2013 NIChE workshop - Chemistry & Engineering Research in the Age of Shale Gas | AIChE

Other Sites & Tools

Technical Groups

2013 NIChE workshop - Chemistry & Engineering Research in the Age of Shale Gas

October 2 & 3, 2013, Pittsburgh Marriott City Center, Pittsburgh PA

Presentations*:

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

  • 8:00 – 9:00am - Keynote: Josh Young, American Chemistry Council, “Chemistry & Shale Gas: Fueling a US Manufacturing Revolution”
  • 9:10 – 11:20am  Session 1: Economics & Policy; Moderator – Josh Young, American Chemistry Council
    • Seth Roberts, The Dow Chemical Company - “Manufacturing Renaissance: A Case Study”
    • Jeff Siirola, Purdue University & Carnegie Mellon University - “The Impact of Disruptive Change in Feedstock Price and Availability on Chemical Process Development”
    • Kristen Mertins & Paul Ayoub, Shell Oil Company - “Natural Gas as the 21st Century Economic Game Changer”
    • Andrew Place, Center for Sustainable Shale Development/EQT Corp - “Social License to Operate: Standards, Validation, Collaboration”
  • 12:20 – 1:00pm Economics & Policy - Panel Discussion
  • 2:00 – 4:20pm Session 2: Chemistry & Engineering
  • ​5:20 - 6:00pm Chemistry & Engineering - Panel Discussion

Thursday, October 3, 2013

  • 8:00 – 9:00am Keynote: Susan Brantley, Pennsylvania State University - “Chemistry & Shale Gas: Fueling a US Manufacturing Revolution”
  • 9:10 – 11:20am Session 3: The Environment; Moderator – David Wesolowski, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
    • Kelvin Gregory, Carnegie Melon University - “Evolving Microbial Ecology in Produced Water from Hydraulic Fracking”
    • Tom Hayes, Gas Technology Institute - “Process Improvements for the Cost-Effective Management of Flowback and Produced Waters in the Shale Gas industry”
    • J. Alexandra Hakala, National Energy Technology Laboratory - “Evaluating the Performance of Hydraulically Fractured Shale Resources”
    • Mo Hashem, Solvay - “Life Cycle Assessment of Shale Gas Production”
  • 12:20 – 1:00pm The Environment - Panel Discussion
  • 1:00 – 1:30pm Workshop Summary - Francine Palmer, Solvay

Speaker Bios

  • Paul Ayoub: Dr. Ayoub currently leads the Oil Conversion Group at Shell, chartered with the development of advantaged heavy oil upgrading technologies. In his previous role, Paul led the Project Management Office for the Appalachia Petrochemical Complex Project. His role included the coordination of all of the project work streams, ensuring synergy and compliance with Shell’s Opportunity Realization Process, and providing the interface between the commercial team members and the Process and Technology team members. Paul has been with Shell for 22 years, 18 of which in the Technology organization. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University, and a B.S. in Chemistry from Texas A&M University.
  • Susan L. Brantley: Dr. Brantley is Distinguished Professor of Geosciences in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State. She also serves as director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (EESI). Dr. Brantley’s career as a geochemist focuses on the chemistry of natural waters both at the surface of the earth and deeper in the crust. She is a recipient of the Arthur L. Day Medal of the Geological Society of America (2011) and the Presidential Award of the Soil Science Society of America (2012). She has recently been appointed to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science Advisory Board Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel. She earned her B.A. in chemistry (magna cum laude) and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Geological and Geophysical Sciences, all from Princeton University.
  • Robert D. Denton: Robby graduated with a B. Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1980. He started working at Exxon Production Research Company immediately following graduation. During his nearly 33+ year career with ExxonMobil he has specialized in gas treating & processing technologies, in particular low temperature gas processing, and has lived and worked in Malaysia & Qatar as well as the United States during his career. His current assignment is as the Senior Process Consultant for ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company in Houston, TX.
  • Kelvin Gregory: Dr. Gregory earned his Ph.D. in 2002 at the University of Iowa. His areas of interest include Environmental microbiology and biotechnology, benthic and microbial fuel-cells for remote and decentralized power generation, environmental biogeochemistry, electrode-based remediation of contaminated subsurfaces, bacteriology and microbial ecology of engineered systems, and sustainable and appropriate technology in developing communities. In 2012 he was awarded 2012 Best Feature Article in Environmental Science & Technology Journal with Greg Lowry.
  • J. Alexandra Hakala: Dr. Hakala is the Technical Coordinator for shale gas research performed through the NETL-Regional University Alliance (NETL-RUA), and serves as a Department of Energy member of the DOE-EPA-USGS Interagency Oil and Gas Technical Subcommittee. She also works with NETL-RUA research teams focused on fluid-rock geochemical processes in a variety of U.S.-based energy systems, including shale gas, geologic CO¬2 storage, and geothermal reservoirs. Alexandra earned her AB Cum Laude in Geosciences with a Certificate in Environmental Studies from Princeton University in 2003, and her Ph.D. in the School of Earth Sciences at The Ohio State University in 2008 where she was an U.S. EPA Science to Achieve Results Graduate Fellow.
  • Mo Hashem: Dr. Hashem has over 35 years of experience in Research & Development and Industrial Management within the Surfactants and Polymer Chemistry technologies. His current position is Senior Principle Scientist in Sustainability & Project Management for Solvay’s Research and Innovation center in Bristol, PA. Mo leads the research and development teams in meeting sustainability targets within their projects, developing project management methodologies and performs eco-efficiency analysis for Solvay’s product portfolio. Mo received a PhD degree in Organic Chemistry from Oklahoma State University, OK, followed by a post-doc research associate at Ohio State University.
  • Tom Hayes: Dr. Tom Hayes is an environmental engineer with the Gas Technology Institute E&P Center. He holds a Bachelors degree from Indiana University in Public Health, a Masters from Purdue in Environmental Engineering and a Ph.D. from Notre Dame. For more than twenty years, Tom has developed numerous processes for the treatment of water streams associated with natural gas supply and operations leading R&D projects on the development of biological and physical separations processes for the treatment of conventional produced waters. Recently, under a project funded by DOE, he explored the use of electrodialysis processing for the beneficial use of coalbed methane produced waters. In past work, Tom Hayes has managed R&D on innovative water treatment technologies, including nanofiltration, RO, microfiltration, ion exchange, living-filter aquaculture and high-rate biological processing. Under the support of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), Tom has teamed up with URS and the companies of the MSC to characterize waters associated with well completions at 19 locations in the states of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. His most current work, supported by RPSEA, involves the development of water management methods and technologies that reduce demands for freshwater and mitigate environmental impacts assocated with shale gas well completions. In recent years, Tom has served as the Managing Director of the Barnett Shale Water Conservation and Management Committee and the Appalachian Shale Water Conservation and Management Committee; both of these organizations represent consortia of energy companies with a mission of developing environmentally responsible water management approaches for shale gas development.
  • Kristen Mertins: Ms. Mertins is currently a New Business Development Economist at Shell Chemical Oil Company, supporting senior project developers for an integrated multibillion dollar projects. She works with project leads and new business development commercial professionals to develop a world-class investment proposals based on sound economic assumptions and incorporating state of the art thinking on risks and uncertainties both in terms of upsides and downsides. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Houston Accountancy and Taxation in 2005.
  • Andrew G. Place: Mr. Place is Corporate Director, Energy & Environmental Policy at EQT Corporation. Prior to joining EQT in 2011 Andrew served for eighteen months in Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, first as Special Assistant for Energy and Climate Change and second as Acting Deputy Secretary of the Office of Energy and Technology Deployment. While remaining in his position with EQT, Andrew accepted the role of Interim Executive Director at the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) in 2012. Andrew holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.S. in Public Policy and Management from the H. John Heinz III College at Carnegie Mellon.
  • Seth Roberts: Mr. Roberts is the director of Dow’s Energy and Climate Change Business where he is responsible for leading the management of Dow’s energy assets and power procurement for the Company’s operations, including power sales to third parties. In this role, Roberts sets the strategy and leads the implementation to ensure reliable and advantaged power and steam for over 120 global production facilities. Roberts earned an MBA from Louisiana State University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Mississippi State University. He is also a Six Sigma Master Black Belt and a registered Professional Engineer.
  • Eric Scher: Dr. Scher was Siluria’s second employee and oversees the company’s research and development and engineering groups. He is responsible for developing a commercial process based upon the combination of Siluria’s catalyst, reactor, and process technologies. Prior to joining the Siluria team, Dr. Scher ran several engineering groups at Kovio Inc, including the process engineering and tool development groups that were responsible for Kovio’s pilot processes. Dr. Scher earned his Ph.D. in Materials Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. For his work in nanocomposite materials, Dr. Scher was selected as one of MIT Technology Review’s Top 100 Innovators under the age of 35. He holds over 35 issued patents and has over 50 patent applications in process.
  • Jeremy D. Semrau: Dr. Semrau is currently a Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering (College of Engineering), Program in the Environment (College of Literature, Science and Arts) and School of Natural Resources & Environment at the University of Michigan. Professor Semrau’s research interests are in the general area of environmental microbiology, and he is recognized as one of the world’s experts in the study of methanotrophs, micro-organisms that utilize methane as their sole source of carbon and energy. Professor Semrau received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin (with highest honors), and an M.S.E and Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Science from the California Institute of Technology.
  • Jeffrey J. Siirola: Dr. Siirola retired in 2011 as a Technology Fellow at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport Tennessee where he had been for more than 39 years. He now holds half time positions as Professor of Engineering Practice at Purdue University and Distinguished Service Professor of Sustainable Energy Systems at Carnegie Mellon University. Siirola is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and was the 2005 President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
  • Kevin Stutenberg: Kevin is a Research Engineer in the Advanced Powertrain Research Facility at Argonne National Laboratory. Kevin completed a mechanical engineering degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he participated in the development of two prototype hybrid electric vehicles. Following graduation, Kevin spent several years as a Principle Investigator at the Gas Technology Institute developing and evaluating new technologies for the natural gas industry. In his current role at Argonne National Laboratory, Kevin is a member of a team of researchers who evaluate advanced vehicle technologies for the United States Department of Energy in an effort to assist in public knowledge generation and vehicle standards development.
  • Charles Taylor: Dr. Taylor is the Associate Deputy Director of the Office of Research and Development at the National Energy Technology Laboratory. He earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Duquesne University in 1985 and has been employed at NETL since 1985 after completing nine months as a Post Doctorial appointee with PETC (a NETL predecessor organization). His research has spanned numerous areas, including synthesis, magnetic, and spectral properties of triorganosiloxy- and triorganogermoxy-copper(II) complexes, conversion of methane to gasoline-range hydrocarbons, photocatalytic conversion of methane and water to methanol and hydrogen, photocatalytic conversion of CO2 and water to methanol, photocatalytic conversion of methane contained within methane hydrates, the kinetics of the formation and dissociation of methane hydrates, the separation of hydrogen by dense-metal membranes, and the rapid formation of methane hydrates from methane and water.
  • Josh Young: Mr. Young represents the chemical and plastics industries before legislative and regulatory agencies throughout the country. Josh began working for the American Chemistry Council and the American Plastics Council in March 2004 and serves as their Government Affairs Director in their Rosslyn, VA headquarters. Mr. Young works with local chemistry councils, environmental federations, recycling organizations and industry groups at the local, state and federal level. Prior to that, Mr. Young worked as the Government Affairs Manager for the Georgia Manufactured and Modular Housing Association. Upon receiving his Master of Arts degree in English from Washington & Lee University, Mr. Young served as a legislative liaison for US Senator Paul Coverdell in Washington, DC.

* Not all presentations available for posting publicly