Former Employees/Directors, Past Associates

the people who worked with or for us

Jon Buzzard

Team - Former Employees/Directors, Past Associates

Last Updated on Friday, 07 October 2011 18:04

Jonathon Buzzard
MSc. (Chem Eng), MSc. (Cantab).SEP, (Stanford Business School), Fellow of the South African Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Jon was a founding member of DalinYebo Investments CC, was a founding director of International Furan Technology (Pty) Ltd ("IFT") and retired in March 2006. As IFT's Technical Director he was responsible for all aspects of the development of the SupraYield technology from the pilot plant testing to the scaled-up process designs.

Specialties: Furfural, furfuryl alcohol and xylose production technology·Sugar by-product technology · Effluent treatment· Food technology · Nematicides and agrochemicals · The optimisation of underperfoming plants · The financial evaluation of projects, processes and plants · The technical investigation and auditing of plants and projects. · He has published widely in technical journals and developed numerous patents.

Some major projects: The design, installation, commissioning and ongoing technical control of the Beechnut bottled baby food and Heinz Ketchup plants - Isando (1973) · The Food Corporation coffee spray drying and agglomeration plants - Johannesburg (1975) · The long term expansion of the Illovo Sugar furfural complex. This included: · The installation of a bagasse classification plant ·Major furfural plant expansions · The development and installation of two furfuryl alcohol plants · The development and installation of a diketone recovery plant.

2001 - 2006: Member of DalinYebo CC, Director of International Furan Technology (Pty) Ltd

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Brad Wills

Team - Former Employees/Directors, Past Associates

Last Updated on Sunday, 11 September 2011 20:35

Bradford Wills: General Manager of International Furan Technology (Pty) Ltd
BSc Eng (Chem),
Brad is also a graduate from University of Natal (2003).· He was awarded a bursary for study from the South African Breweries who employed him after finishing his studies.· At SAB he initially completed a management traineeship which enabled him to advance to the position of Manufacturing Development Specialist.· In this role he was exposed to World Class Manufacturing techniques as found in Japanese manufacturing companies.· During his time he was accredited as a Black Belt in Six-Sigma methodology.· In his work he was responsible for all the continuous improvement initiatives in his department. Because of this experience, he brings to the team not only his core technical skills in engineering but also an ability to maximize the performance of work teams. ·Brad left the team at the end of 2011 to pursue a career in consulting.

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Dr. Karl Joachim Zeitsch

Team - Former Employees/Directors, Past Associates

Last Updated on Friday, 07 October 2011 17:40

Karl Zeitsch - Mentor
BSc. Eng (Chem), Doctorate in Technical Chemistry

Remembering Dr. Karl Joachim Zeitsch (3 Jun 1928 - 12 Sep 2001) - Obituary
Dr. Karl Zeitsch graduated from the University of Aix-la-Chapelle with a degree of Diplomingenieur in chemical engineering. He also held a doctorate (summe cum laude) in technical chemistry from the University of Karlsruhe. Karl worked for the Union Carbide Corporation in New York, USA, as a group head for the development of advanced rocket technology. Ten years later he worked as director of the laboratories for Alfa-Laval in Hamburg, Germany. He was then appointed director of chemical engineering of Krupp Industrietechnik in Grevenbreich, Germany (9 years). After spending nine years in Durban, working for Illovo Sugar Limited as chemical and technical consultant, he returned to Germany where he was pursuing his interests as author and inventor of novel design procedures (chemical, electrical, thermal and mechanical). Until his death, Karl was the mentor of the current team behind the SupraYield technology development. Karl was not only an accomplished engineer, but also excelled in writing poetry. He was a tennis enthusiast and died on the tennis court in the arms of his 'Lebensgefährtin'.
Specialities: Over 25 years experience in furfural technology ·World leader on furfural chemistry and technology · Specialities · Author of technical papers · Inventor · Holder of many patents ·

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Wolf Bernhardt

Team - Former Employees/Directors, Past Associates

Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 January 2011 11:54

Dr Wolf Bernhardt:·CHIMERA: Inventor and Project Manager
Dr Wolf Bernhardt is a registered professional engineer. He has 10 years' experience in high school education, 7 years in tertiary technical education as well as 13 years in industrial research and research management (sugar industry). He holds the following tertiary qualifications, most of them from the University of Natal (Durban): BSc, Higher Diploma in Education, Bachelor of Education, NHD Chemical Engineering , MSc Eng and PhD Eng. He is also operating as a management consultant.·

He was a Council member of the SA Institution of Chemical Engineers where his speciality portfolio was in education and training. He is a member of the SA Sugar Technologists' Association and a member of the Engineering Council of SA accreditation team for chemical engineering departments of Universities of Technology in South Africa.

Dr Bernhardt has delivered a number of papers on technical and education subjects at national and international conferences. ·He has published numerous articles in the press on effective management topics.

2008 - 2010: He is the inventor of a Cane Trash Burner and directed the DalinYebo team responsible for its commercialisation.

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Dave Arnold

Team - Former Employees/Directors, Past Associates

Last Updated on Tuesday, 11 January 2011 11:53

Prof. David Arnold
Pr.Eng., C Eng, Ph.D, B.Sc.(hons), Dip. Bus. Man. FSAIChE, FIChemE
Dave lead process development in the DalinYebo Group and until December 2009. He was Chief Operating Officer of DalinYebo Innovation. His responsibilities include technical, financial and facilities management, reporting of results and liaison with cooperating parties. Dave was an alternate director on the board of the South African Sugar Milling Research Institute, co-chair of the Production and Use of Biofuels Team of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Technical Team on the African 10 Year Framework Programme on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). He was also Head-of-School of the School of Chemical Engineering and is a Honorary Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and retained an active teaching role until December 2010.

2002 - 2007: Associate of DalinYebo subsidiary International Furan Technology and (on behalf of the University of kwaZulu-Natal) responsible for the SupraYield technology development.
Publications:
- September 2003: "A Novel and Patented Process For Furfural Production", ARNOLD D R, BUZZARD JL, Proceedings of the South African Chemical Engineering Congress (3 - 5 September 2003, Sun City, South Africa), ISBN Number: 0-958-46095-7.
- SAIChE GOLD MEDAL (Version 4 100506N): Background Information supporting the Nomination of the "SupraYield® Process For Furfural Production".
- December 2005: Indian Institute of Technology (ITT)Invitation to present "The Novel SupraYield® Process for Efficient Production Of Furfural From Renewable Resources"
- P Steiner, D Arnold, M Feldner, presented at the Fossil Fuel Foundation's (www.fossilfuel.co.za) "Renewables and Bioenergy Conference".

2008 - 2009: COO of DalinYebo Innovation and a member of the team responsible for the commercialisation of the Cane Trash Burner.
Publications:
- April 2008: Complete Conversion of Carbon to Commercial Chemicals
- February 2009: Bioprocessing Centre Of Competence Presentation (also see DIN - DalinYebo Innovation Nucleus)