ChEnected Posts by Martin Bergstedt

Martin Bergstedt

Martin Bergstedt is an experienced executive, with a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Minnesota. He first joined Economics Laboratory at their pilot plant, performing process development and plant start-ups. From there he held positions of progressively increasing scope and responsibility at ETD Technology and DuPont Electronics, and then spent ten years in General Manager positions with Aptus (Westinghouse) Environmental and USFilter (Veolia). He worked at U.S. Water Services as Director of Engineering and Project Management, overseeing the design, specification and installation of water treatment systems for 60 new ethanol plants in a three year period, and is currently General Manager, Eastern U.S. at Amazon Environmental. His greatest successes are when taking underperforming or inexperienced organizations and forging a cohesive effort to accomplish the project or profit objectives.

Production of Biofuels from Giant Miscanthus [On Location]

March 18, 2011. By Martin Bergstedt
The plant giant miscanthus (GM), a grass of Japanese origins, is proving to be a viable contender for a land-efficient biomass source of biofuels. A patented hybrid has been developed that can yield 25 tons/acre (5 times more that switchgrass), and produces a bio-oil that can be used as boiler fuel, further processed into other fuels or value added products, or reformed to generate hydrogen.

Determining the Value of a Chemical Business [On Location]

March 17, 2011. By Martin Bergstedt
Whether getting in or getting out, successful business level transactions are dependent upon an accurate and insightful valuation of the business, its assets, income capabilities, and the business's place in the market. On Tuesday, Clinton Bogart, VP of the Industrial Valuation and Advisory Services group at CB Richard Ellis, presented the tools and techniques that have brought him and his company to a leadership position in the field.

Bringing Value to Waste through Gas Fermentation [On Location]

March 16, 2011. By Martin Bergstedt
As the world faces increasing energy challenges, one of the holy grails is a way to use waste carbon gasses to create new fuels or other high-value products. The ability to capture CO/CO2 to make a combustible fuel offers the possibility of a low/no-CO2 fuel. LanzaTech is currently piloting a CO/CO2 capture process, using a proprietary microbe that extracts carbon gasses from the air, to make fuel ethanol, using the basic oxygen furnace (BOF) gas from a steel mill in China. Roughly 30% of the carbon is converted into ethanol.

ExxonMobil Is Going Green…Algae, that Is! [On Location]

March 15, 2011. By Martin Bergstedt
In his keynote address to the AIChE Spring 2011 Conference, Dr. F. Emil Jacobs, VP of R & D, ExxonMobil Research and Development Company, discussed the company's views on the outlook for energy over the next 20 years, taking into consideration population growth and economic activity expansion and how they will affect energy use and demand.

Influence of Acids and Alkalis on Cellulose Pyrolysis [On Location]

March 14, 2011. By Martin Bergstedt
One of the more interesting concepts in dealing with waste materials is the desire to convert them to higher value materials for reuse or as feed stocks for existing chemical and pharmaceutical processes. Due to the large volume of cellulosic-based wastes, the pyrolysis of cellulose to levoglucosan and other anhydrosaccharides (AS) is a current area of study for a research group at the Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES) in Singapore.

Gaining Acceptance as a New Supervisor

6/7 in the series Tools and Tips for Successful Management and Leadership
February 03, 2011. By Martin Bergstedt
Part 6 in the series "Tools and Tips for Successful Management and Leadership." So how exactly do you go about gaining acceptance once you've managed to land that new management position? A lot will ride on it. Success will now be a function of your group/team’s output and performance, not just your own. Your ability to gain the acceptance of your team and get over any speed bumps quickly will be a function of how you approach this initial phase of your new position, and will dictate the time it takes to get them to a high level of productivity.

Michael Strommen Discusses 3M’s Renewable Energy Efforts

January 05, 2011. By Martin Bergstedt
Michael Strommen is the Wind Blade Composites Program Leader at 3M and helps spearhead the company's efforts to create coatings and films for green technologies. He attended the E3 Conference in St. Paul, MN where he was able to speak with ChEnected about 3M's focus on wind, energy, and solar conservation.

A report from E3 2010: The Midwest’s Premier Energy, Environment and Economic Conference

December 14, 2010. By Martin Bergstedt
Researchers, students, government officials, and nonprofit and business leaders from Minnesota and across the nation attended E3 2010, Tuesday, November 30 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. This year’s conference focused on the intersection among innovative technologies and policies, environmental benefits, and emerging market opportunities in the renewable energy sector.