Andres Granados Focil
Northborough,MA
Summary
- CHEMICAL PROCESS & REACTION ENGINEER with PhD and postdoctoral research experience and 10+ years of expertise in reaction engineering, heterogeneous catalysis, reactor systems, and sustainable chemical technologies. Expertise includes designing, operating, optimizing, and scaling high-temperature/high-pressure batch and continuous reactors from laboratory to pilot scale. Strong background in experimental design, mass balances, chemical analysis, and data-driven optimization, specializing in renewable fuels, Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), biomass conversion, and plastics circularity. Proven ability to translate research into scalable process concepts, with a track record of developing scalable processes for PET recycling and solvent recovery. Proficient in equipment commissioning, analytical method development, process safety, SOPs, technical leadership, and multidisciplinary collaboration.
Overview
10
10
years of professional experience
Work History
Senior Pilot Plant Engineer
Macrocycle Technologies
Cambridge, MA
07.2024 - 12.2025
- Led reactor-based process development, pilot operations, purification, and scale-up for PET recycling.
- Scaled PET/polyester reactions from gram-scale experiments to kilogram-scale and pilot-plant operation.
- Designed and optimized reactor and purification conditions, achieving >99% impurity removal and ~99% solvent recovery from challenging feedstocks.
- Established mass balances to track reactor yield, impurity removal, solvent recovery, and product quality, ensuring data-driven decision making.
- Designed pilot experiments to evaluate reaction conditions, feedstocks, impurities, stability, and product performance, enhancing process understanding.
- Assembled, commissioned, operated, and optimized a 50-L high-temperature reactor system.
- Troubleshot reactor and pilot-process failures by analysing process data and analytical results, applying root-cause analysis to implement corrective actions.
- Developed analytical methods supporting pilot-process control, characterization, solvent reuse, and product-quality decisions.
- Operated twin-screw extrusion equipment to process recycled polymers into specification-grade pellets.
- Collaborated cross-functionally to translate laboratory chemistry into pilot-scale processes and commercialization strategies.
- Authored SOPs, operating procedures, and technical documentation supporting safe, reproducible pilot operations.
- Mentored interns and co-op students in reactor operation, experimental execution, analytical methods, and safety.
Postdoctoral Associate
MIT
Cambridge, MA
10.2021 - 07.2023
- Conducted postdoctoral research in reaction engineering, catalysis, reactor systems, and sustainable chemical process development.
- Developed hydrogenation and hydrodeoxygenation processes converting biomass-derived feedstocks into SAF blendstocks and value-added chemicals.
- Developed catalytic upgrading strategies to promote circularity of PET, PP, PE, PVC, polyamides, polyesters, and polystyrene, contributing to sustainable materials management.
- Designed, built, commissioned, and operated batch and continuous reactors for catalytic process development and scale-up.
- Designed pilot-scale experiments evaluating reaction conditions, catalyst performance, conversion, selectivity, stability, and process efficiency.
- Applied reaction engineering, mass balances, and process data analysis to optimize reactor performance and scale-up.
- Integrated process instrumentation, mass-flow controllers, pumps, temperature, pressure, and flow measurements for reactor operation.
- Supported reactor-system installation, integration, commissioning, troubleshooting, and optimization for high-temperature catalytic processes.
- Designed extraction and fractional-distillation systems for separation and purification of complex biomass- and plastic-derived streams.
- Applied statistical analysis and experimental design to guide catalyst selection, reactor configuration, and operating conditions.
- Characterized feedstocks and process streams using HPLC-MS, GC×GC-MS, HSQC-NMR, GC-MS, and complementary techniques.
- Communicated technical findings through presentations, reports, publications, and cross-functional collaboration with multidisciplinary research teams.
- Mentored undergraduate and graduate researchers in reactor operation, process troubleshooting, experimental design, analytical methods, and safety.
Process Development Scientist
WPI
Worcester, MA
03.2019 - 02.2023
- Designed, assembled, operated, and optimized high-temperature/high-pressure continuous reactor systems for catalytic development.
- Designed DOE-based experiments to optimise catalyst composition, synthesis conditions, reaction parameters, and catalytic performance.
- Developed heterogeneous catalysts targeting improved activity, selectivity, stability, durability, and scalability for sustainable production.
- Developed catalytic strategies upgrading biomass-, food waste-, and lignin-derived oils toward SAF and diesel products.
- Investigated feedstock, catalyst, and reaction variables governing conversion, selectivity, and product distribution.
- Conducted long-term catalyst stability studies to assess degradation and pinpoint process limitations.
- Applied in-situ/ex-situ FTIR and Raman spectroscopy to investigate mechanisms and reactive intermediates.
- Applied statistical and machine-learning methods to guide reactor, catalyst, synthesis, and operating-condition selection.
- Developed integrated analytical workflows to enhance understanding of complex systems through spectroscopy, chromatography, microscopy, and thermal analysis.
- Supervised two Ph.D. students and one research assistant in reactors, catalysis, experimental design, analytics, and safety.
- Led multidisciplinary research in reaction engineering, catalysis, materials synthesis, reactor systems, and sustainable processes.
Research Assistant
UAM
Mexico city
01.2017 - 01.2019
- Developed heterogeneous catalytic systems for catalytic cracking and hydroprocessing applications.
- Designed and assembled batch and continuous-flow reactor systems for high temperatures, pressures.
- Synthesised and characterised mixed-metal oxide sulfide and carbide catalysts for testing.
- Correlated feed composition, catalyst properties, and operating conditions to optimise product distribution.
- Tested reactions using XRD, SEM, ICP-OES, and thermal analysis to establish link between catalyst structure and performance.
Visiting Researcher
Clark University
MA
12.2016 - 06.2017
- Supported reactor design, setup, operation, and evaluation for solid-phase synthesis processes.
- Evaluated polymeric reactor materials for chemical stability, compatibility, and performance.
- Characterized materials to support reactor development, process optimization, and material selection.
- Developed a semi-automated system to study competitive adsorption of lignin-derived molecules on zeolites.
- Designed reproducible experiments generating quantitative datasets for materials and process optimization.
Education
Ph.D. - Chemical Engineering
01-2019
M.S. - Chemical Engineering
01-2011
B.S. - Chemical Engineering
01-2009
Skills
- Pilot-Plant Design & Operation
- Reactor Design & Operation
- Process Development
- Chemical Process Engineering
- Reaction Engineering
- Laboratory-to-pilot scale-Up
- Catalysis (Hydrodeoxygenation, oligomerization)
- Sustainable Aviation Fuels
- Plastics Recycling
- Circularity Technologies
- Process Safety
- Data-driven decision making
Timeline
Senior Pilot Plant Engineer - Macrocycle Technologies
07.2024 - 12.2025
Postdoctoral Associate - MIT
10.2021 - 07.2023
Process Development Scientist - WPI
03.2019 - 02.2023
Research Assistant - UAM
01.2017 - 01.2019
Visiting Researcher - Clark University
12.2016 - 06.2017
Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana - Ph.D., Chemical Engineering
Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana - M.S., Chemical Engineering
Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana - B.S., Chemical Engineering