Global Research Partnership Centers
2008 Winner Profiles
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) was officially established by Royal Decree on 5 Jumada I, 1383 H. (September 23, 1963). The first students were admitted a year later, on September 23, 1964, when 67 young men enrolled in what was then the College of Petroleum and Minerals. Since that time, university enrollment has grown to more than 10,000 students.
Several significant events have marked the university's growth. In 1971, at the first graduation ceremony, four men received their baccalaureate degrees in engineering. In 1975, the College of Petroleum and Minerals became the University of Petroleum and Minerals, a change both in name and academic status. In 1986, the university was renamed King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals.
The successful management of Saudi Arabia's vast petroleum and mineral resources poses a complex and exciting challenge for scientific, technical, and management education in the Kingdom. To meet this challenge, the university has adopted advanced training in the fields of science, engineering, and management as one of its goals in order to promote leadership and service in the Kingdom's petroleum and mineral industries. The university also furthers knowledge through research in these fields.
View King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals's presentation at the GRP Symposium
Dr. Sulaiman Al-Khattaf
Dr. Sulaiman Al-Khattaf
Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering Department
Dr. Sulaiman Al-Khattaf, Principal Investigator of King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals’ (KFUPM) Transformative Research in Petrochemicals and Polymers, is Associate Professor in the Chemical Engineering Department at KFUPM. He also serves as Director of the Center of Refining and Petrochemicals (CRP) and Research Institute. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering from KFUPM in 1992 and 1995, respectively, and a doctorate degree from Western Ontario University in 2001. He worked at Nippon Oil Company in Japan as a visiting researcher in the second half of 1994. His graduate studies were in catalysis, particularly the effect of diffusion and unit cell size on the performance of FCC catalysts.
Dr. Al-Khattaf rejoined KFUPM in April 2001 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He has coordinated and taught a short course in fluid catalytic cracking for Saudi Aramco, which received the Best Short Course award in the College of Engineering.
His research is in the area of diffusion and catalysis, and includes 30 refereed journal and 10 conference publications. He is principal investigator of three funded projects in the area of xylene production, and received the Distinguished Researcher award for the year 2006-2007 from the rector of KFUPM.
Read KAUST's Q&A with Dr. Sulaiman Al-Khattaf, Principal Investigator
KAUST Center-in-Development Award: Transformative Research in Petrochemicals and Polymers, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
Saudi Arabia produces 8 percent of the world’s petrochemicals and aims to increase this to 15 percent within eight to 10 years in order to benefit from economies of scale, to diversify product portfolio, and to utilize vast resources of hydrocarbon feedstock. Petrochemicals and polymers are the backbone of the Saudi chemical industry. As the Kingdom moves into the diversification of its petrochemical portfolio, the need to develop proprietary technologies is imperative.
King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM), a leading scientific and technical university of Saudi Arabia, has well established educational and research programs, which provide a suitable platform to host the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) Center-in-Development (CID) on Transformative Research in Petrochemicals and Polymers.
The mission of the KAUST CID at KFUPM is to conduct high-quality R&D in petrochemicals and polymers, and offer excellent graduate study in these strategic research areas. Its vision is to strengthen and expand the research facilities; improve graduate studies and training; and conduct innovative research programs. It will provide a unique opportunity of intellectual cross-fertilization to produce high-quality graduates and future faculty members. Focused research programs that will generate novel concepts and intellectual properties, leading to value-added or improved products, will be undertaken.
The petrochemicals research program will focus on the development of advanced catalysts and kinetic studies for:
- Developing alternative routes for the production of high-value aromatics, such as para-xylene; and
- Producing value-added chemicals using alkanes and catalytic oxidative processes.
The polymer research program will comprise the following:
- Developing novel multi-purpose interfacial functional additives for polyolefins;
- Enhancing the processability of polyolefins by nanocomposites and super-fiber-composites; and
- Producing polymeric membranes for fuel cell applications.
An interdisciplinary project team consisting of members from KFUPM Research Institute and the departments of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering will execute the planned projects along with internationally acclaimed experts as consultants.
The emphasis on catalysis in the CID falls in line with the major research program at KAUST’s Institute for Resources, Energy & Environment. Similarly, polymers and composite materials are part of KAUST’s Institute for Materials Science and Engineering.