Quaid Johar Samun Virpurwala

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PhD Student

Previous members

Biography

I have graduate from the Heriot Watt University with a BEng (HONORS) in Chemical Engineering and later moved to the United Kingdom to pursue my MSc in Advanced Chemical Engineering where my main focus was on diffusion of Carbon Dioxide in n-nonane and n-decane. Apart from this I have also undertaken modules focusing on energy optimization and intensification and am fluent with softwares such as STAR and SPRINT. During my bachelor’s I have worked on various research projects focusing on the conversion of ammonia from biomass and food waste management. My final year bachelor’s research project focused on the kinetic analysis of saponification reaction and ways how to optimize the reaction to obtain maximum products.

My master’s thesis involved me in the accurate prediction of Diffusivities of Gases in Liquids at high temperature and pressure so to improve on the preexisting tertiary methods of oil recovery. In the summer of 2021, I joined the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) as a PhD student in Chemical Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Pedro Castano working in the Multiscale Reaction Engineering (MuRe) group. During my time as a PhD student here at KAUST, I will be working on CO2 hydrogenation and focus on reaction and reactor engineering and be involved in developing strategies to amplify kinetic information.

 

Research Interests

My primary research area will be CO2 hydrogenation focusing on the formation of methanol. I intend to try to apply the steady and dynamic conditions of the catalyst, DFT studies, Reactor/reaction engineering and try to develop strategies to amplify kinetic information. 

Education

  • B.Eng (HONS) Chemical Engineering, Heriot Watt University, 2019
  • MSc Advanced Chemical Engineering, The University of Manchester, 2020

KAUST Affiliations

  • KAUST Catalysis Center (KCC)
  • Chemical Engineering Program
  • Division of Physical Science and Engineering (PSE)