U of S Prof Wins $20,000 Petro-Canada Award to Help Improve Safety inOil Refineries
Posted January 26, 2000
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - January 26, 2000 | 2000-01-12-OTHER |
U of S Prof Wins $20,000 Petro-Canada Award to Help Improve Safety in Oil Refineries
"Prof. Dalai's research could lead to safer working conditions in oil refineries," said Michael Corcoran, U of S Vice-President (Research). "His project is an excellent example of the kind of vitally important work the Petro-Canada Young Innovator Award Program was designed to encourage."
Dalai, an associate professor of chemical engineering, is working to replace highly toxic materials used in gasoline processing with non-toxic materials. The new materials will be safer for petroleum refining workers and better for the environment because they can be recycled in the refinery.
"Prof. Dalai's research regarding the safety of materials in oil refineries is highly relevant to our industry," said Ken Cummings, Petro-Canada terminal manager for Saskatchewan and Manitoba. "Petro-Canada has three major refineries in Canada and this work has the potential to be both useful and valuable to our operations."
Dalai's research deals with a key ingredient of gasoline called iso-octane. This hydrocarbon is added to gasoline to help produce a more efficient and less polluting blend of gasoline. But at present, the production of iso-octane poses serious problems in oil refineries. The liquid acids such as sulfuric and hydrofluoric acid used to produce this chemical are highly corrosive and very toxic when handled. As well, disposal of these acids is another major threat to the environment.
Dalai and his research team will substitute less corrosive solid acids for liquid acids to make iso-octane. Solid acids are more environmentally friendly because the volume of waste for disposal is less.
Among his many projects relating to Canada's oil industry, Dalai has been working on technology for upgrading of heavy oil, bitumen, and pitch to produce liquid fuels. A patent on this project is under consideration.
Dalai joined the U of S in 1996 in the Department of Chemical Engineering. He has presented 50 papers at international conferences, published 22 research papers in referred journals, and written 30 reports for various funding agencies. He has brought over $500,000 in research funding to U of S.
Petro-Canada, a leading Canadian producer, refiner and marketer of petroleum products began the program in 1995 and has assisted young researchers in colleges and universities across Canada by launching their scholarly careers. The program was implemented in 1995 due to the growing concern by universities that some of Canada's most prominent young scholars were leaving the country to conduct their research elsewhere.
The program recognizes young innovative faculty researchers and supports their research. Their work must stand out by being innovative while enhancing the learning environment in their department. A successful candidate's research project will have potentially great significance to society at large.
Candidates are nominated by their departments. Selection of the recipient is made by a committee chaired by the Vice-President of Research. Criteria include the researcher's overall research promise, the degree of innovation of work, the quality of the proposal, and the relevance of the work to the interests of Petro-Canada. Recipients must be full-time, tenure-track faculty.
For more information, contact:
Ken Cummings
Petro-Canada Terminal Manager
Sakatchewan/Manitoba Region
(306) 668-5353
Prof. Ajay Dalai
Chemical Engineering
University of Saskatchewan
(306) 966-4771
