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U of T professor named NSERC Industrial Research Chair
Apr. 18, 2018 - A University of Toronto Engineering researcher hopes to strengthen technological innovation and enhance sustainability in the pulp and paper industry.
April 18, 2018 By P&PC Staff
Professor Nikolai DeMartini develops new strategies to help pulp and paper mills deal with contaminants such as salts and metals in their processes. The university has recently announced three new Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Industrial Research Chairs (IRCs), focusing on the pulp and paper, manufacturing and natural resources sectors. The program provides funding over a five-year term to support academic-industry collaborations on both fundamental and applied research that is of commercial interest, explains U of T.
Professor Nikolai DeMartini (ChemE) has been named NSERC Industrial Research Chair in the role and fate of inorganics in the industrial processing of woody biomass.
According to the university, Professor DeMartini has spent years studying the chemical process that take place inside pulp and paper plants and has developed strategies for new industrial processes that can effectively deal with inorganic components. The results, it describes, could add value to existing operations and reduce unwanted emissions, leading to benefits both for the companies and surrounding communities.
Partners on the project include FPInnovations, as well as a number of pulp and paper producers.
“These industrial research chairs reflect our ability to attract world-leading research talent and to build strong relationships with external partners in a wide variety of fields,” said Ramin Farnood, Vice-Dean, Research at U of T Engineering. “The new discoveries and innovations that they create will improve the competitiveness of their respective sectors and create value for Canadians.”
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