Poster Abstracts
Students and researchers will be showcasing their projects in the areas of biorefining and bioprocessing at the 2017 Atlantic Biorefinery Conference. We invite you to familiarize yourself with their project abstracts and engage with the students and researchers at the Conference.
Bioethanol Production from Lignocellulose Biomass
Wyatt MacNevin
Undergraduate Student, School of Sustainable Design Engineering
University of Prince Edward Island
Bioethanol, an alcohol produced by the fermentation of sugars and starches contained within lignocellulosic biomass, can be used as a biofuel in combustion applications. In this study, the effects of various biomass feedstocks and enzyme additions were examined to determine the optimal waste feedstock for the production of bioethanol. In particular, softwood, hardwood, switch grass, leaves, and cardboard were examined as potential feedstocks to compare bioethanol yield after mechanical pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, and distillation. Preliminary results have shown that out of the feedstock observed, the highest bioethanol concentration produced was found through the use of cardboard and the enzyme addition of cellulase.
Developing Bio-economy of Flax and Hemp Fibers in Atlantic Canada
Martin Tango
Associate Professor, School of Engineering
Acadia University
Natural fibres (bio-based) are derived from cellulosic and protein based sources. Recent research interests in this field focus on developing renewable, recyclable, sustainable and bio-based composites produced from agricultural feedstocks such as flax and hemp fibers. Due to its significance, UN designated 2009 to be the international year of natural fibres. Presently, natural fibres industry is the major employer, with millions of people all over the world, especially in the developing countries. As the major non-food commodity, natural fibres and their products are processed in many small and large industries and consumers all over the world. The promotion of the bio-based economy serves as a transition and solutions that contribute to sustainable developments as well as minimization of environmental impacts.
The Government of Canada, through Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) recognizes the importance of natural fibres in its bio-economy. In this regard, Atlantic Canada needs to re-align its research priorities by exploring the role of natural fibres into its bio-economy. Over the last four years, our research group has been engaged in a seed viability and soil trials experiments for flax and hemp crops. Several seed cultivars and soil types were used to assess the crop growth rate, fibre yields and quality. In addition, tissue analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of fibres, structural strength analyses of bio-composite structures were also evaluated. Further researches are underway in collaboration with two industry partners and we are very hopeful that future research findings will provide better understanding on potential and contribution of flax and hemp natural fibers into the bio-economy of Atlantic Canada.
Development of a Low-Cost Application Specific Colorimeter for Aquaponics Systems
Zachary Butler
Research Associate, Department of Applied Research
NSCC
Aquaponics is the process that integrates aquaculture and hydroponic cultivation of plants. In these systems, co-cultured organisms (fish, bacteria and plants) are maintained in a holistic and sustainable manner. To achieve this goal, monitoring and controlling process water quality becomes crucial to optimize the key operational parameters that enhance plant growth and minimizes impact to fish health.
A low-cost colorimeter suitable for pilot scale aquaponics systems has been developed. It is a state of the art device that consists of microcontrollers, light emitting diodes and photo-resistors. 3D printing technology was utilized and provided an accessible opportunity to fabricate the device. It is capable to detect molecular changes in liquids/process water that can exceed the capabilities of many commercial products, yet with ease, simplicity and expedited manner.
The device was designed and built by Nova Scotia Community College Electronic Engineering Technology students through a partnership between NSCC Applied Research and Nova Aquaponics Inc. - a local industry partner, with support from School of Engineering, Acadia University. The performance testing of the device is underway and to-date, successfully testing and has comparable attributes with regards to commercial spectrophotometric devices.
Enhancement of pyrolysis bio-oil fuel properties via co-processing with fisheries by-products
Anke Krutof
PhD Candidate, Process Engineering
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Pyrolysis bio-oil from forestry residue has been investigated as a possible alternative or blend for fossil fuels and chemical feedstock. However, challenges in direct use as a fuel such as high acid, oxygen, and water content causing instability and corrosion. This limits crude pyrolysis bio-oil to replacement of heavy heating oils. To broaden the application of the oil oxygen, acidity, and water content must be reduced. Our research investigates the co-processing of the biomass with additives in the form of by-products from the fisheries industry (mussel shells) to enhance oil and char quality. Preliminary experiments indicate a promising reduction of oxygenated organic compounds. A detailed, designed experiments will investigate the upgrading of oil and char using additives with variation of temperature, nitrogen flow, and softwood-to-additive ratio. The second objective of this research is to investigate the thermodynamic properties of the oil utilising advanced distillation curve (ADC) equipment. The boiling temperature and composition data obtained from the ADC experiments will be used to create a thermodynamic model of the oil. This model will increase the limited understanding of pyrolysis bio-oil properties and aid to improve these properties for a wider range of applications.
Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Brown Seaweed for the Production of Biorefining Feedstocks
Hector Vargas
M.Sc Candidate, Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences
University of Alberta
There has been an increasing interest in the production of biorefining feedstocks. Seaweeds are of special interest because they can be grown at sea and thus do not compete for land use with food crops. They can also be grown in waste water, making use of resources that right now are not of value. Seaweeds have very low to practically zero lignin, which are cross-linked phenolic polymers and one of the more complex polymers to break down in land plants. One of the shortcomings of seaweed is that because they are adapted to aquatic environments, water, which commonly facilitates break down of the feedstock, does not work well with seaweed, and thus other methods of breakdown are needed. One of them is enzymatic hydrolysis, the breaking of the cellular structure of the seaweed into simpler components with the use of an enzyme or a group of enzymes. The molecules released by enzyme treatment could be used as feedstocks for value-added applications, such as fermentation to ethanol. We performed compositional analysis of brown algae (Ascophyllum nodosum) and then subjected it to three different enzyme treatments and two different pretreatments, followed by characterization of the resulting material.
India Biofuel Industry- Challenges, Opportunities and Business Strategies
Amanpreet Singh Chopra
Ph.D Candidate
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India
In this paper author studied the existing Government Targets of 5E/10E/20E fuel ethanol blending with gasoline and analysed the current and future demand and supply of fuel ethanol in India till 2020. This presents huge business opportunities for technology providers to participate in forthcoming projects in India. Author also studied the techno-economic feasibility of production of Fuel Ethanol through standalone 2nd Generation Technologies (lignocellulosic) and through sensitivity analysis concluded that with current capping on Fuel Ethanol Pricing @ INR 39/L, the Ethanol production through 2G technologies is economically not viable in the country. This is hampering the huge potential available for Fuel Ethanol in India. Author also analysed that the current (1G) technological set up in the country i.e production of Fuel ethanol through Sugarcane Molasses, India will still fall way short of its blending targets. This calls for scouting newer and economical viable technologies or innovative methodologies for ramping up ethanol production in the country. To bridge this ever increasing supply and demand gap and achieve certain degree of economic viability, author proposed the future strategies of process and 3rd level integration of 1G and 2G technologies along with sugarmill to achieve economy of scale for the forthcoming projects.
Isolating Nanocrystalline Cellulose from Local Invasive Tunicates
Matthew Dunlop
M.Sc candidate, School of Sustainable Design Engineering and the Department of Chemistry
University of Prince Edward Island
Cellulose is well known as the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) is a valuable commodity, which consists of the nanoscale crystalline region of the cellulose polymer. Tunicates are marine invertebrate animals, whose name originates from their unique integumentary tissue known as the tunic. Tunic tissue utilizes cellulose microfibrils which act as a skeletal structure. Tunic tissue constitutes the only known animal source of NCC. Tunicates adversely affect the growth and overall health of mussels. This is clearly seen on PEI, where the growing population of invasive tunicates has drastically slowed the growth of the island mussel industry. PEI contributes roughly 80% of the mussels sold in Canada. It is therefore imperative that a comprehensive strategy be developed to address this growing problem. This work seeks to isolate NCC from the four species of invasive tunicates on PEI. Laying academic ground work, towards the industrialization of NCC isolation from tunicates on PEI. In an effort to mitigate or eliminate the many problems posed by local invasive tunicates. Particularly to the local aquaculture community, as well as our island economy. Well concurrently opening the door to new value added economic resources, sourced from a harmful invasive species.
Role of Aquaponics in BioEconomy: Evolving Crop Growing Process and Source of Nutrition
Ruth Boachie
Research Associate, Department of Applied Research
Nova Scotia Community College
Emerging food security concerns have prompted the need for sustainable crop production approaches. This challenge has encouraged communities to explore diverse efficient approaches, such as aquaculture and hydroponics, and lately aquaponics.
A recirculating aquaculture system is a process of growing aquatic animal/plant species, whereby the water can be reused after purification. Currently, almost half of the fish consumed in the world are produced using aquaculture. However, a major sustainability concern is process nutrient-rich water treatment and disposal, which can be expensive and harmful to the environment.
Hydroponics is a process in which plants are grown in soil-less substrate or an aqueous solution. This produces higher yields than traditional agriculture, because it enhances pest control and reduce soil-borne disease due to less plant-soil contact.
A recent method of food production is aquaponics, which incorporates three organisms: fish, bacteria and plants. In this system, nutrient rich water from the fish tank moves to soil-less plant mass to provide nutrients required with the help of nitrifying bacteria. Aquaponics systems have enhanced yield, higher fiber and mineral content in the tissue. However, these systems are slightly complicated; have inherently limited public perception, limited consumer knowledge, uncertain legislation and regulation.
We are reporting on-going initiatives of a pilot scale aquaponics system. The primary objectives were to assess the water quality control measures to meet the desired specifications of the industry partner; develop a customized low-cost spectrophotometer device and establish the optimum parameters for temperature, pH, light intensity, fish feed and micronutrient levels that support a balanced system for optimum plant yield.
Waste-to-Energy Conversion Technologies: An Interdisciplinary Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of the Associated Biotech Strategies
Farshad Khademi
Ph.D candidate, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
Dalhousie University
From a socioeconomic-environmental point of view, the consequences of human activities can be described as a rapid increase in the health and environmental drawbacks because of the emitted gaseous, liquid, and solid wastes, and correspondingly the natural resources’ crisis while the demand for all these resources, specifically fossil fuels and biomass is increasing rapidly.
Based on the circular economy, Cascading Use of Biomass (CUB) is an efficient principle that through its waste-conversion strategies could increase the productivity, and furthermore offers a proficient use of valuable raw material resources. Subsequently, CUB’s Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technologies present more health and environmental benefits than any primary use of biomass for energy production, and contribute to a sustainable global development.
Presently, developed countries are in search of novel strategies and technologies for their Waste Management systems, for example, to exclude the landfilling strategy and to achieve the utmost material and energy recovery points of their wastes.
This poster, based on the most recent techno-economic and environmental sustainability assessments, and also the current trends in modern biotechnology, bioengineering, and the related WtE policies, legislations, and management disciplines together, presents the comparative view of the most popular WtE technologies around the globe.
Bioethanol Production from Lignocellulose Biomass
Wyatt MacNevin
Undergraduate Student, School of Sustainable Design Engineering
University of Prince Edward Island
Bioethanol, an alcohol produced by the fermentation of sugars and starches contained within lignocellulosic biomass, can be used as a biofuel in combustion applications. In this study, the effects of various biomass feedstocks and enzyme additions were examined to determine the optimal waste feedstock for the production of bioethanol. In particular, softwood, hardwood, switch grass, leaves, and cardboard were examined as potential feedstocks to compare bioethanol yield after mechanical pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, and distillation. Preliminary results have shown that out of the feedstock observed, the highest bioethanol concentration produced was found through the use of cardboard and the enzyme addition of cellulase.
Developing Bio-economy of Flax and Hemp Fibers in Atlantic Canada
Martin Tango
Associate Professor, School of Engineering
Acadia University
Natural fibres (bio-based) are derived from cellulosic and protein based sources. Recent research interests in this field focus on developing renewable, recyclable, sustainable and bio-based composites produced from agricultural feedstocks such as flax and hemp fibers. Due to its significance, UN designated 2009 to be the international year of natural fibres. Presently, natural fibres industry is the major employer, with millions of people all over the world, especially in the developing countries. As the major non-food commodity, natural fibres and their products are processed in many small and large industries and consumers all over the world. The promotion of the bio-based economy serves as a transition and solutions that contribute to sustainable developments as well as minimization of environmental impacts.
The Government of Canada, through Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) recognizes the importance of natural fibres in its bio-economy. In this regard, Atlantic Canada needs to re-align its research priorities by exploring the role of natural fibres into its bio-economy. Over the last four years, our research group has been engaged in a seed viability and soil trials experiments for flax and hemp crops. Several seed cultivars and soil types were used to assess the crop growth rate, fibre yields and quality. In addition, tissue analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of fibres, structural strength analyses of bio-composite structures were also evaluated. Further researches are underway in collaboration with two industry partners and we are very hopeful that future research findings will provide better understanding on potential and contribution of flax and hemp natural fibers into the bio-economy of Atlantic Canada.
Development of a Low-Cost Application Specific Colorimeter for Aquaponics Systems
Zachary Butler
Research Associate, Department of Applied Research
NSCC
Aquaponics is the process that integrates aquaculture and hydroponic cultivation of plants. In these systems, co-cultured organisms (fish, bacteria and plants) are maintained in a holistic and sustainable manner. To achieve this goal, monitoring and controlling process water quality becomes crucial to optimize the key operational parameters that enhance plant growth and minimizes impact to fish health.
A low-cost colorimeter suitable for pilot scale aquaponics systems has been developed. It is a state of the art device that consists of microcontrollers, light emitting diodes and photo-resistors. 3D printing technology was utilized and provided an accessible opportunity to fabricate the device. It is capable to detect molecular changes in liquids/process water that can exceed the capabilities of many commercial products, yet with ease, simplicity and expedited manner.
The device was designed and built by Nova Scotia Community College Electronic Engineering Technology students through a partnership between NSCC Applied Research and Nova Aquaponics Inc. - a local industry partner, with support from School of Engineering, Acadia University. The performance testing of the device is underway and to-date, successfully testing and has comparable attributes with regards to commercial spectrophotometric devices.
Enhancement of pyrolysis bio-oil fuel properties via co-processing with fisheries by-products
Anke Krutof
PhD Candidate, Process Engineering
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Pyrolysis bio-oil from forestry residue has been investigated as a possible alternative or blend for fossil fuels and chemical feedstock. However, challenges in direct use as a fuel such as high acid, oxygen, and water content causing instability and corrosion. This limits crude pyrolysis bio-oil to replacement of heavy heating oils. To broaden the application of the oil oxygen, acidity, and water content must be reduced. Our research investigates the co-processing of the biomass with additives in the form of by-products from the fisheries industry (mussel shells) to enhance oil and char quality. Preliminary experiments indicate a promising reduction of oxygenated organic compounds. A detailed, designed experiments will investigate the upgrading of oil and char using additives with variation of temperature, nitrogen flow, and softwood-to-additive ratio. The second objective of this research is to investigate the thermodynamic properties of the oil utilising advanced distillation curve (ADC) equipment. The boiling temperature and composition data obtained from the ADC experiments will be used to create a thermodynamic model of the oil. This model will increase the limited understanding of pyrolysis bio-oil properties and aid to improve these properties for a wider range of applications.
Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Brown Seaweed for the Production of Biorefining Feedstocks
Hector Vargas
M.Sc Candidate, Faculty of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences
University of Alberta
There has been an increasing interest in the production of biorefining feedstocks. Seaweeds are of special interest because they can be grown at sea and thus do not compete for land use with food crops. They can also be grown in waste water, making use of resources that right now are not of value. Seaweeds have very low to practically zero lignin, which are cross-linked phenolic polymers and one of the more complex polymers to break down in land plants. One of the shortcomings of seaweed is that because they are adapted to aquatic environments, water, which commonly facilitates break down of the feedstock, does not work well with seaweed, and thus other methods of breakdown are needed. One of them is enzymatic hydrolysis, the breaking of the cellular structure of the seaweed into simpler components with the use of an enzyme or a group of enzymes. The molecules released by enzyme treatment could be used as feedstocks for value-added applications, such as fermentation to ethanol. We performed compositional analysis of brown algae (Ascophyllum nodosum) and then subjected it to three different enzyme treatments and two different pretreatments, followed by characterization of the resulting material.
India Biofuel Industry- Challenges, Opportunities and Business Strategies
Amanpreet Singh Chopra
Ph.D Candidate
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, India
In this paper author studied the existing Government Targets of 5E/10E/20E fuel ethanol blending with gasoline and analysed the current and future demand and supply of fuel ethanol in India till 2020. This presents huge business opportunities for technology providers to participate in forthcoming projects in India. Author also studied the techno-economic feasibility of production of Fuel Ethanol through standalone 2nd Generation Technologies (lignocellulosic) and through sensitivity analysis concluded that with current capping on Fuel Ethanol Pricing @ INR 39/L, the Ethanol production through 2G technologies is economically not viable in the country. This is hampering the huge potential available for Fuel Ethanol in India. Author also analysed that the current (1G) technological set up in the country i.e production of Fuel ethanol through Sugarcane Molasses, India will still fall way short of its blending targets. This calls for scouting newer and economical viable technologies or innovative methodologies for ramping up ethanol production in the country. To bridge this ever increasing supply and demand gap and achieve certain degree of economic viability, author proposed the future strategies of process and 3rd level integration of 1G and 2G technologies along with sugarmill to achieve economy of scale for the forthcoming projects.
Isolating Nanocrystalline Cellulose from Local Invasive Tunicates
Matthew Dunlop
M.Sc candidate, School of Sustainable Design Engineering and the Department of Chemistry
University of Prince Edward Island
Cellulose is well known as the most abundant organic polymer on Earth. Nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC) is a valuable commodity, which consists of the nanoscale crystalline region of the cellulose polymer. Tunicates are marine invertebrate animals, whose name originates from their unique integumentary tissue known as the tunic. Tunic tissue utilizes cellulose microfibrils which act as a skeletal structure. Tunic tissue constitutes the only known animal source of NCC. Tunicates adversely affect the growth and overall health of mussels. This is clearly seen on PEI, where the growing population of invasive tunicates has drastically slowed the growth of the island mussel industry. PEI contributes roughly 80% of the mussels sold in Canada. It is therefore imperative that a comprehensive strategy be developed to address this growing problem. This work seeks to isolate NCC from the four species of invasive tunicates on PEI. Laying academic ground work, towards the industrialization of NCC isolation from tunicates on PEI. In an effort to mitigate or eliminate the many problems posed by local invasive tunicates. Particularly to the local aquaculture community, as well as our island economy. Well concurrently opening the door to new value added economic resources, sourced from a harmful invasive species.
Role of Aquaponics in BioEconomy: Evolving Crop Growing Process and Source of Nutrition
Ruth Boachie
Research Associate, Department of Applied Research
Nova Scotia Community College
Emerging food security concerns have prompted the need for sustainable crop production approaches. This challenge has encouraged communities to explore diverse efficient approaches, such as aquaculture and hydroponics, and lately aquaponics.
A recirculating aquaculture system is a process of growing aquatic animal/plant species, whereby the water can be reused after purification. Currently, almost half of the fish consumed in the world are produced using aquaculture. However, a major sustainability concern is process nutrient-rich water treatment and disposal, which can be expensive and harmful to the environment.
Hydroponics is a process in which plants are grown in soil-less substrate or an aqueous solution. This produces higher yields than traditional agriculture, because it enhances pest control and reduce soil-borne disease due to less plant-soil contact.
A recent method of food production is aquaponics, which incorporates three organisms: fish, bacteria and plants. In this system, nutrient rich water from the fish tank moves to soil-less plant mass to provide nutrients required with the help of nitrifying bacteria. Aquaponics systems have enhanced yield, higher fiber and mineral content in the tissue. However, these systems are slightly complicated; have inherently limited public perception, limited consumer knowledge, uncertain legislation and regulation.
We are reporting on-going initiatives of a pilot scale aquaponics system. The primary objectives were to assess the water quality control measures to meet the desired specifications of the industry partner; develop a customized low-cost spectrophotometer device and establish the optimum parameters for temperature, pH, light intensity, fish feed and micronutrient levels that support a balanced system for optimum plant yield.
Waste-to-Energy Conversion Technologies: An Interdisciplinary Techno-Economic and Environmental Assessment of the Associated Biotech Strategies
Farshad Khademi
Ph.D candidate, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
Dalhousie University
From a socioeconomic-environmental point of view, the consequences of human activities can be described as a rapid increase in the health and environmental drawbacks because of the emitted gaseous, liquid, and solid wastes, and correspondingly the natural resources’ crisis while the demand for all these resources, specifically fossil fuels and biomass is increasing rapidly.
Based on the circular economy, Cascading Use of Biomass (CUB) is an efficient principle that through its waste-conversion strategies could increase the productivity, and furthermore offers a proficient use of valuable raw material resources. Subsequently, CUB’s Waste-to-Energy (WtE) technologies present more health and environmental benefits than any primary use of biomass for energy production, and contribute to a sustainable global development.
Presently, developed countries are in search of novel strategies and technologies for their Waste Management systems, for example, to exclude the landfilling strategy and to achieve the utmost material and energy recovery points of their wastes.
This poster, based on the most recent techno-economic and environmental sustainability assessments, and also the current trends in modern biotechnology, bioengineering, and the related WtE policies, legislations, and management disciplines together, presents the comparative view of the most popular WtE technologies around the globe.
