Chemical Engineering Process Engineer

Keli Yang

********@***.***

281-***-**** (M)

Houston, Texas

OBJECTIVE

A technical position in chemical, petrochemical, refining, biochemical or pharmaceutical industry.

QUALIFICATIONS

Experience in chemical production, process development/improvement, process design;

Extensive knowledge of chemical engineering and chemistry;

Leading chemical plant unit process development, design (PFD, P&IDs, equipment/instrument sizing/specification and plot plan), HAZOP and startup;

Experience with technology support for plant production, process trouble-shooting and improvement;

Hands-on lab and pilot plant process studies, process scale-up and scale-down;

Self-motivated, results-oriented, leadership and team-player, with capability in independent problem solving and multitasking.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Lead Process Technology Engineer, Mitsubishi Chemical. La Porte, TX 2016- 2023

Process technology leadership role in this ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer manufacturing plant.

Troubleshoot and rectify process issues. Cope with various operational, technical, process safety and environmental challenges as they arise. Identify process improvement opportunities and propose sustainable solutions. Develop process designs and define capital project scopes. Supervise contract process engineering firms’ work, Interact with equipment OEM and vendors, and support audits. Interact with all disciplines inside the organization. Routine work includes design changes, MOCs, incident investigations, PHAs and SOPs.

Familiar with polymerization, alcoholysis, reactors, distillation, pressure relief devices, PSM, flare/thermal oxidizer, cooling water, water wastewater, environmental and safety compliance.

oAnalyze wastewater system and implement cost-effective solutions to keep up wastewater discharge capacity and flush the wastewater pipeline, and to avoid excursions of pH, TOC and LEL. Cooperated with GCA.

Senior Process Engineer, Dixie Chemical. Pasadena, TX 2013- 2016

Support multiple chemical production processes, environmental and process safety in this batch specialty chemical manufacturing and toll processing plant. Identify, design, and implement capital projects. Evaluate new/potential tolling processes. Processes include hydrogenation, esterification, Diels-Alder, epoxidation, maleic anhydride reactions, isomerization, multi-step synthesis, batch distillation (including thin-film evaporation), wastewater and air emissions.

oLead and conduct lab studies and pilot production trials of a new olefin isomerization catalyst. Write FEL/FEED request for proposal. Evaluate bids and write appropriation requests. Supervise engineering firm for FEL/FEED. Develop process descriptions, design basis and instrumentation & control philosophies. Incorporate plant operations, safety and maintenance inputs in process design. Review deliverables including mass & energy balance, PFDs, P&IDs, equipment data sheets, plot plan, elevation drawings and fluidized bed reactor design calculations. Lead project meetings (design reviews, PHA, project communications). Control project cost and schedule. Select detailed design firm and construction contractor. Responsible for the company's first continuous catalytic fluidized bed process from concept to commercialization (60% expected ROI).

oLead wastewater storage tank bypass and clean-up project, and wastewater improvement projects. Devised strategies to maintain wastewater discharge to GCA.

oUpgraded structured packing and established kinetic model to improve efficiency and rates of dibasic esters reactive distillation production unit.

oProposed product-yielding, calorimetric-analyzing scrubber to eliminate butadiene overcharge and emission (Title V deviation) and improve production rate.

oResponsible for process technical support of 10 products/processes. Daily work includes MOCs, process startups, updating operating procedures, process manuals and P&IDs, annual certifications, PHAs, PSM, troubleshooting upset conditions, root cause analysis, operator training. Interact with environmental, R&D, maintenance, operations, clients and vendors.

Process Technology Engineer, MEMC (SunEdison). Pasadena, TX 2008- 2013

Chemical process engineering support of daily operations and capital projects, process development and improvement in this silane and polysilicon manufacturing plant.

Supported capacity expansion and new manufacturing unit start-ups. Provided shift coverage (2008).

Responsible for new wastewater treatment plant. Achieved zero discharge violations. Supervised and trained operators (2008 -2011).

oStarted up granular activated carbon bed treatment unit. Added backflush unit. Established operation and analytical procedures.

oDesigned and operated wastewater pH neutralization process, kept pH within discharge limits reliably at any rate, any pH and any cause (Savings $800K per year).

oDeveloped calcium chloride addition mechanism on fluoride wastewater treatment unit, realized 40% or $280K/yr sustainable material savings.

oIdentified bottleneck of wastewater pre-treatment process, designed total suspended solids removal process. Set up temporary process using rental equipments (Lamella clarifier, frac tanks, et ct.) and alternative additives in 12 days in time for 2010 turn-around, treated all turn-around wastewater and avoided haul-off expense of $750K.

oInvented methods to treat dimethoxyethane contaminated wastewater and to keep TOC low, implemented technology without capital, avoided wastewater discharge violations.

Improved existing scrubbers’ online rate to 100% by employing new process chemistry. Reduced material and operating cost, freed up equipments. Achieved 96+% scrubbing efficiencies above compliance requirement.

Designed silane packaging expansion project, including de-bottlenecking existing systems and adding new compressor, vaporizer, meters and loading stations.

Invented absorbent filter to remove fluoride impurities from ultra-pure silane. Achieved 98% removal efficiency and met all product quality specs at lab scale. Designed production scale unit.

Conducted feasibility study and front-end design of silicon tetrafluoride plant. Proposed new and improved unit operations and carried out experiments to evaluate new process chemistry.

Converted sodium aluminum fluoride waste to sodium aluminate and calcium fluoride in pilot scale.

Proposed process technology to turn HCl waste gas scrubber from caustic consumer and waste generator to usable hydrochloric acid/calcium chloride producer.

Production Engineer, Sterling Chemicals, Inc. (Eastman) Texas City, TX 2006 – 2008

Supported day-to-day operations of a 5 MM Lb/day ethylbenzene/styrene monomer plant. Duties included providing process engineering assistance to manufacturing, troubleshooting upset situations, supporting capital projects, incident investigations, PHAs, PSM, developing operating procedures, issuing MOCs, reducing raw material and energy usages.

Familiar with Friedel-Crafts alkylation reactions, Lewis acid catalysis, flashing, wash/phase separation, distillation, storage, DCS, data historian and advance process control.

Defined process chemistry, chose new raw materials and designed new process on hydrogen chloride/aluminum chloride catalyst replacement project.

Represented plant for environmental monitoring, emission calculations and documentation (SSMP, MSS, NESHAPS, SARA, HON). Reduced probability of benzene Superfunds by changing operation procedures.

Process Technologist, Kaneka Nutrients, L.P. Pasadena, TX 2005 – 2006

Hired for a key technical position for the new US plant being built. Trained on Kaneka CoQ10 process technology in Japan for 10 weeks.

Established new process technology lab. Ran entire manufacturing process and all analyticals at lab-scale.

Developed the first CoQ10 phase diagram to guide crystallization, product stability and impurity profiles.

Process Engineer, DSM Nutritional Products (formerly: Amoco Research Center, BP Research Center, Monsanto Animal Nutrition) 150 W. Warrenville Rd. Naperville, IL 2000 – 2005

Characterized, developed, stabilized, and optimized a multiple step, complex process for making 25-hydroxyvitamin D3.

Worked hands-on in lab, pilot plant and production plants. Provided technical support to in-house pilot-scale production and toll processing plants in remote locations.

Familiar with fermentation product purification techniques (including extraction, crystallization and chromatography), chemical reactions (including Diels-Alder addition, epoxidation, hydroxylation, soponification, trans-esterification, lithium aluminum hydride reductions and photochemical conversions), solvents, process scale-up and scale-down, equipments from lab scale flasks to plant scale 3000- gallon reactors, lab, pilot plant and plant operations, and HPLC and GC analysis. Utilized knowledge of reaction engineering, unit operations, analytical and organic chemistry, and experimental design.

Studied solubility characteristics of for batch crystallization, implemented process change, improved product purity from 80% to 95% and reduced processing time by 50%.

Studied mechanisms of a 3-phase reaction, identified controlling process parameters, proposed, experimented and implemented a method to optimize reaction yield, improved reaction yield from 75% to over 90%.

Received outstanding reviews and 150% bonuses for three consecutive years.

Project Engineer, Bechtel Corp. Houston, TX 1997 – 1999

Developed P&IDs. Performed hydraulic calculations for line sizing, control valve and instrument sizing, pump sizing. Prepared line designation tables, equipment lists and equipment datasheets. Analyzed relieving scenarios and designed PSV ancillaries. Reviewed vendor documents and placed orders.

Assisted project manager. Interacted with other engineering and administrative disciplines and coordinated overall project work. Met clients for P&ID reviews, HAZOP, MOC and other technical matters. Walked down plants for checks and measures.

Projects included the Phillips Petroleum Alliance Revamps (Sweeny/Old Ocean, TX), Merey Sweeny Delayed Coker, and HOVENSA Delayed Coker.

Chemical Engineer, Burzynski Research Institute, Inc. Stafford, TX 1992 – 1997

Supported batch API production operations, worked on process validation and process improvement, and implemented GMP in this pharmaceutical drug manufacturing and cancer research facility for a phase two clinical trial.

Experienced with chemical synthesis reaction and product purification techniques including evaporation, distillation, solvent extraction, crystallization, filtration and lyophilization.

Established specifications and analytical methods for raw materials, in-process materials, products and impurities. Familiar with HPLC, GC, FTIR and UV-vis.

EDUCATION

University of Houston: Master of Chemical Engineering, M.S. in Chemistry

Tianjin University: M.S. in Applied Chemistry, B.S. in Chemical Engineering

CITIZENSHIP

U.S.A.

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