Dr. Gunaseelan has 12 years of broad experience in the energy and process industries that includes doctoral research in dynamic processes modeling, and professional experience in chemical plant operations, business development, and industrial gases marketing to the petroleum and energy sectors. Dr. Gunaseelan specializes in utilizing chemical engineering expertise and market knowledge to conduct techno-economic analyses for oil and gas industry clients, with a focus on large project feasibility studies, strategy development for product and technology commercialization, and advanced process modeling and troubleshooting.
Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Gunaseelan worked at Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. in their Tonnage Gases, Equipment & Energy Division. His work has involved energy project analysis and product marketing to various sectors including petroleum refining, oil sands, unconventional oil/gas production, coal-to-liquids, and biofuels. Dr. Gunaseelan has conducted several regional analyses of refining markets, from detailed assessments of refinery project economics to greenhouse gas emission profiles. In the upstream sector, he has analyzed enhanced oil recovery (EOR) markets and studied the viability of developing regional CO2 infrastructure for EOR. He has also studied the alternative fuels and renewables markets, having estimated their potential impact on fossil fuel markets.
As part of his consulting practice, Dr. Gunaseelan develops process and economic models of refineries and energy projects. He is well versed in the use of software tools for chemical process design and monitoring such as Aspen.
Gunaseelan P, Wankat PC. Dynamic tray model to predict start-up transients in concentrated absorbers. Ind Eng Chem Res 2000; 39:2525–2533.
Gunaseelan P, Wankat PC. Failure modes in concentrated absorbers during the transition to stand-by operation. Ind Eng Chem Res 2001; 40:850–853.
Gunaseelan P, Wankat PC. Transient pressure and flow predictions for concentrated packed absorbers using a dynamic non-equilibrium model. Ind Eng Chem Res 2002; 41:5775–5788.
Presentations
Gunaseelan P. Dynamic simulation of a concentrated packed absorber using Aspen custom modeler. Distillation Roundtable, Air Products & Chemicals Inc., Allentown PA, April 2002.
Gunaseelan P, Wankat PC. Dynamic sieve tray pressure transients during start-up of absorbers. Seminar, AIChE Meeting, Miami Beach, FL, November 1998.
Petroleum Refining Developed a forecast of California’s refining industry based on changing crude slates, demand growth, and upcoming refinery projects. The analysis was the basis for a long-term strategy review for developing business in California.
Prepared a detailed model for estimating refinery CO2 emissions in California, which helped formulate strategies to reduce carbon footprint in preparation for California’s impending Low Carbon Fuel Standard and AB32 legislation.
Analyzed the margin impact of Canadian crude integration at specific U.S. refineries using a 3rd party refinery economics model. Separately, investigated the economics of oil sands bitumen upgrading in Alberta under several operating scenarios.
Upstream Oil & GasConducted an assessment of the global market for nitrogen use in enhanced oil recovery (EOR). The study identified the technical and market drivers for nitrogen in comparison to alternate injectants, and provided a market forecast to 2015.
Studied the feasibility of capturing, compressing, and transporting CO2 from industrial sources to declining oilfields for EOR. Two separate industrial regions were analyzed, and regional cost curves for CO2 capture were developed.
Coal-to-LiquidsPrepared a report of regional refined products infrastructure as part of the feasibility study for a confidential client developing a coal-to-liquids (CTL) project. The work involved estimating the product slate from area refineries in order to assess the capacity available in regional product pipelines and storage terminals.
Developed a long-term forecast of oxygen demand for proposed CTL projects in China, based on both direct and indirect coal liquefaction processes.
Business StrategyConducted a detailed market assessment of the use of a specialty polymer in the electronics industry, including value chain analysis, competitive analysis, industry analysis, and cost stacks. Innovation methodologies such as Learning Plan™ and Discovery Driven Planning were used to develop a business strategy that resulted in the development of key relationships with joint development partners and customers.