• Developed novel method of manganese bioleaching that has the potential to make domestic manganese production possible for the US (patent pending)• Engineered and designed process scale up transition from laboratory bench scale to pilot plant• Monitored and analyzed pilot plant metallurgical performance to consistently produce 90% and higher purity manganese dioxide from medium grade ores (40-50% Mn content)• Reduced mineral acid demand in the bioleaching process by a 100% and optimized pilot plant parameters to increase recovery by 55.8%• Investigated the change in manganese ore surface topography and chemical composition using XRD, XRF, and SEM• Performed root cause and failure analyses for bioleaching pilot plant and maintained OSHA safety standards in mineral processing laboratory at Michigan Tech

Subjects: Fundamentals of Chemical Engineering I, Mineral Processing and Extraction Lab, Advanced Transport Phenomena, Advanced Thermodynamics, Advanced Safety Skills

• Reviewed, studied, and analyzed sampling procedures to improve SOPs; Performed a sampling audit for Metcalf concentrator and Morenci mill for process improvement• Worked alongside metallurgists, plant operators and control room operators to optimize throughput, flotation performance, and report on downtime events• Assisted in studies analyzing losses and recoveries from super-fine particles in flotation circuit• Participated in bottleneck studies for Metcalf concentrator expansion performing plant wide sampling at strategic points in the concentrator circuit• Contributed to a hydrodynamic test of flotation circuit, analyzing bubble counts for flotation efficiency

Study area: Iron Ore reductionDetails: • Measurement of intrinsic kinetic parameters in reduction of iron ore pellets using TGA at varying CO-H2 concentrations• Performed linear regression analysis to determine gas composition effects on reaction kinetics

Study area: ComminutionDetails: Size analysis and mathematical modeling of data obtained from 60 comminution experiments using planetary mill

Study area: Hydrocyclone and Fish-Hook effectDetails: Separation of silica sand in hydrocyclones of varying cone angles, size analysis of the product in Malvern size separator, and a study of the fish-hook effect