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Dr. Nejat Rahmanian

Dr. Nejat Rahmanian

Biography

Dr. Nejat Rahmanian is an Associate Professor in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and has been leading the MSc Program for Advanced Chemical and Petroleum Engineering since July 2015. He is a Chartered Engineer, Chartered Scientist, and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dr. Rahmanian earned his doctoral degree from the University of Leeds in 2010 and holds an MBA (Executive) with Distinction. He also possesses an MSc (1997) and BSc (1993) in Chemical Engineering. With over 24 years of experience in both academia and industry, he spent 8 years at Petropars Ltd, collaborating with major international companies like Shell, PETRONAS, TOTAL, StatOil and NIOC on the South Pars Gas Field project, the largest gas-condensate reservoir in the world. His work involved close cooperation with engineering and construction firms in Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, and the UK.

In academia, Dr. Rahmanian has served as a member of the Senate, representing the Faculty of Engineering and Informatics from 2019 to 2022, and was part of the Faculty Board during the same period. He was involved in the Faculty External Relationship/Faculty Partnership (2019-2021) and was an active member of the PGR committee (2017-2023).

Additionally, he has been a committee member of the IChemE Particle Technology Special Interest Group (2016-2022), and is a member of the UK CCS Group and the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3).


Research

  • Process modelling, simulation and optimisation of hydrocarbon(oil/gas) processes such as carbon capture from natural gas and flue gases, prilling process, LNG production, crude oil stabilisation, gas condensate stabilisation and MEG recovery. The involved software are Aspen Hysys, Aspen PLUS, gPROMS, gSOLID, Fluent for CFD, Matlab, EDEM, OLGA 2000, FORTRAN and C++.
  •  Current research on gas processing, particularly CO2, captures using absorption and membrane processes.
  •  Powder technology and in particular particle characterization, and granulation technology with emphasis on scale-up and the product-process relationships, milling, crystallization and prilling.
  •  2D and 3D structure characterization of particles using SEM and X-ray micro tomography, respectively. Image Processing follows this. 
  • General chemical engineering subjects such as water and wastewater analysis.
  • Multi-disciplinary subjects such as the design of diabetic shoes and self-cleaning fabrics.


PhD Projects Available:



Research projects

Utilisation of CO2 using electrochemical CO2 conversion

Date
to
Role
Principal Supervisor of PhD Project

This projected was funded by Qatar National research Fund (QNRF) and is in collaboration with the University of Qatar

Development of Process of Seeded Granulation: Influence of Process and Formulation Parameters

Date
Role
Principal Invetigator

The aim of the proposed programme is to develop control strategies for wet granulation processes. The particular objective is to develop and enhance an understanding of the mechanism for seeded granulation1 by identifying the key parameters responsible for controlling the process in high shear (batch and continuous) granulators. Applications include high-added value materials with significant commercial impact such as pharmaceutical, nutraceutical and detergent powders.

Optimising particle size and moisture content for minimal CO2 emissions in biomass wood pellets for power generation,

Date
to
Role
PI

This project seeks to expand upon two master sresaerch projects which have indicated the existence of variations in the properties of different wood pellet samples. These variations arise from differences in feedstock and production methods. While numerous studies have explored the impact of individual pellet properties, such as particle size and moisture content, particularly in relation to mechanical strength and durability, limited research has been conducted on their interrelationships with heating value and subsequent CO2 emissions.

Carbon Sequestration in Steel and Cement Industries using Indirect Mineral Carbonation Process

Date
Role
Principal Investigator

The steel and cement sectors are major contributors to CO2 emissions, accounting for 7% and 6.5% of global CO2 emissions, respectively . In the UK, these industries are responsible for approximately 7% of the nation’s total CO2 emissions in 2022. Therefore, reducing carbon emissions in the steel and cement industries is crucial to achieving the Net-Zero target set by the UK’s government by 2050. This project aims to utilize simultaneously produced alkaline waste and CO2 in steel and cement industries to generate sustainable, highly value-added materials and reduce GHG emissions and waste discharge.

Research collaborator

  • PhD supervision (University of Qatar)
  • BECCS Project (Costain)
  • Carbon sequestration in steel and cement industries (CEMEX)
  • Carbon sequestration in steel and cement industries (ArcellorMittal)

Teaching

Heat Transfer; Mass and Energy Balances; Reaction Engineering; Petroleum Engineering; Pharmaceutical Process Engineering; Particle Technology

Modules

  • Advanced MEng Research Project - CPE7010-D
  • Petroleum Engineering - CPE6006-B
  • Reaction Engineering - CPE5005-B

Professional activities

Awards (6)

  • Outstanding Achiever Award-2024 (16 April 2024)
  • Best Publication Award (1 December 2019)
  • Model-Based Innovation Prize (1 November 2018)
  • Gold Medal (11 May 2013)
  • IChemE Young Research Award Competition, (26 June 2008)
  • Prize, Innovative and Scientific Contribution to the Field of Granulation (29 June 2007)

Committees (1)

  • IChemE Particle Technology Subject Group , Committee Member of IChemE Particle Technology Subject Group (1 January 2016)

Consultancy (2)

  • Lubrizol - Manufacturing and Characterisation of detergent granules, for Lubrizol Corporation (11 June 2018)
  • Hosokawa Micron, B.V. - Manufacturing and Characterisation of granules/particles produced in Batch and Continuous Granulators (1 December 2008)

Education (1)

  • University of Leeds - PhD (1 November 2005)

Journal reviews (10)

  • Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering - REVIEWER
  • Fuel - REVIEWER
  • Sustainability - SERIESEDITOR (1 January 2020)
  • Particuology - REVIEWER (1 January 2014)
  • Chemical Engineering, Research and Design - REVIEWER (1 January 2010)
  • Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research - REVIEWER
  • Journal of Particle Science and Technology - EDITOR (1 November 2023)
  • Powder Technology - REVIEWER (1 January 2010)
  • Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research - REVIEWER
  • Journal of Petroleum Research and Studies - EDITOR (1 January 2024)

Other activities (1)

  • Visiting Professor: Visiting professor, ICT Mumbai, 2014/15 (1 January 2014)

Professional associations (4)

  • Gas Processors Association Europe, Member (1 September 2016)
  • Institute of Materials, Minerals, and Mining, Professional Member MIMMM (1 January 2015)
  • UK Carbon Capture and Storage Research Center , Academic member (2 September 2014)
  • IEAGHG, International Energy Agency, Green House Gases R&D , Member (1 January 2013)

Publications

Book chapter (2)

Chapter in book (9)

Conference publication (8)

  • Proccss simulation and evaluation of ethane recovery process using Aspen-HYSYS

    Rczakazemi M.;Rahmanian N.;Jameel H.;Shirazian S. (2018) 23rd International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering, CHISA 2018 and 21st Conference on Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction, PRES 2018. 2, 928-929.

  • Investigation about profitability improvement for synthesis of benzyl acetate in different types of batch distillation columns

    Aqw D.Y.;Rahmanian N.;Mujtaba I.M. (2018) 23rd International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering, CHISA 2018 and 21st Conference on Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction, PRES 2018. 2

  • Effect of various packing structure on gas absorption for enhanced CO2 capture

    Rahmanian N.;Rehan M.;Sumani A.;Nizami A.S. (2018) 23rd International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering, CHISA 2018 and 21st Conference on Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction, PRES 2018. 2

  • An experimental investigation on seeded granulation of detergent powders

    Rahmanian N.;Halmi M.;Choy D.;Patel R.;Yusup S.;Mujtaba I. (2016) 22nd International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering, CHISA 2016 and 19th Conference on Process Integration, Modelling and Optimisation for Energy Saving and Pollution Reduction, PRES 2016. 2, 1245-1246.

Other journal (7)

Peer reviewed journal (80)