Advanced integral vanadium-trapping technology for FCC catalysts

Shankha Kundu is Principal Scientist for W. R. Grace & Co.’s refining technologies R&D group, located in Maryland, U.S. Dr. Kundu a PhD in Industrial chemistry from the University of Bochum and has a postdoctoral research experience at Brookhaven National Lab in the U.S. Dr. Kundu joined Grace in 2013 and has since led several new FCC catalyst product developments. Additionally, she has been a valuable technical partner to the marketing and sales teams to introduce new products and to support the catalyst selection process for customers globally to meet their market needs. She is a co-author on several papers and patents related to catalysis and has presented at various catalysis conferences globally.

Bani H. Cipriano is the FCC Segment Marketing Manager, Light Olefins, at W.R. Grace & Co. Dr. Cipriano manages the portfolio of max propylene catalysts and ZSM-5 additives for Grace. As the refining industry shifts its focus from fuels to petrochemical production, Dr. Cipriano’s priority is to commercialize technologies that will enable customers to maximize yields of petrochemical feedstocks from the FCC. He earned his BS degree and PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Luis Bougrat is a Technical Sales Manager for W. R. Grace & Co., covering FCC accounts in the Americas. Since joining Grace in 2016, he has been responsible for account management and technical services responsibilities across Canada, the U.S. and Latin America. Prior to joining Grace, Bougrat worked with UOP Honeywell for more than 8 yr in various roles and responsibilities around the world, including R&D, field operating services, service account management and technical services.

Drey Holder is a Senior Technical Service Manager and has been providing FCC technical support and training to refiners across North America for W. R. Grace & Co. for five years. Prior to working with Grace, he spent 12 yr at a large U.S. Gulf Coast refinery working in multiple roles that included Process Engineer, Operations Supervisor, Logistics Planner, Economics Analyst, Economics Supervisor and FCC Engineering Supervisor. He earned a degree in chemical engineering from Louisiana Tech University and has 20 yr of refining and chemical industry experience.

Clint Cooper is a Principal Technologist for Grace’s FCC business. In addition to serving on the Global Customer Technology team, Cooper utilizes his experience in FCC kinetic modeling to support broader technical service for Grace customers. He joined Grace in 2019 with the acquisition of Rive Technology, where he had worked for 5 yr as a Technical Services Manager to commercialize the novel FCC zeolite technology. Cooper began his career as an FCC Design Specialist for Stone & Webster and Lummus Technology. He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.