Bioindustrial reseach projects to explore conversion of industrial materials

Montreal, QC – The National Research Council Biotechnology Research Institute (NRC-BRI) says environmental sector has received two grants totalling $1.8 million over three-years from the Canadian Biomass Innovation Network.

The first $1.4 million grant is for a project entitled “Natural Fibres Initiative for Biochemicals and Biomaterials”. The main goal of this research project is to develop industrial uses for agriculture crop residues (fibres and shives), such as in composite materials for the automobile, aircraft and construction sectors, as well as to develop biochemicals as feedstock for the “green chemical” industry. Participating in this large-scale project will be the NRC Industrial Materials Institute, the NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute, the NRC Institute for Biological Sciences, the NRC Institute for Chemical Process and Environmental Technology, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Biolin Research Inc., Saskflax and several other companies and organizations.

The second, $400,000 grant is for a project entitled “Residual Organic Wastes to Bio-Energy”, which aims to develop bioprocesses for the conversion of industrial and municipal wastes into energy. The anticipated impact of this project is to demonstrate to industrial and public decision-makers that anaerobic digestion is a cost-effective solution when compared to incineration, landfilling or composting, with the additional cost-benefit of decreasing GHG emissions. This project is led by Natural Resources Canada with participation from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for an Agricultural AD Test Facility and Environment Canada for GHG Analyses.

“By winning these competitions with our partners, our teams have demonstrated their leadership in the bioproducts and bioenergy fields in Canada,” said Adrien Pilon, director, environmental sector, NRC Biotechnology Research Institute. “We look forward to working with all the public and private collaborators in these projects.”