Engineered clay as a novel phosphorus (P) sorbent

Fort Nelson & its surrounding area have been devastated economically by recent changes to their Gas Industry leaving more than 1000 well sites abandoned and not restored. Currently, the area is looking to explore other natural resources in an attempt to save their livelihoods. A previous MITACs partnership with Mindbody Networks Inc. (2018-2020) revealed several clay deposits distributed throughout the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM), are very efficient adsorbents for potential environmental application, which are believed to hold answers to the economic future of the region. The past industrial partner has incorporated a new entity, Cheyne Industries Inc., to further develop these deposits. They have chosen Dr. Kazemian’s research team at UNBC for this project because of their past successful MITACS partnership and because they have experience in the development of similar products and processes based on natural minerals. Furthermore, Kazemian’s lab at UNBC is a unique facility with state-of-the-art analytical instrumentations that are necessary for this project. in this project, we will conduct an in-depth study on the mechanisms involved in phosphate removal by the company’s clay mineral.

Faculty Supervisor:

Hossein Kazemian

Student:

Partner:

Cheyne Industries

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Manufacturing

University:

University of Northern British Columbia

Program: