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KAUST Research Conference 2023

October 23-25, 2023

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This conference represents a collaborative effort among the government, industry, and academia to address the challenges associated with crude oil conversion to chemicals and accelerate the development of environmentally friendly and cost-effective crude-to-chemicals technologies. The conference will congregate regional and global industry leaders and academia experts to exchange ideas, deliberate global challenges, and discuss long-term strategies on three main topics:

1. Novel Potential Catalysts for Oil-to-Chemicals Conversion

2. Process Development and Optimization: Accelerate the Drive toward Innovative Technologies

3. Oil-to-Chemicals: Fundamental Approaches

For over a century, crude oil has predominantly served as a feedstock for fuel production. However, growing concerns about CO2 emissions and their environmental impact have prompted the development of more efficient combustion engines. Industry experts widely agree that in the coming decades, the fuel market will decrease while the chemicals and CO2 energy markets will grow exponentially. This shift necessitates significant changes, and Saudi Aramco is taking the lead in implementing initiatives, such as "Refinery of the Future", which demand innovative ideas and methodologies.

One such methodology is the conversion of crude oil to chemicals. This process presents multidisciplinary challenges, including impurities, varying boiling points, and oil fractions with high sparsity. To ensure the techno-economic viability of this process, such issues require the development of new solutions that range from novel reactor designs to new catalyst formulations.

Conference Chairs

JORGE GASCON

Chair, Director of the KAUST CATALYSIS CENTER, KING ABDULLAH UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (KAUST)

KHALID ALMAJNOUNI

Chair, Research Science Consultant, SAUDI ARAMCO

HALEEMA A. ALAMRI

Director of the Energy Technology observatory department, Ministry of Energy

This event is organized by the KAUST Catalysis Center, Saudi Aramco and the Ministry of Energy with financial support from the Office of Research Funding and Services (RFS) and Saudi Aramco.

Technical Committee

ANISSA BENDJERIOU-SEDJERARI

R&D Portfolio Manager, KAUST Catalysis Center

LUJAIN R. ALFILFIL

Lead Lab Scientist, SAUDI ARAMCO

MOHAMED ELANANY

Research Science Consultant, Aramco Research Center at KAUST