Almohamad Alfandi Mohamad becomes first international student to win Student Startup funding

His project is titled ‘Development of non-oxidized bitumen for road construction through catalytic refining of heavy oil residue’.

Mr Al Mohamad, 4th year PhD student of petroleum engineering, is among the 10 winners of the latest Student Startup selection session from KFU.

The Syrian national says that he chose road bitumen as his PhD topic, “This topic is one of the most pertinent in oil refining because existing oxidized bitumen are not exactly up to contemporary quality standards, and these new non-oxidized specimens are the most promising analogues.”

The new technology comprises a catalytic complex with which it is possible to chemically influence the supramolecular structure of heavy oil residue, thereby changing its physical and chemical characteristics (this is called catalytic refining).

The grant funding will be used for expendables, equipment rent, and remuneration.

The group of which Al Mohamad is a part has obtained a Russian patent for road bitumen. In August 2023, his team won a bronze medal in a research contest in Dubai.

For over a year, the interviewee has been employed by the Department of Petroleum, Gas and Carbon Materials Technology and hopes to stay as a lecturer at Kazan Federal University after completing his thesis.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia informed that the Student Startup competition would thenceforth be admitting overseas nationals.