Taking traditional chemistry to a whole new level, the Advanced Materials Team from the Aramco Research Center-Boston recently participated in the world’s foremost Materials Research Society (MRS) Fall Meeting and Exhibition, showing how the company thinks about new ways to realize the full potential of its hydrocarbons. Seeking Answers How can we remove sour or unwanted gas during the recovery process? Create materials that will help separate heavy hydrocarbons from gas for maximum recovery rates? Develop corrosion resistant materials that will push the limits of material performance? All these questions and more are being studied by this downstream team who look to support new ways to refine and purify — all with the goal of maximizing oil and gas recovery. “As an energy company, there are so many opportunities for us to utilize new materials to enhance the efficiency of our operations and to increase the value of our hydrocarbon resources in cleaner, more sustainable ways,” said Michele Ostraat, who leads the Advanced Materials team in Boston. For the second year, Aramco scientists and engineers highlighted their research on novel materials, including gas separation membranes, advanced polymers or large molecular materials, and methods for increasing the rate of chemical changes by adding a substance, referred to as catalysis. Technical Proficiency The highly technical conference placed Aramco front and center with our peers in materials and chemicals who conduct the latest research in materials science from a broad range of industries — medicine, energy, and nanomanufacturing, as well as members of academia. “A strong presence at this conference signals our dedicated research to advanced materials and nano fluids,” said Ashraf AlTahini, director of Research & Development, Aramco Services Company (ASC). “To be recognized by the Materials Research Society and the Boston scientific community is further evidence of the strength of our expanded global R&D program and how it figures prominently into our company’s future success.”