A $1.3 million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is expected to help cut d…
A $1.3 million grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada is expected to help cut down on energy demands in the pulp and paper sector, the University of British Columbia says.
According to a report by the Vancouver Province, UBC researchers are hopeful the money, which will be used to assemble a research team, will culminate in slashing industry demands for energy by 20% within the next five years.
“We are quite positive that we can demonstrate and achieve the savings within five years,” the Province reported UBC mechanical engineering professor James Olson as saying. “The future of the pulp and paper industry in Canada is uncertain due to increasing competition from emerging countries, a strong Canadian dollar, aging Canadian mills and low commodity prices.”
The aim of the research project will be to create new technologies that will improve production and paper quality while cutting back energy consumption, the Province confirmed.
Annual savings from the implementation of a successful technology developed by the research team could stand to save a mill 1,000 gigawatt hours, worth $45 million.
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