Five Saudi-Japan joint research projects have been either completed or in progress at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in cooperation with Japan Cooperation Center, Petroleum (JCCP). This has been disclosed at the 20th Anniversary of Annual Saudi-Japan Symposium on "Catalysts in Petroleum Refining & Petrochemicals," which concluded its two-day deliberations yesterday under the auspices of KFUPM. These projects covered such important topics as heavy oil upgrading by hydro cracking, catalytic cracking of heavy oil to produce olefins, and enhanced production of aromatics from heavy reformate. Among the remarkable achievements of these joint projects is the joint development of a novel process to convert heavier fractions of petroleum into petrochemicals by catalytic cracking, which is now on its way to commercialization in collaboration with KFUPM, Saudi Aramco and JX Nippon Oil & Energy Co. A total of 22 papers have been presented - including nine from Saudi researchers and industry experts. Prof. Robert Grubbs, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, was a prominent speaker in addition to Prof. Koichi Eguchi, Prof. Johannes Lercher, Prof. Hideshi Hattori, Prof. Katsoumi Takehira and Prof. Jiri Cejka. --MORE
