Celluforce, a joint venture company between Domtar, FP Innovations, and Schlumberger, sponsored the Schlumberger-Celluforce-Waterloo Design Competition on the use of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) in different industrial sectors, such as medicine, energy, environment, electronics/information storage, food/agriculture, cosmetics, and chemicals. The competition involved 80 third-year nanotechnology engineering students working in 20 separate teams to develop innovative solutions that address important challenges facing the world in the 21st century. This design competition constitutes a component of a 3B Nanotechnogy Engineering course on Soft Nanomaterials taught by Dr. Michael Tam of the Department of Chemical Engineering. The project teams have been working on their projects since September 2015, and each team competed for the top five prizes in a competition (the total cash value of the prizes was $1400) held at the Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum Nano Centre on 28 November 2015 from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. The top five innovative ideas are: improved aneurysm treatment using novel CNC nanocomposites; cellulose nanocrystals for a household decaffeination filter; a novel Pickering emulsifier for applications in the mining industry; CNC enabled capture and photoremediation of nitrates in groundwater; and reinforced self-healing water tank coatings using functionalized CNC. The project presentations were judged by eminent professionals: Sébastien Corbeil (CEO, CelluForce Inc.), Dr. Richard Berry (CTO, CelluForce Inc.), Dr. Shirley Tang (Director, Waterloo Nanotechnology Engineering program), Dr. Wadood Hamad (Principal Scientist, FP Innovations), and Dr. Valerie Lafitte (Program Manager, Stimulation Fluid Engineering, Schlumberger). One of the goals of this competition is to movitate our talented nanotechnology engineering students to work at the interface of academia and industry and to develop innovative solutions that address many challenging issues facing the world today. We hope that some of the groups will create start-ups in the field of sustainable nanomaterials.
The technology on the large-scale production of CNC was developed by FP Innovations, and a demonstration plant was built and commissioned in January 2012 to produce 1000 kg/day of CNC. This plant, located in Windsor, Quebec is the first large-scale production facility in the world. CelluForce is now actively working with the University of Waterloo to develop new NCC technologies for many different industrial sectors.
About CelluForce
CelluForce Inc. is the world leader in the commercial development of NanoCrystalline Cellulose (NCC), also referred to as Cellulose Nanocrystals (CNC). The company is a joint venture of Domtar Corporation and FPInnovations. CelluForce manufactures NCC/CNC in the world’s first demonstration plant of its kind, located in Windsor, Québec, developing new applications for NCC/CNC as well as marketing and selling it. The company currently has a workforce of 30 employees, and its head office is in Montreal.
About Schlumberger
Schlumberger is the world’s leading supplier of technology, integrated project management, and information solutions to customers working in the oil and gas industry worldwide. Employing approximately 126,000 people representing over 140 nationalities and working in more than 85 countries, Schlumberger provides the industry’s widest range of products and services from exploration through production.
With 125 Research & Engineering facilities around the world, Schlumberger emphasizes developing innovative technology that adds value for their customers. Schlumberger invests the most Research & Engineering each year of all other oilfield services companies.
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