PLENARY SESSION

The Plenary Session welcomes all EXPO, Exhibitor and Conference Attendees! Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 10:15 am – 12:00 pm. Ballroom ABE. Attendees will earn 2 PDH credits.

High-Impact Water Conservation Projects

Roderick M. Smith
Publisher
Best Practices Magazines & EXPO

Roderick “Rod” Muñoz Smith is the Founder and Publisher of Compressed Air, Blower & Vacuum, and Chiller & Cooling – Best Practices® magazines, the producers of the annual Best Practices EXPO & Conference.
Based in Barcelona, Dusseldorf, Pittsburgh and Mobile, Mr. Smith worked as an executive in the compressed air industry (Quincy Compressor and SPX Hankison), from 1992 to 2006, before launching this media company in 2006.

Specifying CTI Certified Cooling Towers for Performance & Reliability

Lee Seela
Mechanical Engineer – Energy Division
Black & Veatch

Lee Seela will share news and updates on behalf of the Cooling Technology Institute (CTI), and share his experiences in specifying CTI-certified heat rejection equipment for industrial plants. Lee is the new Chairperson for the CTI Owner-Operator Committee, and will be discussing this group specifically for end-users/owners.

Lee Seela is a specialist in the Mechanical Engineering group at Black & Veatch. He specializes in cooling towers, air-cooled condensers, fluid coolers, fin-fan coolers, instrument air packages, and more. His career experiences range from being a Nuclear Machinist’s Mate in the US Navy, manufacturing and facilities maintenance, and cooling tower research and development prior to obtaining his Mechanical Engineering degree. At Black & Veatch, Lee handles all aspects of cooling towers for his clients. From new tower designs including the pump intake basin to analyzing vendor proposals for tower refurbishments.

Reducing GHG Emissions With Integrated Heating, Cooling, And Compressed Air Design

Philip Johnston, PE, CEM
Director
E4E Solutions

This session will cover several potential pathways for using waste heat to reduce carbon emissions in an industrial environment. After establishing some basic concepts, the session will focus on the benefit of synchronizing the operation of on-site utilities instead of using traditional isolated strategies. Some practical examples will show the financial and environmental benefits of this approach.

Phil Johnston , PE, CEM, is a mechanical engineer with more than a decade of experience helping firms reach their energy and sustainability goals. He guides clients through creating and executing energy and carbon strategies for facilities and products. His project history includes energy and carbon strategy, energy assessments, project design and implementation.

Reducing American Industrial Carbon Emissions

Michael Younis, CEM
Principal
Dove Energy Services

A recent study evaluated the decarbonization of American industry based on four pillars: energy efficiency, material efficiency, renewables-including carbon capture, and electrification.The evaluation looked at industries such as pulp and paper, iron and steel, chemicals, cement and lime, petroleum refining, aluminum, glass and light industry. The study determined that the most cost effective pillar was energy efficiency, but energy efficiency was also the single largest contributor to decarbonization at an estimated 34%. We will discuss the impact industrial equipment such as air compressors, chillers, pumps, vacuum systems and cooling towers can have on the industrial sector.

Michael Younis provides energy program consulting services for companies starting or enhancing their energy programs. Mr. Younis has over thirty years of experience supporting industrial energy efficiency. Prior to starting Dove Energy Services, Mr. Younis coordinated the efforts of a network of site energy leaders across all Georgia-Pacific operations as well as facilitating energy knowledge sharing and collaboration for Koch Industries, GP’s parent company.  The first seven paper mills that have achieved ENERGY STAR®’s Challenge for Industry Achievers, a 10% energy intensity improvement in less than five years; were supported by Mr. Younis at the time.  Mr. Younis also supported the first pulp and the first paper mill to recognized as first quartile energy efficient through ENERGY STAR® Plant Certification. Mr. Younis has a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Florida and M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of South Florida. 

Compressed Air Systems in the Amusement Park Industry – The Importance of Air Quality

Sean Ferris
Senior Manager Ride/Show – Facility Interface
Universal Creative

Compressed air is used in a lot of different ways across the world. At Universal Creative we use air in a lot of different ways to meet our performance standards and reliability requirements. We will go over how we use air at Universal Creative and how we go about ensuring air quality protects our assets.

Sean Ferris has a Power Engineering Technology Degree from Maine Maritime Academy and an MBA from Hult International Business School in London. In his 12 years of industry experience, he has a wide range of experience from being a Sales Engineer at Bell & Gossett/Xylem to helping start-up/commission Combined Cycle and Coal Power Plants in multiple projects across the United States. He evaluated power plants with Black & Veatch and completed various nuclear projects at Y-12. Now he is helping with the execution of Universal Creative’s latest project Epic Universe in Orlando, FL.