UNESCO Chair overview
Launched in 1992, the UNESCO Chairs and the UNITWIN Networks involve over 850 institutions in 117 countries. A UNESCO Chair is a team led by a higher education or research institution that partner with UNESCO on a project to advance knowledge and practice in an area of common priority. It is an initiative to establish Chairs in UNESCO priority areas to promote international collaboration among higher education and research institutes to enhance institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaborative work in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of 2030.
The UNESCO program aims to encourage cooperation between universities and research institutions, as well as facilitate the exchange of research experiences and the transfer of knowledge in various academic fields through the joint work of researchers in various universities in the world.
About the Chair
The UNESCO-Chair in Desalination and Water Treatment at Qatar University was established on Feb 2022 based on “UN Water Action Decade (2018-2028)” in alignment with the Qatar National Vision 2030 and QU National Research Priorities with the aim of implementing the program in Qatar in partnership with several National and International organizations, and in association with UNESCO Doha Office. The Chair is hosted at Center for Advanced Materials (CAM) at Qatar University.
Necessity for UNESCO Chair in desalination and water treatment
Water security is the focus of UNESCO’s International Hydrological Program (IHP), devoted to water research, water resources management, education and capacity building. The Qatar National Vision 2030 recognizes the need to address the challenges of ensuring sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation. With continued rapid population growth and economic development, water security is critical in the sustainable development agenda for the State of Qatar. Qatar relies heavily on desalinated water, which provides more than 99% of Qatar’s water demand. Moreover, reverse osmosis (RO) desalination is relatively new experience for Qatar as these RO plants are built in the last 2-3 years and there is lack of local expertise in this field. This Chair project will help develop technological solutions and building capacity for RO desalination, which will contribute to the water production capacity of the nation.
UNESCO Chair program will be a strategic research niche that addresses current and emerging issues relating to water quality and scarcity. Central to this is the use of conventional and innovative technologies that will help provide technical support to the water desalination and treatment industry in Qatar to ensure that desalinated, treated or handled water in Qatar meets the global standard levels suitable for the targeted purposes, which will be achieved by using state-of-the-art equipment and technologies. Furthermore, the UNESCO Chair will establish an international and multi-disciplinary research program covering the main areas of water desalination and treatment, which include, but not limited to, long-life (novel or biodegradable) membrane fabrication and fouling control, pretreatment, brine management, and troubleshooting.
Importance of UNESCO Chair
This Chair established at Qatar University and it is the first Chair that focuses on Water Desalination. UNESCO approved the establishment of a UNESCO Chair on Water Desalination and Sustainable Development (WDSD) at Qatar University to harness research, teaching, knowledge exchange and international cooperation on Water Desalination as a tool for advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
It is also one of the very first in the entire MENA region to focus on the water security issues that the world is facing and will face in the future. The Chair serves as the focal point for strengthening scientific research, and collaboration to work and resolve numerous issues related to water and water security across the Asia and MENA region to work on UNESCO SDG 6. UNESCO works to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to water, specifically SDG 6: "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all."
Chair Holder
Professor Syed Javaid Zaidi is the UNESCO Chair holder in Desalination and Water Treatment established at Center for Advanced Materials (CAM) at Qatar University and he is the Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering. He has over 30 years of research and teaching experience in academia and industry research in four reputed institutions: Qatar University, University of Queensland Australia, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, and Ottawa University. He published more than 300 articles in reputed international journals, book chapters, conference proceedings/presentations, 15 patents and patent disclosures. He is also an author of a book on Reverse Osmosis System published by Elsevier. The focus of his research has been desalination and water treatment, membrane technology for energy and environment applications, conducting interdisciplinary research in collaboration with reputed international institutions worldwide. He was the visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. He has supervised more than 50 graduate students, 100-summer internship and Co-op students in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Australia contributing to research capacity building. He also has coordinated the establishment of Water Technology Unit at Center for Advanced Materials at Qatar University. He is presently honorary member of Advisory Council of Arab Water Desalination (ARWDEX). He is the recipient of many national and international awards including Excellence in Research Award, Patent Award, Almari Prize for Scientific Research Innovation and Lifetime Achievement Award by Venus International Foundation.
Objectives
Development Objective (long-term):
- Establish a multi-disciplinary research program in desalination and water treatment in collaboration with partner institutions
- Capacity building
- Women participation
- Community development through outreach and educational development for knowledge-based economy
- Water security by ensuring high water quality, sufficient water quantity, and no disaster in water resources in Qatar in alignment to UN SDGs and Qatar National Vision 2030
Specific objectives (short-term):
- Promote and enhance international cooperation through the collaboration of research projects. Also, exchange of information in water treatment and desalination to build the international network.
- Understand and minimize the environmental impacts of desalination. The environmental research should be emphasized when implementing the research agenda.
- Develop advanced membrane for high water recovery and minimize fouling.
- Capacity building, training, education, outreach, and public awareness.
Capacity building
We provide opportunities for students and early-career researchers to gain hands-on experience. We offer:
- Undergraduate training
- Graduate students training and mentoring
- Workshops and short courses for industry collaborators
- Students exchange training program
- Research internship for Qatar University Students
We actively collaborate with local organizations, government agencies, and industry partners. We believe that these efforts will enhance their employability and contribute to the development of a skilled workforce in the country.
Domains
This UNESCO Chair relies on the contributions of dozens of experts from industry, academia, government, and the water utilities brought together in a series of workshops to identify high-impact and non-replicative research to hasten the rate for the development and implementation of new desalination technologies to meet nation’s growing water needs. Also, five focused workshops be convened to cover the following topics:
- Source Waters (i.e., seawater, brackish, water reuse),
- Membrane Technologies,
- Alternative Technologies,
- Concentrate Management, and
- Institutional Issues.
Collaborations and Outcomes
Active collaborations
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Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Turkey
UNESCO Chair has active collaboration with ITU for the design and testing of versatile nano-hybrid reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for seawater desalination.
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The University Of Technology Sydney, Australia
UNESCO Chair has active collaboration project with University of Technology Sydney on the project “Converting Salinity Gradient of Seawater Brine and Sewage Effluent into Energy Source”. This project is conducted in collaboration between Qatar University, University of Technology in Sydney (UTS), University technology Malaysia (UTM) and Qatar Water and Electricity Company (QWEC).
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University Of Technology Malaysia, Malaysia
Active collaboration between UNESCO Chair and UTM Malaysia for membrane preparation, nanomaterial preparation, membrane testing, membrane characterization, nanomaterial characterization, membrane fouling analysis, and membrane chlorine resistance analysis.
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University Of North Dakota, USA
UNESCO Chair has active collaboration project with University of Technology Sydney on the project IRCC project- Green-synthesized Nano cellulose incorporated membrane for sustainable reverse osmosis desalination.
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University Of Qatar, Qatar
Develop treatment methods and technological solutions for the produced water treatment.
ongoing research activities
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CELLULOSE EXTRACTION FROM DATE PALM LEAVES
In our project, we use a very sustainable, green-synthesis, and simple process of isolating cellulose from date palm leaves. In this project, we investigated the best mechanical approach (ball-milling, grinding, or both together) for changing the date palm leaves into powder form, as well as sustainable and simple chemical extraction of cellulose from those date palm leaves.
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GQD PREPARATION FROM DATE PALM LEAVES
In this study, dried date palm leaves were used as green precursors for synthesizing graphene quantum dots (GQDs). This work reported the preparation of GQDs via simple hydrothermal treatment method.
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FO MEMBRANE PREPARATION, TESTING, AND CHARACTERIZATION
In this study, nanofiber membranes were prepared, and tested in FO system. Also, different characterization of the developed membranes were carried out.
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RO MEMBRANE PREPARATION, TESTING, AND CHARACTERIZATION
In this study, membranes were prepared by casting process, and tested in RO system. Also, different characterizations of the developed membranes were carried out.
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FO SYSTEM MODELING
In FO experiments, simulation studies are carried out to validate the experimental data. In our study, we modified some empirical parameters in the stepwise model to specify the osmotic pressure and to estimate the effect of different membrane parameters (porosity, tortuosity, water permeability, salt permeability and salt rejection).
Patents
- EFFECT OF PROCESSING CONDITIONS AND HOT-PRESS TREATMENT ON THE PROPERTIES OF NOVEL SOLUTION BLOWN SPUN POLYSULFONE-BASED NANOFIBER MEMBRANES, *Filed on: 28 February 2022, Application Number(s): 63/314,648
- MECHANICALLY STRONG POLYETHER SULFONE NANOFIBER MEMBRANES PRODUCED BY SOLUTION-BLOW-SPINNING AND HEAT-PRESS POST-TREATMENT, *Filed on: 28 February 2022, Application Number(s): 63/314,661
- ULTRAFAST WATER FLUX THROUGH SOLUTION BLOWN SPUN NANOFIBER-BASED THIN FILM COMPOSITE FORWARD OSMOSIS MEMBRANES, *Filed on: 28 February 2022, Application Number(s): 63/314,663
- SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF GRAPHENE QUANTUM DOTS FROM DATE PALM LEAVES, *Filed on: 9 November 2022, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/424, 004
Partners
The Chair is open to participation from local, regional, international partners, and other UNESCO chairs. Following are some active partners:
- Istanbul Technical University (ITU), Turkey
- University Of North Dakota, USA
- The University Of Technology Sydney, Australia
- University Of Technology Malaysia, Malaysia
- Qatar Water and Electricity Company (QWEC)