Event
ChBE Seminar Series: Kevin Sutovich
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
11:00 a.m.
Room 2108 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Bldg.
Professor Sheryl Ehrman
sehrman@umd.edu
Development of New Fluid Catalytic Cracking Catalysts
Kevin Sutovich
Principal Scientist, Refining Technologies
W.R. Grace & Company
Oil refining is a highly specialized discipline, and the catalysts utilized in this process must be tailored to meet variations in crude oil and a refinerys product mix. Refining catalysts also have to be hydrothermally stable under the harsh conditions of a fluid cracking unit. The development of a new family of fluid cracking catalysts requires synthesis of new materials as well as testing. The scale up of both production and testing is necessary to ensure success during implementation in refineries.
About the Speaker
Kevin Sutovich is a Principal Scientist in Refining Technologies at W. R. Grace & Co. in Columbia, Maryland. Kevin has been at Grace for 15 years after completing a PhD in Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University focusing on developing solid state NMR analyses for zeolites and layered materials. He started as a supervisor in the Grace Analytical Research Group. Kevin moved into the Refining Technologies Research Group and subsequently to the Technology Transfer Group. Along the way he completed his MBA at Loyola College. Kevins role has him travelling to Grace manufacturing sites directing commercialization of new catalysts and leading the resolution of plant upsets. He has been individually nominated for numerous internal awards and was a member of the team to win the 2009 Frost and Sullivan Award for Innovation.
