Post on 28-Jun-2018
Academia-Industry Interfaces and CollaborationDr. Sulaiman Al-Khattaf
Director, Center for Refining& PetrochemicalsKing Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Outline
• Part 1: Academia-Industry Collaboration
• Part 2: KFUPM: An Insight
• Part 3: Olefins Research at KFUPM
• Part 4: Aromatics Research at KFUPM
• Concluding Remarks
2
Part 1
Academia-Industry Collaboration
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS 4
Changing Role of Academia
• Besides education, research and community service, universities play a vital role in fostering innovation activities.
• Academia have a wealth of resources including human and intellectual capital and R&D infrastructure.
• Universities contribute to national transformation towards a knowledge-based economy.
• They interact with industry to allow students and faculty to engage in research activities while helping solve industry problems.
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS 5
Why Industry Comes to Academia?
• To perform collaborative research and gain insight from internationally-recognized experts.
• Create research synergies, utilize facilities, lab space and infrastructure at universities
• To strengthen strategic decision-making via:
– Developing new products and processes, and
– Achieving effective growth strategies
• Help bridge funding gaps that exist at the technology development and marketing stages.
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Interfaces of University-Industry Collaboration
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
People Ideas Methods
ApplicationsChallengesFunding
Shared Benefits to Both Parties
University-Industry Collaboration
University Benefits Industry Benefits
Research or project funding Lower research overhead
Student internships; learning opportunities Future employees/recruiting
Equipment/facility fees Access to specialized equipment
Licensing revenue Licensed intellectual property
Academic publication opportunities Publicity for sponsorships
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
• University-Industry collaborations are promoted to commercialize university research and foster economic growth.
• Academic discoveries are developed for the benefit of all stakeholders: companies, universities and public.
• Most frequently cited tensions between university-industry collaboration are:
• Intellectual property management, and
• Publication freedom
University-Industry Collaboration
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS 9
Best Practices for Collaboration
• Universities that engage with industry need to offer straightforward research agreements that will:
– Enable researchers to work with industry partners
on all stages of R&D
– Streamline contracting process for companies
– Reduce intellectual property negotiation times
Straightforward Research Agreements
• Many universities have guidelines that outline university and industry responsibilities and profit-sharing.
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS 10
Intellectual Property Rights and Royalties
• Negotiating a functional IP policy between universities and industry is becoming an important issue.
• Some universities have:
• Established unified and structured IP policies to guide decisions on rights to IP and division of royalties
• Adopted policies that waive a substantial portion of royalties - in some cases 25 to 35% - on disclosures to the sponsoring industry
• These new IP strategies have reduced uncertainty and financial concerns that surround university-industry partnerships.
• IP disagreements are most frequent in narrowly-focused collaborations.
• In exploratory research, some companies accept the IP management practices of universities.
Part 2
KFUPM: An Insight
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
KFUPM: A Brief Insight
KFUPM
Quality of Education
KFUPM is one of the highest ranked
university in the GCC
Engineering College programs are
accredited by ABET
Established in 1963, KFUPM
has a total of 9,500 students in
6 colleges
950+ Multinational Faculty Members
200 Dedicated Researchers (RI)
12 PhD Programs & 35 MS Programs
Researchers
600+ Yearly Publications in ISI Journals
450+ Issued Patents (USPTO)
Publications and Patents
Facilities
KFUPM Research Institute
5 Centers of Research Excellence
Dhahran Techno-Valley
Top Saudi Talent Pool
First Technical University in KSA
1,200+ graduates per year
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
KFUPM Dhahran Techno-Valley Science Park
DTV Science Park grew rapidly during last 8 years Considered world largest R&D cluster of petroleum energy applications
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Rank Among Universities
Global Rank
No. Patents University
1 67 536 University of California
2 116 309 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
3 159 222 Leland Stanford Jr University
4 166 213 Korea Advanced Institute Science and Tech
5 172 209 University of Texas System
6 176 209 Tsinghua University
7 189 191 California Institute of technology
8 224 162 Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
9 235 155 Johns Hopkins University
10 258 138 University of Michigan
11 279 126 Columbia University
12 285 123 Harvard College
13 314 115 KFUPM
IFI CLAIMS® Top 1000 US Assignees for 2015
Global University Ranking (2015)
KFUPM: Innovation Push
Total number of issued patents = 453 (as of Jan. 18, 2016)
KFUPM Technology Landscape
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Research Agreements and Collaboration
• KFUPM has developed contract mechanisms that enable industry to engage with KFUPM Research Institute at all stages of R&D
• These agreements are carefully crafted to streamline the contracting process and provide straightforward intellectual property terms for companies engaging in collaborative research
• Types of focused collaboration:
• Bilateral Collaboration: KFUPM + International University or Industry
• Trilateral Collaboration: KFUPM + Industry + International University
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
KFUPM Center for Refining & Petrochemicals
16
CRP is active in catalysis research related to refining, aromatics, olefins and polyolefins
Networking with world-class scientists and researchers
Over 40 publications and 4 patents per year
Active participation in graduate study and training
Company
Para-xylene from Toluene and Methanol
Light Olefins from Naphtha Cracking
Propylene from ButenesMetathesis
Technology
• Catalyst testing and screening
• Concept Validation Stage
• Ongoing pilot plant testing
• Catalyst scale-up
• Completed catalyst development
• Dual catalyst for maximum propylene
Status
Examples of Collaborative Research between KFUPM and Industry
Part 3
Olefins Research at KFUPM
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
• Global basic petrochemical market size is around 423 MMT and 530 US$ billion value (2015)
• Methanol: Derivatives include formaldehyde, acetic acid, DME, price at $275/tonne
• Olefins: Many derivatives, PE, PP, PVC, EO,
• Ethylene: Additional capacity expansions is USA and ME. Price at $850/tonne
• Propylene: On purpose capacity is expected to increase 42 MMT by 2020. Price at $590/tonne
• Aromatics: represents 119 MMT and 130 US$ billion value. Derivatives, SM, PET
• Benzene: Price at $550/tonne
• Toluene: current price $520/tonne
• para-Xylene: represents 38 MMT. Price at $680/tonne
Basic Petrochemicals: An Overview
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
30 barrel per day Demonstration Plant, Ras Tanura Refinery Saudi Aramco
3,000 barrel per day HS-FCC in Mizushima JX Refinery, Japan
• Developed a chemical-oriented refining process (HS-FCC) for converting heavy oil to value- added products
• Initiated pilot plant testing at KFUPM
Comparison between conventional and HS-FCC process
Joint Collaboration to Develop Refinery Cracking Process
Development of High-Severity Fluid Catalytic Cracking Process of Heavy Oil
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Stages for Technology Development:
From KFUPM Laboratory to Commercial Unit at Refinery in South Korea
20
Joint Collaboration to Develop Refinery Cracking Process
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Collaborative Research between KFUPM and SABIC
Main Objective
• Develop a catalytic system for the conversion of naphtha to light olefins
Specific Objectives:
• Established basic technology for catalyst design
• Optimized cracking conditions for maximum light olefins yield
• Scaled-up catalyst preparation and testing in circulating catalyst pilot plant
Catalytic cracking of
light naphtha
Light olefins (ethylene and propylene)
Catalytic Cracking of Naphtha to Light Olefins
Advanced Cracking Evaluation (ACE) fluidized bed unit
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
C4-C6 olefin streams are becoming undesirable for gasoline blending due to their high volatility
Demand for ethylene and propylene is increasing mainly for polyethylene and polypropylene
Global propylene (90 MMT/yr) is co-produced by naphtha steam crackers (55%), FCC units (30%) and on-purpose processes
Olefins cracking technology may be integrated with an FCC unit or a naphtha steam cracker
Global Propylene Sources Global Propylene Derivatives
Ethylene and Propylene from Olefins Cracking
Selective Global Propylene Production (IHS 2015)
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Product distribution vs. reaction temperature in catalytic cracking of 1-butene
23
Ethylene and Propylene from Butenes Cracking
Our work on butenes cracking showed that product distributions are function of successive reactions of oligomerization, cracking, and hydrogen transfer. Maximum propylene yield of 39% from cracking 1-butene at 550°C.
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Novel redox – based nanoparticles supported
catalyst with a hierarchical catalyst pore
24
Catalyst consisting of cohabiting nano-particle oxide stabilized on porous alumina
On-Purpose Catalytic Production of Butadiene
B.Rabindran Jermy, B.P. Ajayi, B.A. Abussaud, S. Asaoka, S. Al-Khattaf,, Oxidative
dehydrogenation of n-butane to butadiene over Bi-Ni-O/-alumina catalyst” J. of Mol. Catal. A:
Chem. 400 (2015) 121-131.
TechnologyExisting 2 steps*C41-C4
=C4
2=
KFUPMC4C4
2=
Rx Temp [oC] 600/400 450
nC4 conversion, % 30 30
Selectivity, %
Butadiene 56 49
Butenes 21 21
Propylene 2 1
Ethylene 14 16
Methane 1 1
CO2 6 12
* Preliminary estimation based on literature
Catalytic Oxidative Dehydrogenation of n-Butane
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
One-Step ODH Process to BD
Single reactor
No butene separation unit at intermediate step
Low-temperature operation
Less coke formation due to low BD concentration
Enable to integrate within refinery crude C4= unit
Advantages of KFUPM One-Step ODH Process and BD Catalyst
KFUPM BD Catalyst
Designed based on commercial catalyst preparation technology
Consist of commercial available materials
No noble metal (Pt)
No toxic element (Cr)
Stabilized by calcination in air at high temperature
On-Purpose Catalytic Production of Butadiene
Part 4
Aromatics Research at KFUPM
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Collaboration with UOP
• Global demand for para-xylene is about 38 million tonne in 2015
• Demand for PX is growing at 5% per year for use in polyester fibers, PET resins
• More than 70% of PX capacity is located in Asia
• Middle East is projected to have the highest annual growth capacity rates during 2015-2020 for PX at 10.5%
• Conventional routes to PX include toluene disproportionation or transalkylation.
• Both routes produce mixed xylenes and co-produce benzene.
On-Purpose Production of para-Xylene (PX)
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
para-Xylene (PX) from Toluene Methylation
ObjectiveDevelop an alternative alkylation technology for PX production
ProgressDeveloped and optimized catalyst with a high selectivity to PX
Impact & Outcome
• Uses available low-value feedstocks: gas-based methanol and toluene
• Reduced feed requirement per unit PX produced
• Potential cost-effective industrial process
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A Collaborative Project between KFUPM and UOP (A Honeywell Company)
para-Xylene (PX) from Toluene Methylation
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
• Low-value propane is catalytically converted to valuable aromatics
• Aromatization represents an on-purpose process for aromatics production.
• Developed Ga-Al-MFI zeolite with different Ga/(Ga+Al) and Si/(Ga+Al) ratios
• Hirerarchical porous structure of Ga-Al-MFI was created by desilication
Aromatization of Light Alkanes
KACST Funded Research Project
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
Effect of Ga/(Ga+Al) Ratio
Aromatization of Light Alkanes
• Ga-Al-MFI: Ga/(Ga+Al) ratio of 0.3 and Si/(Ga+Al) ratio of 15 resulted into maximum propane conversion (90%) and aromatic yield (70 %)
• Reaction conditions: 540˚C, GHSV (gas hourly space velocity) = 1600 h-1
0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
50.0
60.0
70.0
80.0
90.0
100.0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
Convers
ion
%
Ga/(Ga+Al) Ratio
Propane conversion Aromatic Yield
MANAGING R&D DURING DIFFICULT TIMES: CREATING GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
• Major innovations result from basic research and university role is essential
• Collaborative research between universities and industry is becoming more important for both parties.
• Universities were known for saying: “Publish or Perish.” Now they say: “Partner or Perish.”
• Collaboration should lead to creation of knowledge: patents, license and/or creation of technology-based companies
• Lock-up of inventions and censoring of academic publications, should be avoided if feasible.
Concluding Remarks
Thank You!
www.gpca.org.ae