Summary of Qualifications:

Produced biodiesel from brown (trap) grease, waste vegetable oils (WVO), and virgin soybean oil.
Produced biodiesel from low and high FFA feedstocks using various methods.
Have complete knowledge of ASTM 6751 specifications for biodiesel (B100) blend stock.
Experience with Magnesol, water wash, EcO2Pure, and resin-based ion exchange and adsorption dry wash systems (Purolite, Amberlite, Lanxess).
Experience with continuous & batch processing, PLC, SCADA, automation, & PID controls.
Excellent people skills; able to train/manage others and learn from others as needed.

Education:

Biodiesel Workshop, Dr. Jon Van Gerpen, et. al., Iowa State University, BECON Center, Nevada, Iowa, 2004
M.S. Materials Engineering, GPA 3.5, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, Socorro, New Mexico, 2000
B.S. Chemistry, GPA 3.0, New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, Socorro, New Mexico, 1994


Employment History:

10/03-Present Independent Biofuel Consultant / Process Engineer, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California, Missouri. Responsible for general design/process overview (PFD, P&ID) and design/process change recommendations for various clients planning to produce ASTM grade biodiesel fuel and technical grade glycerine from multiple feedstocks. Heavy emphasis on distillation/methanol recovery, Na2SO4 salt control, process automation, sensors, metering, etc.. Provide on-site primary engineering support for new biodiesel plant start-ups.
Co-managed & co-designed all aspects of waste fats, oils, & grease receiving, processing into methyl esters (biodiesel), wet/dry polishing (mist & bubble water washing, Magnesol, EcO2Pure) of fuel, pilot plant and process development, methanol recovery, and glycerine refining. Provided R&D expertise and labor for other value-added, environmentally friendly product formulations such as biodegradable dust suppressant, asphalt release agent, parts cleaner, etc. using methyl esters, waste vegetable oils, soaps, and free fatty acids.
Recovered and recycled restaurant trap grease for direct combustion as an alternative, low sulfur, oxygenated, renewable biofuel or a relatively low-cost feedstock for biodiesel production. Co-designed a 12,000 gallon batch grease rendering plant and worked on all aspects of start-up of a new closed loop hot water boiler system for the plant. Managed all aspects of grease recovery, process development, continuous improvement, and product sales related to the operation. Designed a grease recovery/interceptor system to operate in conjunction with a small municipal wastewater treatment plant.
Built an inexpensive pilot production unit for production of biodiesel fuel using scrap materials and successfully converted low-grade brown grease into biodiesel using home-engineered pressure equipment, H2SO4, and excess MeOH. Developed complete business plan including feasibility studies, investor presentations, financial forecasting, and budgeting.

4/06 - 8/07Staff Engineer, Souder, Miller & Associates, Las Cruces, New Mexico. Developed a written waste management procedure for a mining clients environmental yard as well as an operations, safety, & maintenance manual for a petroleum-contaminated soil bioremediation cell. Designed a gravity & vacuum residential wastewater collection system using SewerCAD modeling software, Phase I environmental site assessments, technical report preparation, review, and editing.

12/04 - 2/06Business Development/Sales, Gigablast, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico. Internet search engine company that hosted the fifth largest Web page index in the world. Developed and fostered relationships with business prospects and existing clients for selling hyper-scalable search engine software licenses and XML data feeds to clients. Wrote a proposal winning a Blanket Purchase Agreement to provide Web search services for www.FirstGov.gov. Spearheaded website redesign resulting in significant appearance improvements. Developed product and service information brochures to present to prospective clients. Performed custom legal contract renewals, modifications, edits, reviews, and executions as needed.

8/00 - 1/04Process Engineer, Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, Oregon and Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Sustained AMAT Endura and Anelva PVD tools which were used for deposition of Ti/TiN diffusion barrier/adhesion, and Al M1/M2 layers of Intels flash memory chips. Oversaw installation, qualification, sustaining, maintenance, troubleshooting, statistical process control (SPC), and hardware/software upgrades of Applied Materials 5500 Endura (300 mm) PVD tools used for high power self-ionizing plasma (SIP) sputter-deposition of TaN/Ta barrier/adhesion, and Cu seed films for back-end metallization of Intels P1260/1262 microprocessors. Typical troubleshooting included isolating particle sources, root-cause determinations of film thickness & uniformity issues, mechanical issues, and vacuum issues. Owned safety, film recipe integrity, operations and maintenance specifications, tool system constants, procedural checklists, and Manufacturing Technician training packages. Coordinated hardware and software upgrades, retrofits, and preventive maintenance as needed to sustain the factory. Worked closely with Manufacturing Technicians and Applied Materials Field Service Engineers while maintaining integrity of Intels intellectual property.

Instrumentation / Equipment:

I have worked with and/or have knowledge of centrifugal pumps, air-operated dual diaphragm pumps (AODDs), gear pumps, vacuum pumps, metering pumps, hot water boilers, boiler safety devices, shell & tube heat exchangers, plate heat exchangers, inclined plate clarifiers, 1-6 inch black iron and PVC plumbing (solvent welding), filter housings and sock filtration from 1000 microns to 1 micron absolute, cone-bottomed process/settling tanks, tank agitators, various types of manual & automated/actuated valves, continuous centrifuges (decanters, disc stacks, auto-desludgers), vacuum/pumper trucks, various gauges, distillation/condensation systems, flash evaporation, self-regulating heat trace cable & controls, wet chemistry labware (burets, separatory funnels, flasks, beakers, pipets, indicators, etc.), trace moisture determination, and various qualitative & quantitative tests and instrumentation associated with ASTM biodiesel testing. Have also performed biodiesel, feedstock, and moisture in methanol analyses on a FOSS XDS near IR analyzer and correlated with other measurement techniques.