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August 2013 - present
October 1999 - June 2004
Publications
Publications (70)
This work presents a revolutionary design of a solar chimney power plant integrated with a water desalination plant with a target of continuous production of gray hydrogen gas. The design combines a classic Solar Chimney Power Plant (SCPP) and a water distillation facility. The main results demonstrate that 200 °C air flowing into the collector inc...
This study aims to develop a kinetic model for natural kaolinite as a potential tar removal catalyst in biomass gasification processes. The catalyst was crushed, sieved (0.2mm), and analyzed using TGA, BET, and XRF. The apparent first-order kinetic parameters of the dry reforming reaction at temperatures ranging from 750 to 900°C under 1atm were us...
This work reports the fabrication of lignin-zirconium phosphate-based membranes modified with ionic liquids (ILs) for high-temperature operation in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The Lignin-modified membranes demonstrated a noticeable enhancement in proton conductivity as opposed to pure zirconium phosphate-based membranes by one order...
Green hydrogen is considered to be one of the best candidates for fossil fuels in the near future. Bio-hydrogen production from the dark fermentation of organic materials, including organic wastes, is one of the most cost-effective and promising methods for hydrogen production. One of the main challenges posed by this method is the low production r...
The use of aqueous carbonate as an inorganic absorbent is not only inexpensive but also stable and environmentally friendly. However, the regeneration processes for aqueous carbonate sorbents require high regeneration heat duty; this energy intensity makes their wide utilization unaffordable. In this work, a low-temperature, energy-saving, and envi...
The research effort made in this paper is to present a new novel design of Solar Chimney Power Plant (SCPP). The SCPP, inherently, operates only when the solar radiation present intensively. The disadvantage of such energy system is the limited hours of operation with high levelized cost of energy. Therefore, we retrofitted the design of the SCPP t...
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel combustion have been linked to increased average global temperatures, a global challenge for many decades. Mitigating CO2 concentration in the atmosphere is a priority for the protection of the environment. This is a comparison of the three main technological categories available for CO2 capture and s...
A smooth coupling is implemented between the grid and doubly fed induction generator-based wind turbines (DFIG-WTs) during grid voltage imbalance. The nonlinear characteristics of a grid-connected DFIG-WT system may increase stresses on the mechanical and electrical components of wind turbines. Such difficulties are greatly increased during periods...
This manuscript presents the impact of high penetration of renewables into the energy mix of the national electrical grids, Jordan's as a case study. The generation-consumption balance is main interest of the network operator and hence, taken as key aspect of the study. The shortcomings of installing renewables include the intermittency and unpredi...
The past two decades witnessed extensive efforts towards the development of proper energy production and management systems. One key element in the development of such systems is the development of energy storage materials, in particular, thermal energy storage materials. This article provides an overview of the materials used in thermal energy sto...
This work explores the technical possibilities of increasing the efficiency of a standard solar chimney power plant (SCPP) by integrating it with photovoltaic (PV) panels. The integration is possible by using the collector circumference to install the PV collectors, which provide a heat sink, allow for the better harvesting of the solar radiation,...
This study presents a case study of a novel hybrid solar chimney power plant (HSCPP) design's performance in the city of Doha, Qatar. The HSCPP construction is similar to the traditional solar chimney power plant (SCPP) but with the addition of water sprinklers installed at the top of the chimney. This allowed the solar chimney (SC) to operate as a...
The present work involves a new and novel upgrading design to the classical solar chimney power plant (SCPP) structure. The SCPP design was modified by adding a co-centric secondary external chimney to the SCPP structure to enhance energy production. In the new improved design, named the solar double-chimney power plant (SDCPP), the internal chimne...
This review discusses the technical aspects of improving the efficiency of the pyrolysis of lignocellulosic materials to increase the yield of the main products, which are bio-oil, biochar, and syngas. The latest aspects of catalyst development in the biomass pyrolysis process are presented focusing on the various catalyst structures, the physical...
The current research focuses on assessing the potential of municipal solid waste (MSW) conversion into biofuel using pyrolysis process. The MSW samples were taken from Zaatari Syrian Refugee Camp. The physical and chemical characteristics of MSW were studied using proximate and elemental analysis. The results showed that moisture content of MSW is...
A new process for the production of bioethanol from paper mill sludge (PMS) is described in this work. PMS biomass feedstock was processed via the simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) with and without accelerants. The enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation were first evaluated, and the energy demand was 2.2 MJ/L of produced ethanol....
The remote areas in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) doesn’t have access to the electricity grid, therefore the standalone hybrid power system uses to provide the electrical power required to meet the demand in these areas. The components of the hybrid system were selected and optimized for this area instead of bringing the gird to this area based on...
Photovoltaic (PV) systems are regarded as clean and sustainable sources of energy. Although the operation of PV systems exhibits minimal pollution during their lifetime, the probable environmental impacts of such systems from manufacturing until disposal cannot be ignored. The production of hazardous contaminates, water resources pollution, and emi...
Composite membranes composed of zirconium phosphate (ZrP) and imidazolium-based ionic liquids (IL), supported on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) were prepared and evaluated for their application in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEM) operating at 200 °C. The experimental results reported here demonstrate that the synthesized membrane has a hig...
The decarbonization of hydrocarbons is explored in this work as a method to produce hydrogen and mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. An integrated process for power generation and carbon capture based on a hydrocarbon fueled-decarbonization unit was proposed and simulated. Ethane and propane were used as fuels and subjected to the thermal deco...
Paper and pulp mills generate substantial quantities of cellulose-rich sludge materials that are disposed in landfills at a large scale. For sustainability purposes, sludge materials can be bioprocessed to produce renewable fuels and useful chemicals. The enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose is the process bottleneck that affects the conversion econom...
Mediterranean countries produce up to 97% of the total global olive production. Besides being a serious environmental burden, olive mill waste represents a potential resource of useful materials for recovery and valorization. In this work, the adsorption characteristics and potential of bioadsorbent material manufactured by alkali treatment of oliv...
A novel bioprocess design to convert paper mill sludge (PMS) to biofuels is proposed in this work. The design utilizes cellulosic fiber recovered from the PMS via optimized de-ashing (HCl washing) step. This work specifically provided a technical and economic analysis of paper mill sludge conversion into biofuel production using a novel protocol. T...
In the present work, we developed a novel method for transferring monolayer graphene onto four different commercial hydrophilic micro/ultra-filtration substrates. The developed method used electrostatic charging to maintain the contact between the graphene and the target substrate intact during the etching step through the wet transfer process. Sev...
This work evaluates date palm waste as a cheap and available biomass feedstock in UAE for the production of biofuels. The thermochemical and biochemical routes including pyrolysis, gasification, and fermentation were investigated. Simulations were done to produce biofuels from biomass via Aspen Plus v.10. The simulation results showed that for a to...
The modern society's sustainable development and the ever-increasing population growth are facing the serious challenge of shortage in water resources. The solution to this global problem needs collective efforts at multiple levels and one of them could be finding new methods of clean water production. In this regard, microbial desalination cells (...
This study presents a novel design that combines cooling tower (CT) and traditional solar chimney power plant (SCPP) technologies for electricity generation and seawater desalination. The proposed hybrid solar chimney power plant (HSCPP) shares the operation of the chimney part and the bi-directional turbine between the SCPP and CT, allowing altern...
Paper mill sludge (PMS) solids are predominantly comprised of cellulosic fibers and fillers rejected during the pulping or paper making process. Most sludges are dewatered and discharged into landfills or land spread at a cost to the mill; creating large economic and environmental burdens. This lignocellulosic residual stream can be used as a sourc...
The present study explores a new method of steel particle-reinforced copper matrix composite synthesis. Steel reinforced copper was prepared by stir casting processing method at variable percentages between 10 wt% and 50 wt%. Characterization and mechanical testing were performed on these composites using a variety of techniques.
The results showed...
Photovoltaic (PV) solar panels are one of the most important sources of renewable energy. The life cycle analysis is a tool used to evaluate components or systems in terms of cost and environmental impact. This paper discusses the life cycle analysis for PV solar panels technology. Two distinct technologies of cells based on single crystalline sili...
This work provides technical and economic feasibility of installing a solar chimney power-water distillation plant (SCPWDP) in the port of Aqaba in Jordan. A mathematical model for the SCPWDP has been developed and validated. A full year of weather conditions data has been processed, where water and electricity productions have been estimated. The...
Water scarcity remains the major looming challenge that is facing Jordan. Wastewater reclamation is considered as an alternative source of fresh water in semi-arid areas with water shortage or increased consumption. In the present study, the current status of wastewater reclamation and reuse in Jordan was analyzed considering 30 wastewater treatmen...
Paper mill sludge (PMS) can be efficiently utilized to produce fuels and chemicals. However, wastewater is usually generated during the de-ashing step of the PMS for fibrous materials recovery. Per process requirements, the wastewater stream must be treated which results in an increase in the overall process production cost. Therefore, this researc...
The integration of renewable energy technologies (solar, wind, biomass, ocean, geothermal energy) is gaining importance in the United Arab Emirates owing to the high energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This paper presents the analysis and results of the performance and optimization of a stand-alone solar PV power system with single-ax...
Using renewable energy sources provides a promising solution to minimize the overuse of conventional energy sources as well as to reduce pollution. Biogas technology is one solution that offers the conversion of waste streams to a renewable source of higher value. Anaerobic digestion of organic waste from industrial processes produces energy in the...
In this study, cadmium ions, Cd(II), were removed from aqueous solutions using Ballota Undulata. Experimental data were exploited for kinetic and thermodynamic assessments related to adsorption processes. The different variables affecting the adsorption capacity such as pH, contact time, temperature, adsorbent particle size and mass of adsorbent ha...
The present study investigates the technical possibilities of hydrogen and methane production from palm oil mill effluent (POME). The production was carried out in two stage (thermophilic and mesophilic) continuous phase with recirculation of the digestate sludge. The reactors used for the present study, up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UA...
The state of Wisconsin has existing pulp mill infrastructure capable of converting wood into biofuel and value-added products such as lumber, pulp, and paper. Each day, pulp and paper mills produce a waste material that is commonly referred to as sludge. Sludge is typically sent to a landfill or concentrated for burning to produce steam. The primar...
A series of batch lab-scale experiments were performed to investigate the performance of dead phosphorylated algal biomass of Spirogyra species for the bioadsorption of Cu+2 ions from aqueous solutions. FT-IR and SEM analysis were performed to characterize the phosphorylated and raw algae. The SEM analysis indicated that the phosphorus content incr...
The present study showed significant initial microbial load, as well nutritional value of ten spices used widely across the world in food preparation. The microbiological tests demonstrated that sumac and cloves had the highest antimicrobial activity with respect to total plate counting and spore forming count. Results showed that chemical composit...
The present paper investigated the technical possibilities of bioethanol production from coffee pulp in a sustainable manner. Coffee pulp is a largely underutilized waste stream and has the potential to become a bioethanol feedstock if processing is economically viable. This study aimed to characterize the chemical composition of coffee pulp with r...
In this study we investigated the technical feasibility of convert paper mill sludge into fuel ethanol. This involved the removal of mineral fillers by using either chemical pretreatment or mechanical fractionation to determine their effects on cellulose hydrolysis and fermentation to ethanol. In addition, we studied the effect of cationic polyelec...
he performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) system for grey water (GW) treatment was evaluated in terms of effluent quality and membrane fouling. The SMBR was operated for 42 days at constant transmembrane pressure (13 kPa) in six consecutive stages. A hollow fibre ultrafiltration membrane module (ZW-1) was used to treat real GW with t...
The performance of a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) system for grey water (GW) treatment was evaluated in terms of effluent quality and membrane fouling. The SMBR was operated for 42 days at constant transmembrane pressure (13 kPa) in six consecutive stages. A hollow fibre ultrafiltration membrane module (ZW-1) was used to treat real GW with...
The main objective of the present study was the removal of heavy metal ions, namely Cu2+, Cr3+, Ni2+ and
Zn2+, from metal plating wastewater using electrocoagulation technique. An electro-reactor was used
with six carbon steel electrodes of monopolar configurations. Three of the electrodes were designated
as cathodes meanwhile the other three as an...
Yeast to be used in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of lignocelluloses materials has to be prepared in a separate cultivation step. The effects of the cultivation procedure on the performance of SSF of steam pretreated softwood were studied in the current work. The yeast used in the SSF was either directly commercially availabl...
In order to improve the process economy it is important to use as high dry matter content as possible in simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). However, too high dry matter content often gives rise to severe inhibition of the yeast metabolism, due to the increased levels of toxic compounds. The aim of the present work was to increase...
Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) of steam-pretreated wood constitutes an attractive process configuration for ethanol production from biomass. However, the high enzyme addition in SSF contributes to a high process cost. In this study we explore the effect of the non-ionic surfactant Tween-20 as an additive in SSF. Tween-20 addit...
The effect of process stream recirculation on ethanol production from steam- pretreated softwood based on simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) was investigated for two process configurations. In the first configuration, a part of the stillage stream after distillation was recycled and, in the second configuration, the liquid after S...
A microbial biosensor based on immobilised psychrotrophic yeast Yarrowia lipolytica integrated to FIA for the determination of middle chain alkanes was developed. The system responded very well to middle chain alkanes even at low operational temperatures down to +5 degrees C. The maximum sensitivity was obtained at 15 degrees C. A linear relationsh...
The present work describes the design and characteristics of a glucose electrode based on a newly isolated and purified, oxygen-independent, pyrrole quinoline quinone glucose dehydrogenase (PQQ-GDH) integrated in a redox hydrogel (poly(1-vinylimidazole) complexed with Os(4-4′-dimethylbipyridine)2Cl) using poly(ethylene glycol)diglycidyl ether (PEGD...