Mark Pilling is the Manager of Technology for Sulzer Chemtech USA where he oversees mass transfer equipment innovation and specializes in engineered applications for various process technologies. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Oklahoma.
After graduating from the University of Oklahoma in 1985, Mark began his professional career as a Process Engineer at Farmland Industries. While working at the Ammonia Plant, he worked with Steam Methane Reforming, CO2 absorption, and cryogenic distillation of argon. These processes are perhaps even more relevant today with the emphasis on clean energy and carbon capture.
Mark then moved to the refining industry working for Total Petroleum (now Valero) and Fluor Daniel. During this time, he was involved in design and operations for variety of refinery processes, including a UOP Platformer and Parex unit (Thanks Mr. Gerhold!).
Mark then moved firmly into the separations world, taking a job as a process engineer at Nutter Engineering (now Sulzer) where he now serves as the Global Head of the Refinery Systems Business. Over the past 27 years, he has been active within the distillation/absorption community and the AIChE Separations Division. He holds 13 patents and has over 30 publications in the field. He is an AIChE Fellow and is a Past Chair of the Separations Division. Mark also served for many years as the SepDiv Awards Director. He received the AIChE Industry Leadership award in 2014 and the Separation Division’s Founders Award in 2016.
He is an active member of Fractionation Research, Inc. and serves as Vice President as well as Chair of the Long Range Planning Committee. He was recognized in the 2022 FRI Annual Meeting for outstanding contributions over the years.