De Wet Van Der Merwe Email & Phone Number

Brisbane, Qld, Au

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Throughout my employment at Z, I have spent the large majority of my time on engineering, research & development, and commissioning projects. Some of the skills I have developed are;Various engineering design, sizing, and improvement calculations,Pump and piping calculations,Process Chemistry R&D, SOP documentation,MOC, and EITO documentation,Competency in plant operations and maintenance, HSSE understanding and application,Vendor and stockholder relationships,Leadership of self/others, andCommissioning and plant validation runs (four in total)

Hamilton

I was tasked with producing large quantities of Novatein® Thermoplastic Protein (NTP). In this role I was responsible for operating a large polymer extruder, whilst implementing a new production technique. Other responsibilities included CIP and housekeeping, organising raw materials, granulation of extrudate, and granule storage. Through careful operation and adjustment of feed rates (to avoid blockage and unnecessary shut down), the daily output was increased by up to 50%.

Te Puke, Bay Of Plenty, New Zealand

I completed a 3-month contract with Kiwi Pollen (funded by Callaghan Innovation) to aid in the design of a plant that would treat kiwifruit vine flowers. I worked in collaboration with a biology lab to obtain promising treatment methods, after which I planned and executed large scale experiments to gauge the repeatability of results. After the data for the large scale experiments were processed, I created new proposals and process designs for pilot and industrial plants.

My master’s thesis focused on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of Novatein® Thermoplastic Protein (NTP). NTP is a bovine blood based biopolymer, created by researchers at Aduro Biopolymers and the University of Waikato. The life cycle assessment resulted in conclusions based around the environment impact of NTP from cradle to grave (the sum of its global warming potential and non-renewable energy use), and an economic assessment of its viability. This assessment was done in contrast with that of its polypropylene competitor.

Hamilton

Throughout A-semester I supervised and provided tutorials for a second year thermodynamics paper. The role included guiding students during lab experiments, demonstrating safe and accurate data collecting, aiding their understanding of thermodynamic processes, and marking lab reports.

Hamilton, New Zealand

I experimented with new plasticizers when producing NTP. The final goal was to produce a film that could be reheated and vacuum formed. I was also in charge of designing a new heat press mould, and producing the mould at an independent machining company. A tensile tester was used to obtain and process data. By designing the mould I gained additional competency when using solid works.

Hamilton, New Zealand

This involved assisting a PhD student by completing a large number of tests over a 3-month period. My goal was to determine the time dependent viscoelastic properties of NTP and to summarize my findings in a journal article. I was responsible for creating varying types of plastic by altering the amounts of sodium sulphite used, and the processing temperatures in the injection moulder. Production included mixing the NTP powder, then extruding, granulating, and injection moulding the NTP. Testing involved creep, stress relaxation, and pull-to-break tests on a tensile tester. I also used a dynamic mechanical analyser (DMA) to obtain the glass transition temperatures of the NTP.

This role involved operating injection moulders, preparing and installing different dies, setting up injection moulders for operation, mixing polymers, and keeping hoppers loaded. I also participated in general maintenance on machines around the factory (including milling machines, surface grinders and injection moulders).

During my time as a shop hand, I gained a lot of experience in working with my hands, and also in logical thinking and problem solving.

Master Of Engineering (Meng), Materials & Process Engineering, A- (First Class Honours)

Bachelor’S Degree, Materials And Process Engineering

Ncea Level 1-3, University Entrance