2727 Brookside Drive

Apt. D
Bakersfield, CA 93311

Ramasamy (Samy) Palaniappan

Work Phone: 661-617-5263

Mobile: 740-274-5383
Email: samy.palaniappan@stantec.com

SUMMARY
Two years of industrial process engineering and ten years of hands-on experience from material synthesis,
characterization, electroanalytical testing and analysis to cell and cell stack design and development
One year of lead process engineer experience with waste gas treatment project involving process simulation using Aspen
HYSYS, PRO/II, PipePhase, and Promax
Designated to lead research team for Stantec oil and gas sector in Bakersfield, CA.
Established a polyacrylic acid based ammonia electrolytic cell design which enhanced the conversion of ammonia by 10%
and the current efficiency by 5% for a project funded by the National Science Foundation
Synthesized and evaluated the performance of an alkaline membrane electrode assembly for ammonia and urea
electrolysis. Optimized voltage, concentration and flow rates for the anolyte and catholyte for a 50W urea electrolyzer
Demonstrated that bimetallic electrocatalysts exhibited higher activity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the
presence of ammonia with the trend Pt-Ir>Pt-Rh>Pt-Ru>Pt-Ni>Rh>Pt>Ru>Ni
EDUCATION:
PhD in Chemical Engineering
Russ College of Engineering and Technology
Ohio University (OU), Athens, Ohio
Dissertation Title: Improving the Efficiency of Ammonia Electrolysis for Hydrogen Production
Bachelors of Technology in Chemical and Electrochemical Engineering
Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, India
Anna University, Chennai, India
First Class Honors

December 2013
GPA: 3.55/4.00

May 2005
GPA: 7.80/10.00

WORK EXPERIENCE:
Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Bakersfield, CA
Engineering Consultant I (Process Chemical)
November 2013 - Present
1. Lead Process Engineer for SO2 scrubber project (Client: Freeport McMoRan Oil & Gas)
Developed process flow diagrams (PFD), Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID), heat and material balance for
H2S treatment and SO2 remediation
Specified materials and developed hydraulic sizing for soft water, steam, exhaust gas, fuel gas, produced gas,
caustic, and chemical lines.
Developed datasheets to specify centrifugal pumps for concentrated and diluted soda ash supply, spent chemical
(sodium sulfite solution) recirculation and injection and, sour gas condensate pumping.
Performed Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) and issued PFDs and P&IDs for construction.
2. Process Engineer for Upstream Oil and Gas Operations
Sized and specified shell and tube heat exchanger and developed process design to facilitate separation of 10.3 API
crude oil with 35% water cut. (Client: Linn Energy)
Developed heat and material balance for Oil Production. Sized wash tank and scrubber for vapor recovery unit.
(Client: Oxy)
Performed a case study for the effect of line sizes and insulation material type and thickness on line cooling for Lease
Automatic Custody Transfer using above ground and buried pipeline. (Client: Linn Energy)

3. Industrial Reactor Design for Polymer Production

Developed heat and material balance and sized cooling jacket for polymers Rheomer 33 and Mirapol 100S synthesis
reactors. Simulation for this project was done using PRO/II 9.2. (Client: Solvay Chemicals)
Established critical parameters and operating conditions for pistachio hull drying operation for the production of biodiesel. Simulated drying with Extruders, cyclones and baghouse using Aspen HYSYS. (Client: Paramount Farms)
Center for Electrochemical Engineering Research, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio
Graduate Research Assistant
April 2006 - November 2013
1. Hands-on Experience with Material Synthesis and Characterization Techniques
Experienced in vapor deposition, tape casting, screen-printing, air brushing, drop coating, sputtering, and hot pressing
techniques to synthesize electrodes for alkaline electrolyzers, batteries, and fuel cells
Proficient in metallic (Cu, Ni, Pt, Rh, Ru), alloy (Pt-Ir, Pt-Ru, Pt-Rh, Pt-Ni) electrodeposition techniques.
Complete theoretical and experimental knowledge in characterization techniques including XRD, SEM, EDX, XPS,
AES, UV-Visible, Raman spectroscopy, TGA, gas chromatography, pH, and ammonia measurements
Evaluated the lattice constant, bulk composition, particle size, and strain of bimetallic alloys using XRD
2. Proficient in Electroanalytical Testing

Estimated the active surface area and catalytic activity of materials using electroanalytical techniques such as
impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and galvanostatic methods
Evaluated the ammonia electro-oxidation reaction kinetics using linear sweep voltammetry, galvanostatic,
potentiostatic and EIS techniques on stationary and rotating disk electrodes (RDE)
Investigated the discharge characteristics and transient charge transfer resistance for novel alkaline primary batteries
using controlled current and EIS techniques, respectively
Assisted with the design, construction, and evaluation of a continuous 50 W electrolyzer prototypes for ammonia and
urea for a project funded by the Department of Defense
Investigated the kinetics and mechanistic aspects of ammonia electro-oxidation on Pt-Ir electrocatalysts

3. Highly Skilled in design of experiments (DOE) and Statistical Analysis

Optimized the cathode surface composition of Pt-Ir electrodes for maximum HER to be 70:30 using full factorial
surface response DOE and statistical analysis (ANOVA, t-tests, and F-tests)

Achieved maximum hydrogen production for urea electrolyzer with a catholyte flow rate of 1202 ml/min and
maximum urea conversion with an anolyte flow rate of 1.00.2 ml/min, based on a Box-Bhenken DOE
4. Advanced Technical Knowledge in Mathematical Modeling and Software
Developed a model in MATLAB to evaluate electro-kinetic rate constants for the Volmer, Heyrovsky, and Tafel
reactions in the HER by simulating EIS and LSV experiments on carbon based Pt, Rh, Ru, and Ni cathodes
Advanced knowledge in MATLAB, FORTRAN, Maple, C++, and Minitab and beginners proficiency in modeling with
AutoCAD, COMSOL, PEST, and FLUENT
Central Electrochemical Research Institute, Karaikudi, India
Undergraduate Research Assistant
August 2001-August 2005
Synthesized doped LiMnO2 catalysts, via sol-gel technique, to be tested as cathodes for lithium-ion batteries
Evaluated the inhibition corrosion of carbon steel in 1M HCl using CTAB and OPD surfactants
Synthesized Ni-ZrO2 cermets via high pressure compression for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Evaluated the validity of an existing black box model upon addition of electrochemical components, to predict the
corrosion rate of carbon steel in sea water under flow conditions.
Studied the adsorption of CO on Pt using molecular modeling with CASTEP, a Material Studio software

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, OU.
Teaching assistant
ChE 101 - Approaches to Chemical Engineering Problem Solving
ChE 400 - Applied Chemical Engineering Calculations
ChE 555 - Analysis of Electrochemical Systems
ChE 700 - Advance Chemical Engineering Mathematics

April 2007-November 2011

SKILLS:
Computer Software: Aspen HYSYS, Aspen Properties, ASPEN Plus, PRO/II, PipePhase, Minitab, Maud for XRD
Reitveld Analysis, MATLAB, Maple, FORTRAN, C++, FLUENT, Visio, PEST, and CASTEP
Electrochemical Techniques: Controlled current/voltage polarization, chronoamperometry, chronocoulometry, cyclic,
square-wave, and linear sweep voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and rotating disk electrode
studies
Material Synthesis: Metal and alloy electrodeposition, tape casting, screen printing, MEA synthesis, and spray coating
Material Characterization Techniques: XRD, XPS, SEM, AFM, STM, FTIR, Gas Chromotography, UV-Vis and Raman
spectroscopy
AWARDS:
Recipient of Student Enhancement Award of 5,994 dollars for a proposal titled Alkaline Polymer Gel Electrolytes for
Ammonia Electrolysis by Vice President of Research, Ohio University.
April 2008
Recipient of Innovation Award at Research and Creative Activity Expo, Ohio University.
May 2008
2nd place in student poster session, Student Research and Creative Activity Expo, Ohio University.
May 2010
1st place in student poster session, Student Research and Creative Activity Expo, Ohio University.
May 2011
Awarded membership for the Electrochemical Society
2010 and 2011
PRESENTATIONS:
Identifying and Adapting a Solid Polymer Electrolyte for Ammonia Electrolysis, Ramasamy Palaniappan and
Gerardine Botte, 218th ECS meeting, October 2010, Las Vegas, Nevada (Oral)
Feasibility Studies for use of Ammonia Electrolysis as a Source of Hydrogen for Distributed Power Production for
Residential Applications, Ramasamy Palaniappan and Gerardine Botte 218th ECS meeting, October 2010, Las
Vegas, Nevada (Poster)
Optimization of the Cathode for the Production of Hydrogen through Ammonia Electrolysis II, Ramasamy
Palaniappan, 213th ECS meeting, May 2008, Phoenix, Arizona (Poster)
Optimization of the Cathode for the Production of Hydrogen through Ammonia Electrolysis, Ramasamy Palaniappan,
211th ECS meeting, May 2007, Chicago, Illinois (Poster)
Design and Scale up of Ammonia Electrolytic Cell and its Integration with a 5W Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM)
Fuel Cell, Mahesh Biradar, Bryan K. Boggs, Madhivanan Muthuvel, Ramasamy Palaniappan and Gerardine G. Botte,
211th ECS meeting, May 2007, Chicago, Illinois (Oral)
PUBLICATIONS:
R. Palaniappan, D. C. Ingram, and G G. Botte. (2014). HER kinetics on Electrodeposited Ptx-M1-x (M = Ir, Ru, Rh,
and Ni) Catalysts for Ammonia Electrolysis. Journal of Electrochemical Society 161 (1), p. E12R. Palaniappan and G.
G. Botte. (2013). Effect of Ammonia on Pt, Ru, Rh, and Ni Cathodes during the Alkaline Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.
Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 117 (34), p17429.
R. Palaniappan and G. G. Botte. (2013). Efficacy of Potassium Poly (Acrylate) Gel Electrolyte as a Substitute to
Aqueous Electrolytes for Alkaline Ammonia Electrolysis. Electrochimica Acta, 88 (15), p772.
B. R. Babu, A. K. Parande, and P. L. Ramasamy (R. Palaniappan). (2006). Effect of CTAB and OPD on the Corrosion
Inhibition of Carbon Steel in 1M HCl. Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 84 (12), 1658-1666.

ACTIVITIES:
Treasurer for Electrochemical Society Student Chapter (Ohio University)
July 2011-July 2013
- Co-sponsored guest lectures from Dr. Robert Savinell (Case Western Reserve University), Dr. Krishnan Rajeshwar
(Texas A&M University), and Dr. Alan West (University of Columbia) with the Department of Chemical Engineering
Mentor for the Ohio University Chem-E-Car team (which received the Inherent Safety in Design Award for AmmoniaPowered Shoe-Sized Electric Vehicle at the National Chem-E-car Competition at the AIChE conference, Utah,
November 2010)
March 2009-December 2010
Volunteered to assist outreach programs organized by The Industrial Electrochemistry and Electrochemical
Engineering Division of The Electrochemical Society
2007, 2008, 2010
Volunteered to organize engineering activities for Kids on Campus and several outreach programs to educate high
school students about alternative energies and fuel cells
2007-2010
Represented Ohio University at the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio
2007-2010
Selected to Represent Ohio University by presenting research at the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition
2007-2009
Served in safety committee for the Department of Chemical Engineering
2009
Marketing Executive for the Indian Students Association, Ohio University
2007
Conducted a survey at an alternative energy awareness program in Nelsonville, Ohio
2006
The survey was developed by collaborating with the Voinovich Business School, OU to identify the factors that
influence peoples decision making process for adapting alternative energy to power their residences.
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:
The Electrochemical Society
American Institute of Chemical Engineers (OU Chapter)
SELECTED GRADUATE COURSEWORK:
CHEM 726: Electroanalytical Chemistry
Studied electrode kinetics theory, mass transport, and adsorption in electrochemical systems using transient DC
techniques (Voltammetry, Chronocoulometry, Chronoamperometry, Potentiometry), AC techniques (EIS, AC
voltammetry), hydrodynamic voltammetry (Thin layer electrochemical cells, Laminar flow, Turbulent flow, Rotating
disk, and Ring disk Electrodes)
Submitted a review paper titled Hydrogen Production through Ammonia Electrolysis
CHE 555: Analysis of Electrochemical Systems
Learnt electrolytic and galvanic cell theory as applied to electrolysis, electroplating, fuel cells, and batteries
Submitted a review paper titled Fuel Cells and the Hydrogen Economy
Project Design and synthesized a Cu-Zn battery to power a shoe-sized car while carrying a specified load and a MgAcid electrochemical brake to stop the car at the specified distance
CHE 700: Advanced Chemical Engineering Mathematics
Solved Partial Differential Equations (Single and Multidimensional) by control volume formulation and finite difference
with EXCEL, and FORTRAN BAND(J) subroutine
Presented a lecture on Numeric Symbolic Solutions to PDEs using MAPLE
Project - Used Maple symbolic solution code to solve impedance response for an electrochemical system
ME 731: Transport Mechanism in Air Pollution and Control
Performed a case study on Transport processes in a Wet Electrostatic Precipitator
Submitted a review paper titled Analysis of effect of exhaust system design in vehicular emissions