Dr. Bragomir Bukur

PROFESSOR  

Office Number: 326A
Office Phone: +974 423-0134
Fax Number: 4230011
Email     Homepage

INTEREST AREAS
A multiple award winner for furthering knowledge in his field, Dragomir Bukur's research interests are in the areas of multiphase reaction systems and indirect coal/natural gas liquefaction via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications and has made more than 100 presentations at national and international conferences.

• Chemical reaction engineering and catalysis
• Conversion of coal- (or natural gas-) derived synthesis gas to transportation fuels and chemical feedstocks via Fischer-Tropsch synthesis
• Catalyst synthesis
• Catalyst testing in fixed bed and stirred tank slurry reactors, and catalyst characterization by a variety of physico-chemical methods. The objective of this research is to develop catalysts which meet specific performance criteria (activity, selectivity and stability) through better understanding of the roles of promoters, binders/supports and pretreatment procedures.
• Engineering aspects of multiphase reactor design and scale-up, including kinetic modeling of complex reactions and computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

EDUCATION

• Doctor of Philosophy, University of Minnesota, 1974
• Master of Science, University of Minnesota, 1974
• Diploma in Engineering, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia (Serbia), 1970

EXPERIENCE

• Professor, Texas A&M University at Qatar, 2005-present
• Visiting Professor, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 2002
• Associate Head for Departmental programs, NAMETexas A&M University, 2002-2005
• Associate Department Head, Texas A&M University,1998-2001
• Visiting Professor, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, 1992
• Professor, Texas A&M University, 1987- present
• Associate Professor, Texas A&M University, 1981-1987
• Senior Research Engineer, Mobil Research and Development Co., Paulsboro, New Jersey, 1980-1981
• Research Associate, University of Houston, 1979-1980
• Assistant Professor, University of Novi Sad in Yugoslavia (Serbia), 1975 to 1978
• Fellow, AIChE

HONORS
Holder of Joe M. Nesbitt Professorship in Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University since August 2006<

RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS
Bukur, D. B., Ma, W. P. and Carreto-Vazquez, V., "Attrition studies with precipitated iron Fischer-Tropsch catalysts under reaction conditions" Topics in Catalysis, 32, 135-141 (2005).

Bukur, D. B., Lang X. and Nowicki, L. "Comparative Study of an Iron Fischer-Tropsch Catalyst Performance in Stirred Tank Slurry and Fixed-Bed Reactors", Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 44, 6038-6044 (2005).

Bukur, D.B., Nowicki, L., Olewski, T., Froment, G. F., "Effect of Process Conditions on Product Distribution during Fischer-Tropsch  Synthesis on an Iron Catalyst", 14th International Congress on Catalysis, July 13-18, 2008, Seoul, Korea