Did you know that Partial Upgrading of bitumen and heavy oil can boost Alberta and Canada’s economy? The most cost effective high volume mode for transporting crude oil over land is by pipeline and most Alberta bitumen moves on the existing pipeline network. Viscosity maxima and API gravity minima are specified by pipeline companies to ensure efficient operations and maximize movement of heavy oil from Alberta. To satisfy these specifications, Alberta bitumen and heavy oil must be diluted by diluent, which reports as a cost to the bitumen producer.

N/A Please add the Project Overview as I was unable to locate it.

Thank you!

Personal protective equipment (PPE) for essential workers in flammable environment requires two essential traits: fire resistance (FR) and fitting comfort. The fitting comfort is especially an issue for women firefighters, whose protective clothing are not appropriately catered. Elastic fibers in sportswear, such as Lycra, offer superb fitting and comfort, but their FR version is commercially unavailable. The project proposes to apply a FR surface coating on commercially available elastic fibers by depositing a composite layer that thickens explosively upon contacting flame.

In tandem with increase in demand for lithium products for use in electric cars and electronics, there has been an interest in finding more sustainable lithium production processes as opposed to conventional evaporation ponds and hard rock mining both of which are environmentally intrusive and have high carbon footprint. Recion Technologies, Inc., an Edmonton based startup, has developed a sustainable direct lithium extraction process which can extract lithium from conventional and unconventional resource.

Increased energy consumption across the world for heating and cooling indoor living spaces has been a major contributor to global greenhouse gas production. As per 2015 statistics, buildings account for 76% of global electricity consumption and approx. 35% of that energy consumption is for air conditioning, heating, and ventilation. To combat climate change it is imperative to reduce our power consumption.

The Mitacs project will build on the findings of a 2019 study and explore the experiences of newcomer families—specifically those in the cultural minority—with children 0-5 years old in community-based early learning and child care (ELCC) in Edmonton. The study will look at the lived experiences of these families as they access and receive ELCC in Edmonton, and see what opportunities exist to bridge the gap between cultural minorities and mainstream ELCC to shift approaches and practices.

negative attitudes toward disability. To address the exclusion that disabled children and their families often experience on playgrounds, inclusive playground initiatives have become increasingly common, promising accessibility, fun, and belonging for kids and families. Despite the advancement in inclusive playground design, there is recent research evidence to suggest that disabled children and their families continue to face mistreatment and exclusion at playgrounds.

Civil infrastructures, particularly high-rise buildings, Along the Coastline are susceptible to damage when subjected to extreme loads like earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis. These loads are associated with the tragic loss of life and high structural repair costs. Current research trends focus on developing design techniques to mitigate the adverse effects earthquakes have on structures. However, a major challenge with the current research trend is related to the high level of uncertainty in the actual response of structures during earthquakes (desired versus predicted response).

Nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA offer exceptional opportunities to fight against infectious and genetic diseases. To use nucleic acids effectively in a clinical setting, one needs to use effective delivery vehicles that can deliver the nucleic acids into the diseased cells. This project will develop effective delivery systems for this purpose. The delivery systems will be used to deliver RNA and DNA based therapeutic agents in 2 diseases, namely Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and hematological cancers.