Internship at ETH Zurich Opens Doors for Khalifa University to Further Enhance Collaboration in Catalysis Research
Khalifa University PhD researcher, Sara Alkhoori, has made significant strides in advancing green fuel production 鈥� converting 45% of palm oil into sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) and biogasoline using advanced catalysts. Her PhD thesis on turning palm oil into clean fuel was part of an internship program at ETH Zurich which focused on developing sustainable energy solutions for the future.
The research internship at ETH Zurich also marked the initiation of a collaboration aligning with the learning objectives of Alkhoori鈥檚 PhD project at Khalifa University. This is expected to foster more collaboration between Khalifa University and ETH Zurich, bringing together top scientists from both institutions including Prof. Dr. Kyriaki Polychronopoulou, Director, Center for Catalysis and Separation (CeCaS), Khalifa University, who will be working closely with Dr. Jeroen A. van Bokhoven a leading scientist in catalysis and Director of the Laboratory of Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry, ETH Zurich, to advance the development of sustainable fuels.
Alkhoori was offered the internship by Prof. Dr. van Bokhoven to join his research group at the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences and the Laboratory for Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. She also collaborated with Dr. Paunovic Vladimir, Professor, Heterogeneous Catalysis, and Dr. Chao Wang, Associate member of the van Bokhoven Group, at ETH Zurich to investigate catalysts made with different combinations of metals. Their research focused on understanding how these catalysts could be used to remove oxygen from palm oil, a process known as hydrodeoxygenation, ultimately transforming it into a clean and sustainable fuel.
Additionally, Alkhoori trained in the state-of-the-art Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy equipment, to identify specific atomic structures within materials made of zeolite, a type of mineral that have a very unique structure, crucial for the catalysts to work.
Her research aimed to use advanced NMR techniques, specifically multinuclear and multidimensional NMR, to gain a deeper understanding of the intricate arrangement of atoms in the zeolite framework. By pinpointing the exact locations and types of atoms within the material, she could better understand how the catalyst鈥檚 acidic nature contributes to the process of turning palm oil into fuel.
Alisha Roy
Science Writer
16 July 2024
