Marco Castaldi, Adjunct Assistant Professor

B.S. Chemical Engineering, Manhattan College, 1992

M.S. Chemical Engineering, University of California, LA, 1994

Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, University of California, LA, 1997

MARCO CASTALDI received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from UCLA under Prof. Selim Senkan. Doctoral thesis and research experiences are in high temperature chemical kinetics of micro-structures of premixed hydrocarbon flames with experimental and modeling techniques for investigation of Aromatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon formation as well as theoretical thermodynamic modeling of oxidative coupling catalysts. Joined PCI in 1997 and since then working on novel catalyst formulation and development for methane, natural gas and liquid fuel combustion for gas turbine applications. In addition, fuel processor development for fuel cell and chemical manufacturing industry.

Dr. Castaldi has found that teaching part time while working in industry affords the best of both worlds, where he can impart "real world" experience to his courses and lectures, while maintaining an academic influence when doing research at PCI.

Publications:

Castaldi, M.J. and Senkan, S.M., (1996). "Chemical Structures of Fuel-Rich Flames of trans-C₂H₂Cl₂/CH₄/Ar/O₂", Combust. Flame, 104, pp 41-50.

Gargurevich, I.A., Castaldi, M.J. and Senkan, S.M., (1995). "Chemical Structures of Fuel-Rich, Premixed, Laminar Flames of 1,1-C₂H₂Cl₂/CH₄/O₂/Ar", Combust. Sci. and Tech., 106, pp 69-82.

Castaldi, M.J., Vincitore, A.M., and Senkan, S.M., (1995). "Micro-Structures of Premixed Hydrocarbon Flames: Methane", Combust. Sci. and Tech.,107,pp 1-19.

Castaldi, M.J., and Senkan, S.M., (1995). "Micro-Structure of a Laminar Premixed Ethane Flame", Combust. Sci. and Tech., .

Marinov, N.M, Castaldi, M.J., Melius, C.F., Tsang, W. (1997) "Aromatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation in a Premixed Propane Flame", Combust. Sci. and Tech., 128, pp. 295-342.

Marinov, N.M, Pitz, W.J., Westbrook, C.K, Vincitore, A.M., Castaldi, M.J., Senkan, S.M., and Melius, C.F., (1998) "Aromatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation in a Laminar Premixed n-Butane Flame", Combust. Flame, 114, pp. 192-213.

Castaldi, M.J., and Senkan, S.M., (1995). "Comparison of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in the Premixed Flames of Methane, Ethane and Propane", Combust. Sci. and Tech., 107, pp 41-50.

Marinov, N.M., Pitz, W.J., Westbrook, C.K., Castaldi, M.J., and Senkan, S.M., (1996). "Modelling of Aromatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation in Premixed Methane and Ethane Flames", Combust. Sci. and Tech., 116-117, pp 211-287.

Castaldi, M.J., Marinov, N.M., Melius, C.F., Senkan, S.M., Pitz, W.J., and Westbrook, C.K., (1996). "Experimental and Modelling Investigation of Aromatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation in a Premixed Ethylene Flame", Twenty-Sixth Symposium (International) on Combustion. The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, pp 693-702.

Castaldi, M.J., and Senkan, S.M., (1998) "Continuous Emissions Monitoring of PAH by Laser Photoionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry", Journal of Air and Waste Management, 48, 77-81.

Gittins, G.M., Castaldi, M.J., Senkan, S.M., and Rohlfing, E.A., (1997). "Real-Time Quantitative Analysis of Trace Combustion Byproducts by Resonance Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry", Analytical Chemistry, 69, 286-293.

Carter, R.N., Smith, L.L., Karim, H., Castaldi, M.J., Etemad, S., Muench, G., Boorse, R.S., Menacherry, P., and Pfefferle, W.C., (1999) "Catalytic Combustion Technology Development for Gas Turbine Engine Applications", Material Research Science, 549, pp 93-103.

Smith, L.L., Karim, H., Castaldi, M.J., Etemad, S., and Pfefferle, W.C., " Recent Advances in Catalytic Combustion for Ground Power Gas Turbine Engines" 1999, ASME paper 99-750

Stokes, M.O., Castaldi*, M.J. Smith, L.L., Karim, H., Etemad, S., and Pfefferle, W.C. (2001), "Catalytic Combustion As A Pollution Prevention Technology To Achieve Ultra-Low Emissions In Power Generating Ground-Based Gas Turbine Engines", Proceedings of the 33^rd Mid-Atlantic Industrial Waste Conference, pp 222-232.

Final Research Project Reports to Department of Energy and National Science Foundation on Catalytic Combustion for Natural Gas and Liquid Fuel Operation, Combinatorial Catalysis, Water Gas Shift and Preferential Oxidation Reactor Development.

United States Patent, US6174159 B1, issued January 2001, "Method and Apparatus for a Catalytic Firebox Reactor", with Smith, L.L, Etemad, S., Karim, H., and Pfefferle, W.C.

Castaldi, M.J., "Pollution Prevention: Reaction Network Synthesis", Chapter in Pollution Prevention Book Organized by the UCLA Department of Chemical Engineering, Book in preparation.

Conference Presentations:

Castaldi, M.J., Senkan, S.M., Marinov, N.M., Pitz, W.J., and Westbrook, C.K., "Experimental and Modeling Investigation of Aromatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation in a Premixed Butane Flame". accepted at: American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), November 10-15, 1996, Chicago, Illinios.

Castaldi, M.J., Marinov, N.M., Melius, C.F., Huang, J., Senkan, S.M., Pitz, W.J., and Westbrook, C.K., "Experimental and Modelling Investigation of Aromatic and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Formation in a Premixed Ethylene Flame", accepted at: Twenty-Sixth Symposium (International) on Combustion. The Combustion Institute, Pittsburgh, July 28 - August 2, 1996, Napoli, Italy.

Castaldi, M.J., and Senkan, S.M., "Micro-Structure of a Laminar Premixed Ethane Flame", accepted at: 4^th International Congress on Toxic Combustion By-Products, June 5-7, 1995, University of California, Berkeley.

Marinov, N.M., Pitz, W.J., Westbrook, C.K., Castaldi, and Senkan, S.M., "Modeling of Aromatic and Polyaromatic Formation in Premixed Laminar Flames", accepted at: 4^th International Congress on Toxic Combustion By-Products, June 5-7, 1995, University of California, Berkeley.

Castaldi, M.J., and Senkan, S.M., "Comparison of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) in the Premixed Flames of Methane, Ethane and Propane", accepted at: American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), November 9 - 14, 1995, San Francisco, California.

Castaldi*, M.J. Smith, L.L., Karim, H., Etemad, S., Pfefferle, W.C., Newberry, D. and Bachovchin, D., "Recent Advance in Catalytic Combustion for Ground Power Gas Turbine Engines", accepted at: 92^nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the Air and Waste Management Association, June 21-24, 1999, St. Louis, Missouri.

Castaldi*, M.J. Smith, L.L., Karim, H., Etemad, S., and Pfefferle, W.C., "Low NO_x Catalytic Combustion for ATS Gas Turbine Engines", accepted at: Proceeding of the Advanced Turbine Systems 1999 Annual Program Review Meeting, November 8-10, 1999, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Castaldi, M.J. "Advanced Catalytic Combustion", accepted at: Advanced Gas Turbine Systems Research Combustion VII Workshop, September 6-8, 2000, Berkeley, California.

Stokes, M.O., Castaldi*, M.J. Smith, L.L., Karim, H., Etemad, S., and Pfefferle, W.C., "Catalytic Combustion As A Pollution Prevention Technology To Achieve Ultra-Low Emissions In Power Generating Ground-Based Gas Turbine Engines", accepted at: 33^rd Mid-Atlantic Industrial Waste Conference, June 18-20, 2001, Riverdale, New York.

CONTACT INFO:

E-mail: mcastaldi@aol.com