Edward W. Funk, Ph.D.

"Very professional in giving a deposition; knows what he has been hired to testify on and what is outside his box."

Curriculum Vitae

Edward W. Funk, Ph.D.
Chemical Engineering Consutant / Expert Witness

EWF Consulting, Inc.
676 DeTamble Avenue
Highland Park, IL 60035
Ph 847-433-5659
Fax 847-433-2837
ewf@ewfconsulting.net


Professional Summary

Experienced R&D director at Exxon and Honeywell. Presently a consultant/expert witness and a Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois. Technical expertise in applied chemistry and chemical engineering. Author of 40 technical papers and 35 presentations at technical meetings, national laboratories and industrial research centers. Author of 6 U.S. patents.

Education

Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, 1970
B.S., Engineering Science, Yale, 1967

Present Professional

  1. Consultant and expert witness, EWF Consulting, Inc., 1992-present
    Technical consultant to medium-sized chemical companies and national laboratories. Expert witness on patent infringement and process/product liability cases with law firms.
  2. Professor of Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois, 1992-present
    Teaching of courses in process and product design. Technical writing and oral communication.

Previous Experience

Allied-Signal/UOP (now Honeywell), Des Plaines, IL, 1982-1992
Manager of Chemical Process / Product Technology

  • Responsible for the commercial development of new products in the areas of petrochemicals, polymers, membranes and films, environmental processes and chemical processing; and novel process systems.
  • This work led to new membranes, surface-modified films, ozone-friendly fluorocarbons, extraction processes for treating contaminated soils, conducting polymer resins, carbon molecular sieves, etc.
  • Managed the advanced technology for UOP division of Honeywell, the process technology affiliate of Honeywell. This included petroleum processes and process technology in food and related industries.
  • Led the design effort that identified new commercial applications for oxygen-enrichment membranes and ultrafiltration processes for food processing.
  • Lead technology manager in the Dow/Honeywell patent infringement suit that resulted in a $30 million award to Honeywell.
  • Project Manager for a $5 million Department of Energy contract on the development of evergy saving membrane processes. The yield from this contract included the first commercial processes for hydrocarbon separations, and a gas-membrane process for removal of cardon dioxide from natural gas.
  • Obtained for Honeywell R&D contracts from NASA and Los Alamos and established joint R&D projects with Kraft and Proctor & Gamble.

Corporate Research, Exxon (now ExxonMobil), Linden, NJ, 1973-1982
Senior Research Engineer

  • Established a new program on the extraction of oil from Canadian tar sands and obtained the key patents. Directed the laboratory studies, developed unique software for process analysis, and built small-scale demonstration units.
  • Developed new test methods for the characterization of asphaltenes, lubricating oils, and synthetic fuels.
  • Served as the principal engineer in the investigation of potential uses of supercritical fluid technology within Exxon's business units.
  • Was lead engineer of the engineering/chemistry team that commercialized Exxon's FLEXSORB process for the use of aqueous tertiary amines for removal of acid gases from natural gas.

Ford Foundation, Chile, 1971-1973
Senior Fellow

  • Established new R&D programs focused for the food and mineral industries with government labs and universities.

Awards & Societies

Arthur D. Little Award in Engineering
Allied-Signal Technical Achievement Award
Member, American Institute of Chemical Engineers

Publications / Presentations / Patents

  1. Funk, E.W., and Prausnitz, J.M., "Thermodynamic Properties of Liquid Mixtures: Aromatic-Saturated Hydrocarbon Systems," Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, 9, 8 (1970)
  2. Thermodynamic Properties of Aromatic-Saturated Hydrocarbon Mixtures, API Division of Refining, Houston, Texas, May 1970
  3. Funk, E.W., and Prausnitz, J.M., "Vapor-Liquid Equilibria for Propane-Propylene," AIChE Journal, 17, 254 (1971)
  4. Preston, G.T., Funk, E.W., and Prausnitz, J.M., "Solubilities of Hydrocarbons and Carbon Dioxide in Liquid Methane and Liquid Argon, "Journal of Physical Chemistry, 75, 2345 (1971)
  5. Funk, E.W., and Prausnitz, J.M., "Estimation of Binary Parameters (Henry's Constant and van Laar Parameter)," IEC Process Design and Development, 10, 405 (1971)
  6. Funk, E.W., and Prausnitz, J.M., "Entropies of Vaporization for Fluorocarbons and Hydrocarbons from the Hildebrand Rules," Journal of Physical Chemistry, 75, 2530 (1971)
  7. Preston, G.T., Funk, E.W., and Prausnitz, J.M., "Effect of Temperature on Henry's Constant for Simple Mixtures," Physics and Chemistry of Liquids, 2, 193 (1971)
  8. Funk, E.W., Chai, F.C., and Prausnitz, J.M., "Thermodynamic Properties of Liquid Mixtures Containing Aromatic and Saturated Hydrocarbons," Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 17, 24 (1972)
  9. Equilibrio de Fases en Sistemas de Petroleo, Congreso de Quimicos, Santiago, Chile, January 1972
  10. Funk, E.W., "Activity Coefficients at High Concentrations in the Hydrochloric Acid-Sodium Chloride-Water System," IEC Process Design and Development, 13, 352 (1974)
  11. Vega, R., and Funk, E.W., "Solid-Liquid Equilibria in Concentrated Aqueous Salt Solutions - Systems with a Common Ion," Desalination, 15, (1974)
  12. Irani, C., and Funk, E.W., "Supercritical Separations Using Gases," Chapter 3, Volume 4, Recent Developments in Separation Science, N.N. Li, Editor, 1976
  13. Extraction of Athabasca Tar Sands, Laboratory Seminar, Imperial Oil, Sarnia, Canada, June 1976
  14. Heavy Hydrocarbon Processing: An Overview, Departmental Seminar, Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, California, 1977
  15. Solvent Extraction of Tar Sands: The Process and Economics, Syncrude Canada Limited, Edmonton, Canada, November 1977
  16. Funk, E.W., and Gomez, E., "Determination of Vanadium in Athabasca Bitumen and Other Heavy Hydrocarbons by Visible Spectroscopy," Analytical Chemistry, 49, 972 (1977)
  17. Funk, E.W., "Study of Heavy Hydrocarbons by Inverse-Phase Chromatography," I&EC Product Research and Development, 16, 115 (1977)
  18. Funk, E.W., Irani, C.A., Espino, R.L., "Tar Sands Extraction Process," U.S. Patent 4, 036, 732 (July 1977)
  19. Funk, E.W., "Behavior of Tar Sand Bitumen with Paraffinic Solvents and its application to Separations for Athabasca Tar Sands," American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel, 23, 81 (1978)
  20. Funk, E.W., "Athabasca Bitumen recovery Process," Oilweek Canada, 44 (October 23, 1978)
  21. Interfacial Effects in Separations for Tar Sands, Departmental Seminar, Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota, July 1978
  22. Behavior of Athabasca Tar Sand Bitumen, American Chemical Society, Division of Fuel, Miami Beach, September 1978
  23. Thermodynamics of Aqueous Salt Systems, NSF Symposium on Thermodynamics Applied to Industrial Needs, Washington, D.C., October 1979
  24. Processing and Recovery of Heavy Hydrocarbons, Departmental seminar, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, November 1979
  25. Funk, E.W., "Behavior of Tar Sand Bitumen with Paraffinic Solvents," Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, 57, 333 (1979)
  26. Pirkle, J.C., Funk, E.W., and May, W.G., "Computer Design of Multistage Sedimentation Operation for Separation of Asphaltenes, Sand, and Bitumen in Tar Sands," Proceedings of the 1979 Summer Computer Simulation Conference, Toronto, Canada, 213 (1979)
  27. Funk, E.W., "Thermodynamics of Concentrated Salt Solutions: A Review of Theory and Applications," Chapter 37, 717-739, ACS Symposium Series 133, Washington, D.C., 1980
  28. Electrokinetics and Other Similar Effects, The Filtration Society, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, March 1980
  29. Selective Absorption of Hydrogen Sulfide and Carbon Dioxide in Aqueous Solutions of Methyldiethanolamine, AIChE Meeting, Houston, Texas, April 1981
  30. Phase Equilibria in Mixtures of Athabasca Bitumen with Alcohol and Paraffin Solvents, AIChE Meeting, Houston, Texas, April 1981
  31. Phase Equilibria of Heavy Hydrocarbon Systems, Departmental Seminar, Chemical Engineering, Yale University, February 1982
  32. Li, N.N., and Funk, E.W., "Separations Based Upon Reversible Complexation," Proceedings of the Joint Meeting of Chemical Engineers of AIChE and CIESC, Vol. 1, 496 (1982)
  33. Funk, E.W., May, W.G., and Pirkle, J.C., "Solvent Extraction Process for Tax Sands," U.S. Patent 4, 347, 118 (August 1982)
  34. Membrane Separation Processes, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C., September 1982
  35. Phase Equilibria of Heavy Hydrocarbon Systems, Departmental Seminar, Chemical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, May 1983
  36. Membrane Separation Processes for Acid Gases, AIChE Summer Meeting, Denver, Colorado, August 1983
  37. Polymeric Membranes for Petrochemical Separations, Departmental Seminar, Chemical Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, October 1983
  38. Membrane Separations for Liquid Systems, Membrane Symposium, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, October 1983
  39. Membrane Separations with Polymeric films, ACS Meeting, Rock River Selection, Beloit College, November 1983
  40. Separations for Closed-Loop Space Stations, Marshall Spacecraft Center, Huntsville, Alabama, September 1984
  41. Membrane Separations for Hydrocarbon Systems, U.S. Department of Energy Symposium, Clemson University, October 1984
  42. Membrane Systems for Spacecraft Living, NASA Ames Research Laboratory, San Jose, California, October 1984
  43. An Industrial Perspective on Teaching Separation Science, AIChE National Meeting, San Francisco, November 1984
  44. Funk, E.W., May, W.G., and Pirkle, J.C., "Processing Approach for the Solvent Extraction of Athabasca Tar Sands," AIChE Energy Progress Quarterly, 4, 12 (1984)
  45. Kulkarni, S.S., Funk, E.W., Li, N.N., and Riley, R.L., "Membrane Separation Processes for Acid Gases," AIChE Symposium Series, No. 229, Vol. 79, 172 (1984)
  46. Separation of Heavy Oils Using Supercritical Fluids, ACS National Meeting, Chicago, September 1985
  47. Membrane Separations in This World and Beyond, Departmental Seminar, Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University, October 1985
  48. Membrane Technology for Acid Gas Separation, DOE Membrane Symposium, Knoxville, Tennessee, October 1985
  49. Novel Separations with Polymeric Membranes, Departmental Seminar, Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, March 1986
  50. The Effect of Impurities on Membrane Performance, AIChE Meeting, New Orleans, April 1986
  51. Application of Membrane Technology in the Paper and Pulp Industry, American Chemical Society, New York, April 1986
  52. Advanced Membranes for Spacelab Water Management, American Chemical Society, New York, April 1986
  53. Funk, E.W., Chang, Y.A., and Kulkarni, S.S., "Membrane Separation of Hydrocarbons," U.S. Patent 4, 595, 507 (June 1986)
  54. Funk, E.W., Kulkarni, S.S., and Chang, Y.A., "Membrane Separation Process," U.S. Patent 4, 671, 126 (October 1986)
  55. Funk, W.S., and May, W.G., "Thermodynamic Analysis of Separation Processes for Athabasca Tar Sands," Energy Sources, 8, 177 (1986)
  56. Kulkarni, S.S., Funk, E.W., and Li, N.N., "Hydrocarbon Separations with Polymeric Membranes," AIChE Symposium Series, No. 250, Vol. 82, 78, (1986)
  57. Li, N.N., Funk, E.W., and Kulkarni, S.S., "An Industrial Perspective on Teaching Separation Science," AIChE Symposium Series, No. 250, 202 (1986)
  58. Funk, E.W., Kulkarni, S.S., and Swamikannu, A.X., "Effect of Impurities on Cellulose Acetate Membrane Performance," AIChE Symposium Series, No. 250, 27 (1986)
  59. Savage, D.W., and Funk, E.W., "Selective Absorption of H2S and CO2 Into Aqueous Solutions of Methyldiethalolamine," Ind. Eng. Chem. Fundam., 25, 326 (1986)
  60. Membrane Technology for Hydrocarbon Separations, North American Membrane Society Meeting, Cincinnati, June 1987
  61. Use of Statistics For Membrane Optimization, AIChE National Meeting, New York, November 1987
  62. Funk, E.W., and Kulprathipanja, "Separation of Monosaccharides with Mixed Matrix Membranes," U.S. Patent 4, 735, 193 (April 1988)
  63. Funk, E.W., and S.S. Kulkarni, "Multicomponent Membranes," U.S. Patent 4, 737, 165 (April 1988)
  64. Funk, E.W., and Kulprathipanja, S., "Preparation of Gas Selective Membranes," U.S. Patent 4,737,104 (June 1988)
  65. Funk, E.W., Kulkarni, S.S., and Gatsis, J., "Membrane Separation of Hydrocarbons Using Cycloparaffinic Solvents," U.S. Patent 4, 750, 990 (June 1988)
  66. Acid Gas Removal. Sixth Annual Membrane Technology Planning Conference, BCC Communications, Cambridge, Massachusetts, November 1988
  67. Funk, E.W., and Li, N.N., "Novel Dynamic Membranes-Formation and Process Applications," Separation Technology, 155 1989
  68. Funk, E.W., and Li. N.N., "Purification of Natural Gas by Membranes," Gas Separation Technology, Vansant, E.F. and Dewolfs, R., Editors, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1990
  69. Swamikannu, A.X., Funk, E.W., and Li, N.N., "Recovery of Space Station Wash Water by Membrane Technology," International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes, Chicago, August 1990
  70. Sedath, R.H., Li, N.N., and Funk, E.W., "Reduction of Fouling in Ultrafiltration Membranes via Surface Fluorination," International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes, Chicago, August 1990
  71. Kulprathipanja, S., Funk, E.W., and Li, N.N., "Mixed Matrix Membranes," International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes, Chicago, August 1990
  72. Membrane Technology Applications in the Chemical Process Industries, Short Course, International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes, Chicago, August 1990
  73. Membrane Separations in the Petrochemical Industry, 8th Annual Membrane Technology Planning Conference; BCC Communications, Newton, Massachusetts, October 1990
  74. New Membrane Processes for Oil Upgrading, Chevron Research Membrane Conference, Richmond, California, November 1990
  75. New Membrane Processes in an Environment of Change, Departmental Seminar, Chemical Engineering, Northwestern University, April 1991
  76. Organic Separations with Membranes, First Hanford Separation Symposium, Richland, Washington, July 1991
  77. New Applications of Membrane Technology for the Chemical Industry, Plenary Lecture, Canadian Chemical Engineering Society, Vancouver, Canada, October 1991
  78. Manufacturing Process for Cellulose Acetate Membranes and Industrial Uses, 7th Symposium on Separation Science and Technology, Knoxville, Tennessee, October 1991
  79. Mixed Matrix Membranes, AIChE National Meeting, Los Angeles, California, November 1991
  80. Ultrafiltration, Chapters 27-31. Membrane Handbook, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1992.
  81. Process Analysis of Membrane Separations, Departmental Seminar, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, April 1992
  82. Surface Modification of Membranes, 10th Annual Membrane Technology Planning Conference, BCC Communications, Newton, Massachusetts, October 1992
  83. Membranes Tailored for Aqueous Phase Separations, AIChE National Meeting, Miami Beach, November 1992
  84. Inorganic Separation Technology, Invited Lecture, Los Alamos National Laboratory, November 1992
  85. Funk, E.W., Developments in Membrane Reactors, The Catalyst Group, Multi-client Presentation, April 1999.
  86. Funk, E.W., Emerging Reactors-Intensified Processes, The Catalyst Group, Multi-client Presentation, April 2001.
  87. Funk, E.W., Chemical Production Technology: Design, Operation, Optimization and Safety, Dubai, UAE, December 2006
  88. Funk, E.W., “Optimization of Chemical Plants, Haward Technology,” Dubai, December 9-15, 2006
  89. Funk, E.W. and Nel, Willem, “Troubleshooting Refinery Problems,” Abu Dhabi Petrochemicals LLP, Abu Dhabi, UAE, December 16-22, 2006

Back to Top


Home | Services | Legal Experience | Clients | CV | Articles | Contact

Site Composition by Expert Communications
Site Design by Pinsonnault Creative