The funding was announced by Michelle Rempel, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, who said “providing innovative technologies that will help increase the productivity and competitiveness of the biofuel and biochemical sectors in Western Canada.”
Thanks to the monetary support, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan, led by Canada Research Chair in Bioenergy and Environmentally Friendly Chemical Processing and Professor of Chemical Engineering, Ajay Dalai, will be able to purchase highly-specialized equipment for the development and commercialization of new, more efficient and affordable glycerol purification and conversion technologies.
Glycerol, a by-product of processing canola into biodiesel, must be separated from biodiesel as it does not burn effectively. While raw glycerol has limited commercial value, the university's purification technology could double the price that companies can charge for the substance, in turn adding more value to biodiesel production.
“This major investment in biofuels-related research builds on an area of outstanding [the university's] research strength," said Karen Chad, vice-president research, University of Saskatchewan.
“It’s an excellent example of how we work with industrial and government partners to help find clean energy solutions that can lead to spin-off companies and new job opportunities,” she said.
In the near term, the university plans to develop and file three patents: one for the purification technology, and two for the conversion technologies. A Saskatchewan start-up company is expected to manufacture all three technologies for commercial use, and subsequently market them.
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