Study to increase production efficiency in a lumber recycling process

This project promotes the use of recycled material by diverting it from current waste streams, thus reducing the pressures on local landfills and positively contributing to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. However, processing lumber waste generated in construction and demolition projects remains challenging due to the variability in dimensions and wood species as well as the presence of contaminants (e.g., coatings and preservatives) and impurities (e.g., nails and screws). As such, the goal of the project is to collect extensive data on the manufacturing process to study material flow and quantify the efficiency of each processing step in order to identify areas of improvements. The intern will then design novel solutions to significantly increase process efficiency. These solutions will be tested at a small-scale before selecting the best ones that will be implemented. The partner organization will benefit from the knowledge gained from the thorough data analysis and the implementation of novel solutions that will improve its efficiency and support its mission.

Faculty Supervisor:

Julie Cool

Student:

Partner:

Urbanjacks

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Information and cultural industries; Manufacturing

University:

The University of British Columbia

Program: