Oakwood Consulting, Inc.

Consultants for Polyolefin Catalysts, Processes, and Marketing

Our Team

Dr. Gregory Arzoumanidis
Dr. Norman F. Brockmeier
Mr. Norman Stein
Mr. Robert W. Unterreiner

 

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Our Services

    Bench-scale continuous polyolefin pilot plant design (collaboration with Xytel Corporation for marketing and construction worldwide)

    New catalyst development, pilot plant design, and scale-up to production

    Process design and modernization, process simulation, and polymerization reactor modeling

    Market analysis and cost estimation

    Client-commissioned customized studies

In April 1995, I incorporated as Oakwood Consulting, Inc. (OCI) and teamed with several colleagues to offer our services to the petrochemical industry.  My colleagues and I constitute a unique team that has the appropriate skills and experience to perform technical consulting services and market analyses in polyolefins, in process, product, and catalyst related areas.  As a team, we have accumulated 151 man-years of experience in the petrochemical industry, most of it in PP with one of the largest PP producers.  As a team project, one of the leading PP high-activity supported Ziegler-Natta catalysts was developed and patented during this period and continues in use.  Those available, either as individuals or in combination, are described in the following biographical sketches.

 

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Our Biographies of Experts

   Dr. Gregory Arzoumanidis (PhD Chem, U. of Stuttgart, Germany, 1964; MIT postdoc 1964-66, MBA, U of Connecticut, 1980), has been a polyolefin catalyst chemist since 1973.  He has considerable experience with a major catalyst manufacturing company and has been doing PP catalyst research for a leading PP producer, Amoco Chemical.  Greg is the principal co-inventor of the commercial Amoco CD high activity catalyst for polypropylene, has 25 U.S. patents, and has published and presented many seminars in this field.  Recently, Greg has been consulting privately in polyolefins technology and presenting short courses in metallocene polyolefin catalysts.

    Mr. Norman Stein, a chemical engineer (M.S., U. of Wisconsin, 1950), has 40 years of R&D experience, serving during the last 23 years as Director of Polyolefins and Catalyst Research and then as Senior Consulting Engineer for Amoco Chemical.  In the latter position, his projects included the evaluation of selected polyolefin business opportunities.  He continues in private practice as a consultant to the petrochemical industry.

    Mr. Robert W. Unterreiner (M.E., Brooklyn Poly, 1948) has over 40 years’ experience with three major petrochemical companies in polymer product development, market development, and market research.  His work in these areas has focused on three aspects:  capital investment  for new plants, capital development on existing projects, and acquisitions.  Bob continues to do market analyses and business planning in his own practice as a polymer consultant.  He has also presented several papers at SPE and CMRA meetings in the U.S.

   Dr. Norman F. Brockmeier (PhD, MIT, 1966), is a chemical engineer and president of Oakwood Consulting, Inc., serving many petrochemical companies since its formation in 1995.  His special focus is polyolefin process design and economics, recently in the field of metallocene catalysis, with many publications in both areas.  A registered professional engineer, he was codesigner of the first Amoco gas-phase manufacturing process for homopolymer PP resin, and part of the design team for a new gas-phase ethylene-propylene copolymer plant in Texas.  He has served as a member of the team assembled to promote and license this new PP technology.  He has taught the capstone senior design course at The Ohio State University, and much earlier, taught in the Chemical Engineering Department for five years at the University of Texas--Austin.  Norm has over 30 years of industrial experience—this includes acting as an expert witness in federal court.  He also worked for seven years in process evaluation at Argonne National Lab, where he had a major responsibility in process simulation.  In 1999 he was elected a Fellow of the Amer. Inst. of Chemical Engineers.

With this team, we are able to provide advice, critique, process design, process simulation, polymerization reactor modeling, licensing evaluation, market analysis, and cost estimation in the petrochemical field, especially polyolefins and their catalysts.

 

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Recent Projects

    1.   Expert witness in a corporate vs. IRS litigation before the US Federal tax court 6/26/06

    2.   Expert testimony in a loss litigation between two parties in the polymer production industry 7/7/05 and also 8/7/03

    3.   75 Kg/hr Impact Polypropylene Continuous Bulk-Loop Pilot Plant – field completion 12/2004

    4.   Continuous 25 Kg/hr Horizon Gas-Phase Pilot Plant for Impact PP Copolymer 5/3/04

    5.   Material Balances for Continuous 3 Kg/hr Impact PP Copolymer Pilot Plant 4/7/04

    6.   Scoping Est. – Manufacturing Facility for Ziegler-Natta Supported TiCl4 Catalyst (for PP) 11/11/03

    7.   25 Kg/hr Impact Polypropylene Continuous Bulk-Loop Pilot Plant – field completion 12/2000

 

 

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Other Assignments and Projects

    1.   Catalyst Metering System Design”, for commercial PP plant, 2001.

    2.   Update on Single Site Catalysts for the Latest Polyethylene Technology”, new catalyst compositions and processes, 2001.

    3.   “Reactor Simulation Models for Propylene-Ethylene Polymerization”, for making homopolymer, and random and impact EP copolymers, 2001.

    4.   Scoping Economics & Process Comparisons for Two Leading LLDPEs”, metallocene catalysts, 2000.

    5.   “Assessment of Sumitomo Polypropylene Technology”, for process and full range of propylene-based products, 2000.

    6.   “MgCl2–Supported High-Activity Polyolefin Catalyst Manufacturing Process”, scoping estimate & equipment list, 1999.

    7.   “Assessment of Montell Polypropylene Process Technology”, for homopolymer, and for random and impact copolymers, 1998.

    8.   “Leading Polypropylene Processes and Products”, a critique and detailed comparison of four leading technologies for licensing, 1998.

    9.   Polyolefins from Single Site Metallocene Catalyst”, Processes, Catalyst, Polymer Products, Patents and Licensing, Super Memorandum for Teltech and a major oil company.

    10. "Ziegler-Natta Catalysts for Polypropylene”, Catalysts, Products, and Process Economics and Future Volumes, Memorandum for a major oil company.

    11. "EPDM Rubber from Metallocene Catalyst”, Memorandum for a major rubber company.

    12. "Impact Polypropylene Copolymer”, Catalysts, Processes and Polymer Properties, Memorandum for a Marketing Consulting Group.

    13. "Polystyrene, Bulk Continuous Process for Impact and Crystal Grades”, Consulting for a major petrochemical company.

    14. "High Activity Supported Catalyst Manufacturing Process (for Polyethylene)”, Design and Economics Scoping Study for a major company.

    15. "Polyolefin Ziegler-Natta Catalysts -- Components, Prices, Recipes, and Productivities”, Memorandum for a Marketing Consulting Group.

    16.  Evaluated the leading eight Polypropylene Licensor’s brochures; submitted evaluation to a foreign polymer processing company contemplating construction of a PP plant.  A memorandum evaluating licensor’s process, product, economics, and licensing fees.  Rated licensors ordinally, recommended two best choices.

    17. "Polyolefin Comonomers--World Markets 1995 - 2005”, a detailed report projecting the effects of factors such as business alliances, patents, catalysts, processes, and products on the polyolefins market opportunities for alpha-olefins.

    18. “Facilities Design for the Manufacture of Supported High Activity Ziegler-Natta Catalysts for Polyolefins”, assistance in the design of facilities for a major chemical company.

    19. "Polyolefin Resins as a Key Component of Industrial Roofing”, commissioned study for a vendor client.

    20. "Polypropylene Homopolymer and Random and Impact EP Copolymer Reactor Simulation Models”, Computer models for either Aspen PlusR or stand-alone PC platforms.

 

Services         Biographies         Projects         Assignments         Contact Us

 


Oakwood Consulting

255 East Liberty Drive, Unit 208

Wheaton, IL 60187

Phone  630.740.0095   



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