Dr Yassir Makkawi

Phone number
+44 121 204 3398

Email
y.makkawi@aston.ac.uk

Room number
CEAC building, room 217

Profile

I received my PhD from Heriot-Watt University in 2003, MSc from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in 1995 and BSc from the University of Khartoum in 1991. All in Chemical Engineering.

Prior to my PhD, I worked as a process engineer for eight years, serving the oil and gas industry sectors in the Middle East.

My first academic post was at Heriot-Watt University in 2003, where I worked as a Research Associate. I then moved to the University of Edinburgh in June 2006 as a Research Fellow, then to the University of Sheffield in Nov 2006 as a Teaching and Research Fellow.

In August 2008, I joined the Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry at Aston University as a lecturer.

Qualifications & Education

• Postgraduate Certificate of Professional Practice in Higher Education, Aston University, Birmingham, UK, 2011
• PhD in Chemical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK, 2003
• MSc in Chemical Engineering, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineral, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 1995
  
• BSc in Chemical Engineering, University of Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan,1991

Employment

• Aug 2008 – date: Lecturer, Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, Aston University, Birmingham
  
• Nov 2006 – Jul 2008: Teaching and Research Fellow, Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield
• Jun 2006 – Oct 2006: Research Fellow, Chemical Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh
  
• Jun 2003 – May 2006: Research Associate, Chemical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh

Teaching activity

• Separation Processes (1^st year)
• Process Design (2^nd year)
• Advanced Transfer Processes (3^rd year)
• Advanced Process Design (3^rd year)
• Process Laboratory (2^nd year)
• Particle Technology (2^nd and 3^rd year)

Research interests

• Mathematical modelling and simulation of particle suspension systems
• Fluidized bed chemical, thermal and physical processing
• Energy conversion and renewable energy sources
• Biomass thermal conversion
• CO₂ capture technologies
  
• Adsorption and desorption processes

• EPSRC case award with Dow Corning Ltd.(A Greener Methyl Chloride Separation for the Silicone Industry)- 2011-2014; £92,000
• Leverhulme Trust (Dry/wet particle flow at the intermediate regime)- 2012-2015; £175.162
• Royal Society travel grant application- 2011; £2,500

PhD Supervision

• Jai Lad- A Greener Methyl Chloride Separation for the Silicone Industry (start 2011)
• Mohamed Hassan- Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modelling of biomass gasification in a circulating fluidized bed (start 2009) 

Suitable applicants for PhD in the areas of particle technology, biomass conversion and separation processes are welcomed

Membership of Professional Bodies

• Associate member of the Institute of Chemical Engineers (AMIChemE)

External responsibilities

• Peer review of EPSRC grant applications
• Peer review of several journals such as Chemical Engineering Science and Powder Technology
• Industrial collaboration with Dow Corning Ltd. (UK)

Selected publications

• Book Chapters

1.    “Mass transfer in fluidized bed drying of moist particulate” published in a new book under the title “Mass Transfer”, ISBN 978-953-307-215-9, INTECH (2011).

2.    “Reactor design and its impact on performance and products” under preparation for a new book under the title “Transformation of Biomass: Theory to Practice”, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

• Journal papers

1.      Kelwin, C, Makkawi, Y., Hounslow, M., Time scale analysis for fluidized bed melt granulation- I: granule-granule and granule-droplet collision rates, Chemical Engineering Science 2011, Volume 66, Issue 3, 318-326.

2.      Makkawi, Y.and Ocone, R., Mass transfer coefficient for drying of moist particulate in a bubbling fluidized bed. Chemical Engineering Technology 2009, 1-10.

3.      Makkawi, Y.and Ocone, R., Integration of ECT measurements with hydrodynamic modelling of conventional gas-solid bubbling bed. Chemical Engineering Science, 2007. 4304-4315. 4

4.      Makkawi, Y.and Ocone, R., A model for granular flows in a horizontal duct with a smooth merge of rapid-intermediate-dense flows. Chemical Engineering Science, 2006. 4271-4281.

5.      Makkawi, Y. and Ocone, R., Modelling of particle stress at the dilute-intermediate-dense flow regimes: A review. KONA - Powder Science and Technology 2005, No.23. 49-63.

6.      Makkawi, Y. and Wright, P., Tomographic analysis of dry/semi-wet bed fluidization: the effect of small liquid loading and particle size on the bubbling behaviour. Chemical Engineering Science 2004, 59 (1), 201-213.

7.      Makkawi, Y.and Wright, P. C., The void function and effective drag force for fluidized beds. Chemical Engineering Science 2003, 58 (13), 2035-2051.

8.      Makkawi, Y.and Wright, P. C., Fluidization regimes in a conventional fluidized bed characterized by means of Electrical Capacitance Tomography. Chemical Engineering Science, 2002, 57 (13), 2411-2437.

9.      Demirel, Y., Abu-Al-Saud, B. A., Al-Ali H. H. and Makkawi, Y.,Packing size and shape effects on forced convection in large rectangular packed ducts with asymmetric heating, International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 1999, 42 (17), 3267-3277.