Charbel Abou Samra, MEng, MBA, a civil engineer at Sarooj Construction Company, and Karim Karam, Ph.D, a Teaching Associate Professor at Steven's Institute of Technology; Two successful friends and Entrepreneurs
11/27/2023
I first met Professor Karam in a pre-college program at Steven's Institute of Technology, mainly structured around civil engineering as well as architecture. We had Professor Karam as our teacher during the week I spent on campus. We learned of his experiences in the civil engineering field as well as different architectural designs. This experience was probably the main reason I continued down this path. A bit after the course, I contacted Professor Karam asking for an interview since I wanted to learn more about his work and he accepted. Instead of just an interview, he let me sit in on a lecture and interview one of his lifelong partners and friends, Mr. Charbel Abou Samra. They had worked in the same company for a time. More specifically, the Sarooj Construction Company, based in Muscat, Oman.
These two had similar upbringings. The two grew up in Lebanon and did very well in both math and physics. In fact, at the age of only 15, Mr. Abou Samra wrote a mathematics book for a local standardized test! At 15, I was playing video games and sitting on my phone... Anyways, with this outstanding knowledge, it would be obvious that if they were to go into any engineering field, it would be civil, right? Well yes and no. Professor Karam was set on civil engineering. However, for Mr. Abou Samra, not so much. First, he wanted to be a software engineer, then a mechanical engineer, before finally choosing to be a civil engineer.
What's so Special about Civil Engineering?
This was one of the topics that came up during our conversation. What did they see in the field that distinguished it from the rest? When I asked this question, the first response was, "All types of engineering ultimately lead to civil," At first, this didn't make any sense to me, and probably wouldn't to anybody else. However as the two explained it to me, it became apparent what they meant. If one were to take a step back and look at all these potential pathways. There is mechanical engineering with their cars, and software engineering with their programming skills. These both seem very unique, but at the end of the day, civil engineering is always involved. Who created the facilities and factories to make these cars, Who designed the product lines that were used to make the computer parts needed for a computer? This realization also showed me that civil engineering is the backbone of the economy. However, the money is not the reason they chose this field. Civil engineering had to be a passion. To be successful in this path, you have to want to make an impact on the world. In other words, it shouldn't be a job for you.
What's the Difference Between Civil and Environmental Engineering?
Short Answer: None
Long Answer: At first glance, the two fields seem disjoint. One pertains to the environment and the other is about buildings. In reality, it goes much deeper than that. You cannot build something without considering the environmental aspect, and you cannot hope to fix any environmental issues if you don't plan on developing infrastructure.
This whole conversation between me and Professor Karam was when I asked if any of his projects related to environmental engineering. He answered with this profound statement, in which he said, “It is no longer acceptable to… to do any profession without considering the environment. Especially civil engineering” and that there “should be no difference between civil and environmental engineers,” This spoke to me because it led me to the realization that the two were intertwined. The term "Civil AND Environmental Engineering" is always thrown around, but many don't see the connection. This led to another talk about one of the projects that the two worked on through Sarooj Construction Company.
The Nimr Water Treatment Plant
Ever since oil has been pulled from the ground, it has been accompanied by vast amounts of water. For every 1 barrel of oil, 10 barrels of water would be produced. Now this doesn't seem like a bad thing at all. Isn't water one of the most important parts of the environment? Well, obviously, but there is one big problem with this water. It's contaminated with hydrocarbon, rendering it useless. Hydrocarbon is a byproduct of the decomposition of the remains of living organisms. It makes it so the water is not potable and cannot be used agriculturally. Traditionally, the water produced from this has been reinjected into the ground at depths of over 1,500 meters, using very high-powered pumps that require copious amounts of energy. This damaged the local environment and created hazards that would be extremely hard to detect while also using a lot of unnecessary energy.
in 2008, The PDO(Petroleum Development of Oman) Organization contacted the BAUER Nimr LLC in Oman to try to find a more sustainable solution to this water. In 2008, the Nimr Oil Field, an area of land that produced both oil and water was chosen to implement the solution. BAUER Nimr worked with Sarooj Construction Company to create and utilize a new solution
BAUER Nimr, alongside Sarooj, proposed a very innovative design. They would utilize a local wetland plant species named reed plants. These plants could separate oil and water. There is a biofilm on the roots of the reed plant that can degrade hydrocarbons. This biofilm is known as periphyton, the same biofilm that is used to mass-clean agricultural foods. This process does not require any electrical power, contrary to the massive amounts needed for the pumps.
In a nutshell, produced water from the Nimr Oil Field would be sent through long tubes to the Nimr Water Treatment Plant, ran through seabeds filled with the aforementioned reed plants, and then once purified, either evaporated or used agriculturally. To add on to this, the seabeds are also home to around 50 species of birds, providing a much-needed home for local animals. Finally, once a reed plant dies, it can be harvested and used for livestock.
What's the future for this, you may ask? Although this seems like the panacea to such a problem, there are some shortcomings. This specific plant takes up the size of about 1,600 soccer fields, while only covering for one oil field. This seems like a problematic thing, but in reality, it gives a goal for people to work towards. The more efficient the process becomes, the more beneficial it will be.
Closing Note
Before I end the post, I wanted to thank both Professor Karim Karam and Mr. Charbel Abou Samra for their time and for offering such a unique window into the world of civil engineering. Mr. Abou Samra's words and work showed me the true meaning of civil engineering and what I want to view it as. Without Professor Karam's guidance, I wouldn't be here, writing about what I love. I just wanted to thank both of them for inspiring me to continue down my journey and I hope to work with them in the future. Also, thank you to all my readers for reading my journal and helping me succeed. Have a good day, evening, or night!
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