Gerard J. Van Gils
495 47th Ave N St. Petersburg, FL 33703 | 727-560-7899 |
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Environmental Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, May 1988. Thesis: Development of a New Method for Priority Pollutant Removal and Industrial Wastewater Reuse
B.Sc. Physics, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, May 1972
ABILITIES
Technical Expertise
A proven leader in the development of industrial water and wastewater treatment systems. An innovator in the use of membranes and other technologies for the treatment and reuse of difficult-to-treat waste streams. An experienced consultant in the realm of regulatory affairs surrounding water issues.
Leadership, Sales and Marketing
An experienced and effective executive, manager and team builder. A successful developer of collaborative and trusting teams of technical and professional personnel. A sales-driven technical professional with unique ability to develop and deliver high-end technical solutions for the industrial water and wastewater market.
WORK HISTORY
Vice President, Wastewater Systems | Kemco Systems , Clearwater, FL 1999 to Present
Gerard Van Gils serves as Vice President for Kemco Systems, a water and wastewater treatment system manufacturing company. His role at Kemco has included the development and sales of new wastewater treatment and recycling technologies for industries such as textile, industrial laundries, and food industry.
At Kemco, Dr. Van Gils has developed Ceramic Microfiltration (CMF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems for the recycle of wastewater at industrial laundries. Under his leadership, the Kemco team has installed dozens of such systems throughout the industry in the US, Canada, Australia, China and Qatar.
Gerard has also designed and commissioned CMF and RO treatment systems for a variety of food processing industries including the following:
· Meat (bacon) production plant (CMF-RO)
· Waffle manufacturing plant (CMF-RO)
· Dairy plant (CMF-RO)
· Rice cooking (CMF)
· Bakeries (CMF)
· Soybean processing (CMF)
Dr. Van Gils has designed and installed numerous other types of treatment technologies including the following:
· Military Bases and Airport Operations (the treatment of fire-fighting wastes and industrial wastewater including the removal of AFFF foams using air sparged hydrocyclones)
· Textile and Food processing plant wastewater treatment using Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) and Inclined Plate Clarifier (IPC) systems.
Vice President, Environmental Affairs | Textek Inc. Tucker, GA 1994 to 1999
Dr. Van Gils provided environmental engineering consulting services to industry, including industrial wastewater treatment, hazardous waste management, air emissions control, and pollution prevention. He also developed a wastewater treatment system for Textek’s hazardous shop and print towel laundry. This system provided removal of oils and greases as well as priority pollutants including heavy metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Consulting clients include several major US corporations as well as BAPEDAL, the Indonesian Environmental Control Agency. He also contributed to the design, construction and implementation of a Sequenced Batch Reactor (SBR) system for the treatment of wastewater meeting stream discharge standards at a remote Buddhist retreat center located in the Rocky Mountains.
Vice President West Coast, Office Manager | RMT Inc., Santa Monica, CA 1988 to 1994
Dr. Van Gils opened the west coast office for the consulting firm RMT Inc. and was responsible for staff hiring, business development, work product deliverables and all financial objectives of the branch office.
He also provided Senior Consultant and Project Management services to major corporate clients. Dr. Van Gils has experience in a variety of environmental areas including wastewater treatment, air emissions control, and corporate environmental management. Some project examples follow:
Developed an innovative design for an advanced wastewater and reuse system for a US textile company. The system utilizes electrochemical coagulation and reverse osmosis to process wastewater from a textile dyeing process.
Managed the development of a wastewater treatment upgrade design for an electronics materials manufacturing company located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Dr. Van Gils served as project manager for the design of a system employing chemical treatment, dissolved air flotation, fixed film biological treatment and solids dewatering for a multi-national company manufacturing silicon.
DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING | ARATEX (ARAmark) SERVICES, Encino, Ca| 1978 to 1987
Responsible for all regulatory agency interactions and negotiations for a nationwide corporation. Responsible for writing and implementation of all corporate policies and procedures for environmental compliance. Developed training programs for environmental audit teams, and for the line management personnel. Developed standards for line operations. Hired and trained core group of environmental staff.
Developed an innovative, cost effective technology for removal of priority pollutants and water reuse using ultrafiltration and activated carbon adsorption.
PATENTS:
· Membrane Filtration Process, US Number 4,610,792 dated September 9, 1986.
· Membrane Filtration Apparatus and Process for Reuse of Industrial Wastewater, US Number 10,781,122 dated September 22, 2020.
HONORS AND ASSOCIATIONS:
· Chi Epsilon, National Civil Engineering Honor Society
· American Membrane Technology Association
· Water Pollution Control Federation
· American Society of Civil Engineers
· Association of Energy Engineers
· Registered Environmental Assessor, State of California(REA-03294)
· State of Georgia Certificate of Industrial Wastewater Treatment System Operation (No. 31717)
PUBLICATIONS(partial list):
“Membrane Processes for Wastewater Treatment in the Food Industry” International Water Conference Proceedings, November 2018
“Treatment of High Strength Industrial Wastewater Using Ceramic Membranes and Reverse Osmosis” International Water Conference Proceedings, November 2017
“Industrial Wastewater Recycling and Energy Conservation Using High Temperature RO Membranes” International Water Conference Proceedings, November 2016 (co-author, Rich Franks, PE, Hydranautics)
“Biofiltration, A New Technology for Control of Airborne Volatile Organic Compounds”. Proceedings of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers 1992 Annual Conference.
“Development of a Combined Ultrafiltration and Carbon Adsorption System for Industrial Wastewater reuse and Priority Pollutant Removal” Environmental Progress, Vol. 5, No. 3, August 1986
“Development of a New Industrial Wastewater Technology: A System for Water Reuse and Priority Pollutant Removal”, Proceedings of the 58th Conference of Water Pollution Control Federation (October 1985).
“Pilot Plant Investigations for the Removal of Toxic Pollutants from Industrial Laundry Wastewater”, Proceedings of the 17th Mid Atlantic Industrial Waste Conference (June 1985).
“Treatment of Emulsified and Colloidal Wastes” Proceedings of the 39th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference (May 1984).
For more publications as well as a list of Presentations, please contact me.