Realising that research and development is vital for the future development of fossil oil and related industries locally and internationally, Chulalongkorn University's Petroleum and Petrochemical College is setting up the Centre of Excellence in Petroleum, Petrochemicals and Polymers.

Its aim is to create a focal point where manufacturers in three industries - petroleum, petrochemicals and polymers - can meet with researchers to incubate and co-develop research in areas specifically set up to facilitate development projects. At the centre, there will also be areas for three pilot plants for manufacturers to implement what they have developed before beginning production at the commercial level.

Nantaya Yanumet, director of the Petroleum and Petrochemical College, said that the new centre of excellence would be located in the yet-to-be-established Chulalongkorn University Science Park.

Expecting that the centre will be ready for operations in 2008, she said the facility would allow manufacturers to conduct advanced research without the need to invest in a laboratory and related equipment, which can be very costly.

To support the industries, the college also has links to leading researchers in universities worldwide to work together on development projects. Those universities include Case Western Reserve University, the University of Michigan, and the University of Oklahoma in the United States, as well as the Institut Francais du Petrole in France. This means that the centre will be able to call for support from experts in each area.

With the centre serving three industries, each will comprise four research units to concentrate on specific topics. Once a research project is completed, it will be possible for a manufacturer to implement the new development at a pilot plant located in the same building before moving towards commercial production.

Presently, in the Petroleum Technology Programme, there are research groups working on solving the problem of pipeline clogging due to wax deposits. There are also projects which try to remove unwanted components such as mercury, or separate paraffin and aromatics from heavy distillates.

A number of the projects work on computer simulations and control. In the Petrochemical Technology Programme the projects mainly concern the areas of catalysis, nanotechnology, pyrolysis, and surfactant applications.

For the Polymer Science Programme, the college research interests range from synthesis of metal catalysts to rheology, biopolymers, conductive polymers, polymer processing, fibre production both by wet spinning and electro-spinning, and the study of the crystallisation behaviour of polymers. There are also contract research projects aimed mainly at solving in-plant problems or improving the products and processes.

"In the next four to five years, hundreds of billions of baht will be invested in the fields. To stand against the competition worldwide, research and development is the only way for industries to survive," Nantaya said.

Through steady investment and development, Thailand has become the eighth-largest petrochemical producer in the world.

 suchalee@nationgroup.com

Suchalee Pongprasert

The Nation