In Memoriam: Waldemar R. Hertwig

Waldemar R. (Wally) Hertwig, a retired research associate in Amoco Oil Design Economics, died April 1 , 201 0 in San Diego, CA. He was 89.

A native of San Francisco, Hertwig earned BS and MS degrees in chemical engineering from Columbia Univ. In 1 943, he joined Standard Oil of Indiana at the Whiting Refinery, making aviation gasoline for the war effort. He was later in charge of catalytic cracking process development, and then Ultraforming process development and Ultraforming process coordination for the Amoco refinery system.

In the 1960s, as research associate in the Design and Economics Div. of Amoco's Naperville, IL, Research Center, Hedwig moved into process evaluation, including resid hydroprocessing, tar sands upgrading, and crude replacement programs for the Mandan, Wood River, and Texas City refineries. Based on Hertwig's economics, a new resid processing unit was built at Texas City to handle high-sulfur crude; that unit was nearing startup when he retired in 1980.

A 50-year member of AIChE, Hertwig was a registered Professional Engineer in Indiana and Illinois. He is survived by a daughter (Betsie) and a son (Tom), who is also a chemical engineer. He was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Ruth.