Bob Poteet

Bob Poteet has over 35 years’ experience in selling to the energy industries. Bob is one of the pioneers in Radial Temperature Profiling and is listed on two patents related to Temperature profiling of reactors. Bob jointed Gayesco-WIKA in 2010 and is currently serving as Director of Sales Application Specialist for temperature for WIKA globally. Before joining Gayesco-WIKA, he was Vice President of Sales for Daily Thermetrics. He is a 1982 graduate of Texas A&M University in Industrial Distribution.

Johannes Derfler

Elmo Nasato

Elmo Nasato is a process engineer specializing in sulfur recovery, amine treating and sour water processing. He has 35 years' experience including design, retrofit, start-up and optimization, On-site field activities have included support of construction activities, turnaround assistance and operator training. Elmo graduated from the University of Waterloo, Canada with a B.A.Sc. Chemical Engineering (1987) with an option in Management Science. He is the president of Nasato Consulting Ltd. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for Alberta Sulphur Research, Technical Advisory Committee for the Laurance Reid Gas Conditioning Conference, and the Brimstone Sulfur Symposium Technical Advisory Committee. He has eight patents for SRU operation, oxygen enrichment and sulfur degassing technologies, has published 42 papers and has made over 74 presentations at conferences worldwide.

Michael Gaura

Michael Gaura is responsible for the spectroscopic products designed, sold, shipped and supported by AMETEK Process Instruments. This includes Ultraviolet (UV), Infrared (IR), Tunable Diode Laser (TDL) and X-ray Transmission (XRT) based analyzers. The measurements provided by these analyzers can be found in Natural Gas transmission and processing, Refining, Petrochemical, Gas Bottling, Chemical, and Steel manufacturing facilities around the world. Mr Gaura has led presentations focused on application optimization and technical measurement solutions at industry focused events for over 15 years. He has also written articles that can be found in various publications. Since joining AMETEK in 2017, he has increased his focus on the measurement needs of end users that are operating sulphur recovery units. Mr Gaura has a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University and a MBA from Oklahoma State University.

David Savage

David Savage has more than 30 years of experience in the process design, project management and plant operation. Upon receiving his Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Oklahoma, he worked for Haldor Topsoe’s process engineering group in Houston.  Mr. Savage worked seven years with Farmland (later acquired by Koch Nitrogen) as Plant Engineer and Technical Superintendent prior to joining Devco in 2004.  He is currently Sr. Project Manager for natural gas and ammonia tanks and terminals related projects, as well as Industry and Subject Expert for all sulphur related projects for Matrix PDM Engineering. Mr. Savage has held multiple positions over the past 20+ years for Devco and Matrix PDM to fully execute projects in various locations around the world totaling 30,000 TPD (11 MM TPY) of sulphur forming capacity, in-excess of 10,000 TPD of sulphur block pouring, 4,000 TPD of solid sulphur remelting.

Ron Pitman

Ron Pitman is the Manager of Technology (SME) for Crude, Sulfur, Energy, and Utilities in Motiva’s corporate Technical Excellence group.   A Technical Leader with over 30 years of demonstrated success in process engineering management, operations management, technical support, and plant optimization that also includes 6 years of nuclear power experience in the US Navy.

Martin Alvarez

Martin Alvarez holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires. He joined Topsoe in February 2019, where he has worked as a Specialist within the Clean Air Catalyst department giving technical support to sulfuric acid clients worldwide. Before joining Topsoe, Martin worked as a Process Engineer for 5 years in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Steve Puricelli

Steve Puricelli is currently the Senior Technical Director at Saconix, a sulfuric acid logistics and marketing company. Over the course of his career, he has designed, started up and analyzed operating problems on a wide variety of sulfuric acid plants. He has also worked to bring several new technologies from the laboratory to commercial operation. Mr Puricelli also had P&L responsibility for several businesses and was a member of the MECS management team for many years. In the early days of his career, Mr Puricelli worked in a support and operating role at a manufacturing company that produced nitrogen fertilizers, flexible urethanes (Toluene diisocyanate) and sulfuric acid. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Missouri S&T and a Masters of Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.

Viviana Alvarado

Viviana Alvarado is a market analyst based in CRU’s London Office. She joined CRU in February 2023 as part of the sulphur and sulphuric fertilizer team. She has a background in Economics and holds an MSc (Distinction) in Development Economics from the University of Sussex. Before joining CRU, Viviana worked as an economic analyst at the tax administration of Colombia.

Khalid Al-Ahmadi

Khalid Al-Ahmadi is currently Vice President of Sustainability, Technology, Research & Development in Phosphate BU, Saudi Arabian Mining Company- Ma’aden where he is playing a significant role to establish and implement strategies, policies, procedures and programs for sustainability and technology associated with the research and development of new processes and products  to ensure phosphate business unit growth   During his career with Ma'aden, Mr Al-Ahmadi has held several positions in key roles, including Director, Corporate Strategy and Business Development, where he led developing and any full life cycle of new projects as well  as business initiatives for Ma'aden growth.  

Mr Al-Ahmadi has been serving as a Board Member in several boards and committees. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in chemical engineering from King Abdulaziz University. He has completed many leadership and executive development programs in business, project & leadership management.

Jan-Willem Hennipman

Jan-Willem Hennipman, PDEng, is one of the technology specialists of Worley Comprimo, with a broad knowledge in all aspects of sulphur recovery, sour water stripping and amine treating. Jan-Willem has more than 20 years of engineering experience in the oil and gas industries. Before that he worked 10 years as a process engineer for a pharmaceutical company. He holds a MS degree in Chemical Engineering and a Professional Doctorate in Engineering from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

Alberto Martinez Gonzalez

Alberto is a process engineer in the field of gas treating and sulphur recovery technology. He is involved in studies and process design of sulphur recovery units, tail gas treating units and related processes. Having worked in Worley Comprimo for 5 years, Alberto has been involved in adaptation and modernization projects concerning SRUs, TGTUs and degassing units, especially for turndown scenarios.

Christian Sattler

Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Christian Sattler studied chemistry in Bonn, Germany. In 1997 he received his PhD and joined the German Aerospace Center DLR. He was a guest scientist at Unversidade Federal de Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. From 2015 to 2022 he was professor for solar fuels production at TU Dresden, Germany. From 2021 to 2023 he was acting Divisional Board Member for Energy and Transport of DLR and since 2021 he is Director of the DLR Institute of Future Fuels and since 2022 professor for solar fuel production at RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He is also Vice-President of the Hydrogen Europe Research association and as an ASME lifetime fellow member of the ASME Clean Energy Technical Group.

Alessandro Gullà

Alessandro Gullà graduated with Bachelor's degree in Environmental engineering from Politecnico of Milan in 2003. In 2003 Mr Gullà started his career in a small engineering company located in Milan. After this he worked in companies manufacturing waste water filters and dust filters from 2006 to 2010, before joining to AWS corporation srl. Mr Gullà is currently the Sales & Proposal Manager of wet electrostatic precipitators & mist eliminators in AWS corporation srl, where he has been working since 2010.

Janne Lovén

Janne Lovén is Manager Sales – Sulphur products for Boliden. He holds MSc in Marketing from the University of Tampere.

Janne started his career in the sales department of Outokumpu Copper in Finland and Switzerland.   

In 2002, Janne got the responsibility of the sales and marketing of Sulphuric acid and Liquid SO2 for Outokumpu’s smelters in Harjavalta and Kokkola. In 2004, the Rönnskär and Odda smelters’ sulphur products were added to his responsibility when New Boliden was created.  

During 2021-2024, Janne has been the Chairman of European Sulphuric Association (ESA) and a member of its management committee since 2007. At the end of 2023, he played an active role when Boliden added Low Carbon Sulphuric acid to its Green Transition Metals portfolio.

Martin Taylor

Martin Taylor is the Manager, Sulfur Technologies, for Bechtel Energy Technologies & Solutions based in Houston, TX, USA. His experience includes design, troubleshooting, consulting, commissioning, and start-up of sulphur related units such as amine, sour water, SRUs, tail gas treating units, etc. for the last 20+ years. Martin has patents and patents pending for technologies in and around the sulphur industry. Martin earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a M.S. in Natural Gas Engineering from Texas A&I University in Kingsville, TX, USA.

Carolina Trujillo Sanchez

Carolina graduated in 2020 with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering from the University of British Columbia, Canada. As a student, she completed one year of internship experience working for companies such as Canfor and Worley Chemetics. Carolina joined Worley Chemetics in Vancouver in 2020 as a process engineer shortly after completing her degree. She has had the opportunity of contributing to the design and startup of projects in many of the technologies that Worley Chemetics offers including sulfuric acid, chlor-alkali and chlorine dioxide. Carolina also assisted with the development of the CORE-SO2™ technology and the test program in the Chemetics CORE-S pilot plant.

Nelson Clark

Nelson Clark is a Chemical Engineer, graduated from the University of São Paulo, MBA Maua, with 30+ years working in the sulfuric acid industry in drying and absorption processes, mass transfer. He had several articles and papers published and presented at conferences, has patents granted in Brazil, the United States and Europe in the areas of mass transfer (drying and absorption with sulphuric acid of air and gases), energy recovery and mist elimination. For more than 30 years, he has been the creator and organizer of COBRAS, the Brazilian Sulphuric Acid Congress, which is now the second largest event on the subject in the world. He is currently Technical Director at Clark Solutions.

Jerome Villaumie

After 23 years in a major oil company with various job positions, including several expatriations, Jerome Villaumie joined Sojitz Solvadis GmbH in 2011 as Director for sulfuric acid & sulphur. He has a 19 year distribution & services providing experiences in these fields, covering extensively European and In’tl markets.

Robert Kahr

After his master’s degree in chemical engineering, Robert Kahr started his work at Kanzler Verfahrenstechnik GmbH (KVT) joining the development team of the sulfuric acid related technologies (OXYSULF). He is since responsible for most of the OXYSULF projects of KVT worldwide. Over the past 20+ years he gained a lot of experience in project management, process engineering and commissioning of plants in the field of the environmental technologies developed by KVT.  

At present, Robert leads the product group OXYSULF and is responsible for all projects related to sulfur processing.  

Samuel Scherman Johansson

With an engineering masters' degree from Lund University in Sweden, Samuel has worked for Topsoe for 12 years within the clean air segment, focusing on sulfur recovery technology. He has spent 4 years working in China from the Topsoe Beijing office, and has since 2018 been the global proposal manager for Topsoe's clean air technologies based in the Copenhagen, Denmark headquarters of Topsoe A/S.

Lucretia Löscher

Lucretia Löscher has been Chief Operating Officer and Member of the Executive Board of thyssenkrupp Uhde since September 1, 2023. Before, she was Vice President and P&L owner for the industrial solution business in Europe and Africa for Siemens Energy. She has experience in various industries and functions. Her career started in 2004 with sales and marketing for the automotive industry. To broaden her experience, she continued her career as Senior Consultant and Project Manager in consulting with the focus on innovative technologies, process industries and the energy sector. Subsequently she became Director of Sales Operations for OSRAM Lighting Solutions, followed by an assignment as Vice President Strategy, HSE and Business Improvement for Siemens Energy. As a member of BDI Young Leaders and the African-German Young Leaders in Business program (AGYLE), Lucretia stands for modern, inclusive corporate leadership with the ambition to serve the society and to achieve outstanding business results.

Sascha Vukojevic

Sascha is an experienced and passionate global business leader with more than 15 years of experience in the oil & gas and (petro)-chemical industry with focus on catalysis & process engineering. After more than a decade in various commercial roles with hte – the high throughput experimentation company, a global leader in technology development, Sascha joined BASF Catalysts in 2019. In his current role as Director Sales, he is responsible for chemical market catalysts & adsorbents in the EMEA region.

Sascha holds a master’s degree in zeolite chemistry and a PhD degree from the Max Planck Institute in catalysis. His entire professional career has been focused on creating value-based customer solutions and building trusted long-term client relationships.

Graeme Cousland

Graeme Cousland is the Managing Director and 5th Generation of the family-owned Scottish company, Begg Cousland Envirotec Ltd. He is a graduate of St. Andrews University and has been working in the company for the last 47 years in Production. Sales and Administration. He is also the Managing Director of the subsidiary, Begg Cousland srl in Italy, and responsible for the licensed production of Begg Cousland filters in China and India.

Peter Harrisson

Dr Harrisson has worked on CRU’s Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid analysis since joining the company in early 2011 and is Head of the Sulphur team. He also works across other nutrient areas, including both market and cost analysis. Prior to joining CRU, Dr Harrisson completed a PhD in Industrial Chemistry at Durham University.

Sebastian Rohacz

Sebastian Rohacz is dedicated to engineering precise spray nozzle solutions at Lechler, embodying the slogan: "Engineering your spray solution." With a degree in mechanical engineering and a Master's in Innovation and Technology Management, his technical and strategic expertise is profound. Sebastian has spent his entire career at Lechler, evolving from nozzle development to application engineering, and now serves as the Sales Manager for Process Technology and Droplet Separators. He is your go-to expert for spray nozzles, lances and systems, tank cleaning nozzles, and mist eliminators. Passionate about networking, Sebastian eagerly anticipates meeting new clients.

Daniel Fickinger

Daniel Fickinger studied in Saarbrücken and at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern, where he obtained his doctorate in thermal process engineering, specialising in the field of mixed adsorption.

Since 2017 he has been working as a process engineer at HUGO PETERSEN GmbH in Wiesbaden, particularly in the field of sulphuric acid technology and gas cleaning with a special focus on the energetic utilisation of waste heat in steam systems, the production of liquid SO2 and sulphur combustion technology. In 2023 he was appointed Head of the Process Engineering department of HUGO PETERSEN GmbH.

Steffen Haus

Steffen holds a diploma degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD in advanced control theory, both from Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany. He is working for Metso and its predecessor companies since 2013. Steffen’s work is strongly focused on digitalization and digital solutions in the process industry. The work includes advanced process control solutions, simulations, data analytics, and health monitoring solutions. He was involved in several deliveries of digital solutions worldwide. In his current role, he is working as Director, Metals and Chemical Processing Technologies in Oberursel, Germany.

Alexandra Graf

Alexandra Graf has been working as an Application Engineer at SensoTech GmbH since 2016. Her area of responsibility includes the planning and support of measurement technology applications for customers. This includes, for example, feasibility testing, which is carried out in the in-house laboratory. Her professional career took her to China as a lecturer in process engineering at Chengde Petroleum College.

Here she combined her analytical skills with presentation techniques and worked intensively with petrochemical processes. At SensoTech GmbH, Alexandra Graf developed into a specialist in the application of analytical measurement technology in industry and research. In 2020, she took over the management of the laboratory and the application engineers with a focus on training and webinars. She is passionate about supporting users and sales partners in different countries to find the best possible solution for their measurement task.

Rezki Anjung Mentaram

Rezki Anjung Mentaram has worked as a Static Equipment Inspector at PT Petrokimia Gresik East Java, Indonesia since 2012, handling two sulfuric acid plants with capacities of 1800 MTPD and 1850 MTPD. He has an educational background in Mechanical Engineering. He also has a master's degree in Industrial Management and several professional certifications, such as, corrosion inspector, coating inspector, welding inspector, and boiler and pressure vessel specialist.

Dimitrios Dimitrakis

Dr. Dimitrios Dimitrakis is a Chemical Engineer, Group Leader Catalyst and Reactor Engineering in the Institute of Future Fuels of the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt e.V. (DLR e.V.). Before joining DLR in 2022, he was an Affiliated Researcher in the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH 2017 - 2021), following a position as Research Engineer (CERTH 2011 – 2017).

He holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering (AUTH 2017, with distinction) and has led several EU, national and services to the industry research projects. His research interests include high temperature thermochemistry and (solar) reactor engineering for hydrogen and fuels production.

Mason Lee

Mason Lee has spent 30 years on combustion and thermal process as a Senior Engineer, in this time he has acquired a variety of skills and accumulated many experiences in fluid dynamics analysis, advanced combustion technology, acoustic assessment, noise control and vibration analysis.

He has lead engineering design, fabrication and commissioning for combustion equipment and thermal systems, launched R&D studies for thermodynamics and combustion analysis in support of SRU projects. Mason is a Licensed Professional Engineer registered from Ontario, Canada and a member of the Institute of Noise Control Engineering from USA.

Jae Shi

Jae Shi graduated from Guizhou University of Commerce in 2011, his major was International Trade, and since then has been working as an overseas marketing manager in a phosphate chemicals company. He joined Wylton (China) in 2019; with his excellent marketing ability and rich experience in international marketing, he is making a great contribution to Wylton (China)’s international development of new businesses and new markets.

Trevor Mwanza

Trevor Mwanza has worked in Zambia copper mines for more than ten years. He has experience in mineral beneficiation, copper smelting and sulphuric acid production.

Florian Kistl

Florian Kistl has spent over four years as a member of CS Combustion Solutions' Team of experts for burners and incineration applications and has brought experience from all different kinds of sulphuric acid production processes from his time as Head of Sales.

Dirk van der Werff

Dirk van der Werff has over 25 years of experience in the sulfuric acid industry. He started his professional career as a process engineer in a sulfuric acid plant and gained experience in the design and technologies of sulfuric acid plants when working with MECS. Since 2005 he is the owner of Holtec SpA, a company that specializes in sulfuric acid technologies, process support, maintenance services and technical inspections. Since 2003 he has been giving training in sulfuric acid plant operations and technologies to engineers and operators. Academia.Holtec was incorporated in 2013 as a provider of in-class, online and asynchronous training programs for sulfuric acid plants.

Johannes Hofer

In his current position, Dr. Johannes Hofer is the Head of the Catalysis and Analytics group of P&P Industries AG, based in Austria. Innovating at the company since 2018, he has held several positions as a Project Manager, R&D Manager and Head of Research and Development. His work is focused on the development of new catalytic systems for the oxidation of SO2 in Sulphuric acid plant systems to hydrocarbon and ammonia removal in waste gas treatment. With international experience from working on plant systems of international clients he applies a scientific approach to solving problems at industrial scale. 

Susanna Voges

Susanna Voges studied Process Engineering at Hamburg University of Technology, where she also obtained her PhD in Process Engineering from the Institute of Thermal Separation Processes in 2008. She started her career in chemical industry joining BASF late 2007. At BASF she had different functions in technical development, working on the design of key equipment for CAPEX projects, troubleshooting at production plants and on process and production optimization. Coming back from an overseas assignment, which implied setting up a regional process engineering hub for Asia Pacific in Shanghai, she eventually joined manufacturing in early 2016. After a total of six years in pigments production as a production manager and later as a plant manager she decided to join Voovio Technologies in early 2022 in order to serve the industry with innovative solutions for some of its most pressing needs. 

Marcus Weber

Marcus Weber is Executive Process Director for Fluor. He has over 30 years’ experience in sulfur recovery, carbon capture and power generation industries. He has held a variety of roles in project management, process engineering, engineering management, construction and commissioning. Mr. Weber received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of California at San Diego. He is a licensed professional engineer in California & Texas. Mr. Weber is certified as a Project Management Professional by the Project Management Institute.

Bas Janssen

Bas Janssen obtained his Bachelor degree of Industrial Engineering in 2005, after which he started building his industry knowledge by working for large equipment manufacturers. Within Alfa Laval from 2006 - 2012 as an Industry Support Engineer for Plate Heat Exchangers and Separators. And from 2012 to 2024 for Pentair/Emerson in various roles, starting as Inside Sales Engineer sizing control valves, later on as Inside & Export Sales Manager, towards Business Unit Manager Europe for all sliding stem control valves. In March this year he started as Sales Director for Voovio Technologies. No longer supporting the industry with mechanical solutions, but now with a much more pressing challenge: capturing tribal knowledge and training of field operators on flawless procedure execution. Especially in a world where human mistakes are not just costly from a financial perspective but could have far-reaching personal and environmental consequences.

Baylee Thompson

Baylee Thompson is a process engineer based in Salt Lake City, UT for Wood Group PLC, she graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky. She has multiple years of experience in Sulfur processes from both a design and operating background including turnarounds, startups and shutdowns, and day to day operations. Baylee now works primarily on sulfur unit design, optimization, and burner fabrication.

Emanuel Hofer

Emanuel Hofer is Product Manager at Anton Paar GmbH. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Petroleum Engineering and a Master's degree in Drilling Engineering from the Mining University of Leoben. His more than two years of experience as a process engineer in the sulphuric acid industry included key projects such as implementation of new oleum plants and the automation of inline concentration measurement of sulphuric acid. After this exciting challenge, he moved into the field of inline instrumentation and joined the globally operating Anton Paar Group in 2021. In his role as Product Manager, he is responsible for the success of the L-Sonic 5100 series, an innovative process solution for measuring concentration of liquids.

Anders Theilgaard Madsen

Anders Theilgaard Madsen holds a PhD-degree in chemistry and chemical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark. After his studies he has worked as postdoc and senior researcher within environmental catalytic processes on the Technical University of Denmark. Anders joined Topsøe in 2014 and has worked since then as principal scientist within R&D Clean Air catalysts group with developing, modelling and testing of catalysts and catalytic systems. His professional interests include development of environmental and oxidation catalysts and processes, especially regarding sulfur-containing gases.

Stefan Bräuner

Stefan Bräuner, a graduate in Mechanical and Process Engineering from TU Darmstadt, Germany, has held various positions within Metso’s Roasting & Sulphuric Acid department. His roles have spanned from process engineering and plant commissioning to leading R&D activities and heading the department for several years. Stefan spent some years in Metso’s Australian office as a Regional Technical and Sales Director, where he supported Roasting and Sulphuric Acid technologies in both greenfield and brownfield projects. Recently, Stefan returned to the technology center in Germany, maintaining his focus on sulphuric acid projects. Whether on the metallurgical or fertilizer side, Stefan has a deep interest in energy efficiency and digitalization.

Peter Harrisson

Dr Harrisson has worked on CRU’s Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid analysis since joining the company in early 2011 and is Head of the Sulphur team. He also works across other nutrient areas, including both market and cost analysis. Prior to joining CRU, Dr Harrisson completed a PhD in Industrial Chemistry at Durham University.

Rob Marriott

Rob Marriott is the Alberta Sulphur Research Ltd (ASRL) Director of Research (DOR) and the NSERC ASRL Industrial Research Chair in Applied Sulfur Chemistry. He is responsible for guiding the ASRL Core research program and teaches as an Associate Professor within the Department of Chemistry. His current research interests range from applied chemical thermodynamics of complex systems, souring of reservoir fluids, sulfur deposition, hydrate formation, sulfur recovery and high-pressure fluid purification. Prior to taking over as DOR, he spent 8 years with ASRL as a Research Scientist and Project Manager and 5 years as an Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary. He has authored over 50 published research papers, more than 100 conference presentations and over 130 confidential research contract reports.

Daniela Boni

Daniela Boni, MSc in chemical engineering, is currently holding the position of Sulphur Technology Manager in KT-Tech.

Her career started in 2014, when she joined KT Kinetics Technology as a Junior Process engineer in the Sulphur Recovery team. Since then, she has built her experience in Sulphur Recovery and Gas Treatment technology by participating in many different projects, involving basic designs, EPC, feasibility studies, commissioning and start-up activities. Today, within KT Tech, she is now moving forward in her career as Sulphur Technology Manager, leading the development of PDPs, new technologies and digital products in the field of Sulphur Recovery. 

Claudio Pupatti

Process Lead Engineer for conceptual and detail design of refinery and gas field units with focus on sulphur recovery unit, acting as sulphur technology expert with 17 years of experience.  Acted as Licensor and Sulphur Technology representative during official meetings with Clients, Design Reviews, Site Surveys, Plant Start-up and Performance Test Runs. Co-operated with the Sales & Proposal Department to analyze the process specifications during the Invitation to Bid (EPC projects) or Request for Proposal (Basic Design or Feed) phases. Experience includes process design to detail engineering of Sulphur Recovery unit, Degassing Section, Tail Gas Treatment, Incinerator Unit, Scrubber Unit, Amine and SWS unit in Gas Plant and Refinery.

Johannes Buchheim

Johannes Buchheim studied chemistry at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, specializing in technical chemistry and earned a Doctorate with a focus on the production and characterization of mixed metal oxides for catalytic exhaust air purification.He held a post-doctoral position at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in the working group of Prof. Philipp Adelhelm with a focus on battery technology (production of active material for liquid and solid systems, lithium and sodium ion technology).Since 2020, he is employed as a project engineer at Glatt lngenieurtechnik GmbH in Weimar/Germany within the New Technologies/ Business Development group specializing in high-temperature applications.

Leah Goettler

Leah Goettler is a Process Engineer with over seven years of experience with SGS Sulphur Experts. During this time, she has helped more than 50 different sulphur recovery units across North America, Europe, Asia, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Her primary area of expertise is sulphur plant troubleshooting and optimization. She has presented at the world-renowned Sulphur Experts training seminars, and also co-authored and presented the 2021 paper “The Impact of Biofeed Co-processing on Conventional Refinery Amine, Sour Water Stripping, and Sulphur Recovery Units”. She is a graduate of the University of Alberta and is currently located in the Netherlands.

Giovanni Manenti

Giovanni Manenti has spent more than 20 years, in engineering and manufacturing companies, in the design and product development for process heat transfer equipment. He has focused his activity on "hot & heavy" equipment like process gas boilers, transfer-line exchangers, waste heat recovery units, heaters, and syngas prototype equipment. Mr. Manenti counts several international patents on heat transfer technology and holds a PhD in chemical engineering at Politecnico diMilano.

Ben Spooner

Ben Spooner has been testing and troubleshooting amine plants for 25 years. In this paper he will discuss the topic of amine carryover from a regenerator. Although a relatively uncommon event, when it does happen it can be catastrophic for the sulphur plant.

Cal Lockert

Cal Lockert joined Ohio Lumex as Senior Program Director following their acquisition of the Breen Acid Dewpoint technology in 2023.

Prior to that, he was the President of Breen Energy, a supplier of technology and process knowledge for measurement and control of sulphur based condensable in process flue gas. He has over 30 years of experience in the development and commercialization of new technologies for environmental and efficiency improvement in heavy industrial applications. 

Mr Lockert has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University and currently resides in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Carsten Düchting

Dr.-Ing. Carsten Düchting studied mechanical engineering (dipl. Ing.) at the TU Dortmund. He took part in the Graduate School at the Fraunhofer Institute in Dortmund (Dr.-Ing.).Since 2005, he is CEO of Düchting Pumpen and SICcast.

Martin Kürten

Martin Kürten began his career in the Sulphuric Acid Industry in 1995. He spent his first 17 years within the Bayer AG Group in different Affiliates and positions such as Project Engineer, Construction Manager, Project Manager, Maintenance Manager, Reliability Manager for Sulphuric Acid and Down Stream Plants like Oleum distillation, Oleum 65 Production Ultra high purity acid, Sodium bisulphite, and others.

From 2006 until 2013 he was Technology Provider in projects for non-Bayer Clients such as Glencore, Aurubis, Lanxess, Atlantic Cooper, Nrystar, Anglo American and other Sulphuric acid producers. He was responsible for multiple different project steps starting from first studies until commissioning. He is a patent owner for sulphur combustion chambers, Quasi isothermal SO2 contact (BAQYIK® / CORE® Process), SO2 Absortion and Desorption process. Since 2014 he has been with the company Grillo Chemicals GmbH as the Head of Sulphuric Acid Department with P&L Responsibility for Spent acid regeneration, SO2 liquid production and Sulphuric acid/oleum production. 

Mahdi Ashkanani

Mahdi Ashkanani, based in Kuwait, is currently a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Kuwait Oil Company. Mr Ashkanani brings experience from previous roles at Kuwait Oil Company. He holds a 1997 - 2001 Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) in Mechanical Engineering @ University of Colorado at Denver. With a robust skill set that includes EPC, Gas, Petroleum, Refinery, FEED and more.

Haytham Al-Barrak

Haytham Al-Barrak is Fired Equipment Engineering Consultant working for Saudi Aramco. He is the Heat Transfer Equipment Standards Committee Chairman. He received MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Southern California. He has two patents related to fired equipment monitoring and is working with Saudi Aramco for the last 30 years. He resides in Dhahran, KSA.

Angie Slavens

Angie has 28 years of experience working in the oil and gas business, primarily focused on sulphur recovery and sour gas treating. She has served as sulphur technology manager for two of the world’s leading sulphur technology licensing firms and has been involved in the delivery of several world-class projects. In 2014, Angie initiated an owner’s engineering focused consulting business, UniverSUL Consulting, based in Abu Dhabi, which has since been relocated to the USA.

Angie has published numerous papers, is a member of several international conference committees, and previously served on the Board of Directors for ASRL (2013-2023).  Angie received her BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas in 1996 and MBA from Hult International Business School (Dubai, UAE) in 2018.  

In her free time, Angie enjoys distance running; she completed the Abbot Marathon World Majors (Berlin, Boston, Chicago London, New York, Tokyo) in 2021.   

Pamela d'Anterroches

Pamela works as BP‘s central subject matter expert for Sulphur Recovery and Gas Treatment. She holds a BS in Environmental Engineering and an MSc in Process Engineering from the Technical University of Berlin. After several years working as a Project Manager, she joined BP in 2010 and worked in various technical roles. In 2018 she took on the role as Principal Engineer Treatments, providing support to BP and BP joint venture refineries globally. Her experience includes operations support, unit troubleshooting, project design support, turnaround inspections and training. In 2023 she became a member of the CRU Technical Committee.

Francesca Ortolan

Francesca Ortolan is the Manager of the European Sulphuric Acid Association (ESA) at the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic). With a strong academic background in EU policies, Francesca brings over a decade of experience to her current role. Since 2017, she has been involved in the sulphuric acid business, coordinating ESA's activities on EU regulatory, scientific, and technical matters. Prior to joining Cefic, Francesca gained valuable experience working with other trade associations and consultancies in Brussels. Her academic and professional background has been crucial in shaping her strategic approach to EU policies and stakeholder engagement.

Robert Crane

Robert Crane is a mechanical engineer with 5 years of experience in engineering analysis, specializing in finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics. He has applied his skills in a diverse set of problems in the sulphuric acid industry including expansion joint design, nozzle load assessment, droplet carry-over risk assessment in sulfur furnaces, and flow distribution in heat exchangers and catalyst beds. During his time at NORAM engineering he has assisted in the detailed design of converters, ducting, sulfur furnaces, and radial flow heat exchangers. He has a Master’s degree from the University of Calgary in fluid dynamics.

Ayman Abd El Hafeiz

Ayman Abd El Hafeiz has 17 years' experience of chemical industries field (Fertilizers) Main Success in sulfuric acid process as a project and Plant manager. plant manager for 1500 TPD, plant manager for 640 TPD & Utilities and Project manager for reviving old sulfuric acid plant 620 TPD which was a success case study participated in Sulphur + Sulphuric acid 2020 conference. He has lead engineering team for re-design, fabrication and commissioning for combustion and thermal equipment’s. In 2018 he received his M.Sc from Suez canal university.

Hannes Storch

Before joining Outotec in 2002 as a process engineer in Sulfuric Acid Technologies, Dr. Storch studied at the Technical University of Clausthal and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). Dr. Storch holds a doctor degree in Chemical Engineering.  

In the course of his work for Metso Outotec, Dr. Storch held various positions, including several years in Chile. 

Today, he is on the management board of Metso Outotec's German subsidiary and heads the Metals and Chemical Processing business line.  

Dr. Storch is also a member of the board of the VDMA - AG Großanlagenbau (Large Plant Building Section).

Adriaan Roux

Adriaan Roux is a Subject Matter Expert in sulphur recovery and acid gas treating for Worley Comprimo sulphur technology licensing and consulting services, based in London, United Kingdom. He has over 15 years of experience in process design and technology supply to the oil and gas industry, covering all project phases including Proposals, Process Studies, Basic Design, FEED, Detailed Design and On-site support for commissioning and start-up of licensed units. 

Jochen Willersinn

Jochen studied chemistry at the Johannes-Gutenberg- University in Mainz, Germany with a focus on polymer- and organometallic chemistry, followed by a diploma in polymer chemistry at the Max-Planck-Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz, Germany. After finishing his PhD at the Max-Planck- Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Germany, he joined BASF in 2017 as Lab Leader in R&D. In 2022, Jochen joined BASF’s Process Catalyst Division to work as Technology Manager for Sulfuric Acid Catalysts for the EMEA region. Here, he supports clients to achieve their emission and production targets with BASF’s cutting-edge catalyst technologies for sulfuric acid production.

Harry Matthews

Harry Matthews is a Principal Consultant at Indicatura with over seven years of experience leading asset management and whole life value strategy projects, with application to a variety of sectors. He has successfully developed and implemented ISO 55000-compliant asset management plans, defined requirements for complex change programs, and enhanced production capability through rigorous analysis of asset reliability and maintainability. With strong expertise in project and risk management, stakeholder engagement, and benefits realization, Harry is a technically and commercially skilled consultant with a proven track record of success.

Mark Ferra

Mr. Ferra is a Process Performance Manager for REXA and has worked at REXA for eleven years. REXA makes high performance electro-hydraulic actuators used in critical applications requiring precise positioning and reliability. REXA is recognized as a leading customer-centric solutions provider enabling end-users to optimize process efficiency and enhance safety. In his role, Mark creates marketing messaging highlighting the application ROI and/or safety improvements using REXA actuators. Previously Mr. Ferra worked seven years for Freeport McMoRan as a Chief Engineer in the Marketing Technical Services group. Mr. Ferra has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Arizona State University and lives with his family in Phoenix, Arizona.

Craig Jorgenson

Craig Jorgenson is a member of TSI's senior staff, serving as director of transportation, regulatory affairs and operations. Mr Jorgenson joined TSI after a 25-year career with the US military. Jorgenson brings to TSI vast experience in the intermodal transportation sector, past affiliation with non-profit associations, and global expertise in his field. During his career, he has led various teams focused on strategic planning and project management in aspects of logistics and supply chain operations. Mr Jorgenson holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Indiana University and the National Defense University.

Alsail Al Jaberi

Alsail Al Jaberi is a Senior Process Engineer with six years of experience at ADNOC Sour Gas (ASG). She has worked on various projects, gaining extensive experience in troubleshooting, sustainability initiatives, process optimization, and cost-saving measures. Her technical skills and innovative approach have contributed to significant improvements in operational efficiency and sustainability.   Beyond her technical expertise, Alsail has demonstrated leadership as the Youth Committee Chairman in 2023 & 2024 and a member in ADNOC Youth Changemakers Council. Also has been ADNOC’s focal point and a Technical Committee Member for the Middle East Sulphur Conference for the last six years. Lastly Alsail has represented ADNOC by presenting at various local, regional, and international conferences.

Hanno Hintze

After his Ph.D. at the Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, Hanno Hintze started working at the R&D department of Aurubis AG, Hamburg in 1999. From 2001 - 2015 he was Production Manager and since 2012 director of the sulphuric acid department of Aurubis Hamburg, being responsible for the copper smelter offgas and wastewater treatment. After being director of the Hamburg primary smelter Projects (2015-2018) in 2018 he took over responsiblility for the large acid and wastewater projects at Aurubis Group Technology. In 2006 Dr.-Ing. Hintze started leading the technical working group on sulphur within the German VCI, and he is a member of the IPPC technical working groups of the non ferrous metals BREF and the waste gas common BREF taking care of SO2 emissions off sulphuric acid plants.

Torsten Weber

Aurora Fernández

Aurora Fernández is one of SENSIA's most experienced engineers and infrared imaging technology experts. She has played an integral part in the company's development and growth upon joining the company with her degree in mechanical engineering. Her deep understanding of physics has allowed SENSIA to develop top-notch infrared cameras for SO2 detection and many other industrial applications that boost plant safety and efficiency across numerous sectors.

Rolf Rockenmayer

Rolf studied Chemistry (Dipl. Chem.) in the University of Würzburg (Germany). After finishing his studies, he moved to Spain, looking for a career start in new surroundings. After a couple of years working in the sales department for a company from the steel sector, he started in Steuler Técnica as a Project Engineer. Year after year his responsibilities increased, taking over the management of the plant engineering department in 2011 . Since 2015 he had the opportunity to assume the management of the company, being since then the responsible for the Iberian market.

Jan Hermans

Deniz Keles

Deniz Keles is a motivational young professional who delivers keynote presentations that challenge audiences to pay attention and think over. Using real-world examples, he likes to illustrate each case with a great detail for the best understanding. As a dedicated Chemical Engineer, Deniz is interested in researching new technologies and investing his time in contributing to the industry.Deniz earned his Chemical Engineering degree from Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey and has been a member of Daily Thermetrics in Europe over 5 years, currently as the Technology Manager. He has taken part in various major projects around the globe which contributed to his strong background in refining processes.In addition, Deniz successfully helped the team to revamp their offerings for Sulphur industry and is currently working with various operators to enhance reliability with Sulphur Recovery Units.

Stuart Hinze

Engineering Manager for the Mining & Manufacturing division of Simplot which is focused on the production of phosphate fertilizers. Much of his time at Simplot is spent supporting the five sulfuric acid plants. Stuart previously worked at Chemetics as a Senior Process Engineer, Commissioning Manager, & Proposal Manager specializing in greenfield sulfuric acid plants.

Christof Hauer

Since studying mechanical engineering, Christof Hauer has worked in the field of turbomachinery for over 25 years. He has worked in various areas at Howden for many years and is responsible for sales of industrial steam turbines in certain areas.

Mukhriz Badaruddin

Brecht Berben

Brecht is a Business Manager Sulfur Recovery Catalysts at Euro Support. He holds a bachelor’s in chemistry at the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht, and a master’s degree in Science & Business Management from the Utrecht University. Right after graduation, Brecht joined Euro Support in October 2022 and has since been providing commercial and technical support for Claus and Tail Gas catalysts, focussing on the European and Indian markets.