Abu Dhabi's Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, and Tadweer, the Center of Waste Management – Abu Dhabi, have signed a two-year research agreement focused on improving the process for the production of biodiesel from waste cooking oil.
The research will focus on achieving fundamental improvement of the process of converting waste cooking oil to biodiesel through further experimentation and sensitivity studies. Processing and reusing waste cooking oil as fuel is an environmentally friendly sustainable energy solution that can contribute to targets for renewable energy uptake in U.A.E. and abroad. Biodiesel is bio-renewable, carbon-neutral and rapidly biodegradable.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute, and Eisa Saif Al Qubaisi, General Manager of the Tadweer (CWM) in the presence of officials from both the institutions.
Dr. Isam Janajreh, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Head of the Waste to Energy (W2E) Laboratory at Masdar Institute, will be the principal investigator (PI) of the project, while Dr. Ahmed Aljabri will be the co-principal investigator. As per the research project agreement, the principal investigator and the co-principal investigator will design, plan, and formulate the modelling and experimental investigations with assistance from two Masdar Institute Master’s degree students.
Dr. Moavenzadeh said, "The research agreement with CWM illustrates U.A.E.'s commitment to facilitating the production of clean energy and minimisation of waste. With the support of the country’s leadership, we will continue our contribution to the development of clean energy technologies and ensure faster adoption of sustainable measures. We are confident that the outcome of this collaboration will encourage the community to support such green technologies." The two institutions will be assisted in this project by Australia’s Laboratory for Turbulence Research in Aerospace and Combustion, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Sydney. Dr. Assad Masri, Australian Research Council-Australian Professorial Fellow in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, at the University of Sydney, and Chairman of the Australia and New Zealand section of the Combustion Institute, will lead the collaboration from the Australian side.