Projets novateurs réalisés

Assessment of aeration performance and energy consumption of different biological wastewater treatment systems for small communities in Ontario

Attached growth wastewater treatment processes such as the rotating biological contactor (RBC) have been recognized as more energy efficient compared to suspended growth processes. Hannah Environmental Equipment Inc. specializes in producing high energy efficient RBC systems providing high modular flexibility suitable for various plant sizes. The proposed project aims to assess the application of RBCs in the Canadian environment and compare that to current secondary wastewater treatment technologies in terms of energy efficiency, treatment performance, and environmental impact. This study will provide a comprehensive energy and cost assessment of the RBC ?technology and its capacity for greenfield and retrofit applications ?to increase treatment capacity, reduce treatment costs, and provide opportunities for energy savings and reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The analysis will provide scientific evidence based on real data from local wastewater treatment plants to allow Hannah to accelerate their growth and optimize their performance in the Canadian market with their RBC technology.

Optimization of organic nutrient solution using ion and bacterial community monitoring for plant oil production

Organic nutrient use in hydroponic solution increases the sustainability of these systems by using waste. These solutions can be adequately reused if real-time nutrient concentration calculation is made with the use of electrodes. With the use of Ion Specific Electrodes (ISE), the relative absence or presence of an element can be calculated in real time. Theoretically, the use of these organic nutrient solutions could prove to be superior than inorganic solution for yield because of the microbiome. Through modulation of microbial communities in the plant root environment, discovery of beneficial microbes responsible for increased plant oil production is possible.

Development of a Deep Learning algorithm to improve the image quality of the pictures taken by Quartet® real-time

1 in 5 people suffer from a mental illness, such as depression, Alzheimer’s & Parkinon’s during their lifetime. Currently, there are no treatments for these diseases, because the underlying causes of these diseases is not known. Neurescence has developed a technology that is essential for understanding how local and long-range neuronal circuits form to create healthy brain function, hence understand how these neuronal circuits are disrupted in each disease. This project is related in developing the technology required to obtain crucial information that will help companies and academic institutions to develop new treatments for brain diseases. The result is not only helping to push our knowledge of the brain and find better therapies, but also helping Neurescence realize its commercial goals, resulting into creation of jobs for highly skilled workers in STEM fields.

SPT-based Methods for Estimating Installation Torque and Capacity of Helical Piles

Helical piles are extensively used across Canada in various engineering applications. Current design methods estimate the axial capacity of helical piles using soil strength parameters when site investigation is available. Alternatively, helical piles can be designed from an empirical torque correlation when installation torques are available. However, it will be more valuable to the industry to have direct design approaches based on geotechnical site investigation. Greentown Homes Ltd., the industrial partner in Edmonton, has built numerous foundations using helical piles in various soil conditions in Alberta. For the proposed project, the intern will first supervise in-situ pile installation of building foundations, record torque values, and collect geotechnical properties of soil at different sites. The intern will compile and analyze the Greentown database of site investigation and installation torques. Using the Greentown and other databases, the intern will develop an empirical method for helical capacities based directly on the SPT, and an empirical correlation between the torque and SPT blow counts.

CDL-Recovery Intern

The Creative Destruction Lab is a seed venture development program for massively scalable science and technology based ventures founded to positively impact the human condition. The CDL has instituted a unique summer program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that accelerates ventures that address Covid-19 in terms of information-based solutions. CDL-West, based at UBC Sauder School of Business, supports CDL-Recovery in venture recruitment, venture management, pedagogy, virtual event management and in achievement of mentor-delegated objectives. Given that CDL-Recovery exists above and beyond regular CDL-West programming, the CDL-West interns are crucial to the programs execution.
The CDL-West interns will support all elements of CDL-Recovery but will have special emphasis on virtual event management and providing consultative support for the benefit of the ventures’ achievement of mentor-delegated objectives. Projects may include market analysis, customer development, financial analysis, and other core activities related to building early stage start-ups as designated by program mentors and allocated by the CDL-Recovery team.

Computer Vision for Crop Weed Identification

Aid in the development of a Machine Learning Model for utilization by an Agricultural Robot. This Robot performs several tasks, primarily the mechanical removal of weeds from vegetable farms. Therefore, the machine learning model is concerned with informing the robot of locations of interest points of the weed and crop plants, as viewed from several sensors mounted on the robot. Other sensors of the robot, such as GPS, and wheel odometry, can be brought to bear as well.

Analysis of concentrically loaded braced frame using continuous end plate

The project consists in developing a design procedure for beam-column-bracing connection using welded end plates. This type of connection is simpler to fabricate, however, at present, the design standards do not specifically provide for their design calculations.

Bioorthogonal spin labeling approaches for high sensitivity electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy – Part 2

In order to investigate proteins in their natural environment one can attach tiny reporter molecules to them that can be traced with appropriate instruments. However, these small reporter molecules may often cause strong perturbations to the functionality of the proteins, or cannot be seen due to experimental restrictions like low concentrations. Bioorthogonal chemistry aims to eliminate such experimental restrictions by using as inert molecules as possible to see how proteins really work. We want to test novel bioorthogonal strategies for attaching reporter molecules that can be detected with electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, a powerful magnetic resonance method that is able to detect changes in structure and function of proteins. As we also have a unique and highly sensitive, state-of-the-art EPR device at hand, together with new bioorthogonal strategies we are convinced that we will bridge the gap to a new world of applications.

Kinetics study of Recycling Process of Spent Lithium Iron-phosphate Batteries

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are powering a myriad of electronic and electric devices. There are many types of LIBs used for various applications including electric vehicles, electronics, and stationary energy storage. They are mostly based on lithiumcobalt cathodic compounds. Conversely, lithium iron phosphate (LFP) is a cobalt free cathodic material that is preferred over cobalt based LIBs for powering electrical and hybrid buses because of its relatively good energy density, its highly safe operation, its low cost, and its lower environmental impact. Nevertheless, the current recycling methods are not adapted for this material. Indeed, after being processed in current pyrometallurgical or hydrometallurgical recycling centres, the lithium, the iron, and the phosphorous composing LFP end-up in a solid waste. Therefore, a new recycling process based on selective hydrometallurgy was developed by Hydro-Québec to regenerate spent LFP as a new battery material. The current project is aiming to understand the reaction mechanisms and kinetics in order to optimize the process.

An automated manufacturability analysis system

Currently, the service provided by GRAD4 allows buyers to upload their designs for quotes from the suppliers. However, there is no initial manufacturability check for buyers to evaluate their parts before submitting their quotes. Buyers may get feedback from the suppliers, which indicates that their parts are not able to be manufacturable after a several-days waiting period. In order to reduce the time waste of the communication between the buyers and suppliers and speed up the order process, an initial manufacturability checker is in demand. Based on this, the objective of this project is proposed 1) to investigate various approaches for automated manufacturability analysis 2) to implement the approach either in a software prototype or as a plugin for an existing online geometric modeling tool. Finally, the manufacturability system will be tested and validated based on the feedback from the users for GRAD4

Testing the biofiltration capacity of a hydroponic green wall system for airborne VOCs

Air pollution is linked to 7 million deaths worldwide, making air quality one of the top ten global causes of death. Eighty percent of Canadians live in cities, and growing evidence suggests that indoor air within the built environment has significant health impacts. Our research will evaluate the contaminant removal capabilities of an active ‘living wall’ biofilter designed by a Canadian company for residential use. We will perform a sequence of experiments including short- and longer- term experiments to determine the differences between inflow and outflow air that has passed through the hydroponic living wall after being exposed to representative levels of volatile organic contaminants in indoor air. New Earth Solutions will receive results on the baseline performance of their unit as well as the relative contributions of the unit’s component parts (e.g., contaminant removal capacity of the porous synthetic substrate; the fertilized hydroponic irrigation water, plants, etc.).

CDL-West Intern

Background:

The Creative Destruction Lab is a seed venture development program for massively scalable science and technology based ventures founded to positively impact the human condition. The CDL has instituted a unique summer program in light of the COVID-19 pandemic that accelerates ventures that address Covid-19 in terms of information-based solutions. CDL-West, based at UBC Sauder School of Business, supports CDL-Recovery in venture recruitment, venture
management, pedagogy, virtual event management and in achievement of mentor-delegated objectives. Given that CDLRecovery exists above and beyond regular CDL-West programming, the CDL-West interns are crucial to the programs execution.

Anticipated project activities:

The CDL-West interns will support all elements of CDL-Recovery but will have special emphasis on virtual event management and providing consultative support for the benefit of the ventures’ achievement of mentor-delegated objectives. Projects may include market analysis, customer development, financial analysis, and other core activities related to building early stage start-ups as designated by program mentors and allocated by the CDL-Recovery team.