Pyrolysis, which is the thermochemical decomposition of biomass at high temperature (350 to 700°C) under oxygen-limiting conditions, is a promising technology for the sustainable management of forest and agricultural biomasses. Pyrolysis decomposes biomass into biochar, non-condensable syngas and condensed liquid bio-oil. Those co-products can be used as an energy source in order to replace fossil […]

Pacific herring, as forage fish, provide a vital ecosystem service within marine food webs, as well as economic benefits to BC’s commercial herring industry and cultural benefits to coastal Aboriginal communities. Building on innovative participatory research in Haida Gwaii, this project will identify the values of BC herring industry stakeholders and their preferences for management. […]

Increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance is becoming a major public health concern and is linked to use of sub-therapeutic antibiotics in agriculture. Sub-therapeutic antibiotics have been used for years in swine production to mitigate diarrheal diseases observed at weaning. Thus, development of alternative nutritional strategies to minimize sub-therapeutic antibiotic use is vital. Mannan-oligosaccharides may be […]

Soybean is the main source of protein in poultry diets while its production results in significant global greenhouse gas emissions. A potential substitute for the use of soybean could be insects like black soldier fly larvae (BSFL; rich in protein and fat) produced from food wastage. Dried BSFL has been approved by CFIA for use […]

Les 25 prochaines années représentent une période de transition au cours de laquelle plusieurs matériaux fonctionnels passeront d’un stade « laboratoire » à un stade « commercial ». L’accès à ces matériaux et leur incorporation dans des systèmes d’usage courant solutionneront plusieurs problématiques récurrentes en santé, en développement durable et en énergie. C’est pourquoi, les […]

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating disease associated with pain, loss of mobility and reduced quality of life. There is no cure for OA, and treatment for many people involves expensive surgeries or drugs that carry risky side effects. New treatments, including changing the way people walk – termed gait modification – have been developed […]

The industry partner is a producer of a successful seaweed based plant product used globally to improve plant growth. However, a large amount of waste byproduct, termed seaweed insoluble residue, is created as a byproduct of the production process. This residue has been found to contain a large amount of the original seaweed biomass. By […]

In recent years, with increased urbanization, the beneficial role of urban trees and forests has become critical for Canadian residents. Despite this recognition, there is little knowledge of the extent of urban forestry activities being performed across the country; one of the reasons for this is that urban foresry is happening under different labels. In […]

The proposed research project is to a) research and determine what are the best water monitoring components and scientific instruments that can be used in remote settings b) research the existing software which allows for simple interface with water monitoring data and the data user/contributor c) research and establish overarching system to pair water monitoring […]

To achieve the goal of commercializing striped bass aquaculture in Nova Scotia, the obstacle of high (up to 100%) overwinter mortality among young-of-year fish needs to be overcome. Mortality is restricted to fish that are under one year old (underyearlings, 500g) suffer negligible mortality. Potential factors for such low survival rates identified through four years […]

As the consumption of cigarettes declines in North America and Europe market, a company that specializes in manufacturing specialty papers is seeking new opportunities with its natural fiber productions. This research intends to identify new market trends and opportunities for natural fibers in the competitive environment; provide a comprehensive analysis in worldwide natural fiber industries; […]

Improving the durability of superhydrophobic surfaces is of significant interest in the surface engineering community. We have recently developed a novel superhydrophobic coating with a hard nanocrystalline nickel matrix and embedded hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) particles. To further improve the mechanical robustness of the non-wetting coating, the soft polymeric PTFE particles were replaced with hard, hydrophobic […]