DHAHRAN, 5 February 2007 — With the support of the Ministry of Higher Education, the King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran decided on Saturday to set up two research centers. The centers will be in the fields of petrochemicals and petroleum refining and energy recycling.
Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan, president of KFUPM, told Arab News that the reason for choosing the topic of petroleum refining was the Kingdom’s lead position in the area of petroleum refining and petrochemical and polymer industries. The Kingdom’s ambitious projects in these industries necessitate advanced research in the area.
The center will focus more on developing clean fuel, reduction of wastes, recycling of petroleum, and developing catalysts for various technologies.
The other center will focus its attention on energy recycling by research into hydrogen, methanol and sources of alternate energy such as solar energy and wind energy. The center will also conduct research studies on the advanced systems of preserving energy, control and infrastructure of electric power and the economics of recycling energy. He said that university faculties have a number of qualified hands with talent for conducting advanced research in the field. The center will strive to increase public awareness on the importance of recycled fuels.
The university president said the Ministry of Higher Education was keen on promoting scientific research so that the Kingdom’s developmental requirements could be supplied from within the country. “The centers will also draw public attention to the research capabilities of the university,” he said. The university graduates are of excellent quality, he added. The centers will also promote the bonds of cooperation between scientists, government departments and private companies, Dr. Sultan said.
He stressed the significance of research and its vital role in the national development saying “the contemporary technological advancement and the explosion of knowledge world wide are the natural result of the research being carried out by universities and research centers the world over. The researchers will come up with scientific solutions to impediments that stand in the way of progress.”
