RESEARCH & PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

 

Director of Technology Development, Electric Applications Incorporated, 2013 – present

• Directs and manages company battery laboratory

• Directs and manages technology development of the company

• Response requests for proposals and other business opportunities

Principle Investigator/Energy Storage, ECOtality North America, 2011 – 2013

• Develops strategies and tactics for development of business for the Energy Storage practice

• Manages response to requests for proposals and other business opportunities for the Energy Storage practice

• Manages operations and directs testing conducted by the Energy Storage laboratory

Chief Scientist, Arizona Public Service (APS), 2006 – 2011

• Developed Energy Storage and distribution strategies by implementing and conducting hydrogasification that converts hydrogen into methane using coal

• Developed biofuel synthesis process – biodiesel and military fuels – using algae oil

• Evaluated CO2 capture using Algae as means for power plant emissions reduction

• Assistant Principal Investigator and Principal Investigator of the following projects:

• $88M U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)/National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Project: Integrate Energy Strategy (2009)

• $10M DOE/NETL Project: Hydrogasification Process for Co-Production of Substitute Natural Gas (SNG) and Electric with Zero-CO2 emission; Power Plant Emission to BioFuel through Algae

Senior Principle Scientist, Millennium Cell, Eatontown, NJ, 2004 – 2006

• Hydrogen production and storage R&D using chemical hydrides for fuel cell application

• Principal Investigator for the National Science Foundation-Small Business Innovation Research (NSF-SBIR) awarded fund

• Initiated and lead thermal initiated hydrogen production project for portable and electronic size hydrogen battery development

• Designed and set up experiments study chemical hydrides, especially boron, chemistry.

Research Scientist, Akzo Nobel Chemicals, Dobbs Ferry, NY, 2003 – 2004

• Standardized high throughput and combinatorial bimetallic (supported) heterogeneous catalyst synthesis protocol

• Developed new catalyst formulation for hyper branch fatty-amine synthesis; Developed reaction mechanisms for branch fatty-amine synthesis

Research Associate, NCSU, Raleigh, NC, 2001 – 2002

• Preferential oxidation of CO in H2–containing gases for fuel cell application (PROX)

• Evaluated metal foam performance as catalyst support, developed new catalyst formulation

• Studied reaction mechanisms and reaction kinetics

• Initiated the project from designing experiments and developing process

Research Assistant, NCSU, Raleigh, NC, 1997 – 2001

• Higher alcohol synthesis from syngas (CO + H2)

• Evaluated catalyst performance for higher alcohol synthesis in a high T and high P slurry liquid system; developed kinetics for higher alcohol synthesis; Modified catalyst for better performance

• Developed and standardized liquid mix separation, purification and identification protocols

• Performed catalyst preparation and characterizations by various methodologies

PUBLICATIONS

• Hobbs, R., Sun, X, “Integrated Wind, Sun, Fossil, Biomass and Nuclear for Energy Sustainability”, Proceedings of the 3rd Advanced Energy Systems Division (ASME) International Conference on Energy Sustainability, July 19th – 23rd, 2009, San Francisco, CA

• Sun, X., Hobbs, R., Berzin, I., ‘Power Plant Flue Gas Emissions to Bio Fuel’, Conference Proceedings of 1st ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability, June, (2007), Long Beach, CA

• Zhang, Q., Wu, Y., Sun, X., and Ortega, J., ‘Kinetics of Catalytic Hydrolysis of Stabilized Sodium Solutions’, I&E Chemistry Research, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 46, (2007), 1120-1124.

• Chin, P., Sun, X., Roberts, G.W., and Spivey, J.J., ‘Preferential Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide with Iron-promoted Platinum Catalysts Supported on Metal Foams’, Applied Catalysis A: General, published, 302 (1), (2006), 22-31

• Zhang, Z., Sun, X., ‘Process for Forming Branched Composition Catalytically by Carbon-Hydrogen Bond Activation in a Saturated Moiety’, patent filed by Akzo Nobel Inc. WO 2005 / 121063 (2005)

• Roberts, G.W., Chin, P., Sun, X., and Spivey, J.J., ‘Preferential Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide with Pt/Fe Monolithic Catalysts: Interactions between External Transport and the Reverse Water-Gas-Shift Reaction’, Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 46 (3) (2003) 601-611

• Sun, X., Roberts, G.W., ‘Synthesis of Higher Alcohols in a Slurry Reactor with Cesium Promoted Zinc Chromite Catalyst in Decahydronaphthalene’, Applied Catalysis A: General 247 (2003) 133-142

PATENTS

 

• Hobbs, R., Karner, D., Sun, X., J. Boyle, F. Noguchi, “Hydrogasification reactor and method of operating same”, US8529645 B2, US20090090054, WO2009046252A2, WO2009046252A3.

• Zhang Z, Sun X., “Process for forming branched composition catalytically by carbon-hydrogen bond activation in a saturated moiety”, US7227040 B2, WO 2005 121063, CN1964937A, DE602005025474D1, EP1753710B1, US20050272941.

• Kelly; M. T.; McNamara; K. W; Sun X.; MacLachan; A., “Compositions and methods for hydrogen generation”, US 20080172932 A1.

• Kelly, M., Mcnamara, K. and Sun, X., ‘Compositions and Methods Systems for Hydrogen Generation”, US 20070068071 A1, WO2007035845A2, WO2007035845A3.