Process and Catalyst Research Consultant, Development through Commercialization

Expertise

Catalyst and Process Technologies Production

• Acetic acid and acetic anhydride.
• 1,4-butanediol, tetrahydrofuran and gamma butyrolactone.
• n-butanol and isobutanol, n-butyraldehyde, isobutyraldehyde, 2-ethylhexanol.
• Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
• Ethylene, ethylene oxide, ethylene glycols, ethylene glycol ethers, ethanolamines, ethyleneamines, ethoxylates, and polyetherpolyols..
• Formaldehyde and formic acid.
• Hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide.
• Maleic anhydride and phthalic anhydride.
• Methyl methacrylate.
• Methanol, ammonia, nitric acid, and Dimethylether.
• Oxo chemicals.
• On-purpose propylene, propylene oxide, propylene glycol, propylene glycol ethers, styrene, t-butyl alcohol, and MTBE.
• Microreactor technology.
• Vinyl acetate.

Summary

• Heterogeneous catalyst research and development manufacture and global sales.
• Catalyst and petrochemical process research, development, global licensing and technology transfer.
• Fischer-Tropsch.
• Chemicals, plastics and fuels from biomass.
• Process intensification.
• Microreactor technology.
• Plastics and fuels from biomass, process intensification and microreactor technology.
• Commercialization of new catalyst, process technologies and new product commercialization.
• Economic evaluations and modeling of process technologies.
• Product portfolio and business analysis and evaluation; research and development management.
• Market analysis and supply and demand studies.
• Due diligence support for technology and business acquisitions and divestitures.
• Competitive analysis.
• Strategic planning.
• Accident Investigation.
• Investigation of catalytic reactor performance problems.
• Research and development, manufacture and global sales in the Heterogeneous catalyst manufacturing.
• Business analysis, business evaluation, product portfolio, research and development management.

Expert Witness Experience

• Deposition and litigation support; process technologies, in catalysts manufacturing sector.
• Expert witness experience and litigation support, related to catalysts and process technologies utilizing catalysts.
• Patent and Intellectual property portfolio and infringement analysis.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, President and Principal, 2001 - Present

• Advisor of all stages of technology (conception to commercialization of catalytic process-catalysts) and general management.
• Expert witness and litigation support, including depositions, and testimony before Federal Court in Southern District of New York.
• Investigation of the cause and recommended remedy for two large poor performing catalytic reactors for a major petrochemical product for a group of international underwriters.
• Consultant to developers of novel catalytic reactor concepts, evaluation of potential benefits and advice on future research and development.
• Consultant to developers of novel catalysts, including evaluation of potential benefits and advice on future research and development.
• Consultant to developers of processes to produce chemicals, fuels and plastics from biomass, including evaluation of potential benefits and economic comparisons to conventional petrochemical processes.
• Analysis of potential novel catalyst, process or reactor design developments and related business plans by small companies for various venture companies and other potential investors.
• Evaluation of proposed research and development projects, program auditing and assessment of technology readiness for commercialization for various petrochemical and catalyst companies as well as the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
• Merit reviewer for a number of industry areas within the DOE ITP Program, including chemicals, forest products, fuels, and materials for separations.
• Market studies and technical reports, and economic models, for a developer of biomass-based chemical production processes.
• Technical support for expert witnesses to several forensic consulting organizations; and expert witness for a major chemical company, involving a supply contract dispute with a second major chemical company.
• Led a team of consultants in a mathematical and experimental analysis of whether overheating of an iso-container during storage and ocean transport could have led to a runaway polymerization resulting ultimately in a fatal ship-board accident.
• Investigation of four fouling of a group of catalytic reactors for a group of underwriters.

Scientific Design Company, Inc., President and CEO, Little Ferry, NJ, 1988 - 2000

• Full profit and loss responsibility, reporting to the Managing Director of Linde Engineering, Contracting Division of Linde AG.
• Licensing process technologies to the international chemical industries and furnishing catalysts for use in those technologies.
• Development of two technology alliances that strengthened the competitive position of the company in its most important product lines.
• Re-organization and revitalization of the company, particularly with respect to strengthening its research and development and plant commissioning activities, implementing ISO 9002 registration, and leading the company's acquisition efforts.

Chem Systems, Inc., Director, Process Evaluation/Research Planning, White Plains, NY 1987 - 1988

• Profit and loss responsibility for and technical oversight of this large multi-client service.
• Arranged and chaired three international technical seminars per year.

Halcon Scientific Design Group, Inc., Montvale, NJ, and New York, 1960 - 1987

Entrepreneurial Developer, 1987

• Unequaled record of success as an entrepreneurial developer of new chemical technologies, carrying out research and development, licensing, engineering/construction and investment in the international petrochemical field.

President, 1985 - 1987

• Responsible for leadership and profit and loss for this 600-person, diversified subsidiary of Texas Eastern.
• Reduction of operating losses, re-organization of the group, relocation of the group to New Jersey, refocusing research objectives and improving research and development productivity.

Vice President, Technology, 1980 - 1985

• Responsible for overseeing the development of new technologies included those needed to support the parent Texas Eastern Corporation after its acquisition of Halcon SD.
• Direct oxidation of hydrogen to hydrogen peroxide, non-noble metal carbonylation of methanol to acetic acid, destruction of PCBs and hydrogenation of maleic anhydride to 1-4, butanediol.

Vice President, Development, 1977 - 1980

• Supervised the development of several of the above-mentioned technologies and acted as the technical liaison with Arco Chemical and Oxirane in the startup of a plant utilizing novel Halcon acetoxylation technology to produce ethylene glycol directly from ethylene and oxygen.

Vice President and General Manager, 1975 - 1977

• Full profit and loss responsibility for that catalyst research and development manufacturing and sales subsidiary of Halcon SD.
• Catalysts included SynDox ethylene oxide catalyst, SynDan maleic anhydride ex benzene catalyst, SynDane maleic anhydride ex n-butane catalyst, SynDol alcohol dehydration catalyst and sale of several third party catalysts.

Development Department, 1960 - 1975

• Holding several technical positions, including responsibility for the development function in support of the novel acetoxylation technology for ethylene glycol from ethylene.
• Process development and improvement function in support of SD's ethylene oxide technology.
• Responsible for setting the design basis for new plants utilizing SD's newly commercialized oxygen-based EO process and revamps of client's air-based process plants to oxygen.
• Responsible for supervising startups of a number of new and revamped plants, and a number of new catalysts.
• Overseeing the ethylene oxide catalyst and process research and development efforts, including managing the testing and commercialization of new generations of EO catalysts, and led the development and commercialization of SD's oxygen-based process.

Honors & Publications

Academic and Professional Affiliations

• American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Management Division Award
• Metro New York Section of American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Societe de Chimie Industrielle,
• American Chemical Society. Chemical & Marketing Economics section
• Association of Consulting Chemists & Chemical Engineers, Inc.
• ChemPharma
• A.B. Pre-engineering, Ford Foundation Scholar, Columbia College, Columbia University, New York, NY

Publications and Patents

• Three patents and numerous publications.

Education

• D. Eng, Sci. Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY
• M.S. Business Policy-Executive Program, School of Business, Columbia University, New York, NY
• M.S. Chemical Eng.,Monsanto Fellow, School of Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY
• B.S. Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY