Introduction:

Born and raised in Mobile, Al; Woodcock Elementary, Barton Junior High and graduated from Murphy High School; freshman year Auburn University, graduated from the University of Florida with a BS in Chemistry and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge with a PhD in Chemistry; major - Organic with Dr James G. Traynham and a minor in Analytical. Post Doctoral at Rice University in synthetic organic chemistry with Professor Ernest Wenkert. Thirty-five year career in industrial chemistry, primarily at Phillips Petroleum Research Center and at Bruker Optics. Eleven years as a technical manager at Phillips Petroleum in the Polyolefins Division. Process analytical applications chemist for mid-infrared, near infrared and Raman instrumentation at Bruker Optics. Fall of 2009, Chemistry  Department, University of South Alabama teaching general and organic chemistry laboratory sections.

Research Interests:

Process Analytical Chemistry. Organic Molecular Structure Determination, Synthetic Organic Chemistry.

We have all become Analytical Chemists. The quality of our decisions depends upon the quality and timeliness of the data collected and that depends upon the quality of the analytical application and the instrumentation used to provide the data. In-line Process Analytical Chemistry is a recognized key component of chemical industry professionals and several graduate programs in the United States. Some  technical schools and 2-year colleges offer training for technicians in the area of instrumentation service and support and distributed control system operation. However, classically educated undergraduates in chemistry have little experience on the practical aspects of their education in quantitative analysis related to process analytical chemistry. The chemometrics principals found in experimental design, principal components of analysis, partial least squares analysis; multivariate calibration and multivariate validation are lightly covered in most advanced undergraduate instrumental analysis courses because of the time it takes to cover classical topics. No on-line monitoring of reactions is included in freshman general or sophomore organic chemistry labs. Yet, industrial chemists, of all levels – BS, MS and PhD – in technical or managerial functions and in all sub-disciplines of chemistry have an increasing need to have process analysis skills because typical laboratory positions in operational chemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical plants have been disappearing at a rapid pace over the last decade as companies downsize operations staffs.

Because the need for process analyses continues in the commercial manufacturing plant, whether on not there is anyone in the Control Lab to run the test, the main way more technically savvy companies have found to provide the same level of analytical coverage is through conscious support of technical professionals in this area and implementation of at-line, on-line or in-line process analytical equipment. The pharmaceutical process analytical technology initiative funded by the National Science Foundation has focused resources on this issue over the last 5 years. More European universities have process analytical course offerings than their US counterparts. Even ports and police forensic chemistry departments have the need to use chemometrics to rapidly and non-invasively identify illegal substances and to perform library searches of spectral data with instrumentation which can be deployed in the field.

Our goal is to provide positive exposure to process analytical chemistry in the education of chemists, chemical engineers, mechanical engineers and future management personnel who will find jobs in US industry with hands-on operation and experience with high quality process analytical instrumentation to enhance their interest in an analytical chemistry career as a bachelor’s degreed professional or to pursue an advanced degree education in the field.

Research Opportunities

Publications and Patents:

Publications

1. Conformational Preferences in Some Bicyclic, Tricyclic and Related Acyclic N-Nitrosamines, 1974(Dissertation).
2. Battiste, D. R. and Traynham, J. G., A Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Study of Structure in Some Bi- and Tricyclic N-Nitrosamines, J. Org. Chem. 1975, 40, 1230.
3. Battiste, D. R., Davis, L. P. and Nauman, R. V., Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Quantum Chemical Analysis of Some N-Nitrosamines, J. Amer. Chem. Soc., 1975, 97, 5071.
4. Battiste, D. R., Haseldine, D. L., Reaction of Alpha- and Beta-Pinene with Diethyl Hydrogen Phosphite under Free Radical Conditions, Synthetic Communications, 1984, 14(11), 993-1000.
5. Battiste, D. R., Butler, J. P., Cross, J. B. and McDaniel, M. P., Infrared Spectrometric Determination of Catalysts Used in the Production of High Density Polyethylene, Anal. Chem., 1981, 53, 2232.
6. Battiste, D. R., Fry, S. E., White, F. T., Scoggins, M. W. and McWilliams, T. B., Determination of Ethanol in Gasohol by Infrared Spectrometry, Anal. Chem. 1981, 53, 1096.
7. Stewart, J. F., White, F. T. and Battiste, D. R., Improved Change-Over Time between Regular and GC-IR of the Digilab FTS-15B, Review of Scientific Instruments, 1982, 53(3), 371.
8. Fry, S. E., Fuller, M. P., White, F. T. and Battiste, D. R., Determination of Methyl tert-Butyl Ether in Gasoline by Infrared Spectrometry, Anal. Chem., 1983, 55, 407.
9. DesLauriers, P. J, Battiste, D. R., Influencing Factors in Thermoxidative Degradation and Topical Stabilization of Polyethylene Resins Produced by Chrome Catalysts, Annual Technical Conference – Society of Plastics Engineers (1995), 53rd(Vol. 3), 3639-43.
10. Battiste, D. R. et al, On-line Raman Spectrometry in Chevron Phillips 1-Hexene and Loop Polyethylene Processes, Gulf Coast Conference, September 27, 2000, Galveston, Texas.

Patents

1. Battiste, D. R., Diphosphonic Acids and Esters of Para-Menthane, U. S. Patent 4,183,879, January 15, 1980.
2. Kukes, S. G., Battiste, D. R., Demetallization of Heavy Oils with Phosphorus Acid, U. S. Patent 4,522,702, Jun 6, 1985.
3. Battiste, D. R. and Harris, J. R., Pillared Interlayer Clays [Preparation and Gas Separation with], U. S. Patent 4,637,991, Jan. 20, 1987.
4. Battiste, D. R., Harris, J. R., Parks, G. D., Bertus, B. J., Pillared Interlayed Clay Products of Increased Stability, U. S. Patent 4,719,191, Jan. 12, 1988.
5. Harris, J. R., Battiste, D. R., Bertus, B. J., Cracking Catalysts Comprising Pillared Clays, U. S. Patent 4,742,033, May 3, 1988.
6. Wolfe, A. R., Battiste, D. R., Straw, H. E., Process for making Smooth Plastic Tubing, U. S. Patent. 5,102,611, Apr. 7, 1992.
7. Battiste, D. R., Willcox, K. W., Morgan, T. J., Apparatus and Method for Evaluating the Propensity of Polymers for Smoking during Processing, U. S. Patent 5,110,214, May 5, 1992.
8. Battiste, D. R., Cowan, K. D, Acid Neutralization of Crosslink Polyethylene Feedstock with Calcium Stearoyl Lactylates, U. S. Patent 5,371,129, December 6, 1994.
9. Eldridge, R. B., Mueller, F. X., Farrar, R. C., Willcox, K. W., Cowan, K. D., Battiste, D. R., A Process to Deodorize an Odorous Poly(Mono-1-olefin), U. S. Patent 5,194,582, March 16, 1993.
10. McDaniel, M. P., Hawley, G., Harris, J. R., Battiste, D. R., Large Particle Replication of Polymer Structure with Pillared Clay Polyolefin Catalyst Support, U. S. Patent 5,362,825, November 8, 1994.
11. Battiste, D. R., Russell, M. K., Coutant, W. R., Harder, J. R., Phosphite Additives in Polyolefins, U. S. Patent 6,613,823, September 2, 2003.
12. Battiste, D.R., Monitoring and Control of Slurry Processes for Polymerizing Olefins, US 6,723,804, April 20, 2004.
13. Battiste, D. R., Andress, D. L. Noninvasive Measurement and Control System for use in Hydrocarbon Processing (Liquefied Natural Gas Plant), Conoco-Phillips, US patent 7,213,413. Foreign applications filed. June 16, 2004. Issued May 8, 2007.