Chemical Engineering Expert in Toxic Chemical Exposure, Explosions, Fires, and Environmental Contamination with Broad Expert Witness Experience

Expertise

Expert Witness In:

• Toxic chemical exposure.
• Explosions and fires.
• Regulatory agency enforcement.
• Medical devices.
• Environmental contamination.
• Animal farming nuisance.
• Railroad tank car accidents.
• Methamphetamine labs.
• Industrial and consumer products.
• Chemical burns.
• Business interruption loss.
• Chemical patents.
• Expert witness for the automotive industry covering, seat belts, airbags, infant and child seats.
• Retained as expert for U. S. Department of Justice, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, U. S. Department of Labor-OSHA and State Attorney General's Office.
• Expert testimony provided in thirty three depositions and eight court appearances, in most case, deposition, trial and hearing experience for automotive airbag cases.

Safety and Regulations

• Experienced in chemical material safety data sheets, warning labels and chemical plant/petroleum refinery safe practices based on OSHA Hazard Communication Standard.
• Extensive knowledge backed by publication of injuries/diseases caused by particular chemicals (epidemiology) for application to workers exposed in chemical plants and other chemical producing/using facilities.

Chemical Manufacturing Technology:

• Chemical engineering and economic evaluation expertise for most chemical manufacturing technologies currently or previously practiced.
• Methanol carbonylation to acetic acid.
• Liquid phase oxidation of butane, acetaldehyde or methyl ethyl ketone to acetic acid.
• Liquid phase oxidation of para xylene to terephthalic acid.
• Liquid phase oxidation of cyclohexane to cyclohexanol, cyclohexanone, 1,6 hexanediol (HDO), adipic acid, hexamethyene diamine, hexamethylene imine and nylon 6,6 salt.
• Acetic acid pyrolysis conversion to acetic anhydride.
• Methanol synthesis (ICI, Lurgi and Vulcan processes).
• Methanol oxidation to formaldehyde (Silver-e.g., Borden and supported catalyst-e.g., Reichhold technologies.)
• Production of formaldehyde derivatives-trimethylolpropane (TMP), pentaerythritol (PE), trioxane, formcels and Celcon acetal resin.
• Ethylene oxidation to ethylene oxide production technology (Shell).
• Acetaldehyde production from ethylene (Wacker).
• Ethylene oxide hydrolysis to ethylene glycol (Union Carbide).
• Propylene oxidation to acrolein and acrylic acid.
• Esterification of acrylic acid to methyl, ethyl, butyl, and 2-ethylhexyl acrylate.
• Esterification of acrylic acid to specialty acrylates based on polyols such as TMP, PE and HDO.
• Oxo technology for manufacture of butyraldehyde/butanol.
• Sodium azide manufacture for automotive air bags (sodium and hydrazine processes).
• Specialized design knowledge for non-agitated gas-liquid contacting reactors such as liquid phase oxidation, hydrogenation, oxo and ammonolysis reactors.

Experience

Undisclosed Company, President, 1988 - 2010

• Technical expert and expert witness for criminal defense and civil litigation (plaintiff and defense) of automotive air bag failures, worker injuries caused by chemical plant fires and explosions, chemical exposure, environmental pollution and State of Arizona Attorney General.
• Grand Jury investigation, U. S. Department of Justice Benzene NESHAP complaints, U. S. Department of Labor-OSHA investigations of workplace safety violations.

Virtex Oil & Gas Corp., Bristol, VA, VP Engineering/Commercial Development, 1987 - 1988

• Designed, constructed and started up two major fuel alcohol plants.
• Developed business architecture, negotiated all contracts, selected and leased plant site, procured all equipment, secured feedstock purchases and product marketing agreements, selected and supervised contractor, applied for and received all environmental, operating and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms permits.

Cellanol Corporation, West Palm Beach, FL, VP Technology/Engineering, 1982 - 1985

• Developed strategy and implemented program for commercialization of proprietary cellulose-based fuel ethanol process.
• Negotiated contracts, selected site, designed and constructed plant, hired and trained operations staff, started up, operated and maintained plant.

Litton Industries, Houston, TX, VP Marketing & Technical, 1980 - 1982

• Worked with Litton general counsel to obtain first U. S. EPA Section 211 (f) Clean Air Act Waiver that allowed blending methanol with gasoline as a motor fuel.
• Provided a market for Litton produced methanol.
• Responsible for design and engineering of Litton barge mounted methanol plant program.
• Working directly for Litton CEO, joint responsibility for process and marine technology selection, overall design, selection of engineering contractor and shipyard for construction.
• Development of automotive markets for fuel grade methanol.

Celanese, Corpus Christi, TX, New York City, Dallas, TX, 1966 - 1980

• Designed liquid phase oxidation (LPO) reactors for butane, acetaldehyde and methyl ethyl ketone conversion to acetic acid; cyclohexane LPO conversion to nylon salt and co-products, and para xylene LPO conversion to terephthalic acid.
• Provided chemical and mechanical process designs, construction and operation of large fully instrumented pilot plants for major development programs.
• Developed major computer systems for preliminary and detailed chemical process design.
• Provided experimental program design and data analysis of bench scale process development programs.
• Provided technical support for plants in Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands and Brazil.
• Designed, constructed and operated fully-instrumented, continuously operated micro units. Application to world's largest methanol and formaldehyde units produced substantial earnings increases.
• Developed company business model computer program and major product line strategies for one billion dollar annual sales strategic plan.
• Defined key activities required by manufacturing, marketing and research and development to maintain product leadership.
• Conducted chemical engineering assessment of U. S. and foreign patents for chemical processes, reaction systems and catalyst systems for in-house patent attorneys, general counsel and VP technology licensing.
• Assessments led to the licensing of technology and construction of manufacturing units such as the Lurgi low-pressure methanol plant and Monsanto technology acetic acid plant.

Shell Oil, Houston, TX, Research Engineer, 1963 - 1964

• Responsible for computer programming of process control computer for fluid catalytic cracking unit.

DuPont, Gibbstown, NJ, Research Engineer, 1960 - 1962

• Responsible for operation and maintenance of large, fully-instrumented acrylonitrile and caprolactam pilot plants.

Honors & Publications

Publications

• Pancreatic Cancer Epidemiological
• Emerging Toxic Torts
• Hearing After Airbag Deployment-Evaluation
• Noise and Vibration Conference and Exhibition

Education

• Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
• M.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR
• B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR