Practical Advances in Petroleum Processing

About the editors:

Paul R Robinson, Ph.D., is a specialist in petroleum processing, with expertise in catalysis, hydroprocessing technology, and process automation. He earned Bachelor of Science with Honors and Master of Arts degrees in Chemistry from the University of Missouri, Columbia, before going on to earn a PhD in Chemistry from the University of California, San Diego.

Paul is an active member of the American Chemical Society, serving on the Program Committee for the Division of Petroleum Chemistry. He is also a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

With a strong background in inorganic and physical chemistry, Paul started his career as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. He then worked for three years at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where he conducted research on alternative fuels.

While working for Unocal's Science and Technology Division (1981-95), Paul received two awards for Creativity and a Patent Achievement Award. His accomplishments included the development of commercial catalysts for removing sulfur and nitrogen from petroleum fractions. In 1994-95, he was part of the team that reformulated Unocal gasoline to meet the strict requirements of the California Air Resources Board. He also worked in the Process Technology and Licensing group, where he provided first-level technical service for more than two dozen refineries in Europe, Japan, North America and Southeast Asia.

As Senior Advisor and Best Practice Leader with Aspen Technology, Inc. (1995-2001), Paul participated in numerous model-predictive control projects and led the development of a rigorous model for hydrocracking and hydrotreating units. That model is now being used for the closed-loop optimization of three commercial hydrocrackers.

As Process Engineering Manager for Air Liquide's Pro-En Services initiative, Paul led severalhydrogen network optimization studies for oil refineries in North America and Europe. All of these studies led to projects that generated multi-million-dollar benefits. In 2002, he was promoted to Air Liquide Group Expert.

In 2003, Paul founded PQ Optimization Services, Inc., to provide model-based consulting services to the refining industry.

During his career, Paul's work has led to 11 US patents and more than 50 technical papers on catalysis, process development, and process optimization.

Chang Samuel Hsu, PhD, is a Principal Investigator for ExxonMobil Research & Engineering Company in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Chemistry and Environmental Science for the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

For the American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS), Dr. Hsu is a Board Member-at-Large for Measurements and Standards and Chairman of the Hydrocarbon and Chemical Processes Interest Group. He is also an active member of the International Activities Committee of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Dr. Hsu's expertise in mass spectrometry, analytical chemistry, petroleum chemistry, and geochemistry contribute to his value a problem solver and strategic planner. He is the author of three books - Analytical Advances for Hydrocarbon Research (2003), Current Practice in GC/MS (2001), and Chemistry of Diesel Fuels (2000). He also has written several book chapters and more than a hundred technical papers while chairing symposia and presenting lectures at symposia for Pittcon, the ACS, and other organizations.

Dr. Hsu is a member of the Phi Tau Phi Scholastic Honor Society. His other honors include the 2001 ACS New Jersey Regional Award for Achievements in Mass Spectrometry; the 1999 Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS) Distinguished Service Award; the 1999 Chinese American Chemical Society (CACS) Tristate Chapter Award, the 1997Asian American Heritage Council Award; and a 1997 Exxon Golden Tiger Award. He is a member of Who's Who in Science and Engineering and Men of Achievement.