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The Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has awarded  a $1.876 million Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) Grant to Chemical Engineering Professor Honghi Tran and his team. The announcement was made June 19.

The funds from the grant will be directed towards a four-year research program entitled, “Fundamental studies of drying, combustion and ash properties of biomass and impacts of pulp and paper mill operations.”

Requirements for efficient energy generation and usage, stringent environmental regulations, improved waste management and clean mill operations are growing concerns for pulp and paper mills. New approaches are required to address these important issues. The new CRD project led by Professor Tran aims at increasing the efficiency of biomass boilers in Canadian pulp and paper mills by preventing surface fouling of combustion ash, diversifying boiler fuel feedstocks, and increasing the utilization and value of ash that results from biomass combustion.

In addition to the NSERC-CRD Grant, 10 industrial partners consisting of pulp and paper producers, boiler manufacturers and chemical suppliers have agreed to sponsor the research program with approximately $1.4 million cash and $660,000 of in kind support.

“We are grateful that NSERC recognizes the relevance of the work that Professor Tran and his team are conducting. Not only will it bring many benefits to Canada but it will also help us train 26 graduate students, four postdoctoral fellows and 22 undergraduate students – creating highly qualified personnel,” said Professor Grant Allen, Chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry.

Professor Tran is an internationally respected expert in the field of pulp and paper research. He holds the Frank Dottori Chair in Pulp and Paper Engineering and is Director of the University of Toronto Pulp & Paper Centre. Professor Tran is also a technical consultant to kraft pulp mills on problems related to kraft recovery boilers, lime kilns and borate autocausticizing. His research interests are in fouling and corrosion in recovery boilers and chemical recovery processes. Professor Tran has co-authored over 120 referred papers, holds eight patents and is a Fellow of the Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry.

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