PEARL | Process Engineering Advanced Research Labs

ABDELRAHMAN HUSSAIN

Abdelrahman had obtained B.Sc. in chemical engineering from the University of Khartoum, Sudan in 2012 and, M.Sc. in chemical engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia, in 2016. He joined PEARL research group in Sep. 2017 as a Ph.D. student at the chemical engineering department. His previous research experience focused on zeolite catalysts for the enhanced production of high-value products from the catalytic cracking of heavy petroleum feedstocks. His research activities included synthesis of novel and modified zeolite additives, catalysts characterization, catalysts evaluation and, kinetic studies. Abdelrahman current research interests include hydrogen production and storage, solar reactors, clean fuels, and energy storage.

FADOUA LAASRI

Fadoua Laasri has obtained her diploma of technician specialized in chemical industry from the mining institute of Marrakech, Morocco in 2008. She worked in the mining sector before joining Polytechnique Montreal where she graduated from her bachelor in chemical Engineering in 2018. In summer 2018, she joined PEARL as Ph.D. student at chemical engineering department. Aware of the environmental issues caused by the chemical industry, her doctoral project is focused on the decomposition of phosphogypsum (industrial waste) to extract the raw material.

Ghazaleh Mirakhori

I received B.SC. and M.Sc. in chemical engineering from University of Tehran, Iran in 2015 and 2018. I had this opportunity to work as process design engineer in “Increasing the capacity of wastewater plant in Tehran oil refinery” project in 2017.I have joined PEARL since May 2019 and I work on “Develop a dynamic model for polystyrene pyrolysis in a microwave-assisted reactor” My project aims to develop a mathematical model to predict the impact of hydrodynamic behavior in polystyrene pyrolysis using a microwave-assisted reactor. The main objectives are as follows: 1- The impact of operating condition on the hydrodynamics of viscous liquid and large solid particles in stirred-tank reactor by radioactive particle tracking method. 2- The impact of microwave field on the hydrodynamics of multiphase stirred-tank reactor by radioactive particle tracking method. 3- Develop a compartmental model based on hydrodynamics and microwave intensity data within the reactor.

Henok Atile

I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in manufacturing technology from Menschen für Menschen ATTC (Ethiopia) in 2011. Upon my graduation, I became an assistance Lecturer of Mechanical Engineering at Ambo University (Ethiopia) where I have developed a tendency towards renewable energy, thermodynamics, and fluid dynamics subjects. Then, I have done two master’s degrees in sustainable energy and mechanical engineering from Jimma University (Ethiopia) and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan), respectively. I have research experience in the pyrolysis of bone meal to produce phosphorous fertilizer, and I have developed a bone char granulation technique and designed a compost pelletization machine to produce organic phosphorous fertilizer pellets. My second MSc. thesis was focused on the gasification of spent coffee grounds using a novel chemical looping process to produce high-quality syngas. I was a lecturer around for three years at Ambo University (Ethiopia). I am passionate about teaching and I have lectured different courses such as thermodynamics, energy and environment, renewable energy, and other courses for mechanical engineering and other department students. Starting from January 2021, I am starting my Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at Ecole Polytechnique of Montreal under the supervision of Prof. Jemal Chaouki.

Fatemeh Vatankhah

She obtained her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the Isfahan University of Technology, Iran with a thesis on the control of first and higher order of processing systems with time-delay. This project enables her to gain general knowledge about process control concepts, modeling, programming, and optimization that piques her interest. By the end of her bachelor's study, she modeled and developed a user-friendly graphical interface suitable for the process control laboratory to train the undergraduates. Then, she started her master’s degree at the same university known as the top ten students in Chemical Engineering. She followed her interests in the field of process design, particularly for membrane technologies. Moreover, she practiced her engineering skills in different academic fields and internships like teaching assistant, energy audit, solar energy, and industrial wastewater treatment. She has joined PEARL in September 2020 and started her new journey as a Ph.D. student.

Mohammad Khajouei

Mohammad obtained his M.Sc. in Nano-Biochemical Engineering from Babol (Noshirvani) University of Technology, Iran in 2016. His main research interests and focus were environmental engineerings and water treatment. More than 10 journal publications, 2 books, and some conference presentations were the results of his master projects. He joined Prof. Jamal Chaouki’s group in Winter 2021 at Polytechnique Montreal. The main research interests are biomass recycling and bio-oil generation, renewable energy, membrane separations, and environmental engineering.

Kazem Adavi

Kazem Adavi is a Ph.D. student in Prof. Jamal Chaouki's group in Polytechnique Montreal. He finished his master's degree at the Sharif University of Technology in Iran. Kazem worked on the Computational Fluid Dynamic field for modeling and simulation of chemical engineering phenomena. Additionally, he has a fair knowledge of manufacturing pilot setups and catalyst characterizations. He also wrote a book regarding Comsol Multiphysics in chemical engineering and instructed Comsol workshops for 5 years. On the other hand, working as a process engineer for three years gave him a good approach toward chemical processes and project management as well.

Javad Vahabzadeh

Javad Vahabzadeh Pasikhani is a Ph.D. researcher at the Department of Chemical Engineering and works under the supervision of Prof. Chaouki. He joined the PEARL research group in May 2021. He obtained both B.Sc. (2014) and M.Sc. (2017) degrees in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tehran. He received the best graduate thesis award (ranked first) in Chemical Engineering selected by the Iranian Association of Chemical Engineering (IAChE). Also, he won Iran's National Elites Foundation in 2017. Prior to joining the PEARL group, Javad had the opportunity to work as a lecturer, thesis advisor, and research associate at the University of Tehran and the Process Design and Nanotechnology Research Laboratory. Currently, he has published more than 12 ISI papers and two patents. His main research interest involves designing and constructing advanced nanostructured materials to apply for renewable energy technologies and environmental protection systems.

Mohammed Zriki

After graduating from mohammadia's school of engineers in 2020, majoring in process engineering, I joined PEARL research in january 2021 as a Ph.D candidate under the supervision of Professor Jamal Chaouki. During my studies, I acquired the basics of chemical and process engineering such as material and energy balances, transfer phenomena, catalytic chemical reactions, etc. These basics are applied during many internships and projects , I have worked on design and modeling of the operation of different industrial machines as well as simulation and optimization of processes and finally chemical analysis at laboratory level. My decision to pursue doctoral studies stems from a strong interest in scientific research and university teaching. Chemical engineering bridges the gap between my need for an analytical, rigorous and in-depth understanding of the scientific phenomena of transfer, reactions, and industrial processes and my determination to make a significant contribution to organizations, institutions and society.

Sara El Aziz

Sara received a master’s degree in process engineering with a specialization in agro-food industries from Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Rabat in 2018. As part of her master thesis, she worked on sewage sludge management and the conception of an optimization model to manage waste. She joined Prof. Chaouki’s group in 20...

PHDs