About Us

SynGas Technology, LLC (SGT) is a Minnesota limited liability company (LLC) organized on February 1, 2010. We are a technology company that is developing technology for use in the production of syngas from biomass. SGT was created by Gradient Technology, a small technology company dedicated to the development of emerging technologies in basic sciences and engineering fields. Gradient Technology was formed in 1994 by a group of experienced chemical engineers who previously developed successful gasifiers and Fischer-Tropsch liquid fuel technologies.

Chief Technical Officer

Duane Goetsch is an entrepreneur and chemical engineer with more than thirty years of experience in the fuels and chemical processing industries. Goetsch has a long track record of successfully developing business operations involving chemical engineering services. These business operations have included advanced process research, chemical engineering laboratories, pilot plant operations, process design, equipment design, process control, chemical plant operations, and fabrication of chemical process equipment. Goetsch was the founder of Gradient Technology and currently serves as their President. Prior to Gradient Technology, Goetsch was a principal investigator at the Exxon Research Laboratories for many technical programs, including Fast-Fluidization High Pressure Gasifier for Syngas Production. He has over 14 patents and numerous papers in the areas of gasification, fuels upgrading, and catalysis. Goetsch is a graduate of the University of Illinois and also taught at the University of Minnesota.

Vice-President of Operations

Kym Arcuri,Ph.D., is a chemical engineer with more than thirty-five years of experience in synthetic fuels. He extensively researched the Fischer-Tropsch process for converting syngas to liquid hydrocarbons at Exxon Research Laboratories, Syntroleum, Emerging Fuels Technology, and as an independent researcher. Arcuri has served as the Chief Technical Officer for Syntroleum and currently serves as the Vice President of Engineering for Emerging Fuels Technology. He has received over 26 patents and has published numerous papers in the areas of reactor chemistry associated with high exothermic reactions.

Senior Engineering Leader (High Pressure Gasifier)

LeRoy Clavenna, Ph.D., is a chemical engineer and entrepreneur and the owner of Fuels Research Consulting, LLC. Clavenna worked for over 30 years with ExxonMobil leading research teams in pioneering new gasification techniques and discovering advanced alloys and ceramics that can endure the extreme pressures and temperatures used in the gasification process. He has received over 24 patents for his innovations.

Senior Engineering Leader (CO2 Management)

Lloyd White, Ph.D., is a chemical engineer, entrepreneur, and professor at the University of Minnesota. He is one of the founders of Rational Energies, a company devoted to producing liquid fuels from biomass. As an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota, he teaches Senior Design and Laboratory courses in the Chemical Engineering department. During his work with the 3M Corporation, White was a process Development Leader and earned eight patents and published over 20 publications.

Advisors

Chris Goralski, Ph.D. is currently the Director of Strategy & Corporate Development at 3M Corporation. Dr. Goralski is an experienced business development professional with a broad background in the automotive, chemical, and materials industries with a track record of both developing and extracting commercial value from new technology. Dr. Goralski was formerly the CEO of SynGas Technology and had worked for 3M Corporation in a variety of Strategy and Business Development roles. He also previously worked for the Ford Motor Company in the development of advanced exhaust aftertreatment and controls technologies. He has over 40 U.S. patents and numerous papers in the areas of catalysis, automotive exhaust aftertreatment, and electronic controls. Goralski received his Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan, and his Ph.D and MBA from the University of Minnesota.

Lanny Schmidt, Ph. D., is a Regents Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. Professor Schmidt is a world renowned expert in the areas of reaction engineering and catalysis and has particular expertise in the production of synthesis gas from feed stocks ranging from natural gas to biomass. Professor Schmidt is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Professor Schmidt received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the Wheaton College and his Doctorate in Physical Chemistry from the University of Chicago. Professor Schmidt has been the advisor to over 100 Ph.D. and MS graduates, has published over 350 refereed papers, and holds 15 United States Patents.

Patent Attorney

Henry (Hank) Naylor, Esq., serves as SynGas Technology’s patent counsel. Naylor also serves as Special Counsel to Kean, Miller, Hawthorne, D’Armond, McCowan, and Jarman LLP. He has over 25 years as an in-house patent attorney for ExxonMobil Research and Engineering in the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in fuels and chemical processes. Naylor is knowledgeable and has written patents on the preparation of biofuels, chemicals, catalysis, chemical and refinery processes. These processes include hydrotreating, reforming, fluid catalytic cracking, fluid and delayed coking, syngas to liquid fuel conversion, and chemical reactor technologies. Mr. Naylor received his Juris Doctor (JD) from Seton Hall Law School in 1974 and was admitted to the bar that year in the state of New Jersey. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is admitted before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.