Innovative Projects Realized

Thermal breakdown of analog lunar rocks

The proposed research will study the rock breakdown on the Moon due to thermal fatigue caused by the thermal stresses arising from diurnal temperature changes. This is done through data analysis, modeling, and physical experiments. This work is important because it fills a key gap in our understanding of the processes by which the lunar regolith – the name given to the fine debris layer, tens to hundreds of meters thick, that covers the surface of the Moon – forms and evolves. Additionally, understanding the nature and origin of the regolith will be important because the regolith will undoubtedly serve as a key resource for future human exploration and habitation of the Moon.

GEOIMPACT: Geophysical study of mid-size impact structures

The GEOIMPACT project aims to study several meteorite impact craters in Canada by using geophysical methods (for example seismic waves, electricity or magnetism). In the Solar System, meteorite impact craters are the most abundant morphologic features on rocky bodies (planets, asteroids) such as the Moon and Mars. However, the Earth has only about 180 known impact craters, most of them being either highly eroded by past tectonic and climatic processes, or buried. Therefore non-destructive geophysical methods that probe the subsurface are particularly suitable for studying such structures, and few studies using such methods have been done in the past. Thus, the present project will allow researchers to conduct an important field-based geological and geophysical survey on craters of the Canadian High Arctic. Geological interpretations of new data will help to better understand the currently available lowresolution geophysical signals over similar impact structures on other planets (Moon, Mars).

Selenium removal from waste waters by electrochemical reduction

Because of the toxicity of selenium, its removal from waste water is a crucial treatment before discharging. Selenate (Se(VI)) and selenite (Se(IV)) are the most common species of Se in waste waters. There are many efficient methods for removal of selenite from wastewaters (e.g., ferrihydrite chemical co-precipitation, cementation, or adsorption) while the removal of selenate is difficult to achieve due to its high mobility, weak adsorption (to be co-precipitated), and kinetically slow reduction rate. So, the main concern of this research is to remove selenate by selective reduction to selenite to enable the co-precipitation of Se with iron. The ultimate goal is to remove selenate in order to meet the receiving water standards in BC and Canada. This project can be a possibility for Seabridge Gold to venture into new markets. With an increasingly short supply of water to serve the world markets and industries needing revolutionary ways of saving costs, Seabridge Gold can tap into the emerging world of water treatment.

Modification chimique de la lignine et de la cellulose pour le renforcement de composite

Ce projet vise à utiliser les polymères naturels du bois, la lignine et la cellulose, afin de remplacer des produits de sources pétrolières dans la composition des plastiques, produits isolants et matériaux composites. L’usine Kruger de Trois-Rivières a démarré en août 2014 une usine pilote de filaments de

cellulose (FC) de pâte thermomécanique. Ces FC ont des propriétés de résistance mécaniques exceptionnelles, une densité faible (légère) en plus d’avoir une coloration relativement neutre. Nous obtiendrons ainsi à partir de ressources renouvelables, le bois, de nouveaux matériaux biosourcés. De plus, le procédé de fabrication est vert puisqu’il n’utilise aucun produit chimique ni enzyme et ne produit pas de rejet (rendement de 100%). Il sera nécessaire de combiner ces FC avec des polymères plastiques afin d’obtenir des matériaux composites pouvant être utilisés dans divers domaines dont l’emballage, l’automobile, aviation, les équipements industriels, etc.

Conversion of Petroleum Coke to More Valuable Products with Zero CO2 Emissions

The production rate of petcoke is growing rapidly because of continuous increase in the volume of heavy crudes. This poses a long-term challenge to the upgrading and refining plants to find an economical petcoke utilization approach and reduce their waste products and also environmental impacts. In addition to its profitability feature, this technology should ideally have minimum environmental impacts. Thus, the aim of this project is development and techno-economic optimization of a commercial scale petcoke-based plant that employs novel technologies to produce fuels, chemicals and electricity with zero CO2 emissions. After investigation of different scenarios, the best strategies (based on profitability, thermal efficiency, capital cost, CO2 emissions, etc.) will be introduced to the industrial partner for further research and possibly experimental tests.

Accelerate development of new technologies and applications for advanced water treatment.

Global population growth, urbanization and changing climate patterns have increased the demand for potable water, wastewater reuse and value recovery from wastewater, and treatment of industrial process water. Population growth also results in increased demand for the shipping of goods by ocean freight, with the associated risk of the transport of unwanted marine life from one location to another by the discharge of ballast water. Also, the increasing sophistication of food and drug production requires a corresponding development of fluid protection technologies to prevent contamination by undesirable microbes. Consequently, there is increased demand for improved technologies that can provide sustainable treatment of water and wastewaters, protection of the water supply, and development of new fluid treatment methods. This research project will develop knowledge and technologies to allow the development of new Trojan Technologies products in these three areas. Treatment technologies to harvest energy from wastewater, treat ballast water with
ultraviolet light and filtration to treat invasive species, and remove harmful bacteria from liquid foods and drug fluids, are examples of proposed outcomes of this project.

Evaluation framework for cloud services

With technology advancements, specifically, the development of cloud technologies has created a new delivery method of applications to businesses. The traditional model of physical installing software on a per machine basis is shifting to a centralized hardware/software model accessible through the internet. The current software delivery model is dominated by primary market vendors such as Microsoft; SAP; Oracle and Cisco. The shift to secondary market penetration will require a collaboration between various software and hardware vendors for application development; data analytics through big data; storage and security. This research project will investigate new business model in terms of licensing costs; software application updates; collaboration between vendors and service expectations.

Développement d’un outil de micro-imagerie en génie pharmaceutique

Le contrôle de qualité de comprimés pharmaceutiques implique habituellement des analyses requérant une préparation laborieuse des échantillons, ce qui occasionne des coûts élevés et des délais considérables. À ce jour, peu de technologies permettent une analyse rapide et/ou en ligne d’ingrédients actifs à de très faible concentration massique (sous 1% massique). L’objectif général de ce projet est de proposer une méthode d’analyse répondant à ce besoin, qui permettrait de caractériser rapidement des comprimés pharmaceutiques. En utilisant un outil novateur unique, une méthode d’imagerie microscopique rapide, nécessitant peu de manipulations, sera développée. En plus de simplement quantifier la composition, cette technique permettrait de déterminer d’autres propriétés des comprimés tels que la taille des particules le formant et la distribution des ingrédients. Une forte composante de recherche et développement est encore nécessaire afin de confirmer son utilisation pour la mesure de taille de particules ou de concentration d’actifs.

An assessment of agricultural stream designs used in maintenance operations in Quebec

In agricultural watersheds, many meandering rivers were straightened and several rectilinear ditches were added to the drainage network in order to evacuate water as quickly as possible in the spring to improve farm productivity. The design of these modified channels was not based on natural river dynamic concepts, which include both discharge capacity and sediment transport, and thus need to be maintained frequently as they tend to adjust by eroding their banks and returning to a sinuous pattern. The objectives of this research project are to provide a critical analysis of several existing agricultural channel designs in the Montérégie region (Quebec) and to propose alternative solutions which would require less maintenance in the future and which may result in improved water quality in agricultural watersheds. Numerical modelling and field data will be used to better understand flow dynamics and sediment transport in these modified channels, and to make suggestions for improvements in the channel design.

Cultural Capital and Return Migration to Turkey

This research project studies Turkish university professors who have spent significant periods of time living in the United States or Canada but have decided to move back to Turkey. I want to understand why these professors choose to move back to Turkey after spending so much time in North America, and what factors cause them to leave. This project will take place in Istanbul, Turkey with possible trips to Ankara and other cities to meet my subjects. The research will include interviews with twenty-five professors from various backgrounds. The hypothesis that I will test is that the election of the Justice and Development Party in 2002 started a new wave of migration of religiously-oriented professors returning home. This differs from previous trends that involved primarily nationalist and secular academics as return migrants.

Functional and topological insights into plant triacylglycerol synthesis enzymes

Laure Aymé is a PhD student focusing her research on a plant protein family involved in lipid biosynthesis and important for oil accumulation and biotechnological purposes. Laure recently published an article describing the function and localization of a protein inserted in two distinct cellular compartment membranes, a rather unique situation with few available data. During her stay in Canada, Laure will build a model of the protein insertion into membrane using an experimental set-up designed in Prof. Weselake’s laboratory. It requires the construction of protein mutants in a yeast strain that she has already successfully used. Expected results include a confrontation of the protein insertion in both compartments which is a poorly tackled question. Protein motifs and regions determinant for activity and/or targeting will be highlighted through a live-cell-based assay performed on mutants. Results should be published shortly after the project. Candidate skills and doctoral thesis will greatly benefit from these innovative
experiments and cultural experience abroad.

Optimizing synergies in Eco-Industrial Parks: A multi-objective model to minimize effects of the uncertainty on sustainable design of EIP

A sustainable system is supposed to satisfy its stakeholders’ social, financial, and environmental requirements. Although there are many studies to optimize design decisions in a sustainable system, limited research is found to consider multiple objectives in sustainable system design. We study Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs) as a sustainable system where businesses and local communities collaborated together to share resources and infrastructure
to gain economic and environmental objectives. Uncertainty, defined as lack of information, affects EIPs and hurdles optimal decisions in sharing resources. After reviewing structure of collaborations and symbioses in EIP, design decisions and uncertainty type and distribution will be investigated. The study will propose a multi objective model to optimize resource sharing decisions in EIPs under uncertainty using mathematical programing. A solution approach will be developed and its validity will be evaluated using a case study in the host research institute. This study will provide an optimal tool for EIP decision makers to share energy, water, and resources among actors, considering multiple objectives (e.g., cost, environmental impacts, etc.) under uncertainty.