Fred Closmann
Fred Closmann, P.E. currently works as a Research Associate in the Chemical Engineering Department at The University of Texas (UT). Fred works with Dr. Gary Rochelle in the area of CO2 capture with alkanolamine solvents, managing laboratory and pilot work important to de-risking the overall process. His responsibilities include developing work plans, proposals, and budgets for the study of CO2 capture with alkanolamine solvents. He currently manages work associated with oxidation of piperazine and other second-generation amine solvents. That work focuses on understanding amine degradation mechanisms and how to mitigate oxidation due to dissolved/entrained oxygen, NO2, and dissolved metal ions. He is responsible for reviewing and summarizing the results of laboratory and pilot campaign data from both the Separations Research Program (SRP) (Austin) and the National Carbon Capture Center (NCCC) (Alabama) into quarterly reports for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Texas Carbon Management Program (TxCMP) industrial research sponsors.
After receiving his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at UT in 2011, Fred joined Phillips 66 in the CO2 Capture and Avoidance group. Fred was promoted to Director of that research group and guided his team to the development of new CO2 capture technologies. He then became Director of Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC) research followed by Director of Cracking Research. The latter group conducted research related to refinery upgrading units; refiners rely on a number of hydrocarbon cracking steps in their facilities, with two of the key steps being catalytic cracking of mid-range hydrocarbons in the FCC unit, and thermal cracking of high boiling range hydrocarbons in the coking process. Fred was responsible for the timely communication of actionable research to refineries and business units at Phillips 66 so those results could be translated into more profitable operations.
