Water Technology Unit

Introduction

The Water Technology Unit (WTU) was established in 2018 in the Center for Advanced Materials (CAM) at Qatar University in cooperation with the Qatar Electricity and Water Company (QEWC). The goal of establishing the unit is to contribute in solving water related issues in the State of Qatar so that the WTU gradually becomes an integrated and distinguished center in the region to meet the needs of industry and community in the field of water desalination and wastewater treatment. The WTU is currently a strategic entity for water desalination and industrial wastewater research, ensuring its contribution to addressing current and emerging issues related to water quality and scarcity in the State of Qatar.

The WTU has attract expertise from researchers with diverse experiences and international collaboration. In this domain, The WTU plays a major role in developing various water technologies. It has established a multi-disciplinary research program covering the main areas of water desalination and treatment, which include, but not limited to, membrane fabrication and fouling control, pretreatment, brine management, and troubleshooting. The research program of the WTU aligns with the research priorities of Qatar University and coincides with the strategic goals of the National Vision 2030, which targets the expansion of the desalination capacity of the state of Qatar and strengthening the national desalination technical and expertise capacity. The WTU will also be at the forefront of integrating nanotechnologies with existing water treatment practices with the goal of optimizing the efficiency of conventional water desalination and treatment technologies in addition to the development of new nanotechnology enhanced membranes, materials and processes.

Vision

The WTU’s vision is to become a leading research center specialized in water desalination research, water purification, and wastewater treatment technology to contribute to the water security and ensure water quality in the State of Qatar and the region by conducting state-of-the-art research, development and training.

Mission

The mission of the WTU is to prepare well-qualified experts capable of planning and managing the water resources in the State of Qatar and regionally by conducting research and training in the field of water desalination and water industry.

Objectives

Conducting applied research and providing technical service support to the desalination and water treatment industry in Qatar.
Preparing students and researchers to be the next generation to work in the strategic area of desalination and water treatment industry in Qatar.
Offering technical support for interested companies operating in the water sector leading to certification.
Organizing workshops and training courses to engineers and operators in the desalination and water treatment industry in Qatar and the region.
Enhancing the awareness of the community regarding issues related to the protection of water resources.
Building research partnerships with local and international water research centers.

WTU Divisions

The future vision of the WTU (Center) divisions are:

Water desalination division
Water purification and Wastewater treatment division.
Water resources planning and management division.
Training and service division

Facilities and Resources

Research and development equipment

Hyrel 3D printer for water treatment based membrane- Design & Fabrication

Roll-to-Roll Membrane fabrication unit

Forward osmosis (FO) system

Membrane distillation (MD) system

Pressure-driven filtration system

Electrodialysis (ED) System

Water treatment unit

Integrated Water filtration unit

Compact UV-Ozone Cleaner with 4"x 4" Chamber - EQ-PCE-44- 220-LD (Ossila, UV)

UV Crosslinker & UV Sanitizing Cabinet Spectrolinker (Large Size), 254 nm 6X 15 Watt Tubes (Also available in foreign voltages) P/N XL-1500 (USA)
Water Analysis Instruments
WTU provides and offers to our academic, research and industrial collaborates scientific services on demand and training on equipment facilities and instruments based on specified testing. The following is a full description of all facilities and instruments available in WTU:

Turbidity meter

UV meter

Spectrophotometer

TOC analyzer

Zeta meter analyzer

HPLC instrument

Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS-MS)

WTU Projects

No.	Title of the project	LPI/PI
IRCC-157	Valorization of biomass into functional nanocatalyst-loaded biochar for water treatment (CHAR-4-WAT)	Dr. Bakr Abdullah & Dr.Jlassi Khouloud
IRCC-2023	Seawater reverse osmosis-combined sequential electrochemical (ROSE) system for sustainable and safe production of irrigation water for hydroponic systems	Dr. Dong Suk Han
UREP30-115-2-040	Development of smart molecular recognition membrane materials for lithium recovery from liquid solutions	Dr. Dong Suk Han
NSPP-3	Blue energy generation using water salinity gradient in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant	Dr. Dong Suk Han
QUST-2-CAM-2019-5	Development of nanostructured titanium based ion-imprinted membranes for recovery of lithium from saline water	Dr. Dong Suk Han
QUCG-CENG-23-24-188	Modification of ultrafiltration membranes using green natural deep eutrctic solvents as hydrophilic surface modifiers for water/wastewater treatment", funded by Qatar University	Dr. Dong Suk Han (PI)
CUCG-ARS-23-24-185	Mutual effects and in planta accumulation of co-existing green synthesized selenium nanoparticles and heavy metals (arsenic, nickel, cadmium and chromium) in leafy vegetables	Dr. Dong Suk Han (PI)
QUCG-CENG-23-24-111	Development and application of superhydropobic cost-effective sorbents for efficient refinery oily wastewater treatment	Dr. Dong Suk Han (PI)
UREP29-129-2-039	Fabrication of 2D-printed thin film composite forward osmosis (FO) membrane for applications in sustainable agricultural irrigation	Dr. Dong Suk Han
PDOC)(QUPD-CAM-23/24-583	Solar-thermal-assisted green hydrogen (H2) production using downstream water from Qatar's industrial wastewater treatment plant	Dr. Dong Suk Han
GSRA8-L-2-0414-21012	Lithium capture in seawater using spent lithium ion battery (SLIB) materials-based membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) system	Dr. Dong Suk Han
UREP28-059-2-023	Forward osmosis (FO) based concentration of fresh fruit juices for preservation of food quality and safety	Dr. Dong Suk Han
NPRP12S-0227-190166	Lithium recovery from reverse osmosis brine using solar-powered membrane distillation-electrochemical capturing hybrid system	Dr. Dong Suk Han
NPRP13S-0202-200228	Chemical production from industrial wastes (wastewater, brine, and CO2) using an off-grid electrochemical process	Dr. Dong Suk Han
QUST-1-CAM-2021-4	Remediation of arsenic contamination in groundwater using adsorption-membrane filtration hybrid contact system	Dr. Dong Suk Han
QUEX-CAM-QAFCO-20/21-1	Energy-saving membrane-based desalination hybrid process for zero liquid discharge (ZLD) in QAFCO Plant	Dr. Dong Suk Han
UREP 27-041-2-015	Off-grid and stand-alone photo-electrochemical system for green energy production using Pt free Ir-Ni alloy catalyst	Dr. Dong Suk Han
IRCC-007	Treatment of carbon dioxide and reverse osmosis (RO) brine in seawater desalination plant using solar-osmotic-engineered electrochemical process (SOE-EP)	Dr. Dong Suk Han
QUST-1-CAM-2020-1	Design and application of stand-alone nanostructured photoelectrocatalyst for water treatment using co-catalyst charging effect and non-ferrous Fenton reaction	Dr. Dong Suk Han
QUST-2-CAM-2019-5	Developing an innovative omni-hydrophobic membrane for membrane distillation to treat reverse osmosis (RO) brine	Dr. Dong Suk Han
NPRP-10-1210-160019	Solar-powered desalination process accompanying CO2 conversion and water purification”, funded by NPRP 10th Cycle (#10-1210-160019),	Dr. Dong Suk Han
QUST-1-CAM-2019	Tailored thin-film composite membrane for improvement of the osmotically engineered desalination process	Dr. Dong Suk Han
NPRP 9th Cycle (#9-052-2-020),	Air pollution cleanup-based water-energy-food nexus technology	Dr. Dong Suk Han
NPRP12S-0311-190299	Development of Novel Polymeric Adsorbent Media for Produced Water Treatment	Prof. Igor Krupa
NPRP14S-0317-210064	Multi-layered hierarchically porous membranes for high-quality wastewater treatment for irrigation purposes	Dr. Maryam Al-Ejji
(NCBP) [QUCP-CAM23/24–153]	Development and evaluation of natural based additives for fabrication of fouling resistant multilayered polymeric membranes for wastewater treatment applications	Dr. Maryam Al-Ejji
UREP30-099-2-036	Treatment of hydroponic wastewater solution by electrocoagulation technique.	Dr. Khalid Bani-Melhem
NPRP13S-0123-200153	Plasma-enhanced nano-catalytic polyamide membrane systems that minimize fouling and concentration polarization	Dr. Anton Popelka
IRCC-2023-520	Multifunctional surface engineered membranes with self-cleaning and anti-fouling properties for water remediation	Dr. Anton Popelka
UREP30-147-1-035	Stimuli-responsive 4D-printed innovative materials for water treatment	Dr. Anton Popelka
UREP28-137-1-038	Selective plasma patterned polymeric surfaces for water vapor harvesting bio-mimicking Namib Desert beetle	Dr. Anton Popelka
QUCG-CAM-22/23-582	Plasma treated polymeric membranes for gravity driven oil/water separation	Dr. Anton Popelka
QUCG-CAM-20/21-3	Polyethylene-based filtration media for a separation of oily impurities from produced wate	Dr. Anton Popelka
NPRP12S-0306-190247	Block Copolymer Membranes with Highly Uniform Pores for Advanced Oil/Water Ultrafiltration: Design, Evaluation, and Industrially Scalable Roll to Roll Processing	Dr. Mohamed Hassan
QPH3P‐CAM‐2021‐454	Manufacturing of Polypropylene Water Cartridge Filters 2021 - 2023 Commercial water filters manufacturing	Dr. Mohamed Hassan
NPRP12S-0311-190299	Development of Novel Polymeric Adsorbent Media for Produced Water Treatment	Dr.Igor Krupa
UREP25-091-2-034	Preparation of water-soluble carbon dots based chitosan composites: as efficient ion-exchange membranes for cd2+ and pb2+ removal	Dr.Jlassi Khouloud
NPRP11S-0110-180245	Sustainable bioplastics production from industrial wastewaters using photosynthetic microbial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs)	Dr. Adriaan S. Luyt
NPRP10-0205-170349	Novel thermally enhanced polymer heat exchanger for muti effect distillation (MED) desalination plants	Dr. Igor Krupa
NPRP 10-0127-170269	Nanostructured Membranes for Oil-Water Separation	Dr. Mariam Al-Maadeed
NPRP10-0117-170176	Forward Osmosis Seawater Pretreatment for High Performance Thermal Desalination Plants	Dr. Syed Zaidi
QUCG-CAM-19/20-2	Biopolymeric membranes for water/oil separation	Dr. Igor Krupa
QUCG-CAM-19/20-3	Development of advanced biodegradable polymer nanocomposites with titania using plasma technology	Dr. Adriaan S. Luyt
IRCC-004	Nanostructured Membrane for Reverse Osmosis Seawater Desalination	Dr. Syed Zaidi
QUCG-CAM-19/20-4	Potential Application of Forward Osmosis‐Reverse Osmosis Seawater Desalination in Qatar	Dr. Syed Zaidi

Workshops and Seminars

Workshops and training courses conducted by the WTU team:

5 March 2023

The WTU and UNESCO Chair in Desalination and Water Treatment under CAM co-organize the "Qatar-German Water Sustainability Day (QGWSD - 2023)" with the Center for Sustainable Development under the College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biological and Environment Sciences, and Higher project.

December 2022

The WTU at Qatar University organized a two-day short training course entitled “Workshop on Membrane-Based Water Treatment”. Several local engineers working in water technology at Qatar Electricity and Water Company and Kahramaa attended the workshop.

17-18 October 2022

WTU actively contributed organized to the online international conference based on UN Sustainable Development Goals organized in collaboration with UNESCO Chair in Desalination and Water Treatment for Sustainable Water Security, Qatar University and Emergent Materials Journal (EMMA) and Chemistry Africa Springer Publisher. This conference is well defined on FIVE major sustainable development goals as Climate Change, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Affordable and Clean energy, clean water and sanitation, and Good health and Wellbeing.

17-18 May 2022

Training for Training for nurturing influential water leaders (from QEWC and academia: The WTU organized its Two-day short courses entitled: “Workshop on Membrane Based Water Treatment “Consisting of Lectures and training sessions from distinguished experts in the field.

17 October 2019

WTU organized a technical workshop presented by Shell GTL staff’s on “Water management in Shell GTL “ and discussion of potential collaborations in Water desalination.

22 April 2019

The Water Technology Unit organized its first workshop on membrane-based water desalination technologies at the Research Complex of Qatar University in cooperation with a group of distinguished experts. The workshop was held on Monday 22 April 2019 under the patronage of Dr. Hassan Al-Derham, President of Qatar University and Prof. Mariam Al-Maadeed, Vice President for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research. .