Experience

NanosTech

• Canada
• Climate Technology Product Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Senior Catalyst Research Chemist

  • Jan 2017 - Present

  Calgary, Alberta, Canada • Coordinating and working in an interdisciplinary research team for developing a manufacturing process (unit operations) for the scale up production of the catalyst for the AQP process developed by Nanos Tech. • Producing practical modifications to the Nanos Tech proprietary catalysts for their possible commercial scale up. Characterization and testing of the novel prototypes and developing the needed unit operations for their manufacturing processes. • Coordinating and working on the… Show more • Coordinating and working in an interdisciplinary research team for developing a manufacturing process (unit operations) for the scale up production of the catalyst for the AQP process developed by Nanos Tech. • Producing practical modifications to the Nanos Tech proprietary catalysts for their possible commercial scale up. Characterization and testing of the novel prototypes and developing the needed unit operations for their manufacturing processes. • Coordinating and working on the development of in-house proprietary protocols for the production of structured catalyst at large scale (grinding, mixing, binding, modifiers, peptizers, plasticizers, porogens, fillers, lubricants, promoters). • Liaison between Nanos Tech and the Catalysts and Adsorbents for Fuels and Energy (CAFE) group at the University of Calgary. • Supporting and facilitating research and development activities at the University of Calgary by managing the X-ray diffraction facility providing troubleshooting, calibration, maintenance and minor repairs to the Rigaku X-ray diffractometer and conducting laboratory experiments for the Catalysts and Adsorbents for Fuels and Energy (CAFE) group, the Engineering department and other departments at the University of Calgary. Also, carrying out theoretical atomistic simulations to understand the relationship between chemical properties, the activity and selectivity of designed solid catalytic or adsorbent materials using BIOVIA Material Studio V2020 software. • Supervising and guiding graduate students and internships within the Catalysts and Adsorbents for Fuels and Energy (CAFE) group. • Lead meetings with staff and students for sharing the generated information and discussions of next steps. Show less



University of Calgary

• Canada
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Post Doctoral Fellow

  • May 2013 - Jan 2017

  Catalysis for Bitumen Upgrading Group • Development, preparation, characterization and catalytic testing of commercial-like catalysts for the Total Acid Number (TAN) reduction in crude oils. Two provisional patent applications have been introduced in the USA for the developed catalysts and for their TAN reduction process application. The pilot scale preparation of the extrudated commercial-like catalyst was successfully achieved. • Managed the X-ray diffraction facility providing troubleshooting, calibration, maintenance and… Show more • Development, preparation, characterization and catalytic testing of commercial-like catalysts for the Total Acid Number (TAN) reduction in crude oils. Two provisional patent applications have been introduced in the USA for the developed catalysts and for their TAN reduction process application. The pilot scale preparation of the extrudated commercial-like catalyst was successfully achieved. • Managed the X-ray diffraction facility providing troubleshooting, calibration, maintenance and minor repairs to the Rigaku X-ray diffractometer and conducting laboratory experiments for the Catalysis for Bitumen Upgrading Group (CBUG), the Engineering department and other departments at the University of Calgary. • Developed, prepared, characterized and catalytic tested steam cracking catalysts. A publication in a peer reviewed journal and a presentation in an international congress have been produced. • Developed cost-efficient catalysts for the selective hydrogenation of olefins and diolefins in hydrocarbon feedstock using non-noble metals like nickel or molybdenum carbide catalysts. The pilot scale preparation was successfully achieved. • Developed, prepared, characterized and tested nano-crystalline metal-silicate and metal-oxide solids for asphaltenes removal and its transformations. Three articles have been published. • Carried out Theoretical atomistic simulations to understand the relationship between chemical properties, the activity and selectivity of designed solid catalytic or adsorbent materials using BIOVIA Material Studio 2017 software. Three publications in peer reviewed journals and three presentations in two international congresses were produced. • Supervision and guiding graduate students and internships. • Lead meetings with staff and students for sharing the generated information and discussions of next steps.

• Graduate Research Assistantship AICISE / Chemistry Graduate student

  • May 2008 - May 2013

  Catalysis for Bitumen Upgrading Group • Synthesized, modified and characterized inorganic chemical compounds like aluminous-silicate zeolites, iron-silicate pyroxenes, molybdenum carbides, metal oxides, metal sulfides and their combinations for their use as catalysts or adsorbents for the upgrading of hydrocarbon feedstocks. Several publications in peer reviewed journals and presentations in international conferences were produced. • Conducted research to develop and refine new inorganic chemical compositions (oxide, silicate… Show more • Synthesized, modified and characterized inorganic chemical compounds like aluminous-silicate zeolites, iron-silicate pyroxenes, molybdenum carbides, metal oxides, metal sulfides and their combinations for their use as catalysts or adsorbents for the upgrading of hydrocarbon feedstocks. Several publications in peer reviewed journals and presentations in international conferences were produced. • Conducted research to develop and refine new inorganic chemical compositions (oxide, silicate and carbide catalysts) in a cost effective way for upgrading hydrocarbon molecules like those present in crude oil and bitumen. • Acted as technical consultant regarding software to study molecular modeling of inorganic-organic systems using simulation software packages like Accelrys Materials Studio, GULP, CELREF. • Participated in interdisciplinary research and development projects, like those needed for Athabasca bitumen upgrading, working with petroleum and chemical engineers, chemists and physicists to develop low temperature hydrogenation catalysts based on molybdenum carbide and nickel-aluminosilicates materials. Several peer reviewed articles were produced. • Investigated chemical aspects of the mechanisms of cracking, hydrocracking, hydrogenation, and hydrotreating of hydrocarbon molecules in the present of selected catalysts (sulfides, oxides, carbides, zeolites and their combination). Several peer reviewed articles were produced. • I was a teacher assistant of the chemistry laboratory courses CHEM-201 and CHEM-203



Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas (IVIC), Venezuela

• Research Advisor for Project G-2001000900

  • Nov 2006 - May 2008

  Venezuela • Acted as a technical consultant for Project G-2001000900 related to the chemical interactions between organic-inorganic chemical compositions. • Investigated the chemical aspects of the mechanism of adsorption and chemical ordering of organic molecules onto inorganic chemical substrates (zeolites and bio-materials) using simulation chemical software packages like CERIUS2. • Analyzed the theoretical results and did the comparison with the produced experimental data to identify and… Show more • Acted as a technical consultant for Project G-2001000900 related to the chemical interactions between organic-inorganic chemical compositions. • Investigated the chemical aspects of the mechanism of adsorption and chemical ordering of organic molecules onto inorganic chemical substrates (zeolites and bio-materials) using simulation chemical software packages like CERIUS2. • Analyzed the theoretical results and did the comparison with the produced experimental data to identify and understand the relationship between structure and physical-chemical properties of said materials. A publication in an international peer reviewed journal (Microporous and Mesoporous Materials) was produced. Show less



TECIMAT, Tecnología y Materiales, C.A

• Co-owner and Research and Development Director

  • Feb 2003 - Aug 2006

  Venezuela • Designed and developed chemical methodologies to produce chemical test kits to measure key parameters and chemical pollutants in water, and synthesized inorganic chemical adsorbents (silicates, metal-silicates and activated carbons) to remove these pollutants from different aquatic environments (aquariums and aquaculture). The methodologies of preparation were cost-efficient and practical, thus, allowing the commercial production of the absorbents and the chemical test kits for measuring the… Show more • Designed and developed chemical methodologies to produce chemical test kits to measure key parameters and chemical pollutants in water, and synthesized inorganic chemical adsorbents (silicates, metal-silicates and activated carbons) to remove these pollutants from different aquatic environments (aquariums and aquaculture). The methodologies of preparation were cost-efficient and practical, thus, allowing the commercial production of the absorbents and the chemical test kits for measuring the key water parameters (pH, Ca2+, HCO3-, CO32-) and the selected pollutants (NH3, NO2- NO3-, PO43-, Cu2+). The brand name of these series of products was identified as PEZCO(TM). • Designed, synthesized and developed a novel cat-litter, based on a chemical silicate formulation (coated mesoporous-silica on sand particles). The commercial scale up was possible and the brand name of these series of products was identified as SANICAT(TM). • Co-responsible in the implementation of the chemical processes to obtain the products at commercial scale, PEZCO(TM) and SANICAT(TM), and participated in their commercialization (sold mostly in pet-shops and supermarkets). Show less



Petróleos de Venezuela, Instituto Venezolano del Petróleo (PDVSA-Intevep)

• Specialist in Development, Manufacturing and Characterization of Catalysts

  • Apr 1992 - Feb 2003

  Venezuela • Conducted an applied research programs to develop and apply with success a new methodology of preparation (with economic raw materials and easy to implement) which produced a novel series of solid chemical formulations (catalytic materials base on microporous metal-silicate compounds) to be used in the petroleum industry (FCC area) generating eight US and worldwide patents. Three of these FCC catalyst technologies have been commercially used in refineries increasing the octane number of the… Show more • Conducted an applied research programs to develop and apply with success a new methodology of preparation (with economic raw materials and easy to implement) which produced a novel series of solid chemical formulations (catalytic materials base on microporous metal-silicate compounds) to be used in the petroleum industry (FCC area) generating eight US and worldwide patents. Three of these FCC catalyst technologies have been commercially used in refineries increasing the octane number of the produced naphtha (requiring lower addition of octane enhancer compounds) and also producing a LPG of high quality for alkylation. • Coordinated, supervised and conducted an interdisciplinary research team (chemists, physicists, engineers and chemical technicians) for the deep analysis characterization of the novel solid chemical formulations obtained (zeolitic materials and catalysts). • Developed and conducted a methodology for the scale up of the novel chemical formulations (catalytic materials) from the laboratory level to the commercial level (30 grams to 10 metric tons) which was adaptable to each one of the contacted industrial manufacture facilities. • Developed and implanted an analysis (X-ray diffraction technique) to characterize qualitatively and quantitatively the solid chemical formulations (zeolitic material inside the produced FCC additives) to ensure the quality control of the final chemical products (FCC additives). • Acted as a technical consultant to guarantee the commercial scale up and quality control of the methodology of preparation of a chemical composition formulation (new zeolitic material) at Alsi-Penta Zeolithe GmbH (Germany, November 2002, 600 Kg), Alsi-Penta Zeolithe GmbH (Germany, December 2001, 5 metric tons), and SüdChemie-SYNCAT, (South-Africa, August 1999, 10 metric tons). Show less