Abstract: This presentation will offer an overview of some of the significant contributions by Shell scientists, engineers, and technical staff to the field of ethylene oxide (EO) production. Starting with Shell’s involvement in silver based EO catalysts dating back to the 1930’s and culminating in the deployment of our most recent achievement in the High Performance EO Process, the journey through the approximately 90 inventive years will be described.

Figure 1. A Historical representation of modern Shell EO catalyst performance progression.

Bio: John was appointed Shell Chief Scientist for Catalysis in 2020 to provide technical leadership and advise on strategy in areas involving catalysis and related fields.
Passionate about inventions that help solve the world’s chemical and energy challenges, John enjoys collaborating globally with scientists in Shell and at universities and technical organizations on projects ranging from fundamental R&D to world scale deployment. Since joining Shell in 1989 his career has focused on catalyst development programs including hydrocracking, olefin epoxidation, acetoxylation, Fischer-Tropsch, and a variety of other systems at locations in USA, Europe, and India. He is the recipient of the 2018 Southwest Catalysis Society Award for Excellence in Applied Catalysis and is a listed inventor on 36 issued US Patents, 35 issued European Patents, and numerous patents in international jurisdictions.
John’s academic career started with a B.S. in Chemistry at Villanova University (1982), a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Delaware (1987), and was capped by a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (1987-‘89). In 2010 he served as the elected Chair of the Gordon Conference on Inorganic Chemistry.