BRIL working toward a bio-renewable future

The search for cleaner energy is ending up in the waste

BY SEAN TARRY

Inthe search to discover or develop anything new, pioneers are often required—people who will turn over new stones, ask the unasked questions and venture into the unknown. One of the pioneers within the Canadian bio-renewable space is Dr. Animesh Dutta, current Director of the Bio-Renewable Innovation Lab (BRIL), a multidisciplinary research facility with the School of Engineering at the University of Guelph. Founded in 2014, the laboratory conducts the majority of its research on valorization of various organic wastes to promote sustainability through the concept of the circular economy. The lab has already been recognized through its development of thermochemical conversions of macromolecules present in organic waste resources to energy and value-added materials. And, by virtue of its focus on leveraging a range of clean and sustainable-renewable energy technologies, it aims to develop a wide variety of bioproducts, including biochemicals, bio-carbon (which poses the potential to be a replacement for coal) bio-oil (which could present as a substitute for petroleum) and syngas, from bioresources through green thermo-chemical and bio-chemical processes.

Environmentally friendly processes

Dutta explains that the entire goal of the laboratory and everyone who conducts work and research within it is to help reduce the negative impact that energy consumption has on the planet through the development of more environmentally friendly processes while also allowing for the generation of revenue for the farmer, processor, or anyone else.

“We conduct all of our research and work with an advanced biorefinery approach,” he says. “It’s unique in that it allows us to target the recovery of value from every co-product of biomass conversion, supporting our efforts to sustainable solutions for a more sustainable tomorrow. To do this, to achieve the goal of greater, long-term sustainability and a cleaner, healthier planet, the development of innovative technological solutions is required and a determination to develop cleaner sources of energy.”

We conduct all of our research and work with an advanced biorefinery approach,” he says. “It’s unique in that it allows us to target the recovery of value from every co-product of biomass conversion, supporting our efforts to sustainable solutions for a more sustainable tomorrow.

To do this, to achieve the goal of greater, longterm sustainability and a cleaner, healthier planet, the development of innovative technological solutions is required and a determination to develop cleaner sources of energy.

A robust laboratory

The laboratory boasts a number of different facilities that support the work and research conducted at BRIL, including those for sample storage, dry storage, desiccation, refrigerated storage, frozen samples, sample processing preparation, bench top characterization, spectroscopy, chromatography, and integrated process and analytical systems. It’s a robust environment that houses a treasure trove of technologies and equipment as well, including a mass spectrometer for gas chromatography, a total organic carbon analyzer, an ultraviolet visible spectrometer, an atomic force microscope, a hydrothermal reactor, a hydrothermal continuous reactor, a CHNS-O analyzer, as well as a host of other cutting-edge tools.

Support funding

Since founding the laboratory nearly 10 years ago, Dutta has managed to secure nearly 30 different rounds of funding to support the work that he and his colleagues are conducting, including funds received from NSERC Discovery, NSERC Engage, the Government of Ontario’s Ministry of Research and Innovation, the Government of Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, Biomass Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to name a few. It’s funding that Dutta recognizes as crucial in helping the laboratory function as it does, adding that it’s reflective of the importance of the objectives that it’s attempting to achieve.

“We’ve certainly received quite a bit of generous funding for the work that we do,” he admits. “But it definitely speaks to the critical need for the energy solutions that we’re trying to develop. And, the fact that it’s arrived from so many sources, including government agencies and scientific councils, all in an effort to support the search for cleaner sources of energy, is evidence concerning the level of importance of this type of work and research. The planet is in need of solutions to help reduce carbon emissions and create a healthier planet. It’s a mandate at the provincial and federal levels, as well as being a global issue. Everyone is striving to make these improvements, and the laboratory is seen as a key contributor in the search for cleaner fuels.”

A sustainable future

When discussing his laboratory, Dutta is excited, speaking with passion concerning the endless possibilities that his research helps to unravel, and the opportunities it uncovers. He beams with pride when citing some of the exciting projects that he and his colleagues are currently working on, and those that are still being conceptualized. However, when looking ahead, the University of Guelph Director shares that he has even bigger plans for BRIL, with a focus on expanding the laboratory and its function further to include a showroom of sorts where the innovative, state-of-the-art technologies, techniques and processes that have been developed can be marketed, if you will—an approach that Dutta says will add a significantly important layer to his already impressive set-up.

“My hope for the work that we continue to do is to enable it even further by developing a pilot or demonstration facility. Bringing this kind of laboratory work through to application in the way of a demonstration phase will allow people to actually see the technology and techniques in action and really start to believe in it. It’s a very powerful form of experience-based learning that can’t help but resonate with people. I’m hoping for this to happen within the next three to five years in order to showcase and highlight all of the amazing things that we’re doing to industries to entice them to begin leveraging the solutions that we’re providing. In the end, however, it’s about creating a better tomorrow through a circular economy approach and the right innovations and technological solutions in order to arrive at long-term sustainability for the planet. And I want to make sure that the laboratory continues to meet this mandate for many more years to come.”