Innovative Projects Realized

PART B- Conversion of CO2 and H2O to Syngas Using Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (RSOFCs) Technology – Year two

The main objective of this project is to demonstrate the highly promising performance of our world-leading catalysts in a scaled-up solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) system. SOECs can efficiently convert the greenhouse gas, CO2, or mixtures of CO2 and H2O, to useful chemicals and fuels, while running on excess electricity, thus serving to store intermittent electricity generated by wind and solar.
A leading company (ATCO) has identified our technology as being their first choice for the storage of solar/wind energy through CO2 + H2O conversion to syngas (CO + H2) or ultimately to methane. These products will be stored in ATCO’s salt caverns in Northern Alberta for later use as fuels, when energy is needed. We will be collaborating with ATCO to develop next generation SOECs for greening the energy grid.

PART B- Conversion of CO2 and H2O to Syngas Using Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (RSOFCs) Technology

The main objective of this project is to demonstrate the highly promising performance of our world-leading catalysts in a scaled-up solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) system. SOECs can efficiently convert the greenhouse gas, CO2, or mixtures of CO2 and H2O, to useful chemicals and fuels, while running on excess electricity, thus serving to store intermittent electricity generated by wind and solar.
The SOECs developed to date in our group are based on a family of new catalysts composed of low cost earth-abundant metals. These cells (ca. 1 cm2) have demonstrated exemplary rates of CO2 + H2O conversion. This is sufficient for initial proof-of-concept, however, to move the technology towards commercialization, it is essential that larger cells, up to 5 x 5 cm2 (16 cm2 electrode area), are developed and demonstrated. TO BE CONT’D

Testing of Cannabinoid Oil Extracts in an Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE) Animal Model of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)-Induced Neuropathic Pain (NPP)

The cannabinoid class of medications are widely used to treat disease or alleviate symptoms such as spasticity and pain associated with MS. However, the exact molecular mechanisms by which they exert their beneficial effects remain unknown. Recent research and clinical trials demonstrated that cannabinoids may not only alleviate the symptoms of MS, but may also slow the disease progression and delay the onset of symptoms. As such, investigative research is now expanding beyond the traditional paradigms of conventional medicine to now include that of the cannabinoids to the forefront of available treatments for MS. In this research, we aim to investigate the role of cannabinoids in improving myelin repair by beneficially altering the cytokine, chemokine, neurotrophin signalling pathway that has previously been shown to govern myelin repair.

Uplift models extension for smart marketing

Insurance companies heavily fund marketing campaigns such as, for instance, customer retention or cross-sell initiatives. Uplift modeling aims at predicting the causal effect of an action such as medical treatment or a marketing campaign on a particular individual by taking into consideration the response to an action. Typically, the result of an uplift model is used to call customers for marketing some products based on important attributes of a customer. The general objective of the research project is to explore the eventuality of introducing a clustering methodology that aligns with the detection of the uplift.

Development of chemical additives to improve the efficiency of solvent-aided thermal bitumen recovery processes – Year two

AlbCurrent commercial recovery method of Alberta’s oil sands is Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) which requires large amounts of steam. This means that large amounts of natural gas are burned to produce steam resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Solvent injection is one initiative gaining interest to overcome the aforementioned limitations.
Certain reservoir conditions, including heterogeneous geology and the presence of undesirable reservoir fluids (which may include excess water and natural gas), lead to inefficient and uneconomic recovery of bitumen using the current commercial recovery methods. This project will concentrate on the development of additives to these traditional processes that will improve the efficiency of hydrocarbon recovery by minimizing the effects of the undesirable geology, water and natural gas. Additives will be designed and simulated in the laboratory. It’s anticipated that the outcome of this project will help industry to produce bitumen at a lower cost and minimize environmental impact.

Development of chemical additives to improve the efficiency of solvent-aided thermal bitumen recovery processes

Alberta’s oil sands are one of the world’s largest known hydrocarbon deposits. Current commercial recovery methods such as Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) require large amounts of steam. This in turn means that large amounts of natural gas are burned to produce steam resulting in significant greenhouse gas emissions. Solvent injection is one initiative that is gaining interest to overcome the aforementioned limitations.
Certain reservoir conditions, including heterogeneous geology and the presence of undesirable reservoir fluids (which may include excess water and natural gas), lead to inefficient and uneconomic recovery of bitumen using the current commercial recovery methods. This project will concentrate on the development of additives to these traditional processes that will improve the efficiency of hydrocarbon recovery by minimizing the effects of the undesirable geology, water and natural gas. Additives will be designed and simulated in the laboratory. TO BE CONT’D

IEC 61850-Based Centralized Intelligent Station-Level Protection for Power Systems with Multi-Technology Distributed Energy Resources

Protection systems perform vital function in power distribution systems to ensure safety of public and equipment during network faults, and usually designed assuming a single power source supply. Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) are fast becoming an integral part of most Electric Power Systems around the world. Improvement in reliability, efficiency, power quality, and reduction in greenhouse emissions are some of the reasons behind this. However, the integration of DERs in distribution systems will result in structural changes causing a bidirectional power flow and variable fault current level. Depending on the DER penetration level and technology type, this could result in the failure of the existing protection schemes and their coordination. This project proposes to develop an innovative, reliable, communication-based Centralized Intelligent Station-level Protection (CISP) system using emerging technologies.

Conceptual Design of New Nuclear Waste Container

Ultra-High Performance Fiber Reinforced Concrete (UHP-FRC) material, can be considered a promising way to innovate in the management of Low and intermediate level radioactive waste (LILW) storing industry. UHP-FRC exhibits exceptional mechanical, serviceability, and durability characteristics in comparison to its traditional concrete counterparts. The current proposal focuses on the use of UHP-FRC in a new design of high integrity nuclear waste containers considering drop-impact and fire effects. The conceptual design of waste container will be performed using ABAQUS software. The drop-impact will be performed based on realistic drop heights and orientations of the storage facility and its handling systems provided by Master Peers. Complete material behaviour of UHP-FRC is considered in order to take the advantage of enhanced post-peak capacity. Thereafter, the final design of the container will be optimized under fire effect.

An Agile monitoring tool integrating risk, safety, and digital data infrastructure management – Year two

An innovative tool is proposed to integrate agile risk, alert, team, safety, and digital data infrastructure management into a Micro Engineering Tech Inc. (METI) current structural health monitoring system (SHM), mobile mapping system (MMS), and building information modeling (BIM) that will be called Agile Monitoring Tool. Agile Monitoring Tool includes a comprehensive project management software (CPMS) package that consists of three systems as follows. First is an SHM; the structure health monitoring development was originally part of a past successful R&D project. Second is a MMS. MMS is a system that can provide accurate surveying measurements of the objects around it. Since it has photogrammetric as well as laser scanning range data, it can provide very accurate yet very fast acquisition to produce geospatial data. TO BE CONT’D

Silica Breccia Supplementary Cement Material Key Properties (phase 2)

The project is focusing on developing a silica breccia product having a superior reactivity that allows

this product to be used widely as an alternative supplementary cementing material in cement mixtures.

The new developed silica breccia product will be tested for effectiveness as a supplementary

cementing material based on the Canadian Standard Association (CSA) test methods prior to

acceptance. Tests on other common supplementary cementing material such as fly ash, silica fume, and

metakaolin will also be conducted on counterpart specimens for comparison. The partner organization

will gain valuable insight about the performance of different silica breccia genesis in cement mixtures.

The project will aid the partner organization to optimize their product development processes and help

them achjeve their business goals.

An Agile monitoring tool integrating risk, safety, and digital data infrastructure management

An innovative tool is proposed to integrate agile risk, alert, team, safety, and digital data infrastructure management into a Micro Engineering Tech Inc. (METI) current structural health monitoring system (SHM), mobile mapping system (MMS), and building information modeling (BIM) that will be called Agile Monitoring Tool. Agile Monitoring Tool includes a comprehensive project management software (CPMS) package that consists of three systems as follows. First is an SHM; the structure health monitoring development was originally part of a past successful R&D project. Second is a MMS. MMS is a system that can provide accurate surveying measurements of the objects around it. Since it has photogrammetric as well as laser scanning range data, it can provide very accurate yet very fast acquisition to produce geospatial data. TO BE CONT’D

PART A- Conversion of CO2 and H2O to Syngas Using Reversible Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (RSOFCs) Technology – Year two

The main objective of this project is to demonstrate the highly promising performance of our world-leading catalysts in a scaled-up solid oxide electrolysis cell (SOEC) system. SOECs can efficiently convert the greenhouse gas, CO2, or mixtures of CO2 and H2O, to useful chemicals and fuels, while running on excess electricity, thus serving to store intermittent electricity generated by wind and solar.
A leading company (ATCO) has identified our technology as being their first choice for the storage of solar/wind energy through CO2 + H2O conversion to syngas (CO + H2) or ultimately to methane. These products will be stored in ATCO’s salt caverns in Northern Alberta for later use as fuels, when energy is needed. We will be collaborating with ATCO to develop next generation SOECs for greening the energy grid.