Innovative Projects Realized

Role of Wetlands in Carbon Export from Forested Watersheds

forWater Network researchers at Dalhousie University are working with Halifax Water and Westfor Management Inc. to determine how the Pockwock forested watershed can be managed to improve water treatability. A key issue here is the movement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). DOC movement from the land to the water has increased in recent decades, and that increases the cost of treating drinking water to acceptable standards. The Halifax study centres on integrated simulation modelling to build and analyze long-term scenarios of forest management and climate change and their effects on DOC levels in Lake Pockwock. The modelling is supported by monitoring of water moving through the forested landscape as well as detailed measurements of the carbon stocks in the forests themselves. The work proposed herein is to make a thorough quantification of a critical but poorly understood component of ecosystem carbon – that of the wetlands. As part of the field program to characterize all major components of the terrestrial-ecosystem carbon pools, the student will take samples of wetland organic soils (to be analyzed for carbon in a commercial lab) and analyze those carbon pools for incorporation into the simulation models.

Catalytic Heavy Oil Upgrading Using Natural Gas – Year two

The proposed project aims at developing new catalytic processes and corresponding catalysts for heavy oil upgrading with the assistance of natural gas. Compared with traditional hydrotreating processes, these new processes provide alternative ways for heavy oil and natural gas utilization, which are economically and environmentally favorable in terms of higher profit margin, lower operating cost, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission. A variety of catalysts with particular functions will be developed and a series of reaction evaluations in different forms of reactors will be carried out. Besides, mechanistic study will also be performed, which throws light upon the evolution of various fractions in petroleum during the upgrading process, accelerating the catalyst development and optimization process. After a promising lab-scale and small pilot scale operation is established, a stepwise scaling up practice toward industrial production will be launched based on the cooperation of the proposed supervisor and partner organization. The industrialization of this novel process will benefit both the petroleum and natural gas industries in Canada, where abundant heavy oil and bitumen extracted from oil sands are widely reserved. The corresponding investigation also provides guidance for the daily operation and long-term planning of the partner company regarding oil upgrading process.

Catalytic Heavy Oil Upgrading Using Natural Gas

The proposed project aims at developing new catalytic processes and corresponding catalysts for heavy oil upgrading with the assistance of natural gas. Compared with traditional hydrotreating processes, these new processes provide alternative ways for heavy oil and natural gas utilization, which are economically and environmentally favorable in terms of higher profit margin, lower operating cost, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission. A variety of catalysts with particular functions will be developed and a series of reaction evaluations in different forms of reactors will be carried out. Besides, mechanistic study will also be performed, which throws light upon the evolution of various fractions in petroleum during the upgrading process, accelerating the catalyst development and optimization process. After a promising lab-scale and small pilot scale operation is established, a stepwise scaling up practice toward industrial production will be launched based on the cooperation of the proposed supervisor and partner organization. The industrialization of this novel process will benefit both the petroleum and natural gas industries in Canada, where abundant heavy oil and bitumen extracted from oil sands are widely reserved. The corresponding investigation also provides guidance for the daily operation and long-term planning of the partner company regarding oil upgrading process.

Supercritical water gasification of bio-oils for synthetic jet fuel – Year two

Greenfield Global is currently developing a conversion process to produce jet fuel from renewable feedstocks. Collection and densification of different biomass waste materials and municipal waste at satellite facilities to produce bio-oils, which are then processed at a central facility, is expected. The first processing step at the central facility is supercritical water gasification and it is the focus of this project. The bio-oils are converted by supercritical water gasification to produce synthesis gas. After removal of potential contaminants, the synthesis gas is converted by Fisher-Tropsch synthesis and appropriate refining steps into jet fuel.

Improved understanding of how bio-oil composition affects gasification, gasifier operation, and product yields is one of the deliverables of this work. Specific attention will be paid to trace products that could affect downstream processes. The second major deliverable from this work is to establish a relationship between bio-oil properties and synthesis gas contaminants, which is critical to the appropriate design and sizing of the gas cleaning step, and would potentially qualify or disqualify bio-oils as feeds. The work will involve both experimental investigations and engineering work to integrate the know-how into the Greenfield Global process.

Bayesian hierarchical modelling of exposure to accident benefit claims

The project will assess the financial risks to DGAG (Desjardins Groupe d’assurances
generales) associated with payments of accident insurance claims. A large database is
available on the losses incurred due to different aspects of insurance claims (medical costs,
rehabilitation and attendant care, etc.), and this project will assist DGAG in developing
exposure assessments for future accident benefit claims. By adopting a Bayesian statistical
approach, the uncertainties associated with various data sources and modelling assumptions
can be integrated into a single, coherent framework. The complexity and magnitude of the
database render Bayesian modelling a challenging task, so a major part of the project will
address efficient computational strategies. The intern will develop code in the free statistical
software R that will allow DGAG to develop and implement coherent financial management
strategies.

Supercritical water gasification of bio-oils for synthetic jet fuel

Greenfield Global is currently developing a conversion process to produce jet fuel from renewable feedstocks. Collection and densification of different biomass waste materials and municipal waste at satellite facilities to produce bio-oils, which are then processed at a central facility, is expected. The first processing step at the central facility is supercritical water gasification and it is the focus of this project. The bio-oils are converted by supercritical water gasification to produce synthesis gas. After removal of potential contaminants, the synthesis gas is converted by Fisher-Tropsch synthesis and appropriate refining steps into jet fuel.

Improved understanding of how bio-oil composition affects gasification, gasifier operation, and product yields is one of the deliverables of this work. Specific attention will be paid to trace products that could affect downstream processes. The second major deliverable from this work is to establish a relationship between bio-oil properties and synthesis gas contaminants, which is critical to the appropriate design and sizing of the gas cleaning step, and would potentially qualify or disqualify bio-oils as feeds. The work will involve both experimental investigations and engineering work to integrate the know-how into the Greenfield Global process.

Theorising the connections and continuities between gig labour/economies and platform urbanism

he on-demand economy now has an expanding global presence, with the growing and widespread use of ridesharing platforms such as Uber and Ola, food-delivery platforms such as Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Zomato and home-task platforms such as TaskRabbit and Housekeep. On-demand work has proliferated largely in urban spaces across the globe, with the growing recognition that digital platforms are transforming the nature of cities. As platform enterprises become more embedded in the fabric of cities, the resulting flexibilization of work has phenomenal impacts on urban residents. With numerous legal cases emerging worldwide to understand whether these service platforms are in fact employers or ‘aggregators’ linking customers to a ‘service provider’ as they claim, the relevance of understanding the relationship between platforms and the urban space is now more prominent, than ever. The significance of this project is rooted in its aim to develop new, relevant and nuanced understandings of the changing nature of urban space and work as a result of the growing prominence of on-demand platforms in cities, an integrated perspective which is missing from scholarly literature.

Incorporating fish movement and sensitive benthic habitat in the ecosystem approach to fishery management of Canada’s sablefish fishery

British Columbia’s sablefish fishery is among the most highly valuable fisheries in Canada. In the early 1990s, mainland inlets were closed to commercial fishing because young sablefish were thought to grow in these protected areas before moving to the offshore areas where the fishery operates; we will look at movement patterns of sablefish within BC to understand the net contribution of these inlet sablefish to the offshore fishery to aid fishery managers. Additionally, avoiding sablefish trap gear contact with vulnerable species, such as cold-water corals, is challenging because the locations of these species are generally unknown, although they do occur in areas where the sablefish fishery operates. We will create maps that show probable locations of these vulnerable species to help the fishery avoid these areas. Both understanding movement and vulnerable species locations could help to reduce ecological damage while maintaining yield of this important fishery.

Interaction between dietary fiber fermentation kinetics and consequences for protein and mineral metabolism in growing pigs

Feed formulation is based on ingredient digestibility data, and the assumption of additivity. However, digestibility data generally do not account for interactions among nutrients or ingredients. An enhanced understanding of protein and fiber digestion rates and extent of their fermentation between feedstuffs would help to optimize feed formulation. Furthermore, macro-minerals, including phosphorus, copper and zinc, are essential nutrients necessary for optimal health and performance. They are, however, also an environmental concern. The proposed study aims: (1) To describe fermentation kinetics of fiber and impacts on nutrient bioavailability and bio-efficacy; (2) To assess the interaction of different rates of dietary fiber and protein digestion kinetics on minerals; (3) To determine nutritional solutions to maximize animal performance and minimize environmental pollution. The milestones of the proposed research project are: (1) Writing a literature review on the impact of rate of fiber and protein digestion on mineral availability and utilization; (2) Developing in vitro fermentation model; (3) and (4) Determining in vivo fiber, protein and mineral kinetics using ileal-cannulated pigs and pigs with portal-vein catheterization; (5) Performing a performance trial. The partner organization gains knowledge to enhance nutrient bioavailability and to increase the utilization efficiency of protein and minerals, thereby limiting their excretion.

Production of semi-synthetic jet fuel

Greenfield Global is developing a process to produce jet fuel from renewable materials, such as waste biomass and organic municipal waste. The renewable materials are first converted to a synthetic oil and then converted into jet fuel. This project deals with the final step in the process, namely, to convert the synthetic oil to jet fuel. Jet fuel must meet stringent international specifications which makes it difficult to develop an alternative fuel for aviation. In order to meet those specification, the project will focus on the conversion processes needed such as hydrotreating and hydrocracking to turn the synthetic oil into jet fuel. Although these are known petroleum-based oil conversion technologies, none of these technologies were developed to convert synthetic oil from renewable materials, which include oxygen-containing compounds. It is our aim to adapt these petroleum refining technologies for use with synthetic oils. Technically speaking, competitive adsorption on catalysts, the impact of vapor-liquid-liquid equilibrium due to the formation of an aqueous phase, and the oxygen-containing compound reaction network must be better understood.

Understanding the processes to generate renewable-based jet fuels will assist Greenfield Global with the development of renewable jet fuel that could in future expand their current renewable fuel business.

Developing a regional approach to modelling the co-benefits urban forest ecosystem services provide.

As the intensities of urbanization and climate change increase across the Toronto region, there are many benefits pointing to a need for increased investments in our regions urban forests. Urban forests provide co-benefits, services that benefit both humans and the environment, through heat mitigation and mitigation of the “urban heat island”, removing air pollution, sequestering carbon, managing storm water run-off and flood reduction, as well as benefits to both physical and mental human health. By using modelling software to project these co-benefits over the next 30+ years across climate change scenarios (low, medium, and high), the necessity of increased green infrastructure across the region will become apparent. It is the hope that the final report generated from these projections will assist in building a business model for investment in the Toronto region’s urban forests in the near future.

A Novel Analgesic for Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of joint disease affecting over 80% of the human
population above 75 years old and burdening health organizations worldwide. Osteoarthritis
is characterized by progressive joint degeneration resulting in chronic pain and loss of joint
function. Currently there is no cure for osteoarthritis; available treatments are only
symptomatic targeting pain and are associated with significant side effects, emphasizing the
need for new treatments.
Isovaline is a novel analgesic which showed remarkable effects in several mouse pain
models without producing central nervous system side effects. The current study will examine
the analgesic profile of isovaline in a mouse model of osteoarthritis; we will assess the
efficacy of isovaline in alleViating the signs of osteoarthritis and restoring the ability of the
monoiodoacetate-treated mice to exercise under voluntary and forced conditions. The effect
of isovaline will be compared to diclofenac, a commercially-available, commonly-used
antisteroidal anti-inflammatory drug.