Catalyst Consultant: Expert in Applied Catalysis for Fischer Tropsch, Dehydrogenation, Amination, Alkylation and Reduction Reactions
Technical Consultant #1419
Expertise
- Applied catalyst consultant: Catalyst technology, catalysis products and catalytic process applications.
- Manufacture and commercialization of amines, alcohols and esters by catalytic processes.
- Heterogeneous catalyst synthesis on carbon and metal oxide supports, Fischer Tropsch chemistry, dehydrogenations, silica zeolites and alcohol amination.
- Reductive amination, alkylation, azo reductions, ring, nitrile, carbonyl, olefinic and ester reduction reactions.
Experience
Independent Consultant, 2004 - Present
DuPont Company, Wilmington, DE, Research Fellow, 1968 - 2004
- Developed and implemented a commercial process to make 1,12 - dodecanediol.
- Developed and commercialized a semibatch synthesis of the C12 dimethylester precursor.
- Identified a hydrogenation catalyst for the clean up of mixed C8 - C12 acids.
- Resource in nitrobody chemistry related to nitrotoluene explosion in Pascagoula, MS. Part of a Blue Ribbon team to understand and determine the root cause of the incident.
- Coordination of thermal and analytical testing on potential explosion scenarios.
- Worked extensively with Raney catalysts in nitrile hydrogenation for commercialization of DuPont (now Invista) "Dytek" A and "Dytek" EP multifunctional amine and isophorone diamine specialty products, and reduction of p - phenylenediamine to 1,4 - diaminocyclohexane.
- Developed caustic addition to the low pressure commercial synthesis of "Dytek" A that increased catalyst life and "Dytek" A yield.
- Developed a successful replacement of Cr with Mo in the "Dytek" A catalyst to reduce Cr as a hazardous waste in high boiler effluent.
- Developed a low cost route to p-phenylenediamine, a key monomer intermediate for "Kevlar" aramid synthetic fiber .
- The discovery of using AOP (NO/NO2) gas to diazotize aniline in high yield resulted in a low cost salt less process to p-phenylenediamine that is presently practiced at DuPont's Pontchartrain Works.
- Involved in the start up of the process to produce phenylenediamine.
Honors & Publications
- Executive Board of the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society for six years.
- 2006 Received the Russell E. Maltz award from the Organic Reactions Catalysis Society.
- Catalysis Club of Philadelphia award for outstanding contributions to the field of catalysis.
- 32 U.S. Granted Patents, 19 Publications, one edited book
Education
- Ph.D., Physical Organic Chemistry, University of Iowa
- B.S., DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois