UNIVERSITY

1. El-Nile Company for Egyptian Cotton Ginning/El-Minia/Egypt (1985-86):

• Problem tackled: A costly importation of edible-oil bleaching powder [Tonsil/Südchemie/Germany] to be employed in the process of catalytic hydrogenation of the oil to produce margarine.

• Contribution: A modified local caly mineral was found to be as competent bleaching powder as the imported one [cf. Colloids and surfaces 17 (1968) 241].

2. Complex of Iron and Steel Industry/Helwan/Egypt (1990-2000):

•  Problem tackled: In the closing phase of steel preparation for processing the product is subjected to acid-wash (a steel pickling process). As a result, a chemical waste is produced in large amounts (3000 ton/year), which is neither adequately disposed, nor profitably utilized. Thus, it has become an environment-threatening material.

• Contribution:  The steel pickling chemical waste was found to be a precursor for iron oxide based quality pigmentary powder and a highly selective ethanol dehydration catalyst [cf. Powder Technology 63 (1990) 87; Powder Technology 70 (1992) 183; Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 183 (1996) 320; Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 194 (1997) 482; Journal of Materials Science Letters 17 (1998) 27; Applied Catalysis, 199 (2000) 83].

3. Complex of Aluminum/Nagh Hammady/Egypt (1998-2000)

• Problem tackled: Mounting of waste of aluminum dross tailing

• Contribution: Invention of a novel method to recover catalytic γ-Al2O3 from the aluminum dross tailings [cf. Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology 72 (1998) 320; ditto 75 (2000) 394; EG. Patent no. 020901, on Jun 28, 2000.

•  Moreover,  a FeOx/Al2O3 catalyst was composed using the FeOx recovered from the Steel Pickling Chemical Waste (vide supra) and the present recovered Al2O3. It exhibits high activity and selectivity in the production of ethylene from ethanol [cf. Applied Catalysis 199 (2000) 83].