Dr. Selma Atilhan obtained both her MSc (May-2007) and PhD (December-2011) from the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. Her initial research interest during her MSc studies included DFT and MD simulations of nano-materials and their physical and chemical property estimations. She studied nano-clay systems and their CO2 capture performances in a recent study.
Her research during her PhD studies is about the sustainable water management, desalination system development and optimizing water distribution networks. She studied case studies on optimized water distribution networks that are applicable in the Middle East and specifically for the State of Qatar.
Her research interests are process system integration, optimization, water distribution network design and technology selection, chemical engineering process design and simulation, energy nexus and techno-economic analysis of clean energy sources and their implementation into existing technologies/processes.
Research
After her maternity leave, starting from January 2016, she started developing strategies for improving water production capacity through the implementation of economically best feasible technologies in arid environments and integration of water treatment and reuse facilities in industrial parks for processes from the perspective of water-energy nexus.
As of Fall 2019, she started to work on a new project regarding to implementation strategies of alternative fuels from clean sources in shipping industry. This research includes techno-economic assessment of currently available methods, life-cycle-assessment of emerging green fuel resources including liquid hydrogen, ammonia and bio-fuel. This project is funded by one of the major shipping company in Europe.
Publications
Atilhan, M.; Atilhan, S.; Ullah, R.; Anaya, B.; Cagin, T.; Yavuz, C.T.; Aparicio, S., High-Pressure Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Nitrogen Adsorption on Amine-Impregnated Porous Montmorillonite Nanoclays. Journal of Chemical & Engineering Data 2016, 61, (8), 2749–2760
Mahfouz, A.; Atilhan, S.; Batchelor, B.; Linke, P.; Abdel-Wahab, A.; El-Halwagi, M., A systems integration approach to the optimum operation and scheduling of biocide usage and discharge for seawater cooling systems. International Journal of Process Systems Engineering 2012, 2, (1), 1-35.
Atilhan, S.; Mahfouz, A.; Batchelor, B.; Linke, P.; Abdel-Wahab, A.; Nápoles-Rivera, F.; Jiménez-Gutiérrez, A.; El-Halwagi, M., A systems-integration approach to the optimization of macroscopic water desalination and distribution networks: a general framework applied to Qatar’s water resources. Clean Techn Environ Policy 2012, 14, (2), 161-171.
Atilhan, S.; Linke, P.; Abdel-Wahab, A.; El-Halwagi, M., A systems integration approach to the design of regional water desalination and supply networks. International Journal of Process Systems Engineering 2011, 1, (2), 125-135.
Mahfouz, A.; Atilhan, S.; Batchelor, B.; Linke, P.; Abdel-Wahab, A.; El-Halwagi, M., Optimal scheduling of biocide dosing for seawater-cooled power and desalination plants. Clean Techn Environ Policy 2011, 13, (6), 783-796.