Reflection – Learning Launch 

 Edjanio Sousa 

 Challenge 

 I work in a company that manufactures catalysts for the oil refining industry . A catalyst is a component that   increases the rate of reaction but does not take part in it . In the refining process , reactor is fed with heavy   hydrocarbons and , in the presence of the catalyst , valuable light products are obtained . 

 It is a very competitive market with few but very strong competitors . The market we serve has many state- owned refineries that buy the product by public procurement which includes catalytic test . Catalyst must   win the test to be selected . 

 My challenge was to develop a new product that could win the test and recover one of these customers in   particular , which we have not supplied for years . 

 Selection 

 We set out a series of experiments in the laboratory designed to impart the desired characteristics to the   product : activity ( the ability to convert the heavy hydrocarbons into light ones ) and selectivity ( increase the   yield of one product relative to others ) . 

 Results were scaled to pilot plant and the product tested well in the lab and in a pilot reactor . 

 Some improvements were due , but we were running out of time to bid . So we decided to try the learning   launch tool . 

 After several sessions of ideation , brainstorming and visualization , we came up to a safe and effective   arrangement to perform a plant trial . Scale - up process raises several issues , such as different behavior of   fluid mixing , large amounts to be transferred and the need to install piping and instrumentation to run the   operation . 

 We modified our hardware and ran the production to get the minimum amount of product ( a few tons ) to   run a commercial trial in a small refinery with which we have an agreement . 

 Application 

 During scale - up , the usual protocol is to explore the operating window of process conditions , try different   formulations , and stress the boundaries of product physicals . But we decided not to go so deep in analysis   and testing , but go for the proof of concept : research basis was solid , product characterization and   performance test results were encouraging . 

 The product we obtained had no further improvements in formulation or cost saving activities in the plant ,   but it carried the fundamentals of our research . 

 Catalyst was used in the small refinery and data were collected and analyzed , thus confirming our   expectations of higher activity and selectivity . 

 Insight 

 Using the learning launch tool has been a breakthrough in our organization . Mostly composed of chemical   engineers ( as me ) , the approach to product development and launch has always had a conservative and   cautious bias . All causes of potential failure should be anticipated , massive and extensive product 

 characterization and performance were supposed to be run in each scale of   development before product   came into production . This protocol lengthens the time to market a great deal and hinders innovation . 

 The great insight was to show that we can have a consistent product and technology ready for market   launch even though we do not know all the answers and failure modes but based on solid fundamentals   and experimental work . 

 I believe we can use this tool more often to speed up our time to market and keep the innovation process   running smothly , but what I might do differently next time is to bring customer experience to the   development plan . Carry interviews and propose cooperation plans to test product at the customer ’s lab in   between the tenders to have a deeper understanding of his protocols and decision making . 


EMAIL: 
ID_NUM: 
NAME_STUDENT: Edjanio Sousa
PHONE_NUM: 
STREET_ADDRESS: 
URL_PERSONAL: 
USERNAME: 

### Task: You are a PII (Personal Identity Information) Detection. Given a essays written by students, you have to identify ONLY the following:
NAME_STUDENT - The full or partial name of a student that is not necessarily the author of the essay. This excludes instructors, authors, and other person names.
EMAIL - A student’s email address.
USERNAME - A student's username on any platform.
ID_NUM - A number or sequence of characters that could be used to identify a student, such as a student ID or a social security number.
PHONE_NUM - A phone number associated with a student.
URL_PERSONAL - A URL that might be used to identify a student.
STREET_ADDRESS - A full or partial street address that is associated with the student, such as their home address.
### Input: Reflection – Learning Launch 

 Edjanio Sousa 

 Challenge 

 I work in a company that manufactures catalysts for the oil refining industry . A catalyst is a component that   increases the rate of reaction but does not take part in it . In the refining process , reactor is fed with heavy   hydrocarbons and , in the presence of the catalyst , valuable light products are obtained . 

 It is a very competitive market with few but very strong competitors . The market we serve has many state- owned refineries that buy the product by public procurement which includes catalytic test . Catalyst must   win the test to be selected . 

 My challenge was to develop a new product that could win the test and recover one of these customers in   particular , which we have not supplied for years . 

 Selection 

 We set out a series of experiments in the laboratory designed to impart the desired characteristics to the   product : activity ( the ability to convert the heavy hydrocarbons into light ones ) and selectivity ( increase the   yield of one product relative to others ) . 

 Results were scaled to pilot plant and the product tested well in the lab and in a pilot reactor . 

 Some improvements were due , but we were running out of time to bid . So we decided to try the learning   launch tool . 

 After several sessions of ideation , brainstorming and visualization , we came up to a safe and effective   arrangement to perform a plant trial . Scale - up process raises several issues , such as different behavior of   fluid mixing , large amounts to be transferred and the need to install piping and instrumentation to run the   operation . 

 We modified our hardware and ran the production to get the minimum amount of product ( a few tons ) to   run a commercial trial in a small refinery with which we have an agreement . 

 Application 

 During scale - up , the usual protocol is to explore the operating window of process conditions , try different   formulations , and stress the boundaries of product physicals . But we decided not to go so deep in analysis   and testing , but go for the proof of concept : research basis was solid , product characterization and   performance test results were encouraging . 

 The product we obtained had no further improvements in formulation or cost saving activities in the plant ,   but it carried the fundamentals of our research . 

 Catalyst was used in the small refinery and data were collected and analyzed , thus confirming our   expectations of higher activity and selectivity . 

 Insight 

 Using the learning launch tool has been a breakthrough in our organization . Mostly composed of chemical   engineers ( as me ) , the approach to product development and launch has always had a conservative and   cautious bias . All causes of potential failure should be anticipated , massive and extensive product 

 characterization and performance were supposed to be run in each scale of   development before product   came into production . This protocol lengthens the time to market a great deal and hinders innovation . 

 The great insight was to show that we can have a consistent product and technology ready for market   launch even though we do not know all the answers and failure modes but based on solid fundamentals   and experimental work . 

 I believe we can use this tool more often to speed up our time to market and keep the innovation process   running smothly , but what I might do differently next time is to bring customer experience to the   development plan . Carry interviews and propose cooperation plans to test product at the customer ’s lab in   between the tenders to have a deeper understanding of his protocols and decision making .
### Output: 