionally, we examined the cellular responses of date palm tissue to salinity stress using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Results from TEM show that stressed roots exhibited plasmolysis in cortical cells while epidermal cells did not appear to plasmolyze. Columnar cells in the distal root region might form a barrier to salt intrusion, which would make the older regions of the root less susceptible to salt plasmolysis. Output from this project will help in enhancing our understanding of date palm signaling mechanisms and developing new strategies to control salinity stress.
-
-
-
Ab initio study of the reactivity of edge sites of phyllosilicate clays
المؤلفون: Lara KabalanNatural waters, permeability reduction in reservoir rocks, groundwater flow and clay rheology [1]. In addition, pyrophyllite clays have a number of industrial applications due to their distinctive surface chemical properties. The edge sites play an important role for pH dependent sorption of ions from solutions of electrolytes. For a full understanding of pyrophyllite formation and properties, a study of the chemistry of the system, the dynamical interactions between the components and the mesostructure are necessary. While experimentally it is difficult to determine the structure of these clays due to their disordered nature, molecular computer simulation has become an extremely useful, if not essential, tool for understanding the underlying principals behind surface chemistry [2,3]. As each property is associated with separate time and length scale, multiscale approaches such as DFT Molecular dynamics MD, classical molecular dynamics and Coarse Grained molecular dynamics are needed. In this talk, we will present a first principles molecular dynamics FPMD studies on hydrated Phyrophyllite clays which is the simplest structural prototype for 2:1 dioctahedral phyllosilicates. Octahedral (Mg for Al) and tetrahedral (Al for Si) substitutions allowing to a charged structure named Montmorollonite are also presented in this study.
-
-
-
Investigation of temperature distribution along subsea pipelines during shutdown scenarios
المؤلفون: Zurwa KhanRising global energy demand and advancements in subsea engineering technology has made subsea oil and gas systems the dominant source for energy. The critical challenges in subsea systems included the associated external pressures and cold temperatures in ultra-deep water. Both of these challenges directly influence the safety and production of subsea oil and gas. Specifically, the design of a subsea pipeline must not only provide the structural integrity to withstand high external pressures but must be durable with respect to corrosion, and guarantee the flow of hydrocarbons. The latter two issues can only be investigated using temperature models that capture the heat transfer from the oil/gas mixture, through the pipeline and to the seawater. To predict temperatures along a pipeline during shutdown, software tools are available which provide numerical solutions based on the solution of mass, momentum and energy conservation equations. However, due to the complexity of these equations, it takes hours to generate results with no clear indication that the resulting simulations are correct. The objective of this project is to develop a low dimensional model that can accurately predict temperatures along pipelines during offshore oil production system shutdown. To develop the model, energy conservation of the fluid within the pipeline is considered. To solve this energy conservation equation, analytical and numerical methods, centered upon lumped capacitance method and finite difference method, are explored. These results are then compared with the developed low dimensional model. The low dimensional model is based on a modified finite difference method used for the energy conservation equation solution, which is integrated with a one dimensional heat conduction equation along a hollow composite cylinder. Steady state temperature profiles are also explored in order to generate the initial conditions for this modified finite difference method. Furthermore, the accuracy of this model is verified by comparing with the results generated by commercial software. The accuracy of this model could be further increased by using a finer mesh for which temperatures are to be determined. However, this would increase its computation time.
-
-
-
Applied research to verify energy crops adaptation in desert and pre-desert climate area to produce energy and greening desert
المؤلفون: Wanda DimitriPROMOTING GROUP: Green Cross Italia Onlus -GCIt (IT) team leader, ENEA (IT), AIDMO (Arab League), Renviron Foundation (EG) BACKGROUND: the high cultivation flexibility of "Jerusalem Artichock", a perennial grass worldwide known as "topinambur", and its adaptability to different and severe climatic conditions lead to the possibility to verify its exploitability in Gulf desert and pre desert areas, more precisely in Qatar, to reduce desert negative impact on climatic condition of existing sea shoreline cities. Topinambur is a particularly interesting crop for its very high sugar content in its "green phase", suitable to be transformed into high quality biogas. ENEA (www.enea.it) has, at the moment, the highest worldwide topinambur energy transformation expertise, where as GCIt has already developed many cooperation activities towards development and technology transfer projects in Africa and Latin America (Argentina, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal etc.). GCIt and ENEA have already established and developed a mutually profitable cooperation on biogas technologies and several other items related to RES. Technical director of GCIt owns already a multi-decennial background on innovative biogas technology promotion in Italy, Balkan peninsula, former Soviet Union area, Middle East (Lebanon and Egypt) and Africa (Senegal). INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY PROPOSED. The "dry anaerobic digestion" process (just 2 worldwide real patent on it) is the most efficient way to produce biogas without any watersupply in the process, key factor to deploy such an unique technology in the Gulf and Middle East Area. "Dry digestion" byproduct is a certified high quality compost perfectly suited to stabilize poor or marginal soils for future agricultural uses andcombating desertification. The proposed research main topics are: 1) Validation of growth topinambur factor in Qatar, near existing sea shoreline City (to have acceptable performance not less than 50 tons per ha); 2) Evaluation and scientific certification of the compost to be produced to combat desertification (to perform high values not less than 140 m3N/ton of treated material); 3) Evaluation and scientific certification of energy to be produced by biogas (CO2minimizing and fossil fuels substitution), aimed at about 10GWh of yearly production fromeach 30,000 tons of "green topinambur" properly collected; 4) Promotion of a very promising technology as the "dry anaerobic digestion" due also to the high flexibility of the raw material, or "fuel", suitable for it (it is possible also to be envisaged to recover compost and energy by municipal solid waste organic fraction). ROLE of PROPOSERS: Green Cross Italy will guarantee the social participation and will bring the worldwide cooperation towards development expertise and some technical aspects; ENEA will participate by its high research profile and multi-decennial expertise in the biogas and solar energy fields; AIDMO will participate to guarantee the highest result spreading to the whole Arab League context and, finally, Renviron Foundation will promote and innovative NGO approach among the Middle East and Gulf Countries.
-
-
-
The Leeward Coast of Qatar (Khor Al-Adaid ): A model for offshore wind-dominated progradation in an arid environment
المؤلفون: Christian StrohmengerThe southeastern, leeward coast of Qatar presents a unique example of arid shoreline sedimentation patterns dominated by sand dune fields blown into the sea. The observed sediment dynamics, geospatial data, and facies patterns are analogous to aeolian reservoir systems in ancient rocks, like the Permo-Carboniferous Unayzah Formation of the Middle East or the Permian Rotliegend Formation of Northwest Europe. Oldest sediments exposed along the coastal plain are relicts of a Holocene sea-level highstand of approximately 2 to 4 meters above present day sea level. Oldest radiocarbon age dates reveal marine beaches and lagoonal deposits began forming 4000-6000 years before present. Unlike most coastal depositional systems, the beaches are sourced from onshore, aeolian sand dunes. The coast has prograded 5 to 10 kilometers during the Holocene. The Khor Al-Adid coast is subdivided into two, very distinct sedimentological provinces. The northern part of the coast is linear, reflecting a continuous source of aeolian sand. Back shore areas are only flooded seasonally. The southern coast is deeply embayed into a mosaic of restricted lagoons where stromatolites and evaporite flats are widespread. The embayment occurs in the shadow of the bedrock topographic highs that have diverted the aeolian sand supply to the coast. Most coastal plain is covered by 5 to 10 meters in relief (max 60 meters) dunes. In spite of their height and size, dunes are an ephemeral feature of the landscape. Only the basal 1 to 2 meters of a dune are preserved, where trapped by cementation in shallow, standing waters (lagoons, interdune floods). Lightly cemented erosional remnants of dune toesets are composed of unidirectional cross-bedded, tabular foresets with flat tops. They extend up to several kilometers, passing laterally in parallel and wavy laminated gypsum cemented sand. The embayed, southern area has a fairly uniform facies pattern, marked by shallow mesohaline lagoons separated from the open sea by ebb and flood deltas. The leeward side of the lagoon is marked by intertidal stromatolites. Remnants of former dunes form barriers, separating mesohaline from hypersaline lagoons. Hypersaline lagoons are marked by subtidal stromatolites that alternate with gypsum mush and rarely, salt flats. Some evaporite flats are relicts from previously active back barrier lagoons. Khor Al-Adaid sedimentation patterns reflect the interplay between sea level, physical and chemical depositional processes, and aeolian deflation. Understanding the interplay between these factors provides the basis for building more realistic geological models.
-
-
-
Managing process flares due to abnormal situation via design of co-gen system of discontinuous sources
المؤلفون: Fadwa EljackFlaring is a recognized environmental issue with multiple implications. Flaring results in economic losses waste of limited material and energy resources, generation of huge amounts of CO2 and other harmful Green House Gases emissions affecting local air quality and contributing to global warming. The bigger impact is on local populations close to industrial cites. Flaring affects their quality of life and health. Yearly, over a 150 billion cubic meters of natural gas are flared globally, the equivalent of 400 million tons CO2 emissions. The numbers seem large in magnitude but the impact is even larger when you consider that 400 million tons of CO2 emissions per year equal the annual emission rate of 77 million cars; and $10-15 billion dollars in losses at current gas prices. It is a common practice in process operation to flare under abnormal situations as a safety precaution; and it is standard operation procedure to also flare during upsets that occur in plant operation, such as equipment malfunction, off-spec production, or emergency shutdowns. Flaring is used to dispose of flammable gases that are either unusable or uneconomical to recover. There are many other causes for flaring that the project team intends on investigating. It should noted that most of the flaring of associated gas from oil production or direct gas venting are the sources of concern that industry must address by better operational practices. Qatar is blessed with the third largest natural gas (NG) reserve in the world and a booming industry covering wide spectrum of valuable gas derivatives. The industrial fortune however comes at a cost in terms of impact on the environment. In 2009, Qatar officially partnered with the World Bank in its program for Global Gas Flaring Reduction, aiming to be a global leader in environmental protection. Flare reduction will directly contribute limiting the emission of harmful gases and the reduction of CO2. Evolving environmental regulations and Qatar's commitment to flare reduction makes better management of industrial processes a research priority for Qatar Literature indicates that the reason for high flaring sources is a combination of lack of end use options for the unwanted gases during operation, and weak environmental regulations. Companies have access to relatively inexpensive NG and often feel that managing associated gases is too much of a hassle. With rising energy and oil prices, industry has motivation to better manage natural resources. In this paper the authors propose a methodology that focuses on use of cogeneration to mitigate flaring while gaining economic and environmental benefits. It is based on simultaneous design and operational optimization where (1) identify key flaring and venting sources, causes and consequences of process upsets that result in flaring and (2) apply the proposed methodology. The novelty in this method is it incorporates design and operational factors in designing combined heat and power system with special emphasis on discontinuous sources due to process upset. A base case study for an ethylene process was used to evaluate the process performance under varying abnormal situation scenarios.
-
-
-
Public participation to discover marine snake biodiversity in Qatar
المؤلفون: Aurora M CastillaSurveying biodiversity is a very expensive and time consuming work particularly in the marine environment. This is why we have to find practical and efficient solutions to identify the species and their habitats in order to proceed with management and conservation plans. Very little information is available for marine snakes' biodiversity in the Gulf region, but particularly for Qatar where no biodiversity studies have been conducted to date. We have explored the presence of marine snakes in Qatar based on public information obtained from interviews done to people living in Qatar. We have interviewed 655 persons during January to May 2013 in different zones and ports of the State of Qatar, and from different countries, social sector, age and period of time living in Qatar. Most interviewed people were adults originally from 36 different countries; however, the majority was from India, Qatar and Nepal. Most of them were based in Qatar for only 1-2 years, while the rest were living in Qatar from few months to all their life. Only 16% of the persons interviewed (n= 102) have seen snakes in Qatar. Some snakes were observed near the Qatar coast and ports but most of them were seen offshore (89% of the observations). We have explored the potential diversity of marine snakes present in Qatar by showing to the interviewed persons a form with photos of 10 different species that have been reported to exist in Qatar. Most people have seen only one snake species, while two different species were seen by 25 persons and 3 species by 15 persons. The maximum number of marine snakes seen by the people has been four, and only 2% of the persons saw them. The snakes more frequently seen have been Lapemis curtus (18% of the observations), Leioselasma cyanocincta (13%) and Leioselasma spiralis (12%). In this study we have also examined if the probability to see a marine snake by the people is related to different variables, including the social sector (fisherman, sport clubs, general public), the study area (8 zones), the number of years living in Qatar, the age of the person (adult or young) and their nationality. The results have shown that most observations of sea snakes have been conducted offshore at traditional fishing areas around islands, while coastal records are limited to mangroves, ports and marinas. Most observations have been conducted by fisherman from India, by Qatari citizens working at the university and the Ministry of the Environment and by experts working in the environmental departments linked to petrol companies in Qatar. This abstract is a contribution for the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference (QF-ARC-2013).
-
-
-
Ex-situ conservation of some plant genetic resources from Qatari protectorates
المؤلفون: Elsayed ElazaziAbstract: Qatar biodiversity is under the pressure by the effects of environmental pollution, overgrazing, desertification as well as the climatic change. In order to rescue wild plant genetic resources of Qatar and in the line of Qatar Strategic action plan of Genetic resources, the present investigation aims at ex-situ conservation of some wild plant genetic resources from Rawdat Umm Al-Kharq. A total number of 17 accessions have collected from Rawdat Umm Al-Kharq, which represent 13 family and 16 Genus,17 Species, during the season of 2013 to target a fully maturated seeds, herbarium specimens and DNA samples. The collection missions follow the principals and guidelines of Plant genetic resources collections set by Biodiversity International and international gene banks. The collected materials are subjected to characterization, documentation and preservation process. According the international conservation rules, cleaning, drying, viability test, packaging and storing were applied for seeds. Highly seeds viability recorded with Cucumis prophetarum, Malva parviflora, and Salvia aegyptica. All information derived from conservation process was documented in the Biotechnology Center. Key words: Biodiversity, Plant Genetic Resources, gene bank, Conservation, Qatar.
-
-
-
Enhanced oil recovery through wettability alteration of heterogeneous carbonate rocks
المؤلفون: Grigorios MatenoglouWettability of a carbonate reservoir is one of the key points concerning oil recovery. Most carbonate reservoirs tend to be oil-wet. An oil-wet wettability generates significant problems in oil recovery since the formation has a stronger ability to keep oil attached in its pores, and it also decreases the efficiency of water flooding leading to faster water breakthrough. Wettability alteration in oil wet carbonate reservoirs have demonstrated to be a successful method in enhancing oil recovery through chemical water flooding of such formations. Wettability, IFT (Interfacial tension), and temperature, are all parameters that have a significant effect on the recovery process. Different processes and chemicals have been tested to study the alteration of wettability through contact angle and its effect on oil recovery. It is essential to understand the correlation between the IFT value of the brine injected with the degree of wettability alteration, in order to assemble an optimized brine solution for enhancing oil recovery by finding an optimized contact angle and an IFT value. In this paper, carbonate outcrop samples from Jabal Fuwayrit in Qatar (considered to be a similar and representative to the North Field formation) were used to make a comparative study of wettability alteration effect followed by recovery. Spontaneous imbibition and flooding of brine with different chemical composition were employed. We also studied the effect of non-ionic and cationic surfactants in sea water from Qatar to further enhance oil recovery. Comparison of the results obtained leads to a better understanding of wettability alteration and the appropriate selection of injection brine for optimal recovery. The significance of such study can be easily demonstrated. Wettability understanding and alteration at will is of a great importance and can be expanded in all type of reservoirs, giving a cost-effective, fast and functional process.
-
-
-
Identification of bacteria from the marine environment surrounding Qatar
المؤلفون: Rashmi FotedarThe Arabian Gulf surrounding Qatar is distinct from other marine ecosystems due to its high salinity, and extreme temperature fluctuations and is underpinned by its massive oil and gas industry. To date, no microbial studies have been performed in Qatari waters to isolates and identify the microbial flora of the marine environment in Qatar. This study is thus planned to assess the microbial diversity of in marine environment surrounding Qatar using biochemical and molecular methods. In this study we isolated and cultured fifty bacteria that inhabited the marine environment in Qatar. The identification was done by morphological, biochemical and molecular methods. Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rDNA sequences indicated that the majority ( 88 %) of the strains belonged to g-Proteobacteria (Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio nigripulchritudo, Vibrio nereis ,Vibrio harveyi, Pseudoalteromonas piscicida, Pseudoalteromonas agarivorans, Pseudoalteromonas rubra, Pseudoalteromonas prydzensis, Halobacillus profundi , Cobetia marina, Shewanella loihica ,Virgibacillus dokdonensis ,Ruegeria mobilis), followed by CFB group bacteria ( 10% ) ( Tenacibaculum mesophilum); and low GC, Firmicutes (2%) (Bacillus boroniphilus). This study provides the preliminary observation in deciphering the bacterial diversity in marine environment of Qatar.
-
-
-
Geothermal energy extraction from petroleum wells in Qatar
المؤلفون: Seyed Ali Ghoreishi MadisehPetroleum wells that cease to produce oil/gas economically and dry holes are referred to as abandoned wells. An abandoned well is usually plugged with cement and can take anywhere from two days up to a few weeks to cure depending on the number of plugs in the well. Since plugging a well costs capital, most wells are abandoned at the lowest possible cost and with the minimum obligations set by regulation agencies. These wells can present enduring liabilities to petroleum companies and/or governments. However, the depth and abundance of abandoned petroleum wells make them an economically attractive source of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy harvested from an oil/gas well is a renewable energy source as long as it is extracted in a sustainable manner. The energy can be used to generate electricity, used directly for heating, incorporated into a water desalination process, or used by a heat pump for heating/cooling applications. In this paper we examine the possibility of extracting geothermal energy from abandoned oil/gas wells by studying the heat transfer in underground geothermal heat exchangers installed in these wells. A double-pipe (shell and tube) design configuration is chosen for the geothermal heat exchangers embedded inside a petroleum borehole. Using in-situ gathered information from some representative petroleum boreholes in the Gulf region, the effects of key parameters such as geothermal gradient, ground temperature values, and the flow inside of the tubes are evaluated. In order to provide a constant power production the inlet temperature it is proposed to adjust the temperature of the inlet fluid, so that that the difference between outlet and inlet temperatures is kept at a desirable value. Higher differences between inflow and outflow temperatures will result in a less sustainable load put on the in-situ geothermal energy. Adding insulation to certain sections of the designs can minimize the transfer of thermal energy from the fluid to the surroundings. Insulation can also limit the thermal loss between the inflow and outflow tubes in the shell and tube design. Minimizing the energy loss of these designs leads to an increase in the outlet temperature, meaning a higher grade of heat. The sustainability of long term geothermal heat extraction is a balance between the rate at which geothermal energy is extracted and the rate at which the ground formation can replace this heat. Higher outlet temperatures can lead to a larger amount of power generation, and a higher coefficient of performance for heat pump applications. It is found that Qatar's abandoned petroleum wells can be economically reused for the purpose of sustainable geothermal energy production.
-
-
-
Dilute surfactant flooding studies in a low-permeability oil-wet carbonate reservoir
المؤلفون: Martin BennetzenThe vast majority of surfactant flood applications to date have been targeted to high permeability sandstone reservoirs containing formation brine with moderate salinity and hardness. Surfactant flooding in oil-wet, low-permeability carbonate rock is only reported sparsely throughout the literature. In the present work we aimed at identifying an efficient enhanced oil recovery strategy using a dilute surfactant solution. The dilution is highly beneficial in order to reduce not only chemical costs but in particular the environmental footprint. The work contains results from laboratory core flood tests performed on a highly oil-wet, low permeable carbonate reservoir rock material. The rock material investigated had approximately 30% porosity and 5 mD permeability, whereas the formation brine had a high salinity of about 120,000 ppm with a hardness of about 10,000 ppm. Initial combinations of several commercial surfactants, co-surfactant and alkalis were tested for brine compatibility and from these tests two cost-effective surfactant systems were identified. The first system, denoted ITR, was capable of reducing the interfacial tension below 0.001 mN/m at reservoir salinity and hardness. The second system, referred to as WA, altered the wettability from strongly oil-wet to intermediate-wet without altering the interfacial tension. Adsorption of the surfactants was measured to be low for both systems. No mobility control agents, such as polymers, were used in any of the systems because of low rock permeability. Both surfactant systems yielded significant incremental oil, when injected in tertiary as well as in secondary mode. The ITR system recovered almost 95% of OIIP but required many pore volumes since the cores remained oil-wet. Strikingly the WA system recovered approx. 85% of OIIP in secondary mode but achieved this with much fewer pore volumes using a very low concentration of surfactant. The promising WA system was subjected to extensive analysis involving relative permeability function estimation and flooding simulations using UTCHEM. In summary, we have designed an efficient surfactant system capable of recovering significant amounts of oil from low-permeability carbonate reservoir rock material. Wettability alteration of highly oil-wet rock using dilute surfactant solutions may assist in unlocking significant volumes of additional oil from a variety of carbonate reservoirs.
-
-
-
Revealing The Date Palm Root Microbial Communities By Metagenomic Analyses
المؤلفون: Ali ElkharbotlyDate palm roots, like roots of other plants, host many microorganisms including bacteria and fungi. These microbial communities can have both favorable and unfavorable effects on the date palm's health and production. For this reason, the effect of the nitrogen source in the fertilizer on microbial communities and metabolomics is being studied. In this project we will use state-of-the-art metagenomic approaches to analyze the microbial communities present in the rhizosphere under different fertilization regimes. Also the effect of the roots of different cultivars on the microbial diversity will be addressed. The metabolomic analysis will be carried out by another research team. An experiment is being carried out at the Roudat Alfars Research Farm of the Ministry of Environment. Four different fertilization regimes were applied in which the nitrogen sources were either mineral or organic in three replications (3 palms) on cultivar Khalas. Three more cultivars were used to examine the cultivar's effect on rhizosphere microbial communities. The evaluation of the effect of the nitrogen source on the microbial diversity in the rhizosphere will be carried out for one year. The first samples (roots and soil) were collected for metagenomic analysis. Sampling will be carried out every three months. Palms were also genotyped using 23 microsatellite primers for confirmation of their identity. Results showed no differences in genotyping between the 12 Khalas palms used. Four protocols for DNA extraction for metagenomic analysis are being tested. The most suitable protocol will be standardized to extract the DNA from all samples. Different primers for PCR reactions and high-throughput DNA sequencing will be used in the coming year for microbial identification. They will also be used to find microorganisms with potential for agricultural practice such as nitrogen and phosphorus fixation, and antimicrobial and pesticidal effects.
-
-
-
Firewood: A Potential Resource Of Renewable Energy From Desert Environment
المؤلفون: Nasser Al-KhalifahOwing to the ever increasing oil and gas prices, wood, the oldest fuel known to human beings, is going to experience a renaissance. Plantation firewood is a potential renewable energy source as it can be readily regrown, especially with those species that will coppice from the cut stumps. A good quality firewood needs to possess maximum available heat, higher density, easy to split quality, ready to lit and with minimum water content. About 30% of the Arabian Peninsula is covered with sand in the form of sand dunes. Effective utilization of these comparatively non productive area for human welfare is of serious concern to the policy makers. To prevent land degradation, while meeting the people's demand for fuel wood and fodder, the vegetation consisting of indigenous species must be regenerated and maintained. Local multipurpose shrubs are important natural resources which help arid land populations to combat their major problems of shortage of food, fodder, fuel and various problems related to the harsh environmental conditions. They ameliorate the microclimate by reducing the temperature and potential evapotranspiration. Many of such plants restore and improve soil fertility, stabilize moving sands, and prevent the spread of drought and desertification. Over the past few decades, increasing emphasis has been placed on promoting fast growing multipurpose species that produce fuel-wood, timber, fodder, other forest byproducts, stabilizing sand dunes, and improving the environment as well. However, much of the emphasis on multipurpose trees has focused on exotic species, because their silviculture and propagation know-how is well known. There is an urgent need to find easy methods of propagating and regenerating natural plants to ensure the sustainability of indigenous species. This article explains the propagation techniques of three potential firewood plants that can be grown successfully in the deep sandy soils as well as wadi soils.
-
-
-
Bioaugmentation And Biostimulation Studies In The Bioremediation Of Crude Oil Contaminated Gcc Soils
المؤلفون: Farid BenyahiaBioaugmentation and biostimulation studies were carried out on crude oil contaminated GCC soils using a series of engineered biopile systems. The preliminary soil studies clearly showed the poor level of nutrients and low count of indigenous soil bacteria, thus justifying the addition of bacteria and soil nutrients The success towards design of bioremediation systems to treat crude oil contaminated soils crucially depends on the outcome of a series of staged experiments involving soil characterization, oil evaporation and effects of biological and chemical additives to the contaminated soils. The texture, chemical analysis and microbiological character of soils will dictate the level of humidification, biostimulation and bioaugmentation required. Biopile systems have been proved to be effective, controllable and environmentally friendly techniques to treat contaminated soils. Extensive laboratory tests have shown that such systems can be optimized for treatment efficiency and design cost. Ultimately, it is expected that the current landfarming practices would be phased out because of their poor treatment efficiency and displacement of part of the problem from soil to atmosphere. . The performance evaluation of the bioremediation biopile systems which included control systems with no bacteria and indigenous microorganisms, was based on CO2 evolution. The biopile systems bioaugmented and biostimulated showed superior bioremediation activity according to such performance criteria. This investigation has clearly shown the benefits of bioaugmentation and biostimulation in the bioremediation of crude oil contaminated desert soils. The addition of an anionic surfactant enhanced the bioavailability of nutrients and resulted in a faster response to the biological treatment of crude oil contaminated desert soil.
-
-
-
Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) sedimentological study offshore Al-Ruwaiys (North Qatar)
المؤلفون: Christian StrohmengerThe northern limit of Qatar represents a unique depositional environment, reflecting the interplay of coastal processes and sea-level history along the windward margin of the peninsula. The coastline faces directly into prevailing winds, creating distinctive subenvironments. The ecological and geological history of this area is documented for the first time by integrating autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) surveys and dive-based sampling and documentation of existing maritime data. An AUV collected side-scan sonar imagery, bathymetry, water temperature profiles, sub-bottom profiles and underwater photo mosaics data. Divers followed AUV transects making observations and collecting forty unconsolidated sediment and non-living coral samples. The area of study extends from 500 meters offshore from the island of Jazeerat Reken (Ras Rakan Island), clockwise for 10 kilometers southeast, offshore of the village of Al-Mafyar (Umm Tays Island). North of Jazeerat Reken the seafloor shows a steep margin from shallow subtidal to depths of approximately -7 meters. In contrast the eastern margin of the area, near Al-Mufyar shows a gentle slope, dipping to -6 meters over a 2 kilometer distance. The steep margin along the north coincides with the limits of a fringing reef system that built seaward during the Holocene. Radiocarbon age dates indicate reef growth initiated as early as 5000 years before present, when sea level was 2 to 4 meters higher than today. Two isolated sub-Recent patch reef (reef bommies) trends were discovered offshore of the main fringing reef slope, west of Jazeerat Reken. These offshore isolated patch reefs start at a water depth of about -7 meters and rise up close to present day sea level. The steepest slope of the fringing reef was observed at the northern tip of Qatar, north of Jazeerat Reken Island, where the base of the reef is at about -6 meters. Side-scan sonar imagery and sub-bottom profiling was carried out, revealing a fringing reef slope, the isolated patch reefs and the thickness of the unconsolidated sediment cover of the seabed. Samples from non-living corals were taken for radiocarbon age dating analyses. A sea-level drop approximately 2000 years before present may account for the end of fringing and patch reef growth. Since the sea-level fall, the reef top has been characterized by mobile, coarse coral-algal sands and beach-rock stabilized islands, like Jazeerat Reken. The unique grain size and shape of coral-algal beach sands provide a unique nesting ground for hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata). The seabed east of Al-Mufyar (Umm Tays Island) is dominated by carbonate sand bars, separated by brown algae beds attached to the underlying bedrock or hardgrounds. Sediment samples were taken along a 2000 meter long transect perpendicular to the shoreline and side-scan sonar and sub-bottom profiling were carried out in this area. The results of our study provide new insights into changing carbonate platform geometries and related sediment distribution through time; controlled by sea-level fluctuations, as well as wind, tidal, wave, and current conditions. It also provides a template for conducting cost-effective, easily executed ecological and geological studies.
-
-
-
Quinoa Introduction For Food Security In The Gcc, North Africa And Near East
المؤلفون: Remi PietAnswering the global need to identify crops that have the potential to produce quality food while maintaining sustainable development, quinoa is a cereal that provides significant promises. Thanks to its nutritional characteristics and agronomic versatility, quinoa offers an interesting alternative to traditional crops. Its harvesting contributes to regional and global food security especially in the areas where the population has no access to adequate sources of protein or where food production is limited. Its limited need for water and high protein content make quinoa an ideal candidate for cultivation in food security seeking countries However, the introduction of this cereal holds also its set of challenges including structural changes to the food sector as well as social, economic and environmental factors. This paper analyzes the determinants of production in countries that traditionally produce quinoa (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru) and underlines the framework of a comprehensive and sustainable production in the Middle East, GCC and North Africa. This research aims at contributing to scientific cooperation, sharing past experiences for the development of this exogenous cereal cultivation at the regional and inter-regional levels, adapting current best practices to local agricultural development. Latin America, North Africa and the Near East share similar challenges as well as geographic, climate and social characteristics, therefore a cross cases analysis is highly relevant. Following a first field study led in collaboration with the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), this paper's objective is to provide a blueprint on how to gather the necessary conditions for a sustainable cultivation of this promising cereal. It also addresses the important capacity building component both at the local and regional level and the inclusion of quinoa within traditional cropping patterns and farming systems as well as national and regional sustainable strategy. More specifically it also focuses on the role the GCC and Qatar could play in fostering cooperation in food security in the Middle East as part of a FAO led scientific cooperation platform in the Greater Middle East. In line with on-going South-South Cooperation efforts, this paper proposes roads to promote not only the exchanges between academic experts from both regions, but also between agricultural cooperatives and traditional food importing countries including innovative financing mechanism.
-
-
-
Identification Of Gender-Associated Molecular Markers In The Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera) Genome
المؤلفون: Maria TorresDate palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is one of the most distributed and well-adapted fruit crops in the Middle East, and plays an important role in the history and diet of the Arab world. Dates constitute the primary exportable agricultural product in Qatar and current efforts are being made to improve its production. Over the years, clonal propagation has been used to maintain selected varieties with desirable morphological traits, leading to the establishment of uniform palm orchards. This, however, significantly reduces genetic diversity among palm plantations, making them potentially more susceptible to pests and diseases. Improvement of date production through date palm breeding is highly challenging due to the long regeneration times and the lack of knowledge about the genetic markers responsible for desirable agricultural traits. In commercial plantations, one hundred fruit bearing female trees can be pollinated with a single non-bearing male tree. Still, half of the date palm offspring planted from seeds are expected to be male individuals. One of the biggest challenges that date production encounters is that female trees can only be distinguished after flowering, which occurs five to eight years after planting. Previous cytological studies have suggested the presence of heteromorphic sex chromosomes in date palm, however enzymatic approaches intended to anticipate gender determination have been unsuccessful. The recent genome sequencing of different individuals from the commercial varieties Khalas, Deglet Noor and Medjool, allowed the identification of a gender-linked genomic region. This single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-rich region was shown to segregate with gender, and is predicted to extend to 24 scaffolds. Only a limited amount of information about this region is currently available, and this study proposes the use of a deep-sequencing approach to significantly improve the date palm genome assembly, with an emphasis on the male/female segregating region. A bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library, with a 12x genome coverage and an average insert size of 125 Kb was constructed. BAC-end sequencing of at least 96 clones, associated with the polymorphic sex-linked region, will allow the generation a complete physical and sequence map of the sex-determination region. Our main goal is to detect the critical mutation that gave rise to male and female separation. This is the firs time such level of detail in a dioecious plant will be achieved. Furthermore, standardization of this sequencing procedure, will also allow us to characterize other genomic regions associated with desirable commercial properties of these fruits. This in turn, will provide a valuable tool for the development of marker-assisted selection programs, for the improvement of date palm production.
-
-
-
Effects Of Graphene Materials On The Performance Of Ester Based Drilling Fluid
المؤلفون: Robiah YunusThe idea of pushing the limits of drilling oil and gas wells by improving drilling fluids using conventional macro and micro type fluid additives is very crucial tasks especially to fulfill certain functional tasks. This is due to inadequate information on the physical, chemical, thermal and environmental characteristics of the additives. The industries are currently looking for cost efficient drilling operations, thus many researches are focusing on the wonders of nanotechnology in the drilling fluids which forms the basis of the work presented here. This project will describe the preliminary test results of graphene oxide (GO) and R-graphene oxide (RGO) enhancement as nano additive in drilling fluid formulation. This project is basically to test whether incorporation of graphene materials gives significant improvement to the ester based drilling fluid it terms of its rheological properties. Besides using commercial GO, RGO was synthesized by refluxing the palm oil methyl ester (POME) with graphene oxide for 24 hours. UV-VIS results verified the attachment of R group from POME to the graphene oxide. Both materials then were added to the newly synthesized ester based drilling fluid and then formulations and characterization were performed with different percentages of GO and RGO. The advantages of adding nano-sized molecules of GO and RGO to ester based drilling fluid are evidenced in the improvement in fluid permeability rate into porous formation which contribute to the stability of wellbore.
-
-
-
Molecular Diversity In Date Palm Using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (Issr) Markers
المؤلفون: Talaat AhmedTotal of 47 Date palm samples representing 15 cultivars from two germplasm collections (Rodat Alfaras Germplasm field and Germplasm field of Qatar University Experimental farm) were collected to study the genetic diversity among and within date palm cultivars grown in Qatar. 29 samples representing 11 varieties were collected from Rodat Alfaras Farm. Eighteen samples including six varieties were collected from Qatar University Experimental Farm. DNAs were extracted from fresh leaves by using commercial DNeasy Plant System Kit (Qiagen, Inc., Valencia, CA) Total of 18 (Inter Simple Sequence Repeat) ISSR single primers were used to amplify DNA fragments using genomic DNA of the 47 samples. First screening was done to test the ability of these primers to amplify clear bands using Date palm genomic DNA. All 18 ISSR primers successfully produced clear bands in the first screening. Then, each primer was used separately to genotype the whole set of 47 Date palm samples. Total of 4794 bands were generated using 12 ISSR primers for the 47 Date palm samples. On average, each primer generated 400 bands. The Number of amplified bands varied from cultivar to cultivar and differed from area to area for the same cultivar. The highest number of bands was obtained using Primers 2, 5 and 12 for the 17 cultivars over all locations (470 bands), while the lowest number of bands were obtained by Primers 1, 7 and 8 where they produced only 329 bands. However, variation within each individual cultivar as number of polymorphic fragments was considerably smaller than the inter-specific variation among the studied cultivars. Markers were scored for the presence and absence of the corresponding band among the different cultivars grown in different locations. Data were subjected to cluster analysis. A similarity matrix was constructed and the similarity values were used for cluster analysis.
-
-
-
Ex-Situ Conservation Of Some Plant Genetic Resources From Qatari Protectorates
المؤلفون: Elsayed ElazaziQatar biodiversity is under the pressure by the effects of environmental pollution, overgrazing, desertification as well as the climatic change. In order to rescue wild plant genetic resources of Qatar and in the line of Qatar Strategic action plan of Genetic resources, the present investigation aims at ex-situ conservation of some wild plant genetic resources from Rawdat Umm Al-Kharq. A total number of 17 accessions have collected from Rawdat Umm Al-Kharq, which represent 13 family and 16 Genus,17 Species, during the season of 2013 to target a fully maturated seeds, herbarium specimens and DNA samples. The collection missions follow the principals and guidelines of Plant genetic resources collections set by Biodiversity International and international gene banks. The collected materials are subjected to characterization, documentation and preservation process. According the international conservation rules, cleaning, drying, viability test, packaging and storing were applied for seeds. Highly seeds viability recorded with Cucumis prophetarum, Malva parviflora, and Salvia aegyptica. All information derived from conservation process was documented in the Biotechnology Center. Key words: Biodiversity,Plant Genetic Resources, gene bank, Conservation, Qatar.
-
-
-
A green solution: Molecular dynamic simulation study of wax inhibition through pour point depressant type inhibitor
المؤلفون: Fatmawati AdamParaffin wax deposition from crude oils at low temperature is one of the critical and long standing problems in petroleum industry. An addition of pour point depressants (PPDs) has been proved to be an efficient way to inhibit the wax deposition. The chosen group of PPDs in this study are poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate(EVA)) and (Meth)acrylate Ester (MAE) polymers. The molecule geometry structures were labelled as illustrated in Figure 1. This research focuses on the investigation of van der Waals intermolecular interaction between the major wax component molecule C28H58, with the inhibitor molecules via molecular dynamics simulation (MD) technique in Material Studio 5.5 software Package. The simulation system has been equilibrated under NVE essemble at 200ps followed by NVT assemble. COMPASS force field is applied to analyse the desired structural property Radial Distribution Function (RDF). The results show that the functional groups introduced by EVA were benefit to inhibit the self-agglomerate of the wax crystal compared to MAE as reported in a published literature. Simulation output also provides a better understanding on the interaction between wax crystal and inhibitors. The oxygen atoms in EVA play a significant role to inhibit the wax formation through the van der Waals interaction between hydrogen atoms in n-Octacosane molecule. As a conclusion, MD is a promising tool method to recognise the wax-inhibitor intermolecular interaction which is much fast, environmental friendly and economic for further inhibitor screening work. Keywords: poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate(EVA)),(Meth)acrylate Ester (MAE) Polymers, COMPASS, van der Waals
-
-
-
The control of Gas Hydrate formation using ionic liquids
المؤلفون: Majeda KhraishehGas hydrates are crystalline solids consisting of three dimensional, hydrogen bonded water molecules (host), encapsulated with a guest molecule. [1] There are numerous possibilities for the molecules acting as the guests. The most common guests include methane, ethane, propane and carbon dioxide. They can be significantly problematic in the production of oil and gas. The 1930's marked the discovery, by Hammerschmidt, of the formation of hydrates in pipes. This formation can eventually cause a blockage in the pipeline, creating the risk of explosion, as the blockage may cause a high pressure and low pressure section of the pipe. This causes the hydrate to act as a high velocity solid which not only results in destruction to equipment but can also lead to loss of lives. [2] As the production of oil and gas moves to more extreme, hydrate favouring conditions, predominantly inhibition is the only viable option. Clathrate hydrate inhibitors are divided into three groups, thermodynamic inhibitors (THI), low dosage hydrate inhibitors (LDHI) and ionic liquids (IL). Ionic liquids have the potential to act as inhibitors but previous research has been restricted by the lack of design on the ionic liquids being experimented e.g ionic liquids chosen due to their commercial availability. There are many advantages to using ionic liquids, but in increasing their field application certain design criteria should be followed. The Ionic liquids used should be water soluble, form hydrogen bonds with water, relatively non-viscous, low toxicity, biodegradable and have minimal halogen content. The main aim of this work is to Design, Synthesise and Characterise ionic liquids within the criteria that will perform as hydrate inhibitors and to test the ionic liquids as both thermodynamic and kinetic inhibitors in the high pressure view cell and compare the performance with current commercial inhibitors.The initials experiments were performed to ensure the equipment was fully working and so the literature data for the blank test with no inhibitor and methanol 5 and 10 wt% were reproduced to verify thisAs can be observed from the graph, the literature data has successfully been repeated. This is also shows that the equipment is working and is operating to the desired needs of the project. Frequently imidazolium cations, particularly EMIM, are observed in the literature featuring ionic liquids as inhibitors. The next stage was to look at how effective these ionic liquids are, however, exchanging the halogen anion. The properties mentioned before suggest alcohol or ketone groups on the anion in order to maximise hydrogen bonding effectively increasing inhibition ability. This change would also help in making the ILs more environmentally friendly and lower the toxicity of them.
-
-
-
An Experimental and Computational Approach On Avoiding Gas Hydrate Problems in Qatar's Oil and Gas Industry
المؤلفون: Mert AtilhanQatar's one of the biggest problem in processing its natural resource, which is natural gas, is the often occurring blockage in the pipelines caused due to uncontrolled gas hydrate formation in the pipelines. Several millions of dollars are being spent at the process site to dehydrate the blockage safely by using chemical inhibitors. We aim to establish national database, which addresses the physical conditions that promotes Qatari natural gas to form gas hydrates in the pipelines. Moreover, we aim to design and test novel hydrate inhibitors that are suitable for Qatari natural gas and its processing facilities. From these perspectives we are aiming to provide more effective and sustainable reservoir utilization and processing of Qatari natural gas. In this work, we present the initial finding of a big project, which deals with the natural gas hydrate formation characteristics of Qatari type gas in both experimental (PVTx) and computational (molecular simulations) methods. We present the commissioning of the new fully automated gas hydrate autoclave and measurements of hydrate equilibrium curves including growth/dissociation conditions for multi-component systems for several gas mixtures with and without the presence of well known kinetic and thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors.
-
-
-
Natural Gas Hydrate Equilibrium Experiments for Qatar Natural Gas Samples
المؤلفون: Mert AtilhanQatar holds the world's third-largest reserves of natural gas at 890 trillion cubic feet according to proven reserves according the latest report in 2013. This plentiful natural resource makes Qatar being one of the most important key players in LNG business around the globe. Qatar's natural gas reservoirs are located 80 km off the shore in North Field. Qatar's LNG production is highly dependent on the reliable natural gas feed from the offshore wellheads to on shore processing facilities. Typical gas composition and pipeline operating conditions makes the flow assurance quite challenging in the North Field which causes unplanned shutdowns and jeopardizes the reliable LNG export to end users. Classical hydrate formation inhibition methods are used in order to prevent plugging of the pipelines however gas industry still suffers from hydrate formation conditions for changing gas concentration, determination of the total amount of inhibitors to be injected and the recovery of the injected inhibitors from the pipeline. These challenges make gas industry in Qatar dependent on the external resources in finding temporary solutions, which currently is not available locally in Qatar. This work presents recent investigation on natural gas hydrates for Qatari type natural gas mixtures with initiatives aimed at helping producers minimize costs, optimize operations, and prevent interruption of gas flow in offshore drilling and production. We present preliminary results and data from a newly commissioned high pressure hydrate autoclave. Calibrations of the autoclave with pure methane and carbon dioxide were compared with literature and Hydraflash software. Upon validation of the calibration data and determination of the apparatus uncertainty, results for hydrate formation equilibrium points for Qatar natural gas sample were collected and were compared with a theoretical data obtained from Hydraflash software.
-
-
-
Application a statistical method for simulating PM10 concentrations distribution in urban receptors: Case study of Tehran
المؤلفون: Mohammad RahimiThe achievement of air quality standards (AQS) is the main concern of air quality managers. In the semi arid and arid areas such as Qatar, dust storms release large amounts of particulate into the atmosphere every year, which can cause serious health problems such as lung irritation, allergic reactions, eye infections, meningitis. The present research aims at simulating PM10 concentrations distribution in Tehran by lognormal statistical distribution method during a bit more than 2-year period (2011-19 January 2013). With respect to statistical properties of air pollutants, the number of exceeding daily average concentrations from assigned air quality standards (AQS) can be estimated, as well as the level of reduction in current emission sources of PM10 required in order to meet the AQS. The results show that the distribution of PM10 concentration could be in?uenced by local meteorological conditions in di?erent seasons .In addition, the emission sources reduction of PM10 concentration to meet the air quality standard (PM10> 50µg/m3) for Fath's station is successfully predicted.
-
-
-
Wide-bandwidth Solar energy harvest by using non-linear optics and fluid dynamic
المؤلفون: abul hasanat jahanur rahmanExisting solar technology can convert only limited bandwidth of solar rays into electricity due to the Shockley-Queisser limit of the solar diodes. Rest get wasted by heating up the solar array or reflected back. This proposed method increases this bandwidth range significantly. Thus produces high yield of electricity. Thin organic solar panel sheet is coated for reflecting non-absorbed bandwidth of sun rays. This sheet can be bend into concave shape with different focal radius. By using solar cell mirror made of this panel with MPPT, a solar farm can be made that converts some of the solar energy into electricity and reflects rest of the solar bandwidth into one single focus location where a series of lenses and prisms are located. These series of lenses converts the incoming bandwidth of rays into tightly focus collimated Gaussian beam which goes through two heterogeneous or multimode circular prisms in a close loop waveguide for ring lasing pulse generation. These prisms have layers of different refractive indexes. So, higher frequencies come out near the circumference of one of the prism and lower frequencies come out from its center. And the other one has opposite effect. First beam goes through a pipe in which fluid is flowing in opposite direction and the other beams at the opposite side enter through the same direction of the fluid flow. Two beams are tuned to be out of phase. This increases absorption by fluid due to destructive effect of the beams. The viscosity of the fluid is controlled through varying temperature and pressure. It is mostly kept in a controlled laminar flow, where center fluid layer has higher velocity than the boundary layer. This superfluid needs to be both electrical and thermal conductive. The spectrum in which beam is divided, the higher frequency rays (UV, X- rays) hit the lower velocity fluid layer (near boundary) and lower frequencies (infrared) for higher velocity fluid layers (near center). Similar to laser cooling technique, all fluid atoms are excited to same virtual energy state depending on thermal stability. Depending on the intensity of this two photon absorption and above threshold energy level in the continuum, either free electron or higher harmonics (HHG) can be generated by four wave-mixing, self-phase modulation and Raman scattering process within this non-linear superfluid. This superfluid II supports magnetic vortices that confined the free electron or induced hyperpolarized fluid atoms. Through mode locking technique these higher harmonics can form high intensity femtosecond pulse that can be used to produce electricity in a plasma cavity and multi-channel plates (MCP). Since all fluid atoms are excited at same population average energy, the emitted side-bandwidth beside the pulse is very narrow, which can be converted into electricity by using conventional solar tiles. The other outcome is cooling effect because fluid gets cool down due to losing kinetic energy. This new method can not only produce high volume power generation but also provide temperature controlling system for a city that is especially located in desert.
-
-
-
Simulation Of The Fischer-Tropsch Fixed Bed Reactor For The Design Of Novel Gtl Process In Non-Conventional Reaction Media
المؤلفون: Nimir ElbashirFischer-Tropsch synthesis (FTS) is a key technology for converting syngas (H2/CO mixture) into a variety of hydrocarbon products via the gas-to-liquid technology (GTL) process. Although this technology has existed for decades, commercial development remains limited to a few reactor configurations (e.g. fixed bed reactor, fluidized bed and slurry reactor). On the lab-scale, the utilization of supercritical fluids as reaction media in FTS was shown to combine the advantages of both the gas-phase (fixed bed) and the liquid-phase (slurry) reactors, while simultaneously overcoming their limitations [1]. Our previous studies in this field reported the challenges facing the design of a novel supercritical fluids FTS reactor technology [2,4]. The current study focuses on modeling the in situ behavior of typical SCF-FTS reactor bed ('macro-scale' assessment) as well as catalyst pellet ('micro-scale' assessment). This research has several objectives; however its main scope is to provide both qualitative and quantitative assessment of the in situ behavior of the non-ideal reactor bed relative to the conventional gas-phase fixed bed reactor technology, as a first step towards industrial scale-up. The specific aims of our paper are as follows: to simulate the heat and mass transfer behavior inside the reactor bed; to identify operating conditions using near- or supercritical fluids capable of overcoming mass and heat transfer limitations inside the reactor bed; and to quantify the role of the main controlling parameters on the reactor bed behavior as measured by the catalyst effectiveness factor. A typical mathematical modeling technique for the fixed bed reactor was applied to simultaneously simulate the concentration and temperature profiles inside the catalyst pores (micro-scale modeling) and inside the reactor bed (macroscale modeling) [5-7]. For the micro scale simulation of the in situ behavior inside a spherical catalyst pellet a second order ordinary differential equation was used to describe both the mass and heat balances. For the macro scale modeling a 1D steady state pseudo homogeneous plug-flow model was used. In addition, in both models the mass balance equation was expressed in terms of fugacity to account for the non-ideal behavior of the reaction mixture in the SCF reaction. The thermodynamic properties of the mixture were calculated using the Soave-Redlich-Kwong equation of state (SRK-EOS). Using this methodology, the effect of pressure in the (near)-critical fluid (SCF) assisted reaction, and the effect of the (near)-critical fluid on heat transfer and temperature distribution within the reactor was investigated. We also investigated the effect of the particle size on the overall catalyst effectiveness factor for both the SCF and gas phase FTS. Figure1 and Figure2 show the temperature and conversion profiles under comparable conventional gas phase reaction and SCF reaction conditions. The most dramatic effect can be found in the temperature distribution profile. Due to the presence of the solvent the generated heat is absorbed, leading to a much smoother temperature profile. In general, this study will provide a comparison between the in situ behavior and the catalyst effectiveness factor for the proposed novel process versus the conventional gas-phase FTS reactor bed under equivalent operating conditions.
-
-
-
Boiling Of Binary Hydrocarbon Mixtures On Water
المؤلفون: Tomasz OlewskiThe boiling of binary hydrocarbon mixture on water exhibits a special immiscible liquid-liquid heat transfer phenomenon where the heat transfer parameters change rapidly in a short duration of time. The boiling of hydrocarbon mixtures involves a process called ageing where the vaporization of most volatile component takes place faster leaving behind the less volatile component. This process establishes a concentration gradient which changes with time. The boiling heat flux thus produced for mixtures is quite different from this of the pure component. In the boiling of a pure liquid the entire boiling process is heat transfer controlled. In contrast, when a multicomponent mixture boils, the vapor and liquid phases are present in different composition and boiling process is controlled by both temperature and concentration gradients. The boiling of two different binary mixtures of hydrocarbons comprising of methane-ethane and methane-propane was studied. Theoretical correlations for nucleate and film boiling, which takes into account the modified heat transfer coefficient and wall superheat heat, were used to determine the heat flux. The modified heat transfer coefficient called ideal heat transfer coefficient was found to be a function of the concentration of the light components. The ageing of the mixture was expressed as a ratio of heavier to the lighter hydrocarbons. Predicted heat flux values were compared against experimental data and showed moderate-good fitting with the model with some identified trends.
-
-
-
Optimal Policies For The Diffusion Of Renewable Energy Systems
المؤلفون: Shadi GoodarziClimate change, caused by excess green house gas (GHG) emissions from human activities is becoming a pressing problem as the Earth's mean surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 °C since the early 20th century (America's Climate Choices, 2011). It is now widely accepted that investment in renewable energy sources is one of the most effective solutions to amend the emission of GHGs. Yet renewable energy technologies only account for a small fraction of the world's primary energy supply. Several technical, economical and behavioral reasons hinder market diffusion of these technologies; among these we note the lack, inadequacy or instability of the governmental policies to promote sustainable energy solutions. Various policies such as subsidies and tax reductions have been implemented to facilitate the diffusion of renewable energy systems. Yet, there is limited research on which policy is optimal, taking into account the complexities and externalities in the supply chain of such renewables as Photovoltaic (PV) systems. Using a stylized economical model, this research aims at identifying optimal policies for adoption of PV systems. We develop a model with a 3-player environment, which includes a grid operator responsible for meeting electricity demands, a PV manufacturer, and customers who are sensitive about their investment payback time with heterogeneous 'discount rate', reflecting their attitude toward the time value of money. The grid operator is responsible to meet all electricity demand, while aiming at increasing PV penetration. The PV manufacturer as well as the customers seeks to maximize their own profit/utility. The decision variable for the customers is whether or not to adopt the system, affecting profit of the two other parties by determining the demand as well as the amount and variation of the electricity fed into the grid using the PV systems. The decision variable for the PV manufacturer is the price to charge for each PV unit, while the grid operator decides on the incentive schemes for adoption including feed-in tariffs and subsides. We investigate the equilibrium outcome in this intertwined decision environment as a sequential game, where the manufacturer determines the price of PV units given the governmental incentive systems, and the customers determine demand. Using this equilibrium outcome, we then investigate the effectiveness of various incentive policies to maximize supply chain profit as well as PV penetration.
-
-
-
First Record Of Pseudoceramodactylus Khobarensis Haas, 1957 (Reptilia: Squamata: Gekkonidae) In Qatar
المؤلفون: Aitor ValdeónThe Gulf sand gecko (Pseudoceramodactylus khobarensis Haas, 1957) is a nocturnal gecko endemic to the Arabian Gulf countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Iran). The species is easily recognizable, being a medium sized ground dwelling gecko with no enlarged tubercles on the dorsum nor lamellae beneath toes, like Stenodactylus species, but Pseudoceramodactylus khobarensis has at least one pair of enlarged postmental scales, absent in Stenodactylus species. In this study we report the presence Pseudoceramodactylus khobarensis in Qatar for the first time. We found the species on two islands (Al Aaliya and Al Saflia) and in the mainland (Abu Samra and two areas in Ras Laffan). The islands are the smallest where this species is known to occur. The habitat occupied by the geckos consists of salty coastal areas with shrubs. Our findings in this study bridge one of the current geographic gaps in the known distribution range of this species. We believe that this gecko species is more widely distributed in Qatar than we report here and an extensive inventory is required to map the full range of the species in Qatar and also in other countries of the Arabian Gulf. This abstract is a contribution for the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference (QF-ARC-2013).
-
-
-
Characterization And Application For Qatalum'S First Cut Spent Spot Lining
المؤلفون: Aboubakr AbdullahSpent spot lining (SPL) is a graphite/ceramic waste that is produced from the aluminum industry. The rate of SPL production is expected to increase worldwide by 500,000 tons per year. SPL is considered as a hazardous material since it contains many contaminants e.g. fluorides, cyanides, lead and chromium in addition to flammable gases when it comes in contact with water e.g. ammonia, phosphine, hydrogen and methane. Hydrogen and methane accounts for approximately 99 percent of gases generated. These gases are released slowly for significant lengths of time which could present an explosion hazard in confined or poorly ventilated spaces. Furthermore, the SPL contaminants can diffuse to the water ground during storage. The aims of this work are to (i) design and verify a full analysis protocol for the SPL and (ii) find a suitable application for consuming the SPL waste. SPL was collected from Qatalum, grinded using a ball miller and then washed with water, conc. HNO3 and finally with conc. NaOH. The evolved gases in each stage were collected in gas collection bags and analyzed using gas chromatography. Also, the eluents from the different washing steps were collected for the induced coupled plasma (ICP) analysis to determine the concentration of the different trace metals. Furthermore, a qualitative analysis for the anions was done. Part of the graphite was transformed into graphene which later was was functionalized in two different ways to add acidic and basic moieties on its surface to trap basic and acidic gases, respectively which are evolved during the washing and chemical treatment of the SPL.
-
-
-
Principles For Sustainable And Efficient Settlements, Based On A Multi-Agent Interface Between The Physical Spaces Structure And The Energy Grid
المؤلفون: Giovanni Luigi La RoccaThe “multi-agent systems” approach allows to model the interaction between various entities (agents), through an organization that helps to simplify problems with a high number of freedom degrees. An agent is a semi-autonomous entity that interacts with the surrounding reality through its own system of decision, cognition, communication and organization. The research project aims to define a relationship between the design of the energy system and the suitable organization of the physical spaces. The livable conditions for the physical spaces need a strong relationship between the natural resources and the environment artificial transformations. These ones include architectural and engineering approaches in order to generate an integrated design where active and passive solutions produce advantageous gains also in terms of duration and quantity. A specific goal of the research consists in exploring the agent approach in order to integrate, in a compensatory way, the energy system and the physical space structure, defining the agent itself as their interface. At the change of the environmental conditions, the agent minds to preserve efficiently the optimal habitability conditions of the urban and architectural spaces. To reach this result, it will be used its feature to interact with the space in which it is immersed. In this case, the interaction is established with the control system of the comfort standards, defining: * Firstly, the use of active and passive devices of exploitation of the direct gains (i.e. solar, wind, etc…); * Secondly, the use of the energy network, to compensate the passive gains and the energy exchanges with the other elements of the network. The control framework of the agent will be determined through a mathematical model whose variables derive from the physical space and the energy system. Through this system, the research project will deal with a series of issues that contribute to define a sustainable and efficient settlement: * A coherent management of different environmental resources oriented towards new livable and meaningful public and private spaces conception; * The mobility network system improving the settlement structure and its functionality, through the target of car-free living and car-sharing; * The problem of synchronization of distributed energy generation and the quality of the electric power fed into the urban micro-grid. The research will be structured through the following phases: 1) Definition of the invariants on which to work: - Climate; - Geomorphology; - Urban morphology; - Building morphology; - Energy production and consumption; - Usable renewable energy sources. 2) Definition of the "agent interface": role, control features and mathematical law; 3) Modelling different urban structures; 4) Experimentation of the model, through: * Software simulations; * Realization of the model prototype, defined on the base of the simulations. The agent architecture contributes to the energy efficiency (at both the urban and building scales) implying an energy management based on: * The analysis of the effective needs; * The use of sharing and self-sufficient strategies. The expected results consist in defining possible guidelines suitable in designing new space organization as well in restructuring the existing structures.
-
-
-
The Impact Of Information Sources And Perceived Technological Uncertainty On The Adoption Of Photovoltaic Systems
المؤلفون: Shadi Goodarzi*The increasing attention received by environmental problems in general and by global warming in particular reignites the debate around the sustainability of energy sources and renewable energy technologies. Renewable energies (RE) are considered one of the most effective and least risky solutions to curb greenhouse gas emissions. By providing emission-free and sustainable energy, these energies are main alternatives to fossil fuels. Yet, notwithstanding the advantages and the fact that they have experienced a substantial growth over the last decade, RE market penetration still remains below the levels judged necessary to effectively curb C02 emissions. Increasing RE penetration requires therefore that concerned actors such as RE companies and policy makers develop a more thorough understanding of the factors that affect the RE diffusion process. To that end, in this study we adopt a new technology diffusion perspective to shed further light on the factors that may hamper or accelerate the diffusion of a specific type of RE: photovoltaic systems (PV). We especially discuss and examine the impact of the following factors: i) the type and amount of PV-related information acquired by potential adopters; ii) the perceived economic value of PV; iii) the role of technological uncertainty and iv) the degree of competition in the PV market. We put forth a conceptual model of PV diffusion and we test it using primary data obtained through a survey of the actual and the potential clients of a large European utility that also sells PV systems. We used a set of logit models to estimate the impact of the above factors on the probability of adopting a PV system and we examined possible second order and interaction effects between these factors. The analysis provides interesting insights, particularly with respect to the role of information and the process through which it is acquired by potential adopters. Most importantly, the results indicate that information acquired through personal contacts (e.g. by visiting stores or talking to friends and colleagues) has a much greater impact on the probability of adoption than information filtered by other types of media (e.g. obtained from the web). This indirectly stresses the key role played by retailers, who guarantee a face-to-face contact with potential customers. Second, our results show that, contrary to expectations, increasing the number of market competitors decreases the probability of adoption, possibly because potential adopters defer their adoption decision when the number of available alternatives increases beyond a certain limit. Interestingly, we also note that the impact of perceived economic value and technological uncertainty is not significant, as if PV systems had already reached a minimum level of cost competitiveness and technological maturity. Altogether, our results indicate that - in addition to focusing on improving technological effectiveness and reducing system cost, RE providers should pay a lot of attention to the way they organize their distribution channels and to how they design their marketing campaigns. *The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Qatar National Research Fund (project n. NPRP 5 - 873 - 5 - 133
-
-
-
Study Of Hotspot Of Pv Modules In Flammable Dust Application Environment
المؤلفون: Anbu Vendan D. PandianBackground Hotspot over the surface of the Photo Voltaic (PV) Modules due to partial shading through dust deposition can cause a p-n junction breakdown leading to temperature rise over the surface of the modules. When the PV module operating current exceeds the reduced short circuit current(Isc) of the shaded cell, it cannot produce energy, rather starts to consume power from the other PV cells connected in series. Researchers measured hotspot temperature rise in the range of 150~200Deg.C due to partial shading or illumination distribution imbalance. Also the intensity of rise can reach to the tune of +300Deg.C, when hotspot occurs due to a crack / damage on cell. Level of temperature rise depending on numerous factors such as number of PV cells connected in series to shaded cell, Open Circuit Voltage (Voc) of the PV cell, shunt resistance, band gap of the PV cell material and location of shade etc. Installation of grid connected PV solar farms adjacent to flammable dust environment can deposit over the PV modules creating partial shading leading to rise in surface temperature. Auto Ignition Temperature (AIT) of many of the flammable / explosive substances are well classified and above + 85Deg.C can become a source of ignition. By-pass diodes are employed to minimize or prevent the effect of hotspot on PV cell by forward biasing the diode during faulty conditions. Normal design in commercial PV modules consider to add a by-pass diode for a set of 15~18 PV cells. There are characteristics mismatch between the PV cells and by-pass diode hence prevention of hotspot is not ensured in total in the event of diode failure. Encapsulated PV module can withstand localized temperature to the tune of +95~150Deg.C depending on the material, the temperature rise due to hotspot can rise above these limits. Methods: Flammable dust is a mixture of lowest AIT (+102Deg.C) substance Carbon Disulfide(CS2) liquid with ash and saw dust. Partial shading of PV modules by the flammable dust mixture for the test is to select cell current coincides as closely as possible with module Isc. Objectives: The main objective of this research paper is to study and evaluate the effect of hotspot phenomena of the PV Modules in flammable dust environment with a focus on fire safety. Results & Conclusions: Mono crystalline and polycrystalline PV modules with varying voltage levels and power output are setup for the experimental verification. Flammable dust mixture for shading is prepared for the experimentation with CS2, ash and saw dust materials in equal proportion. Lower temperature rise PV module is more suited for a flammable dust environment and this study is aimed to identify the material. Key outcome this research may recommend for an application specific PV module is recommended with following design configurations for use in flammable atmosphere, 1. By-pass diode across 3 ~ 6 PV cells thereby reducing the power to dissipate across the shaded cell. 2. Materials of PV cell with lower Voc or band-gap engineered semiconducting material to reduce the effect of hotspot.
-
-
-
Sustainability Assessment Of Energy,Water And Food Nexus In The Arabian Peninsula
المؤلفون: Tareq Al-AnsariThere is a growing momentum to analyse the broader interdependencies of the energy, water and food systems rather than evaluating them in isolation. For instance, it is impossible to consider a food system without evaluating its respective agriculture, water and energy characteristics using a suitable sustainability assessment methodology. The objective of this paper is to present the sustainability assessment model under development by the authors, which integrates the energy, water and food systems in one resource model. The integrated nexus tool is being designed to estimate the performance of the nexus at appropriate scale and resolution by identifying and quantifying the impact of given food production scenarios on terrestrial and marine eco-systems. Furthermore, the development of an integrated food system is key to the identification of the processes with the largest environment footprint. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is used to prepare detailed models of the sub-system components, determine the linkages between the different nexus constituents and evaluate impacts to the natural environment. The model developed considers the environmental impacts of selected processes within the food system with a special focus in regions of the world where water scarcity is a significant concern, such as Qatar. The nexus elements are described by sub-systems which are modelled using a combination of mass balance calculations, thermodynamic estimates and emission factors derived from literature and real plant data. The food sub-system includes the production and application of fertilizers and emissions from certain agriculture practices such as the raising of livestock. The water sub-systems include the production of water using desalination processes such as Reverse Osmosis and Multi-Stage flash and its distribution to the farm. The energy sub-systems consider both fossil fuel and renewable energy. Environmental emissions are calculated for a food production scenario in Qatar. This involves a crop production profile and corresponding land, water, energy and fertilizer requirements which will serve as inputs to the sub-system models. The outputs of the model are assigned into their respective LCA impact categories. Furthermore, desalination brine discharge is also considered for the aquatic-eco toxicity impact category. Within the sub-systems considered, it is shown the food sub-system produces the largest emissions, followed by fossil fuel powered desalination for irrigation. These emissions in addition the natural gas consumption can be significantly reduced if renewable energy in the form of PV systems are used, with however a significant land footprint. Furthermore, the available simulation tools, which consider the impact of desalination on the salinity of the wider Arabian Gulf, were critically evaluated with respect to their physical significance. When using the projection tool, it was found that Qatar’s food system contribution would represent approximately 0.5% of the total calculated salinity increase. However, evaluating historical data up to 2006, there has been no evidence to support significant differences in salinity conditions within the Arabian Gulf. As such, until a validated and comprehensive predicative model is developed, the models to date cannot provide conclusions on the salinity evolution of the Arabian Gulf and can only serve as comparisons between 2 scenarios.
-
-
-
Development Of Cao-Based Mixed Oxides As Stable Sorbents For Sorption Enhanced-Chemical Looping Steam Methane Reforming
المؤلفون: Angeliki A LemonidouMethane steam reforming is a carbon-intensive process with high energy requirements. The addition of a CO2 sorbent in the reformer has been proposed as an alternative process to reduce heat demands (since the carbonation reaction is exothermic) and at the same time capture CO2, drive the thermodynamic equilibrium and obtain high-purity hydrogen. In a QNRF funded project, AUTH and TAMUQ are investigating sorption enhanced steam reforming combined with chemical looping. The process is called Sorption Enhanced-Chemical Looping Steam Methane Reforming and in addition to the sorbent, the reformer contains material which serves as an oxygen transfer material (OTM). The basic principle is shown in Fig.1. During the reduction step (reforming), the OTM is reduced by methane into metallic nickel, the active catalyst for endothermic methane reforming, and the reaction proceeds under near autothermal conditions due to heat released by sorbent carbonation. During the regeneration/oxidation step, the reduced OTM is re-oxidized, releasing significant amount of heat which drives the endothermic regeneration of the saturated sorbent. The key for successful commercialization of the process is development of stable sorbents and OTMs that can undergo multiple cycles of reaction/regeneration without deterioration in their performance. Herein, we report results from our studies on development of CaO-based mixed oxides CO2 sorbents. Mixed calcium oxides with alumina, zirconia, magnesia and lanthana were synthesized via the sol-gel autocombustion method using citric acid as a combustion agent. The mixed oxides were prepared with constant 66wt% concentration of free CaO and were characterized by BET and XRD. Results showed that CaO is formed in all cases, accompanied by formation of mixed Ca3Al2O6 and CaZrO3 in Ca-Al and Ca-Zr sorbents, respectively. On the contrary no mixed phase was formed between CaO and Mg or La. The sorption capacity and stability of the sorbents were tested in a TGA instrument (or unit) for 100 consecutive sorption-desorption cycles under 15% CO2 in N2 for 30 minutes at 650°C and 100% N2 for 5 minutes at 850°C. The CO2 capacity of all the synthesized sorbents as a function of a number of cycles is shown in Fig.2. The highest CaO conversion was obtained with Ca-Al (99.8%), followed by Ca-Zr, Ca-Mg and Ca-La. The most stable material proved to be Ca-Zr with only 13.7% loss of capacity after 100 cycles. Ca-Al also had a promising performance with 20.7% loss, while Mg and La both exhibited significant deactivation (i.e. 30% loss in sorption capacity). The two most promising materials (Ca-Al and Ca-Zr) were also synthesized using a different combustion agent, triethanolamine, to investigate the effect of an organic fuel. The use of TEA was beneficial for Ca-Zr,which achieved higher CaO conversion (96.9%) and better stability (13.4% loss), while the opposite trend was observed for Ca-Al. Overall among all investigated CO2-sorbents, Ca-Al and Ca-Zr prepared with both citric acid and triethanolamine as combustion agents, exhibited excellent initial capacity and stability, with a sorption capacity higher than 9 mol CO2/kg of sorbent after 100 sorption-desorption cycles under relatively mild operating conditions.
-
-
-
Comparative Sedimentology, Geomorphology and Hydrochemistry of Continental and Coastal Sabkha Systems, Qatar
المؤلفون: Sher Mey OoiHolocene sabkhas in the Arabian Gulf are important as analogues to ancient evaporitic hydrocarbon reservoirs. Sabkha, an Arabic term for salt flat, refers to marine coastal sediments which have been modified by precipitation of evaporitic minerals from groundwaters. Extensive and detailed geomorphological and sedimentological characterization of depositional environments in Qatar provides a framework for understanding hydrological and geochemical processes controlling the origins of evaporites, their spatial distribution and likely evolution of burial diagenesis through time. A range of hydrological models have been proposed to account for the sources of solutes forming the evaporites in different sabkhas, including discharge of continental groundwaters, evaporative pumping of seawater, seawater flooding and free convection. Comparison of two hydrological end-member regimes in Qatar, a coastal sabkha in continuity with marine water (Mesaieed) and a continental sabkha within a closed basin (Dukhan), offers new insights into the variability and complexity of sabkha hydrological systems. Mesaieed sabkha, located in the southeast of Qatar is part of a prograding coastal plain and consists of an onlap wedge of Holocene sediments with a basal coarse transgressive lag, overlying Eocene bedrock. The Holocene wedge is in hydraulic continuity with both marine and continental waters, although tidal head differences are observed only a short distance inland from the coast. Dukhan, a large inland sabkha in the Arabian Gulf, has formed in a syncline between the Qatar arch and the Dukhan anticline, which separate it from the west coast. The sabkha surface is below sea level, separated from a marine embayment to the north by an Eocene sill of unknown transmissibility. Sea-level reconstructions reveal marine communication in the Early Holocene, suggesting the basin was flooded during an earlier highstand, with evaporitic lakes or salinas developed within restricted areas. Gypsum is the most common diagenetic evaporite mineral in both sabkhas and is pervasive above and below the water table, with minor calcite, dolomite, anhydrite and halite. In Mesaieed such cementation is extensive in the proximal sabkha (in sediments dated c. 6000 yr BP), whilst in the central part (c. 4000 yr BP) gypsum is restricted to surface crusts and water table cements, and is largely absent in the distal (coastal) sabkha (≤ 2000 yr BP). In Dukhan gypsum occurs as surface crusts, detrital grains and coarse crystal mushes, formed in the sediment as well as in standing water. Halite and anhydrite occur near the surface. Geochemical studies suggest that evaporites are forming today. Both sabkhas act as sinks for brackish groundwater from the underlying Eocene aquifers of Qatar. Evaporative concentration of discharging groundwaters in the sabkha at and above the shallow water table generates dense fluids which reflux into the underlying Eocene, increasing solute concentration with distance from the Eocene/Holocene contact. In Mesaieed, studies indicate rare episodic inundation of the sabkha surface and subsurface intrusion of seawater may be significant in the distal part of the system and could explain the paucity of gypsum cementation.
-
-
-
Nanosorbents For The Selective Removal Of Boron From Seawater
المؤلفون: Khaled MahmoudThe rejection efficiency of boron by RO membranes is poor, especially when a large proportion of boron in feedwater exists as uncharged boric acid which can diffuse through most of the available RO membranes.1,2 Among the methods suggested for boron removal from water and wastewater, adsorption is a very useful and economical technique. Magnetic adsorbents containing chelating precursors that are selective for boron have been used as a smart, fast and simple method for the separation and pre-concentration of boron3. After adsorption, the adsorbents can be isolated from the medium by simple magnetic separation. Here, we present novel magnetic nanocomposites for the selective removal of boron from seawater. The nanocomposites have been synthesized and fully characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tunneling electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) and powder x-rat diffraction (PXRD). This technology provides a simple method for the adsorption of boron and separation of magnetic nanoparticles from a solution using an easy magnetic procedure. The effect of different nanosorbents, sorbent amount and pH on the sorption of boron was studied. The magnetic sorbent that provided the highest boron sorption efficiency was used for the subsequent experiments investigating the most effective magnetic sorbent amount and pH for the sorption of boron. Experimental results indicate that boron sorption increases with increasing sorbent dosage up to a sorbent amount of approximately 0.6 g, after which the difference in removal efficiency was found to be negligible. The effect of pH on boron removal efficiency using the nanosorbents was studied at initial boron concentrations of 4-5 ppm, amounts commonly found in seawater. The sorption of boron was found to be highest at a pH range of 7-7.5 with a sorption efficiency of 77.6 ± 1%.
-
-
-
Different Kinetic Degradation Of Methyl Orange By Nanostructured Titania: Titania Nanotube, Titania Nanofiber, And Titania Nanoparticle
المؤلفون: Dong Suk HanTiO2 is a semiconductor with photo-catalytic properties and is being thoroughly investigated for its use in the degradation of harmful environmental pollutants using photo-catalytic reactions. The effects of TiO2 nanoparticles and different structured TiO2 electrodes on methyl orange degradation using sunlight have been investigated. Titania Nanotube (TNT) and Titania Nanofiber (TNF) were obtained through anodic oxidation of pure titanium sheet and titania nanoparticle was commercially available. Nanostructured Titania was doped with palladium and Methyl Orange, a harmful environmental pollutant, was degraded using palladium doped nanostructured titania. The kinetic degradation was observed using UV-Vis spectroscopy. Titania Nanotube degraded the pollutant faster than titania nanofiber because of the larger surface area provided by tubes. Titania nanoparticle being in the powder form was the most effective in degrading methyl orange pollutant because of the very large surface area providing higher catalytic capability.
-
-
-
Isolation And Screening Of Hydrocarbon Degrading Bacterial Strains For Bioremediation Of Petroleum Pollution In Qatar
المؤلفون: Zulfa Al DisiPollution, due to activities related to the oil industry, represents a serious threat to the natural environment. The application of biotechnological methods provides much safer and sustainable alternatives for bioremediation of polluted areas, using microorganisms. Several techniques for the isolation of hydrocarbon degrading bacteria have been investigated and published worldwide. A wide range of biological activities was shown. However, local hydrocarbon degrading strains and the factors affecting bacterial and strains variability were not studied deeply. In this study, we showed that the isolation and screening strategy affected a lot, the selection of the strains. We combined the bacterial tolerance to hydrocarbon toxicity, assessed by the growth parameters, and the bacterial degradative activities, assessed by the degradation of a wide range of petroleum hydrocarbons via gas chromatography analysis. The main investigations and findings of the present work are: A collection of 39 bacterial isolates from Qatari polluted soil was set up and a new isolation and screening program was proposed. The growth conditions and the activity of pre-selected strains Shift of the activity of the selected strains from a range of hydrocarbons to another by the effect of the nitrogen source, C/N ratio and organic nitrogen source 70% hydrocarbon removal, achieved with several strains in 2 weeks. Amongst 12 identified isolates and by molecular ribotyping-DNA sequencing, 3 strains of Pseudomonas genus were isolated from a polluted soil in Qatar, are available for bioremediation of highly polluted soils, tolerating high toxicity and may be adapted to a variety of low or high molecular weight hydrocarbons.
-
-
-
Performance Analysis Of Empty Container Logistics At Qatalum Smelter
المؤلفون: Fatih MutluThis project aims at identifying and validating the performance measurements of container logistics at Qatalum Smelter. The project investigates two different cases that Qatalum has implemented to manage the empty container logistics using simulation. The first case is to keep a limited empty container buffer; and the second case is to provide empty containers in a just-in-time fashion. Accordingly, a field research was conducted at Qatalum to collect required data. Quantitative and informative data were collected though meetings, on-site observations, and time and motion measurements to develop spaghetti diagrams that show all possible flows and flow charts of container logistics in order to develop the simulation models. Both situations were simulated using Arena software. Optimal buffer size of empty containers inside the cast house was determined, in which different empty containers buffer sizes were tried to choose the optimum buffer size. The vehicle fleet utilization in both cases was determined and scenario testing was implemented, in which the effect of adding additional resources was observed. The results show that the optimal buffer size of empty containers inside the cast house is 14 containers. The vehicle fleet utilization in the current case is less than its utilization in sand case and the most utilized vehicles in both cases are trucks and the container mover. The impact of additional resources is also studied via simulation.
-
-
-
Migration Of Phthalates Into Bottled Water
المؤلفون: Noof AlqassmiMigration of phthalates into bottled water
-
-
-
Synthesis, Characterization, And Application Of Pyrite For Removal Of Mercury
المؤلفون: Dong Suk HanSynthesis, Characterization, and Application of Pyrite for Removal of Mercury
-
-
-
Reactive Nanoparticle-Supported Dead-End Flow Ultrafiltration For Removal Of Mercury From Water: Effect Of Solution Composition
المؤلفون: Dong Suk HanReactive Nanoparticle-Supported Dead-End Flow Ultrafiltration for Removal of Mercury from Water: Effect of Solution Composition
-
-
-
Modeling A Seawater Flash Distillation Process With The Q-Electrolattice Equation Of State
المؤلفون: Faiha Al-QahtaniModeling a Seawater Flash Distillation Process with the Q-Electrolattice Equation of State
-
-
-
Effect Of Lspr And Pspr Coupling In Different Patterns Of Silver And Gold
المؤلفون: Anchu AshokAnchu Ashok*, Arya Arackal, George Jacob, Gargi Raina Centre for Nanotechnology Research, VIT University, Vellore, India - 632014 * [email protected] Keywords: Surface Plasmon, Localization, Propagating surface plasmon, Coupling. Surface Plasmons (SPs) are collective electron oscillations at metal dielectric interface. They are often categorized into localized surface plasmon resonance and propagating surface plasmon resonance (PSPR). LSPR are non propagating electromagnetic waves and PSPR are propagating. In this work, we have carried out a study of Electric Field Intensity variation for different isolated and array structures of Au and Ag for corresponding plasmonic wavelength. Double plasmon resonance peak are observed, which is the combined effect of localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR) and propagating surface plasmonic resonance (PSPR). Shape, size and thickness of the structures affect Localized surface plasmonic resonance while as propagating surface plasmonic resonance (PSPR) is dependent on the 1D and 2D arrangements of the patterns. Depending on the sharp and confined corners, density of the hot spot in structures changes. Hence, triangular structure gives more excitation when compared with circle, square and ellipse. This work followed triangular patterns to find the coupling effect of LSPR and PSPR depend on the arrangement of patterns. Incident TM polarized plane wave of wavelength from 300 nm to 1000 nm with electric field intensity 1V/m was given for finding the enhancement of electric field in the patterns. Sharper the corners, more is the electric field enhancement. Another important factor affecting the enhancement of electric field is the grating period. If distance of two adjacent corners decreases, the coupling between the localized surface plasmons increases. This increase in coupling leads to the propagating electromagnetic wave called propagating surface plasmons (PSPs). This coupling distance depends on the propagation length of electric field from one structure to another. If the second structure is placed at a distance less than that of the propagation length there is an effective coupling of the electric field from one structure to another. This work discusses about simulation of electric field intensity for three types of patterns with the variation on their period and confinement employing Finite Element Method (FEM). Double resonance peak are noticed in all structures is due to the coupling effect of field from one structure to another and there is change in field enhancement and resonance wavelength with different patterns. Resonance wavelength due to the PSPR is at longer range and that of LSPR is at shorter range. Propagating surface plasmon resonance wavelength is same for a particular structure irrespective of number of structures in the array. Spectral separation between the LPSR peak and PSPR peak can be modified by changing the period and confinement in the structures. Silver patterns show better enhancement than gold patterns. The enhancement of Gold patterns is in near IR range and that of Silver is in visible range. Combined effect of this LSPR and PSPR give drastic field enhancement which makes these patterns as good substrate candidate for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy and biosensors.
-
-
-
Spatial And Temporal Distribution Of Heavy Metals In Marine Sediment Along The Doha Bay
المؤلفون: Hajer Al-NaimiAbstract Concentrations of twenty five heavy metals (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sr, V, Zn, and Hg) in surface sediment from ten transects each with five stations were studied. The sediment samples were collected in May and December 2012 in order to examine the spatial and temporal variation and investigate the pollution sources. Significant differences were observed in metal concentrations between the sampling locations and durations. Higher concentrations were observed in areas where there are a lot of anthropological activities. The distribution of selected metals were presented in contour maps showing the variation between the two periods. Moreover, it was observed that December 2012 sampling was significantly higher than May 2012. In order to further study particle size effect on metals uptake, two different grinding times were administered on four randomly selected samples and the results showed no significant difference on the analysis in the ICP-OES instrument. The overall results of metal analyses were within the international standards criteria and the results were comparable to the previous studies conducted around Qatar. A monitoring approach is recommended for the sediment quality assessment. Additional examinations were conducted using contour maps that show the distributions of the metals around Doha Bay during May and December 2012.
-
-
-
A High-Power Photovoltaic Power System based on Quasi-Z-Source Cascade Multilevel Inverter
المؤلفون: Yushan LiuI. INTRODUCTION The utility-scale Photovoltaic (PV) system experienced a tremendous growth to satisfy the fast increase of world's power demand. Nowadays, focus has been placed on innovative and cheap inverter solutions and system configurations. Among them, The Cascaded Multi-level Inverter (CMI) structure is more preferable to reach utility-scale power ratings and medium-voltage levels due to transformer-less, small size, high efficiency, high power density, and low cost. However, due to lack of boost function, the traditional CMI will lead to overrating the inverter by a factor of two to cope with wide (1:2) PV voltage variations. The recently proposed quasi-Z-source CMI (qZS-CMI) structure provides attracting improvement by combing the quasi-Z-source network into the traditional CMI. In addition to the advantages of traditional CMI, the qZS-CMI provides buck/boost function in a single-stage inverter topology, the independent dc-link voltage balance, and the one-third module reduction. All of those will bring positive effects on the system volume, efficiency, and cost. Contributions of this paper are proposing a high-power PV system based on qZS-CMI, which is 1-MW power and 11-kV voltage with 16 cascaded quasi-Z-source H-Bridge inverter (qZS-HBI) modules per phase. In this way, the high-power system can be fulfilled by low-power-low-frequency devices, aiming at the proposed PV system of low cost, high efficiency and reliability, and high performance-cost ratio, thus to improve the scientific and economic developments of Qatar. II. METHODS AND RESULTS The proposed system was simulated in MATLAB / Simulink by: 1) Sixteen cascaded quasi-Z-source H-Bridge inverter modules per phase. 2) Each qZS-HBI is fed by separate PV panels. 3) The phase-shifted sinewave pulsewidth modulation is applied to synthesize the multilevel voltage waveform. 4) Next step is to design the control scheme of the system with maximum power point tracking, grid-tie injection, novel modulation, etc.. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work was supported by NPRP-EP No. X - 033 - 2 - 007 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.
-
-
-
Household Laundry Wastewater Reuse For Food Production
المؤلفون: Hazim QiblaweyLaundering processes use significant amounts of water, including water-washing processes and dual-phase washing. These processes perform a separation process in which soil and stains are removed from a textile substrate. The most important ingredients of laundry detergents are bleach, water softeners and surfactants. Using laundry effluent into gardens and lawns was shown to be technically possible without treatment in many areas in Australia and USA. Among the various environmental concerns facing Qatar, the most pressing is linked to the country's most acute water scarcity according to Qatar's National Development Strategy 2011-2016 (QNDPS). Farming in Qatar continue to make heavy demands on Qatar's precious water resources. Laundry wastewater reuse for food production could make a significant contribution to redirecting Qatar's precious natural resources to higher value uses. Related issues like food safety, hygienic issues and possible ground water contaminations should be investigated in parallel with any step to be taken in this regard. The current study aims to evaluate the reuse of laundry wastewater from Qatari household in irrigating edible vegetables (Fig. 1). The wastewater is fully characterized. The analysis includes pH, EC (conductivity) and COD (chemical oxygen demand). In addition Total cations (Na, K, Ca, and Mg), total anions (HCO3, SO4, and Cl), and trace elements including Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Co, Fe, and Cd will be found. The same characterization is followed for the different parts of the plants; leaves, roots, stem, fruits and the planting soil itself. Irrigating with tap water is used as reference (Fig. 2). Plants and soil irrigated with tap water is subjected to the same chemical analysis as the wastewater. The project will shed light on the possibility for the reuse of this valuable wastewater stream. The study will compare the results with international standards and a statements about the suitability of using laundry greywater for irrigation will be withdrawn. The research will define the limitations and put recommendations and suggestions for further implementation. The results from this study are expected to support people working in water and safe food sector in Qatar.
-
-
-
Unsignalized Intersection: Assessment, Forecast And Performance Measures
المؤلفون: Roba SalemVehicles at Qatar university road networks are subject to pass through multiple roundabouts and intersections in order to reach their destination. Since the traffic volume is relatively low, unsignalized controlled intersections are used to regulate the flow of vehicles (sign-controlled) .T shaped intersections and multiple lane roundabouts are utilized throughout Qatar University closed loop system. This study has been conducted to measure the current performance of some unsignalized intersections at Qatar University roads. Two roundabouts and one TWSC intersection were selected for the study. The methods presented in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM 2000) were employed in this study and were used to compute the various approaches and movements capacities and the related performance measures .e.g. Control Delays (s), Queue lengths (veh ) and Level of service (LOS). To this end we will base our capacity analysis on Gap acceptance method and on simple, empirical, lane-based, regression model for multiple lane roundabouts. Data inputs collected for the selected method involved the critical traffic volumes (veh/hr) which occur in the peak hour .15 peak minute flow rates were recorded to obtain the peak hour flow rates. In addition the methods were used to make future projection of the capacities and the related performance measure based on forecasted demand in 2022. The results show that the current performance of the roundabouts is satisfactory for which the Level of service was graded A for all approaches in the two roundabouts given that the computed delays never exceeds 10 s / vehicle in any approach. The current results for the roundabouts coincide with the actual performance of the intersections where very little delays are encountered while driving and very short queues are formed during the peak hour. Regarding the T intersection the performance of the Left turn of the major street was found satisfactory and was graded A while the performance of the shared lane of the minor road was graded C. Based on forecasting results, the increase in entry and conflicting flow rates have resulted in decreasing the expected capacities of the various approaches on the studied intersections. In general for the roundabouts no significant difference in performance is to be experienced in year 2022 when current demand is expected to experience over 50 % increase and still the performance will be satisfactory. The same conclusion was drawn for the Left turn movement from Major Street that no major difference in performance is projected in future. But this conclusion was not applicable on the shared lane where it was very much affected by the increase in demand and the performance has rapidly dropped from its current level.
-
-
-
Critical Pitting Temperature Of Ti-6Al-4V Produced With Rapid Prototyping Technology: Electron Beam Melting Machine
المؤلفون: Dana AbdeenCritical Pitting Temperature of Ti-6Al-4V Produced with Rapid Prototyping Technology: Electron Beam Melting Machine Abstract Titanium and its alloys are valuable engineering materials due to their excellent mechanical and physical properties. Comparing to other metallic materials such as stainless steel and Co-Cr alloys; Ti and its alloys are of lighter weight, higher strength-density ratio, superior corrosion resistance in wide range of environments, and better biocompatibility in human body. The most widely used titanium alloy is Ti-6Al-4V. It contains a combination of α stabilizer (Aluminum) and β stabilizer (Vanadium) that gives better microstructure combination, resulting in a good balance of strength, ductility, fracture and fatigue properties. Rapid prototyping technology allows the manufacturing of 3D intricate objects through the layer-by-layer technique. Electron beam melting (EBM) machine utilizes this 3D printing technology to fabricate complex objects using Ti-6Al-4V alloy. EBM machine uses electrons as the energy source to melt layer-by-layer the metallic powder and build the required parts under vacuum pressure of 10-3 mbar and temperature of 690°C. Parts produced with this machine can be used in many applications such as; petrochemical industry, chemical processing, aerospace applications, medical applications, and automotive industry. Due to the unique manufacturing conditions of high temperature, vacuum pressure, and quenching of the molten metal to nearly room temperature in just a few hours; the corrosion behavior of produced part is likely very different from that of traditional wrought alloys. In addition, surface roughness and density of parts out of such machine is different than traditional commercial titanium. Notwithstanding this, EBM machine can work under different sets of processing parameters, which allows a control of part properties. This study measures the critical pitting temperature (CPT) of samples produced under different processing parameters of EBM machine. CPT test was performed to detect the temperature at which the part will start to pit in a 3.5% weight NaCl solution. CPT gives an indication of the ability of the metal to withstand pitting under specified tested condition and specifies the temperature at which pitting of the surface will start. Surface roughness and density were measured as well, and a Minitab software was used to relate these properties to the EBM machine manufacturing parameters in order to optimize the best working parameters that will enhance the quality and increase corrosion resistance of produced parts.
-
-
-
Isolation, Identification And Characterization Of Soil Borne Fungi From Qu Field 2, Field 3 And Qu Farm
المؤلفون: Meaad Al-JassimMeeaad Y. Al-Jassim1, Noof M. Al-Korbi1, Fatima A. Al-Naemi1 1Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar The mycobiota of soil was investigated in ninety soil samples collected from three different localities in Qatar, biology field2, biology field 3 and University farm. Biology field 2 and biology field 3 are located at longitude and latitude 549350.32 M.E and 2866180 M N 3 549812.00 ME and 2806702.93 M N respectively. Qatar University farm is located in Raodat Al Faras, about 60 km north of Doha (49° 25´ N, 20° 51´ E), 14.1 meters above sea level, with an area of 54.3 ha. Soil samples were collected under Zygophyllum quatarense, which was dominated in biology field 2 and 3 and from rhizosphere of fig, lemon, and date palm trees in QU farm. Twenty nine species of fungi belong to 9 genera were isolated from Biological field 2 and 3 at Qatar University. Whereas 19 fungal species belonging to 10 genera were isolated from QU farm. The distribution of soil borne was affected by the microclimate, physic-chemical propriety of soil and types of vegetation. The genus of highest incidence and their respective numbers of species was, Rhizopus ( 24 %, 3 species) isolated from biology field 2 and 3. The genus of lowest incidence was (Aspergillus (4.5 %, 2 species) islolated from biology field 2 and 3. Whereas, Aspergillus was the most common genera(43.78%, 18 species) isolated from QU farm followed by Rhizopus (13.4 %, 4 species) and Trichoderma (7.7 %, 2 species). Sixteen isolates were shown an antagonistic activity. Alternaria chlamydospora showed highest percentage of antagonistic activity against many species. In contrast, introduction of Rhizopus arrhizus led to approximately 62.5% reduction in Alternaria chlamydospra growth. Moreover, Penicillium griseofulvum inhibited the growth Alternaria chlamydospra by 10%. Keywords: Soil borne fungi, antagonist, microclimate, biological control
-
-
-
Performance Improvement Of Grid-Interfaced Renewable Energy Sources In Smart Grids During Faults
المؤلفون: Hisham El DeebPerformance improvement of grid-interfaced renewable energy sources in smart grids during faults
-
-
-
Reduced Switch Count Asymmetrical Flying Capacitor Multi-Level Inverter For Variable Speed Drives Application
المؤلفون: Atif IqbalReduced Switch Count Asymmetrical Flying Capacitor Multi-level Inverter for Variable Speed Drives Application
-
-
-
Five-Phase Sensorless Induction Motor Drives With Lc Filter For High Power Applications
المؤلفون: Ahmad AbduallahMulti-phase IM drive systems are nowadays seen as a possible alternative to the three-phase drives due to their features that are especially suited for high power applications such as Oil & Gas industries, electric vehicles, traction drive, ship propulsion, robotics and mining and huge number of application. The main advantages of the multi-phase machines are higher power density with reduced volume, lower torque pulsation at higher frequency, lower dc link current harmonics and lower noise and keep going. This fault tolerance capability of the multi-phase machines makes them highly attractive for safety critical applications listed above. The trend in the drive industry is to employ sensorless topology to make the system more reliable, robust, lower hardware count, reduced cabling, reduced cost and less maintenance. The purpose of this paper is to design and develop five-phase speed sensorless induction motor drive system with inverter output LC filter. The drive system are supplied using PWM voltage source inverter and the growing switching speed of IGBTs pose additional problem of high dv/dt. The high dv/dt of the inverter output leads to several problems in the drive systems such as doubling of motor applied voltage (especially for drive with long cable), high voltage stress on motor, leakage and bearing currents leading to the bearing failure and high electromagnetic interference (EMI) etc. To mitigate these issues particularly passive filters are used. This paper focuses on using an LC filter at the output of the five-phase inverter. This paper investigate the design issues of output LC in conjunction with five-phase drive system. The LC filter causes delay and phase shift in the output voltages that affect adversely the motor control especially in sensorless vector controlled drive system. The presence of LC filter is to be incorporated in the speed estimator system. Hence the modification is necessary in the control structure. The effect of inverter output LC filter on the behavior of a sensorless vector controlled five-phase induction motor drive system investigated in this paper. Modification in the control structure and algorithm is implemented and will be reported in the full paper. The whole approach based on theoretical study, simulation verification and experimental implementation.
-
-
-
Elemental Composition Of Traffic Related Particulate Matter (Pm10 And Pm2.5) Levels In Doha, Qatar
المؤلفون: Hana Al Mazrooey and Ipek GoktepeThe aim of this study was to determine the levels of traffic-related particulate matters (PMs) and their elemental compositions in Doha, Qatar. The PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations were measured using DPS monitors. The elemental composition of PM samples was determined by an ICP-MS. Electron beam microscope was also used to confirm the size of particles collected on filters from select sites. During the study period, it was determined that there is a direct relationship between the concentrations of elements detected in PM samples and the number of cars passed through sample collection sites. The environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed did not influence the concentrations of PMs. The levels of Pb, Ni, and Cr which are known carcinogenic metals were reported to be between 200 and 900 ppb, indicating a possible public health hazard. The presence of high concentrations of Al, Mg, Na, Fe, and Zn referred to the origin of PMs to be mainly crustal material, sea salt, and fossil fuel combustion. The results obtained in this study might be helpful in establishing new air quality standards to protect the public health and the environment in Qatar.
-
-
-
Measurement And Modeling Of Traffic-Related No2 Pollution In Doha, Qatar
المؤلفون: Noora AlNaimiThe United Nations (UN) estimated that over 600 million people in urban areas were exposed to dangerous levels of traffic-generated air pollutants worldwide. Currently, there is no published literature available on the levels of air pollutants, specifically NO2, due to traffic in Doha-Qatar. According to the recent reports there are more 800,000 cars registered in Qatar. This relatively high number of cars brings in problems associated with increased level of pollution. Therefore, in this study the levels of traffic related air NO2 pollution were investigated at six major intersections along C-ring road of Doha. NO2 is considered to be a marker of vehicular pollution, thus, its relationship was established with traffic volume in each intersection during December 2012 and March-April 2013. Significant differences were established between the pollutant concentration in each intersection. Higher concentrations were observed in areas with high traffic volume. Additionally, meteorological conditions were also found to influence the NO2 levels along with the topographical structure within the area. The CALINE 4 model employed during the study to estimate the effect of the measured NO2 concentration on the predicted value was only 31.12 %. The low percentage may have accounted for the uncertainties brought about the vehicle emission factor and non-availability of temporal dynamics during the time of sampling.
-
-
-
Seasonal Changes In Biodiversity And Abundance Of Invertebrates In Different Ecological Environments
المؤلفون: Salma AlhajriABSTRACT Biodiversity is a natural quality that must be measured to be understood. It is the measurement of the quantity and diversity of the biota in an area. Each area of the world has its own unique biodiversity as defined by its' species diversity index number (SDIN) including the state of Qatar. This study was designed to add to the base knowledge on the ground fauna data of Qatar that can be used to compute this species diversity index number. The purpose of this study was to create a baseline data on the occurrence, dominance, diversity, biomass and seasonal abundance of primarily ground dwelling invertebrates (primarily Arthropods) and to record this in different ecological habitats during seasonal changes in the Northern part of Qatar. The samples were collected weekly from June 2012 through December 2012 in the north of Qatar. Passive pitfall traps were used and placed in three different habitats and a farm site. A total of 4953 specimens were captured. Of the specimens collected, 4468 were member of Class Insecta, 110 different species belonging to 10 orders and 49 families of insects. The most numerous taxa were ants (family Formicidae) 54% followed by family Tenebrionidae (darkling beetles) which is 93.5% of beetles, and 28.8% of total catch invertebrate totals. Simpson diversity indexes in the sites differed among the different habitats and generally were high. The total dry biomass of all the insects caught was 226g. The most numerous taxa in terms of biomass were darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), which made up more than 80%. It is recommended that systematic and long term collection of invertebrates in other areas of Qatar be carried out and the identification of more difficult species is needed. This is only a beginning of the understanding the invertebrate biodiversity of Qatar. It is much more diverse than anticipated.
-
-
-
Protecting Water Resources via Smart-Sensing Infrastructure: From Silicon to Systems
المؤلفون: Denis ChenAccessible fresh water in rivers and lakes represent only 0.03 % of Earth's total water reservoir [1]. The protection and efficient utilization of this precious and limited resource is one of the most pressing issues in the 21st century. Today, it is estimated that 22 % percent of urban water resources is lost in the infrastructure due to leakage [2]. This article proposes a next-generation smart-sensing platform aimed at providing low-cost water-pipe inspection and leakage detection. Pipeline inspection techniques used in the traditional oil and gas industries are often not directly applicable to water systems [3]. Industry-standard pigging platforms require special launch and recovery facilities and they can not tolerate complex surface conditions caused by bio-fouling and corrosion. The current generation of water-pipe surveying instruments rely on ultrasound distance measurement which is prone to interference from road traffic, construction, and air pockets. The wavelength of ultrasound also limits its sensing accuracy [4]. Furthermore, all existing solutions requires highly trained on-site operators and thereby incurring significant deployment cost. The proposed smart-sensing platform in Figure 1 is designed to be fully autonomous, low-maintenance, and non-invasive to the existing infrastructures. The in-pipe roving sensor detects water leakage and wall-thinning and communicates this information in real-time via an acoustic-radio hybrid cellular sensor network. Portable self-powered base-stations are installed along the water-pipe at intervals of 10-100 meters and communicates with the roving sensor using a wide-band 1 MHz ultrasonic channel which, unlike electro-magnetic radio waves, can penetrate the metallic pipe wall without invasive retrofitting. The attenuation problem at this frequency range [5] is solved by the short distance between neighbouring base-stations. Channel-State-Information (CSI) is used to optimize transmitter power allocation; delays are tolerated in exchange for longer battery life. The data packets received from the roving sensor are relayed between the base-stations via the electro-magnetic radio frequency (RF) medium to the central server. The roving sensor in Figure 2 uses a compressive image sensor assisted by an acoustic transceiver to visually detect leakage sites. The image sensor's on-chip image compression (Figure 3) is facilitated by a novel Analog-to-Information architecture which allows the image to be sampled at sub-Nyquist rates with significant power savings in both image capture and processing [6]. This optic-acoustic hybrid fault detection scheme allows the image sensor to be utilized more efficiently by only waking up the image sensor when fault detection likelihood is high. The bases-station integrates a number of sensors (Figure 4) to provide complimentary pipe-line status information. Temperature [7] and humidity sensors are installed both near the pipe and at ground level. Leakage sites can be detected by observing a drop in temperature and rise in humidity in the soil near the pipe when compared to the ground level references. Zinc-oxide nano-wire gas sensors [8] is added to the sensing repertoire. All sensors on the base-station share a common ADC and analog circuit to minimized power consumption and cost. The base-station is self-powered by a solar-cell panel and a small backup battery.
-
-
-
Development Of A Qatar National Biodiversity Grid (Qnbg) To Create Biodiversity Atlas In Qatar
المؤلفون: Aitor ValdeónBiodiversity Atlas of animals and plants are very popular in many countries and constitute an essential tool for species management and regional planning. Many coordinate systems and spatial resolutions are used depending on the surface area covered in an Atlas. The 10x10Km resolution is considered standard in other Atlases conducted in geographic areas of similar size than Qatar. The standardization of different tools about the spatial distribution of the study objects allows comparing and integrating all data in the same space. This make possible to realize spatial analyses in a single project or in a global project, such as the management of "Sustaining the environment for future generations", which is one of the four pillars of the Qatar National Development Strategy (2011-2016). In order to identify the distribution of animals and proceed with the mapping of biodiversity in Qatar, it is important to assign the names of the squares in the Qatar grid. To do that, we have developed a Qatar National Biodiversity Grid (QNBG), employing a method based in the UTM nomenclature, where each square is codified in alpha-numerical nomenclature considering the QND95 coordinates. 100x100Km square names are designed with two letters, corresponding the first letter to the X axis and the second letter to the Y axis, being "A" when the coordinate is between 0 and 99999, "B" when it is between 100000 and 199999, "C" when it is between 200000 and 299999, and so on. The 10x10 Km squares are named with the letters of the 100x100 Km squares in which is included, and two digits from 0 to 9, which are the second digit of the X coordinate, and the second digit of the Y coordinate. Because this method uses standard squares, it has other useful advantages. For example, it is possible to estimate "hot spots" of high conservation value because of its biodiversity or other important features (e.g., archaeological, geological). This can be done using GIS tools that combine layers with the same resolution and spatial position considering diverse objects of research. Besides, as the squares are based on a standardized Qatar National Datum (QND95) coordinates, it is possible to know in situ in which square we are working, by only using a handheld GPS, previously configured with QND95 datum. In addition, the data obtained in other datum can be converted to the QND95 with a coordinate converser, integrating all data in the Biodiversity Atlas. This abstract is a contribution for the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference (QF-ARC-2013).
-
-
-
Valorization Of Industrial Wastes For Building Applications With The Added Benefit Of Carbon Sequestration
المؤلفون: Zaid GhoulehWith the world's current high output of industrial goods, hundreds of millions of tons of manufacturing by-products end up amassing in landfills each year. Steel-slag is not recycled to any significant degree, and even banned as a construction material in certain countries, such as Canada. Like many industrial waste residues, this limitation is mainly attributed to a lack in performance criteria permitting its economic and safe reuse. Moreover, the steel industry is a major contributor to anthropogenic CO2, and is subject to increasingly harsher regulatory codes that mandate heavier emission reductions. This project introduces a value-adding carbonation treatment that substantially enhances the waste slag's physical properties and, hence, its recyclable potential, while also presenting the added benefit of sequestering CO2. The end-use of the valorized slag as an aggregate replacement in concrete is explored. Considering that concrete is the world's most used construction material (> 9 billion tons per year), this project presents a sustainable building practice that fits within holistic environmental initiatives related to waste recycling, carbon mitigation, and resource conservation. In terms of practicality, an 8" concrete masonry block prepared in the prescribed manner will potentially sequester up to 2kg of CO2. The project ultimately seeks to demonstrate the possibility of implementing a closed loop system, for relevant industries, whereby waste streams and CO2 can be locally consumed at point source.
-
-
-
Sensitive Detection Of Oil/Gas-Related Organic Contamination In Soil Around Selected Industrial Hotspots Of Qatar
المؤلفون: Khaled MahmoudThe State of Qatar is a major oil/gas producer in the world which renders its local environment vulnerable to carcinogenic and toxic chemical species resulting from direct and indirect contact with petroleum products. The current level of environmental contamination as direct result of oil/gas industry in Qatar is unknown and there is an urgent need to understand the associated risks on the local population and natural wildlife. This research project was aiming to selectively detect and identify oil/gas-related contaminants, specifically polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), in the soil and marine regions of Qatar. PAHs and PCBs are considered toxic and carcinogenic. They are classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Soils can be contaminated with POPs due to the air pollution from the heavy traffic or from the waste discharged from industries. Fifty soil samples were collected from different residential and industrial areas in Qatar and were extracted through accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) technique. Gas chromatograph - Flame ionization detector (GC-FID) was used to find the 16 common PAHs in each sample and gas chromatograph - electron capture detector (GC-ECD) was used to find PCBs with the aid of deuterated internal and surrogate standards. It was found that some of the samples contain high amounts of benzo[a]pyrene which is the most carcinogenic hydrocarbon. Also, soil samples collected near coastal areas close to industrial activities show higher percentages of PAHs and PCBs (1.1- 1.9 µg/g and 10.4-17.4 µg/g for PAHs and PCBs respectively) as compared to other soil samples. This study helps in identifying environmental hotspots and various risks associated with these contaminants and provide decision makers with preventive and protective measures.
-
-
-
A New Device For Measuring The Two Soil Moisture Characteristic Curves: Application To Native Soils In The State Of Qatar
المؤلفون: Erik BraudeauThis paper presents a new device [TypoSoilTM] for characterizing the hydrostructural properties of the soil medium organization. It intended to simultaneously and continuously measure both the shrinkage [V(W)] and the water potential [h(W)] characteristic curves for 8 cylindrical soil samples (~100 〖"cm" 〗^"3" ) at the same time during evaporation from the saturation to dry state. No other device makes similar measurements that are crucial to research the fundamental equations of the hydrostructural behavior of soils. This device makes part of a complete chain of measurements of the hydrostructural properties of the soil medium including also the soil swelling curve [V(t)] and the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity curve [K(W)]. Twelve soil samples were prepared, and analyzed by TypoSoilTM. These samples included three replicates of reconstituted and undisturbed soil cores of two native soils in the state of Qatar, named locally "Rodah soil" and "Sabkha soil". The obtained results indicated a good procedure for the soil samples preparation, and consistent measurement of the TypoSoilTM. Minor variations were observed among SWCC and SSCC of the three replicates of each soil type showing the trustworthiness of measurement. The results will help us to make an accurate hydro-functional typology of these kinds of soils in arid countries. This information is also needed for understanding and simulating the soil hydraulic behavior under agronomical practices (irrigation), or for planning some remediation techniques of the Sabkha soils. The quality of results confirmed also the thermodynamic theory behind the exploitation of these curves to extract the hydrostructural characteristic parameters.
-
-
-
Bioinformatics Coupled With Tandem Mass Spectrometry For Unknown Compound Analysis In Shisha Water
المؤلفون: Sameem TajBioinformatics coupled with tandem mass spectrometry for unknown compound analysis in Shisha water
-
-
-
Cadmium Modulates Expression Of Vascular Alpha Adrenoceptors And Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells Phenotype
المؤلفون: Hamda AboujassoumCardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of death worldwide, including Qatar. Hypertension is one of the most common CVDs that contribute to this mortality. Cadmium is a well-known pollutant that has been suggested to be a risk factor for hypertension. However, the underlying mechanisms are still lacking. Very little is known about the effect of cadmium on the expression of vascular alpha- 1 adrenoceptors in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). This study was therefore undertaken to determine the effect of cadmium on the expression of vascular alpha-1 adrenergic receptors in vitro. Along with that, there are several phenotypic changes could modulate the VSMCs function and contribute to CVDs including hypertension. These changes include hypertrophy, migration and senescence. The second objective of this study was to determine the effect of cadmium on VSMCs phenotype. Human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) were incubated with different concentrations of cadmium chloride for varying durations. The results indicated that cadmium (Cd) increases the expression of alpha -1 AR in HASMCs in a concentration and time dependent manner. To determine if cadmium modulates the transcriptional activity of alpha -1 AR, cells were pre-incubated with actinomycin D, a DNA-dependent RNA synthesis inhibitor. Interestingly, the cadmium-induced alpha1 AR protein expression was abolished by actinomycin D. Moreover, this expression of alpha- 1 AR was diminished when cells were pre-incubated with H89, a protein kinase A (PKA) inhibitor. This indicates that PKA plays an important role in mediating the Cd-induced expression of alpha- 1 AR. To determine the effect of Cd on VSMCs phenotype, HASMCs were incubated with CdCl2. Our results show that cadmium induces hypertrophy, migration and senescence. Taken together, our results dissect a novel pathway employed by cadmium to increase expression of vascular alpha 1 ARs, a major player in hypertension and VSMCs phenotypic modulation. This new paradigm offers a better understanding and thus potential amelioration of pollution- related CVDs.
-
-
-
Energy Efficiency And Flux Production From Direct Contact Membrane Distillation: Effect Of Operating Parameters From Qatari Industrial Desalination Feed Water.
المؤلفون: Ahmad KayvanifardMore than 70% of the global population finds its fresh water from aquifers, rivers, and lakes. Global population estimated to approach 9 billion by 2050 and the standard of living of fast developing countries, such as Qatar, increases and the demand for fresh water is increasing dramatically. Qatar is located in an arid region where there is no source of surface fresh water give the very low precipitation per year. Qatar's primary source of fresh water is through seawater desalination. Thermal desalination processes (MSF and MED) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) are highly expensive due to high energy input requirements and high operating costs associated with maintenance and stress induced on the systems in harsh alkaline media. Beside that cost, environmental food print of these desalination techniques are significant; from damaging marine eco-system, to huge land use, to release of tons of GHG and huge carbon footprint. Other less energy consuming techniques based on membrane separation are being sought to reduce both the carbon footprint and operating costs. Membrane Distillation (MD) process involves the evaporation of a hot feed, typically below boiling point of brine at standard conditions, by creating a water vapor pressure difference across the thickness of a porous, hydrophobic membrane. To achieve the objective of this study, state of the art flat-sheet cross-flow DCMD bench scale unit was designed, commissioned, and tested. The objective of this study is to conduct an energy efficiency analysis of DCMD with varied process parameters. Comparison with available literature data is undertaken where appropriate. Energy efficiency analysis showed that, feed flow rate is an important factor and doubling feed flow rate can increase the energy efficiency by about 2 folds. Similarly, increasing feed temperature, increases energy efficiency significantly due to an increase in driving force and hence flux. Effect of concentration and permeate temperature also has been studied and showed increasing these factor cause lead to a decline in energy efficiency. MD has not yet been commercialized and to be practically implemented and feasible, MD should use free and cheap waste energy such as industrial waste heat from flue gas or other sources. Other factors in improving feasibility of MD might be optimization of process conditions, preparation of novel membranes, module configurations as well as spacers support.
-
-
-
The Diversity Of Darkling Beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) In Qatar Is Understimated
المؤلفون: Paloma Mas-PeinadoAs part of the biodiversity surveys conducted recently in Qatar, we studied the darkling beetles of the family Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera). We have started the analyses of the geographic distribution of the species, followed by studies on systematics, genetics, and evolution of the most diversified group of Coleoptera in desert environments. We have already produced relevant new results such as the discovery of the presence of Scaurus puncticollis Solier, 1838 in Qatar, and preliminary phylogeographic analyses of the populations of Adesmia cancellata distributed across Qatar. Together with these findings, we are currently updating the check-list of Qatar beetles of the family Tenebrionidae. In addition, several species of the genus Pimelia, Thriptera, and Gonocephalum are currently under taxonomic study, and we will add new records that will be included for the first time in the Biodiversity report of insect species for Qatar. The geographic range of darkling beetles in Qatar is being expanded along with current new biodiversity surveys. This suggest that the fauna of darkling beetles of Qatar is still underestimated despite previous efforts conducted by many researchers locally (e.g., Ministry of the Environment, Qatar University, Friends of the Environmental Centre) and internationally. To document and report the actual Biodiversity Heritage of Qatar, new exhaustive field biodiversity surveys should be conducted to complete the catalogue of Tenebrionoidae for the State of Qatar. This abstract is a contribution for the Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference (QF-ARC-2013).
-
-
-
Risk Assessment Of The Thermal Decomposition Of Organic Peroxide Hybrid And Gassy Systems By Calorimetry And Computational Techniques
المؤلفون: Luc VechotRisk Assessment of the thermal decomposition of organic peroxide hybrid and gassy systems by calorimetry and computational techniques
-
-
-
Modeling Of The Venting Of A Gassy System Under Runaway Conditions
المؤلفون: Luc VechotExothermic reactions that undergo uncontrolled self-heating as a result of loss of cooling lead to a thermal runaway. Such reactions can present a serious hazard in the petrochemical (e.g. polymerisation processes) and chemical industries. They can reach excessively high rates of temperature increase, either due to production of gaseous reaction products, or the boiling of reactor contents. This temperature rise in effect leads to a pressure increase higher than the process equipment is made to withstand. Since the temperature rate rapidly increases (several hundred degrees per minute), a thermal explosion may occur followed by the release of toxic and flammable gases, if there is no venting mechanism to relieve the system of the excess pressure. The heat produced by a reaction is proportional to the volume of reaction mixture, while the cooling capacity however is a function of surface area. This has larger implications for industrial scaling, and is said to be the cause of accidents involving thermal runaways as in the well-known cases of Seveso in 1976, Bhopal in 1984 and more recently the T2 Laboratories in 2007. The prediction of the consequences of a runaway reaction in term of temperature and pressure evolution in a reactor vessel requires the knowledge of the reaction kinetics, thermodynamics and fluid dynamics inside the vessel during venting. Such phenomena and their interaction are complex and still to be fully understood, especially for those reactions in which the pressure generation is totally or partially due to the production of permanent gases (gassy or hybrid systems). Moreover, they cannot be easily determined by laboratory scale experiments. Computer modeling is a growing field of research necessary to develop methods capable of predicting the onset of a runaway reaction. Also, adequate vent sizing calculation methods are widely investigated for relief vent sizing emergency actions. The work described in this poster presents a dynamic model that simulates the behavior of a gassy system, specifically the decomposition of an 80% Cumene Hydro-Peroxide solution in aryl hydrocarbon during venting. The model provides the temperature, pressure, mass inventory and conversion profiles throughout the reaction. A sensitivity study of the model was performed in order to study the effect of various parameters on the resulting behaviour of the system before and after venting. The outcomes of this model provide a deeper insight into the improvement of emergency relief systems design for hybrid and gassy systems, where significant progress is still to be made both in the experimental and modeling areas.
-
-
-
Effect of Heat Treatment on the Corrosion Performance of Welded Al-6063 Alloy
المؤلفون: Adel MohamedA large number of aluminum alloy plates, which are mainly used as the decks, the shell plates and the cabin reinforcing plates, are used in the construction applications. Al-6063 high strength aluminum alloy and its weldment are widely utilized in such applications due to the high specific strength, good fracture toughness, low cycle fatigue properties and easy-welding properties. The main aim of this article is to determine the effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and the corrosion of welded AA6063 Al alloy at base, weld and heat affected zone. The laboratory immersion test technique were used to evaluate the effect of different environmental media, such as NaOH, NaCl, H2SO4 and H3PO4 on corrosion behavior of T4 and T6-temepered alloys. Mass loss and corrosion rate measurements were utilized as criteria for evaluating the corrosion behavior of the aged-hardened alloys. The corrosion rate was calculated for various immersion periods. The aged-hardened alloys were subjected to potentiodynamic polarization and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) testing. The result shows that the corrosion rate of the alloy was due to the nature of heat treatment given to the samples. It was found that the corrosion rate of the Al(6063) alloy was higher in the T4-tempered alloy compared to T6-tempered alloy. The corrosion behavior of welded alloys were differ one zone to another. The students would like to express their grateful acknowledgement for financial and in-kind support received from the Hydro Aluminum Company (HYDRO) and Qatalum Company and from Center of Advanced Materials, Qatar University.
-
-
-
Aerosol layer heights over Doha and their relation to Direct Normal Irradiance ground measurements
المؤلفون: Dunia BachourDepending on their physical properties, aerosols in the atmosphere can scatter and/or absorb solar radiation and thus reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching the surface. Under cloud free conditions, the extinction of the Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) is primarily caused by aerosols in the atmosphere. DNI data in locations where ground measurements are not available can be derived or estimated using satellites. However, for areas characterized by high aerosol load like in Qatar, satellite data gives DNI values with high uncertainties related to the inaccurate determination of aerosols present on a particular day. Ceilometer devices, which are based on the Lidar (LIght Detection And Ranging) technique, when operated on a routine basis, are reliable tools for long-term observation and qualitative assessment of the vertical distribution of aerosols in the atmosphere. Indeed, ceilometer measurements combined with specific retrieval software enable the detection of the vertical structure of the atmospheric boundary layer. Based on this data, the height of aerosol layers can be determined. This study describes an analysis over Doha, Qatar (25.33° N, 51.43° E), of day-to-day variability of aerosol layer heights measured by a ceilometer around solar noon under cloudless conditions; the layer heights are compared with day-to-day variability of DNI measured at the same time and same location. Aerosol layer heights are obtained using a CL51 Vaisala ceilometer. Ground measurements of DNI are collected by a pyrheliometer mounted on a high-quality Kipp & Zonen solar radiation measurement station, equipped with a sun tracker. The results of measurements for clear sky conditions over several months during this year (2013) will be presented. The study of the relation between the daily variation of aerosol layer heights and the direct component of the solar radiation is part of the solar resource assessment project within the Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute and represents a first insight before further investigating the correlation of ceilometer backscatter measurements with ground-measured solar radiation.
-
-
-
Chirality And Hierarchy In Cellular Structures
المؤلفون: Davood Mousanezhad ViyandA comprehensive analytical and numerical study on the elastic response of a series of novel 2D cellular structures including chiral, anti-chiral, and hierarchical honeycombs with square, and hexagonal unit cells are performed. The elastic properties of the cellular lattices are obtained through the energy method. The method leads to closed-form relations for the elastic response of the structures under general 2D state of stress. The work provides insight into the effect of structural organization (chirality and hierarchy) in regulating the mechanical behavior of materials, and new opportunities for developing low-weight cellular structures. Keywords: chirality, structural hierarchy, honeycombs, cellular structures.
-
-
-
A Systemic Approach To Understand Relationship Between Compositions Of Gtl Derived Synthetic Fuels And Their Properties
المؤلفون: Nimir ElbashirGas-To-Liquids technology is increasingly becoming an attractive source of ultra clean fuels, such as synthetic jet fuel. However, these synthetic fuels still face challenges in acquiring certification based on their properties. The focus of our current activities revolve around the experimental measurement of physical properties of fuel blends as per the aviation industries and ASTM guidelines [1], along with statistical analysis and visualization to find optimum fuel blend compositions that meet the required standards for certification. Through a series of distinct phases and with local funding from the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) and Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP), our research team has built an extensive Fuel Characterization Laboratory at Texas A&M Qatar in order to generate significant amounts of reliable data that meet industrial standards. Our methodology is to systematically generate several series of Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (SPK) fuel blends and to test them for their physical properties, such as density, viscosity, heat content, freezing point and flash point, following a strict safety and quality management system. In the first testing campaign the fuel blends were made from specific classes of typical GTL products (normal-, iso- and cyclo-paraffins) where the amount of each component was varied [2]. The analysis of the data generated (Figure 1) has enabled us to map how the hydrocarbon structure of a given SPK fuel blend influences its physical properties [2]. In a recent follow-up study we have also examined and mapped the influence of a fourth component, the aromatic building block, on the fuel blend properties. Aromatics improve the fuel density, which is one of the major hurdles in certifying these synthetic fuels. Separate studies also show that aromatics improve fuel-elastomer compatibility and lubricity [3]. In these first two campaigns the blends were limited in carbon number to C10 n- & cyclo- and C12 iso- paraffins, and the C7 mono-aromatic, toluene in order to study the effects of hydrocarbon structure. To improve on the model we are extending our map to study a wider range of carbon numbers. Blends in our current study are formulated from C7 to C14 hydrocarbons, which mimic the conventional jet fuel range. It is expected that these results will improve our understanding the influence of carbon chain length on the fuel properties, which have been expanded on to investigate known problematic SPK properties such as lubricity and electrical conductivity. We will report on our findings from our latest studies including the results of the aromatics campaign (using mono- as well as di-aromatics) and the statistical analysis of these data. The results from all phases are integrated into the multidimensional visualization model that correlates the properties and compositions of fuel blends. A completed model will be a useful predictive tool to help optimize the new generation of synthetic Jet fuels. References: [1] ASTM Standard D1655, 2010, DOI: 10.1520/D1655. [2] Bohra M., et al.(2012) QF-ARF, Vol. 2012, EEPS4,. [3] Orillano, M., et al. (2012) QF-ARF Vol. 2012, EEOS2.
-