Chemical Metallurgy Expert for Recovery of Precious Metals, Recycling of Spent Catalysts and Mineral Process Engineering

Expertise

• Mineral and chemical plant and engineering management.
• Recycling of hazardous and non-hazardous materials for base and precious metal recovery and value.
• Recovery of metals such as: Copper, silver, gold, platinum and palladium.
• Recovery of precious metals from spent catalysts. 
• High temperature fluidized bed reactors.
• Zeolites – natural and synthetic and ceramic catalysts and catalyst supports.
• Electrochemical reactors including chlorine production.
• Water purification including filtration and ion exchange.
• Expert at process and product development, project and program direction for minerals, metals, chemicals, advanced materials.
• Disaster recovery for industrial operations and projects - from natural and man-made disasters.
• Development of once-and-for-all solutions to long-standing, recondite operational problems.
• General management experience, including leading broadly-based project teams and interfacing with industrial partners, research institutes, government academia and foreign participants.

Experience

Independent Consultant, 1999 - Present

• Developed mixing formulas and process for recycling of metal-bearing waste.
• Feasibility study for recovery of silver from dry-process X-ray film.
• Research study on military standards for refurbishing of electronics.
• Market research on a novel air purification system.
• Prepared legal expert report for a dispute involving raw material quality and its effect on an operation for submittal to arbitrator and defended report at a tribunal.
• Executed preliminary design documents for a facility for recovering copper and precious metals from printed circuit boards in China.
• Market study for use of high temperature furnaces in the rare earth industry.
• Assisted in the safe and effective clean-up of a closed residual and hazardous waste recycling facility.
• Participated in IT migration, quality control and data processing for complex contract management system for a large transportation company.
• Developed a silver recovery process to allow a refining company to handle alternate feed material.
• Performed a marketing study for an on-line document storage company looking to penetrate the industrial research and development and health/safety markets.
• Identified new applications and marketing opportunities for a water treatment equipment company.
• Performed damage evaluation, equipment valuation and clean/repair cost estimates for the server facility for a major international non-profit agency, multiple academic facilities damaged by fire or water and a major hospital suffering flood damage.
• Developed an improved capacity (50% higher) pelletized gas adsorbent for a Fortune 500 chemical company.
• Brought a cardboard can manufacturing plant and a commercial silk screen printing plant back on line at an estimated 75% savings over complete rebuild.
• Performed damage evaluation, equipment valuation and clean and repair cost estimates for five telecommunications facilities, a polymer fiber manufacturing plant, a municipal water treatment plant, a pharmaceutical research facility, a university athletic training facility and numerous smaller commercial and industrial facilities.

Advanced Recycling Technology, Inc., Plant Manager, 2008 - 2009

• Responsible for managerial, administrative and engineering functions at plant recycling hazardous materials for base and precious metal values.
• Increased throughput by improvement of procedures, documentation and analysis.
• Executed capital projects for further improvements in throughput and profitability.
• Responsible for all regulatory compliance.
• Developed profitability analysis for new material streams.
• Revived stagnant production to a steady 100 tons per week.
• Cleared 2.5 times inventory overload in 4 months.

Electronic Renaissance Corporation, Edison, NJ, Vice President - Operations, 2001 - 2002

• As a senior executive at this disaster recovery consultancy working for insurance adjusters:
• Brought a cardboard can manufacturing plant and a commercial silk screen printing plant back on line at an estimated 75% savings over complete rebuild.
• Performed damage evaluation, equipment valuation and clean/repair cost estimates for multiple major telecom and computer facilities impacted by 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, as well as smaller unrelated commercial and industrial facilities.

Electrocatalytic, Inc., Project Manager, 1993 - 1999

• Project Manager for industrial water treatment plant design and installation.
• Developed procedures and trained staff to decrease delivery time from 12-18 months to 6 months.
• Executed projects ranging from $50,000 to $3,000,000 with six year performance of 20 of 22 projects under budget (estimated at least $500,000 on $22 million revenue).
• Took over projects started by others ($6 million) and improved delivery and profitability.
• Responsible for specification review, final sales scope, design, engineering, purchasing, fabrication, assembly, inspection, testing, installation, start-up, customer service and spare parts.
• Took part in field visits and/or project meetings in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, UK, Taiwan, Brazil and Japan.

Procedyne Corporation, Manager of Corporate Research and Development, 1989 - 1992

• Manager of corporate research and development for fluidized bed furnace manufacturer.
• Directed two programs involving novel gas heating systems for industrial furnaces, one of which was put into commercial service.
• Assisted with testing and scale up of a process for production of nano-phase cobalt-tungsten carbide particles, which was later commercialized.
• Increased revenues of a high temperature fluidized bed test facility 60% without increasing staff.

Engelhard Corporation, (BASF), Consulting Engineer, 1985 - 1989

• Consulting Engineer for a group developing novel molecular sieve materials.
• Assisted in development and scale-up of two novel materials for recovery of silver and removal of lead from aqueous solutions.
• Work resulted in three patents.

Freeport Minerals Company, Metallurgical Engineer II, 1980 - 1985

• Metallurgical Engineer II for base metals and precious metals Extraction Company.
• Took part in research and development and plant troubleshooting programs for gold, copper, nickel, mercury, kaolin and natural zeolites.
• Developed patented natural zeolite purification process which later sold for $10 million.

Phelps Dodge Corporation, Testing Engineer, 1980 - 1981

• Test Engineer for primary copper producer.
• Lead source sampling team in process improvement and environmental programs.
• Designed and took part in several major test programs in development of more environmentally benign smelting technologies.

Honors & Publications

Publications and Patents

• 10 Publications and 4 patents.

Education

• Ph.Eng.   Engineering Science, Mineral Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY
• Sc.D.       Chemical Metallurgy, Columbia University, New York, NY
• M.S. Metallurgy, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
• B.S. Metallurgical Engineering, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ