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High-efficiency CO2 capture using novel fibres in the production of soil conditioning agents and polymer replacements
Innovating Fertiliser with Captured Carbon Funded through the Grand Challenge Round 1 in 2014, CCm Research Ltd. set out to demonstrate the direct capture of CO2 from post-combustion exhaust gases and to quantify the broader environmental benefits of embedding captured carbon into new products. Their process integrates CO2 into a range of materials, most notably
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Direct Catalytic Synthesis of Acetic Acid from CO2 and CH4
Transforming Greenhouse Gases into Acetic Acid Funded through the Grand Challenge: Innovative Carbon Uses Round 1 in 2014, the Institute of Gas Technology (GTI) project investigated the production of acetic acid, which is a heavily produced chemical, from CO2 and CH4. Acetic acid can be used in a variety of products, such as paints, adhesives
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CO2 to Graphene Reactors
Transforming CO2 into Solid Materials Funded in 2014 through Round 1 of ERA’s Grand Challenge, this project aimed to provide proof of concept and scale-up of a novel and proprietary process to utilize CO2. Carbon Upcycling Technologies (CUT)’s technology utilizes CO2 by reacting it with fly ash, an ingredient of concrete, and avoids CO2 emissions
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RBW HDPE Plastic Recycling
Project Overview Approved for funding through ERA’s Circular Economy Challenge in 2023, RBW sought to develop a process to take contaminated plastic waste and produce a valuable, saleable product. By project completion in 2024, RBW successfully established a recycling process that takes waste material that was being collected, decontaminates it, and turns it into valuable
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Biological Co-fermentation of Carbon Dioxide and Methane to Malate
Transforming Greenhouse Gases into Valuable Building Blocks Funded through the Grand Challenge: Innovative Carbon Uses Round 1 in 2014, Industrial Microbes, Inc. set out to develop a novel biological process that consumes two potent greenhouse gases—methane and carbon dioxide—and converts them into high-value chemicals. The company identified dozens of chemical and fuel products that could
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Identification of regionally appropriate grazing systems for the reduction of greenhouse gasses in Alberta, now and in the future
Investigating the Link Between Drought, Cattle Management and Soil Carbon This project studied the role of different cattle grazing systems in maximizing carbon storage and minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout Alberta’s grasslands. Funded through the Biological GHG Management Program in 2015, the project aimed to better understand how grazing affects carbon storage in grasslands
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Eco-mimicry approach to methane capture in tailing ponds
Project Overview Approved for funding through ERA’s Biological GHG Management Program in 2015, the project set out to design a multi bioreactor and gas sampling system for testing the performances of known methane oxidizing materials. By its completion in 2016, the study demonstrated initial proof-of-concept for designing a floating methanotrophic biofilter that could limit methane
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Developing an Adsorbing Biocarbon to achieve GHG Benefits in the Remediation of Produced Water in Oil Sands Production
Project Overview Approved for funding through ERA’s Biological GHG Management Program in 2013, University of Calgary researchers investigated the use of Alberta-grown biomass – agricultural and forest crop residues – to clean up chemical contaminants in produced water from oil sands operations. Over the course of the 9-month project, a variety of biochar samples were
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Performance validation of RFI selected cattle under extensive cow/calf production systems
Reducing Methane from the Cattle Industry with Genetics Funded through the Biological Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Management Program in 2014, this project provided information on how current genetic improvement programs for beef cattle may impact cow and calf production under open-range grazing, as well as the associated profitability and emission reductions as a result. Increasing the
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Algae-based biomass for production of fuels and chemicals
Hydrogen Produced from Algae-Based Biomass Funded through the Biological and Adaptation Program in 2014, researchers at the University of Alberta assessed the cost of algae as a feedstock to produce diluent and hydrogen and compared it to other production methods with consideration to several factors including lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The study found that
