COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 6, 2009 – Discussing the benefit of process integration and optimization techniques to the next generation of petroleum processes, Mahmoud El-Halwagi, professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, recently presented his research at the China University of Petroleum in Beijing.
Holder of the McFerrin Professorship, El-Halwagi is internationally known for his pioneering contributions in the field of process integration, and he has written two widely used texts on the subject; one of which has been translated in Chinese and Korean.
He was invited to the China University of Petroleum to discuss process integration and optimization techniques developed by his research group and their applications on petroleum processes where there is better resource conservation, reduced environmental impact, higher energy efficiency and integration with biomass-derived feedstocks.
Process integration and optimization, El-Halwagi explained, provides systematic and generally-applicable methodologies and tools that can be used to revamp existing facilities to adapt to changing market conditions by creating innovative processing pathways.
Founded in 1953 as the Beijing Petroleum Institute, the China University of Petroleum, which was renamed in 2005, is a state key comprehensive university under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China. It is one of the national “211 Project” universities and an important scientific research base for petroleum and petrochemical industries.
