American EcoFuels Inc. (OTC: AEFI) Appoints Dr. Sasa Dzaferovic as Chief Processing Officer
SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Sept. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American EcoFuels Inc. (OTC: AEFI) ("American EcoFuels" or the "Company"), a developer of advanced synthetic fuel technologies, today announced the appointment of Sasa Dzaferovic, Ph.D., as Chief Processing Officer ("CPO"), adding more than two decades of process, chemical, safety and environmental engineering experience to the Company's technical leadership team.
The appointment of Dr. Dzaferovic follows American EcoFuels' continued expansion of its engineering organization as the Company progresses its proprietary Gas-to-Liquids ("GTL") and Coal-to-Liquids ("CTL") development program. Working with the Company's engineering leadership, Dr. Dzaferovic will focus specifically on the process side of American EcoFuels' technology, helping translate the Company's underlying chemistry and intellectual property into an integrated process capable of producing consistent liquid hydrocarbon products.
The Company intends for its development program to ultimately produce aviation fuel in quantities sufficient for comprehensive testing and advancement through the applicable ASTM qualification pathway, with the longer-term objective of supplying fuels for commercial aviation, aircraft and engine manufacturers, and appropriate U.S. military applications, subject in each case to successful testing, qualification, applicable specifications and customer acceptance.
American EcoFuels also intends to pursue potential offtake relationships and agreements as its engineering, testing and qualification programs progress.
"Dr. Dzaferovic brings an exceptional combination of process engineering, refinery, gas-processing and Fischer-Tropsch experience to American EcoFuels at exactly the time we are expanding our engineering and fuel-development efforts," said Brent Nelson, Executive Chairman of American EcoFuels. "Sasa understands not only the science of converting syngas into liquid hydrocarbons, but also the engineering required to integrate these processes into real operating systems. As we move deeper into engineering, testing and ultimately production of our aviation fuels, we believe his experience will be an important addition to our technical leadership."
Direct Fischer-Tropsch, Refining and Hydroprocessing Experience
Dr. Dzaferovic brings more than 22 years of oil and gas industry experience, including extensive work in refining, natural-gas processing, natural-gas liquids extraction, acid-gas compression and injection, sulfur recovery, gas sweetening, petrochemical manufacturing and renewable-energy processes. His background also includes eight years of scientific research and university lecturing.
Of particular importance to American EcoFuels, Dr. Dzaferovic has direct experience with GTL Fischer-Tropsch processing, including a refinery configuration and optimization study involving the conversion of carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H₂) into liquid hydrocarbons including diesel, jet fuel and naphtha.
As Chief Processing Officer, Dr. Dzaferovic is expected to provide senior technical leadership for the Company's proprietary GTL and CTL process development, including process modeling, optimization, system integration, hydrocarbon conversion, product upgrading and the engineering necessary to advance American EcoFuels' technology toward increasingly sophisticated test and commercial systems.
His experience is particularly relevant to the Company's objective of converting carbon-containing feedstocks into synthesis gas and subsequently rebuilding those molecular constituents into higher-value liquid hydrocarbons. Dr. Dzaferovic's refinery experience includes work involving atmospheric distillation, fluid catalytic cracking, heavy-oil fractionation, naphtha/jet and gas-oil hydrotreaters, delayed cokers and carbon-capture technology.
His professional experience also includes hydroprocessing reactor design on a major synthetic-crude upgrader expansion and extensive work involving refinery process modeling, optimization, hydrocracking, hydrotreating, sulfur recovery and hydrogenation and catalyst-regeneration processes.
Building the American EcoFuels Processing Platform
American EcoFuels believes Dr. Dzaferovic's appointment represents another important step in assembling the engineering organization required to advance the Company's proprietary fuel technologies. His responsibilities as CPO are expected to include oversight and coordination of key processing disciplines involved in taking feedstock through the Company's conversion pathway—from feedstock preparation and synthesis-gas generation through Fischer-Tropsch conversion, hydrocarbon upgrading, separation and final product optimization.
Dr. Dzaferovic has extensive experience with process simulation and modeling platforms including AspenTech HYSYS, BR&E ProMax and Symmetry (VMG), as well as steady-state and dynamic modeling, dynamic safety analysis, process optimization, operational support, gas processing and sulfur recovery. His gas-processing experience includes pre-FEED, FEED and detailed engineering for large sour- and sweet-gas processing facilities, process modeling, compression, dehydration, amine sweetening, refrigeration, liquids recovery and fractionation, acid-gas injection and CO₂ transmission.
"The Fischer-Tropsch process gives us the ability to take carbon monoxide and hydrogen and catalytically construct liquid hydrocarbons, but producing a finished aviation fuel requires considerably more than a single reaction," Nelson continued. "The entire process—from syngas quality and catalyst operating conditions through separation, hydroprocessing, upgrading and final fuel properties—has to work together. Sasa's background is exceptionally well aligned with that challenge."
Academic and International Engineering Background
Dr. Dzaferovic holds a Doctorate in Mathematics, a Master of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering, and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Sarajevo.
His career has included major energy and infrastructure projects in Canada and internationally. He has worked on process design, simulation, safety systems and thermodynamic modeling and has served in senior consulting and engineering leadership roles. His experience includes establishing a Process Engineering division and dedicated Centre of Knowledge at Gemini Corporation and working on refinery, upgrader and LNG systems at Fluor Daniel.
His experience also extends to renewable-energy projects, energy-decarbonization and net-zero strategy work, as well as LNG liquefaction and regasification systems involving refrigeration cycles, mixed refrigerants and cryogenic heat exchange.
About American EcoFuels Inc.
American EcoFuels Inc. (OTC: AEFI) is developing advanced synthetic fuel technologies intended to convert natural gas and coal-derived feedstocks into high-performance liquid hydrocarbons, including Sustainable Aviation Fuel, synthetic paraffinic kerosene, modified clean diesel and related engineered fuels.
Through its GTL and CTL technology platforms, proprietary catalysts and expanding intellectual property portfolio, American EcoFuels is working toward fuels designed to provide the high energy density required by aviation, transportation, defense and industrial applications while utilizing existing engines and fuel infrastructure where applicable and following required testing and certification.
The Company's development strategy encompasses technology engineering, intellectual property development, test-plant operation, fuel testing and certification, strategic partnerships, potential commercial production projects and prospective technology licensing.
American EcoFuels - From Discovering Energy to Engineering It
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains statements regarding future events, expectations, plans, objectives and potential outcomes that are forward-looking in nature and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These statements include, among others, statements concerning the anticipated contributions of the Company's Chief Processing Officer and engineering personnel; the development, testing, qualification, financing and commercialization of the Company's technologies; GTL and CTL processes; Fischer-Tropsch processing; production of aviation and other fuels; ASTM qualification and specification activities; regulatory, military or customer acceptance; expansion of the Company's intellectual property portfolio; potential strategic partnerships, offtake arrangements, production facilities and licensing opportunities; and the Company's ability to execute its business plan.
Forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, developments or events to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that the Company's technologies will achieve expected performance, that its fuels will successfully complete applicable testing or qualification processes or obtain required certifications, that ASTM specifications or other regulatory or customer requirements will be satisfied, that airlines, aircraft or engine manufacturers, the U.S. Department of Defense or any branch of the U.S. military will approve, purchase or use the Company's fuels, that anticipated offtake agreements will be executed, or that the Company will successfully finance, scale or commercialize its technologies. Additional risks include engineering and scale-up risks, intellectual property challenges, financing requirements, regulatory developments, feedstock availability and pricing, competition, market acceptance, environmental requirements and general economic conditions.
Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and American EcoFuels undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such statements except as required by applicable law.
Company Contact:
American EcoFuels Inc.
OTC: AEFI
Phone: 877.233.4485 ext. 730
Email: info@americanecofuelsinc.com
Website: www.americanecofuelsinc.com
