SAFE Syngas Associates FE LLC

PERSONAL HISTORY

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Education

March 1976

- Master degree, Chemical Engineering - Nagoya University, Japan

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Business Career

(Syngas Associates FE ("SAFE"))

June 2017 - Present

- Consultancy Representative

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(Toyo Engineering Corporation ("TOYO"))

Jan 2011 - Jan 2017

- Licensing Principal – Methanol & Syngas (Special Task Force)

Apr. 2009 - Dec. 2010  

-  Senior Licensing Executive, Technology Business Center

June 2008 - March 2009

- General Manager, Licensing and IP Management Dept.

June 2003 - May 2008

- General Manager, Licensing and Patents Dept.

June 1998 - May 2003

- General Manager, License Dept.

Dec 1989 - May 1998

- Senior Licensing Manager, Licensing and Patents Div.

April 1984 - Nov 1989

- Technical Manager, Europe Branch, London

April 1982 - March 1984

- Senior R&D Engineer, Process Technology Development Dept.

April 1976 - March 1982

- Process Engineer for Ammonia, Methanol, Hydrogen and CO2 Removal Processes, etc.

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(Public Organization)

Jan 2001 – Dec 2010

- TOYO reprsentative to ENERGY FRONTIERS INTERNATIONAL, Wasington D.C.

June 1998 - Dec 2010

- A Member of LICENSING EXECUTIVES SOCIETY INTERNATIONAL and LICENSING EXECCTIVES SOCIETY JAPAN

April 1982 - March 1990

- A member of THE JAPAN SOCIETY OF FLUID MECHANICS

April 1974 - March 1984

- A Member of THE SOCIETY OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS, JAPAN

 

Professional Background

Since employment by TOYO in 1976, Kunio Hirotani has held managing and leading positions for intellectual properties in addition to technology sales, R&D and process engineering  especially in the field of ammonia/methanol/hydrogen and CO2 removal and other syngas related technologies. In TOYO Europe Branch in London he was responsible for business in European countries including ex-USSR and other past eastern brock countries as well as for acquisition of third parties' technology licenses from west European companies or organizations including Shell, BP, ICI, BASF, IFP and so on in order to use such technologies for TOYO's plant engineering and construction business.

 

In addition to usual process design work for ammonia, methanol and hydrogen plants etc., his assignment in 1976 to a task force team to develop so-called “2720 MTPD Jumbo Ammonia” plant, which size was just a double in capacity of the largest ammonia plant, 1360 MTPD, in the world at that time, had initiated his professional background with respect to the “Syngas” related technologies and led to his participation in another task team for development of a single vessel 5000 MTPD TOYO MRF-Z® Reactor for “JumboMeOH®” plant. He has several patents and patent applications worldwide relating to syngas/ammonia/methanol today. His operating experience of the ammonia plants using Shell Heavy Oil Gasification Process in India in 1977-79 enforced his knowledge and know-how on oxygen-related syngas generation process and equipment and later influenced to develop certain criteria to be able to assess carbon formation and/or metal dusting potential from CO-rich Syngas.

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