Faculty members in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry frequently look for students to help out with research projects. These projects are suitable for a Fourth Year thesis (CHE499Y, or ESC499Y), a project for a Master of Engineering (MEng) degree, or a Summer Research project in the Summer Research Abroad program.
All faculty have research projects for students. Not all projects are listed below. You can contact faculty members directly to inquire about other possible projects or to propose your own project.
Project Descriptions and Contact Information
Investigation of Pichia Pastoris strains for the successful production and characterization of Auxiliary Activity family 7 enzymes (AA7s)
Auxiliary activity enzymes are oxidoreductases that catalyze the oxidation of carbohydrates (and other compounds) through the action of a Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) co-factor. They are crucial players in the goal to valorize oligosaccharides derived from biomass processing and for building novel functional biopolymers. Pichia Pastoris is a popular expression system for protein production, with relatively cheap growth medium and a high growth rate, compatibility with shake flasks and large-scale bioreactors, and comparatively easy genetic manipulation for heterologous expression.
The prospective M.Eng student would be directly involved in the genetic manipulation phase of the project. This phase involves producing gene constructs for multiple AA7 targets, transformation into multiple strains of P. pastoris, and the validation of protein expression levels. This phase of the project is truly the heart and would directly lead to the successes of the downstream activity screens and biochemical characterization.
The prospective M.Eng student would work closely with a Post-doctoral fellow and other graduate students, which would provide numerous training opportunities in biochemistry and molecular biology. In this increasingly biotech world, genetic engineering, protein production, and protein biochemical characterization are valuable experience to have for a highly competitive job market. Tasks that the student can expect to perform include PCR amplification of genes, insertion of genes into vector constructs, validation of plasmid integrity via RT-PCR and gel electrophoresis, transformation of plasmids into P. pastoris strains, and validation of positive clones via colony and western blotting. Along with these tasks, training on various related instruments should also be expected.
The project timeline has an expected start date in Summer 2021, but a flexible start date could also be accomodated.
Contact: Emma Master at emma.master@utoronto.ca and Olan Raji at olan.raji@utoronto.ca
Using growth conditions to control the production of valuable products from algae
We are seeking a proactive, rigorous, and highly independent Master of Engineering Student to contribute to a project that involves using growth conditions to control the production of valuable products from algae.
The selected Student will work with Dr. Sofia Bonilla and others in the research group led by Prof. Grant Allen. The objective of this M. Eng. project is to develop a lab-scale cultivation process for the optimized production of proteins and specific amino acid profiles from red algae. The Student will help our group to gain a better understanding of growth kinetics and product yields of red algae under different salinities.
Daily activities include sampling and testing algal biomass for protein and amino acid quantification. In addition to experiments, the candidate will be continuously reviewing and summarizing literature. Preferred experience includes laboratory work cultivating, processing, and analyzing biomass. We are looking for a Student to start working on this project immediately.
Contact: Dr. Sophia Bonilla (sofia.bonillatobar@mail.utoronto.ca)
Postdoctoral Fellow Opportunities
Note: Candidates expected to work in a couple different areas.
- NSERC-UNENE Alliance grant – Corrosion Control and Materials Performance in Nuclear Power Systems (joint with Suraj Persaud, Queen’s University) – 1 or 2 positions
- NSERC-NWMO Alliance grant – Copper Corrosion Mechanisms and Prediction (joint with Queen’s University and faculty in MSE) – 1 position
- Qatar National Research Fund – Towards Science-Based Maps for Stress Corrosion Cracking (collaborative with Shell engineers) – partial position
- Applications of Nanoporous Metals to Sensing and Catalysis – partial position
Contact: Professor Roger Newman (roger.newman@utoronto.ca)
Predictive Analytics in Process Engineering: A Case Study
Use of data mining, statistics, modelling and machine learning to predict, control and optimize chemical processes.
Requirements: Knowledge in process design, process simulation and basic programming skills. Training provided for predictive analytics.
Contact: Prof. Daniela Galatro at daniela.galatro@utoronto.ca
Modelling the relationship between landfill-leachate parameters and concentration of methane in the biogas
Study the thermo-kinetic behavior of the landfill domain via process simulation employing a hybrid approach (first-principles and data-based), namely the causal relationship between the combined effects of the multiple leachate parameters that intervene in the waste stabilization (e.g., pH/alkalinity, the moisture of the waste, chemical oxygen demand, sulfate and waste temperature) and the concentration of methane in the biogas.
Requirements: Knowledge in thermodynamics, kinetics, process simulation (Aspen Plus or equivalent) and basic programming skills.
This project is in cooperation with ATOMS Lab (MIE).
Contact: Prof. Daniela Galatro at daniela.galatro@utoronto.ca
The effect of solvent type and temperature on the rate and extent of solubilization of water in diluted bitumen
Summary: This sub-project will contribute to a larger project sponsored by the oil sands company, Syncrude Canada Limited. After the froth treatment section in the processing of the oil sands from Athabasca, the product – diluted bitumen, still contains about 2 to 3 wt% of water. This water exists in the form of extremely fine droplets, which cannot be removed using the unit operations of inclined settling and centrifugation currently employed by Syncrude. The salts in the residual water have strong implications for bitumen upgradation, including the possibility of corrosion of equipment and poisoning of catalysts, both of which lead to significant downtimes. Thus, the presence of water in the bitumen product is highly undesirable.
One mechanism of retention of water in diluted bitumen is the solubilization of water by the two major interfacially active species in bitumen: asphaltenes and naphthenic acids. In this study, we wish to explore the rate and extent of solubilization of water by these species using a microfluidic technique. We have already reported microfluidic solubilization studies for the water-bitumen system in the past (Goel, Ph.D. thesis, 2018). We discovered that the solubilization rate and extent of a water drop in bitumen increases with extensional rate of the flow, and is a complicated function of the bitumen concentration. We also noticed an interesting dependence of the dissolution rate on the age of the bitumen sample. To further explore this system, we now wish to extend these studies to understand the effects of temperature and solvent type.
Objectives
This project aims to explore the water-bitumen system further by performing the following solubilization experiments using our microfluidic platform:
- a) Measurement of the effect of temperature from 25oC to 80oC on the dissolution rate and solubility.
- b) Measurement of the effect of solvent type (naphtha, heptane-toluene mixtures) on the dissolution rate and solubility.
Work Experience: The following skills are desirable: (a) experience in doing experimental work in a research lab; (b) a working knowledge of MATLAB and Excel, and (c) experience in image processing techniques.
Work Load: Approximately an average of 20 hours per week for 8 months. The last two months will be used for data analysis and compilation of the thesis.
The desired project start date is October 2020, but is flexible.
Contact: Prof. Arun Ramchandran at Arun.Ramchandran@utoronto.ca
The effect of solvent type and temperature on the interfacial tension of the water-bitumen interface
Summary: This sub-project will contribute to a larger project sponsored by the oil sands company, Syncrude Canada Limited. After the froth treatment section in the processing of the oil sands from Athabasca, the product – diluted bitumen, still contains about 2 to 3 wt% of water. This water exists in the form of extremely fine droplets, which cannot be removed using the unit operations of inclined settling and centrifugation currently employed by Syncrude. The salts in the residual water have strong implications for bitumen upgradation, including the possibility of corrosion of equipment and poisoning of catalysts, both of which lead to significant downtimes. Thus, in the oil-sands industry, the presence of water in bitumen is highly undesirable. The retention of water can be attributed to asphaltenes and naphthenic acids, the surfactants indigenous to bitumen. Asphaltenes and naphthenic acids influence drop breakup processes that produce fine droplets and induce interfacial stability that inhibits coalescence. The parameter that is central to all of these processes is the interfacial tension (IFT) of the water-bitumen interface. Unfortunately, the dynamic interfacial behavior exhibited by this system has remained largely unexplored due to its complexity. In our group, we have developed a novel microfluidic platform, the microfluidic extensional flow device, to fill this gap by measuring the dynamic interfacial tension of the system.
We have already reported IFT experiments for the water-bitumen system (Goel et al., Langmuir, 2019; Goel, Ph.D. thesis, 2018). Our experiments revealed that the interfacial tension is the result of a complex interplay between asphaltene self-association kinetics and asphaltene-naphthenic acid association kinetics. We also discovered that the interfacial tension value measured using our microfluidic platform is much lower than the reported value in the literature for the water-bitumen system. To further explore this system, we now wish to extend these studies to understand the effects of temperature and solvent type on the interfacial tension.
Objectives
This project aims to explore the water-bitumen system further by performing the following IFT experiments using our microfluidic platform:
- a) Measurement of the effect of temperature from 25oC to 80oC on the interfacial tension of water in diluted bitumen.
- b) Measurement of the effect of solvent type (naphtha, heptane-toluene mixtures) on the interfacial tension of water in diluted bitumen.
Work Experience: The following skills are desirable: (a) experience in doing experimental work in a research lab; (b) a working knowledge of MATLAB and Excel, and (c) experience in image processing techniques.
Work Load: Approximately an average of 20 hours per week for 8 months. The last two months will be used for data analysis and compilation of the thesis.
The desired project start date is October 2020, but is flexible.
Contact: Prof. Arun Ramchandran at Arun.Ramchandran@utoronto.ca
Engineering Education Research
Collaborative Specialisation in Engineering Education
The following opportunities are for BASc and MEng students:
- Student perspectives on remote learning
- Data Mining of student educational experience
- Development of instructional videos and other digital learning objects
- Development on-line instructional modules
For more information about any of these projects, please contact Greg Evans at greg.evans@utoronto.ca.
Projects in Air Pollution, Health and Climate
Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research
The following opportunities are for BASc and MEng students:
- Statistical mining of air pollution data
- Development and application of inexpensive sensors for smart cities
- Studies of traffic related air pollution
For more information about any of these projects, please contact Greg Evans at greg.evans@utoronto.ca.
Stability of Added Vitamins During Food Preparation
To combat birth defects and maternal mortality, iron and B vitamins can be added to salt. However, it is unknown, whether the added vitamins survive during traditional cooking. We will test the effect of cooking, frying and baking on the retention of B vitamins added through quadruple fortified salt. Analytical techniques including HPLC, ICP and wet chemical methods will be used. The candidate will work directly with a post doctoral fellow and/or senior doctorate students.
Contact: Juveria Siddiqui juveriam.siddiqui@utoronto.ca or Levente Diosady l.diosady@utoronto.ca
Phosphorous in the Causticization Plant of Pulp Mills – Kinetic and Equilibrium Studies
Faculty advisor: Professor Nikolai DeMartini
Phosphorous enters pulps mills with the wood used in pulping and with biofuels burned in lime kilns. We are interested in the kinetics and equilibrium of phosphorous uptake by lime during slaking and causticizing reactions. This work will involve carrying out slaking and causticizing experiments under different conditions and analyzing both the solid and liquid products. An important aspect of this work will be solid phase identification using a variety of analytical methods including XRD, ICP and XPF which you will be trained to use. Additionally, the student will work with a research assistant (Maryam Mousavi). This work is important to the increased utilization of biofuels in lime kilns, the main source of fossil CO2 in the industry. It is also important as we attempt to find ways to recover P from the recovery cycle in pulp mills.
Please contact Professor DeMartini (Nikolai.DeMartini@utoronto.ca) with a copy of you resume and unofficial copy of your grades if you are interested in this opportunity.
Effect of thermal hydrolysis on anaerobic digestion of pulp & paper mill sludge under semi-continuous flow regime
Faculty advisors: Professor D. Grant Allen & Dr. Ehssan Koupaie
We are seeking a proactive and highly-independent Masters of Engineering (MEng) student to work on a research project in the areas of “Waste to Bioenergy”. Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a biochemical process converting organics into methane-rich biogas in an oxygen-free environment. The threat of global warming and energy crisis have brought the application of AD technology for bioenergy production to the forefront. Despite the successful application of AD for the bioenergy conversion of different organic wastes, limited attempts have been made to apply this process on pulp & paper sludge due to the long-retention time leading to the high capital cost. As a way of accelerating the process and reducing the retention time, thermal hydrolysis can be applied to the feedstock before the AD process. Therefore, the objective of the project is to investigate the effect of thermal hydrolysis on anaerobic digestion (AD) of pulp & paper mill sludge.
The selected student will work with Dr. Ehssan Koupaie and others in the research group led by Prof. Grant Allen. Daily activities will be operating and monitoring of lab-scale semi-continuous anaerobic digesters (1-3 L), which include feeding the digesters, biogas characterization, and dewaterability analysis of the digester effluent (digestate). Preferred experience includes laboratory work in bioprocess or environmental engineering areas. We are looking for a student to start working on this project immediately.
To Apply: Submit CV and transcripts (unofficial is fine) to:
Contact: D. Grant Allen at dgrant.allen@utoronto.ca and Ehssan Koupaie at e.koupaie@utoronto.ca
Air pollutant emissions from the oil sands and impact on the local First Nations community: Fort McKay
Faculty advisor: Professor Jeffrey Brook
The Canada-Alberta Oil Sands Monitoring Program (OSM) operates a heavily instrumented atmospheric monitoring site in Fort McKay, a First Nations community surrounded by the oil sands development. Many pollutants are being measured with high time resolution, including some measures in the vertical and space-based measurements from satellites. Hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, fine particulate matter, dust and odours are notably critical air quality issues. A large, publicly-available dataset is available which represents an important opportunity to improve understanding of how the oil sands is impacting the community, its people and its environment, and to apply a range of data analysis techniques.
Research projects of interest will harness novel data mining techniques to learn more about what aspects of the oil sands activities are responsible, when and why they occur (e.g., meteorology) and potentially which industries are responsible.
Contact: Jeffrey Brook at jeff.brook@utoronto.ca
Improving performance of a solar-battery powered remote air quality monitoring site
Faculty advisor: Professor Jeffrey Brook
In the oil sands region the pollutant emissions spread far beyond the fencelines and impact remote areas. Monitoring in these areas is difficult because no power is available. The Fort McKay First Nations community has developed a solar-battery powered system to address this challenge, but due to limited solar energy and extreme cold in winter months the system experiences downtime.
This design project will involve exploring ways to insulate the batteries to increase their lifetime to reduce or eliminate downtime. Other ideas to improve solar energy input or harness wind energy could also be explored in order to assist Fort McKay in their monitoring.
Contact: Jeffrey Brook at jeff.brook@utoronto.ca
Testing a low cost air pollutant sensor system (AirSENCE) in the oil sands region
Faculty advisor: Professor Jeffrey Brook
SOCAAR has developed the AirSENCE monitor and it is being utilized in many urban areas. Its application in studying air quality in intensive resource development areas remains to be tested. An AirSENCE is available to deploy to the heart of the oil sands alongside sensitive, accurate monitoring equipment. Large amounts of data will be generated by this initiative.
This project will focus on validation and calibration of AirSENCE using multiple data analysis tools and then on exploring the optimal applications for low costs sensors in the oil sands region.
Contact: Jeffrey Brook at jeff.brook@utoronto.ca
Projects in Food Engineering
Faculty advisors: Professor Levente Diosady and Dr. Juveria Siddiqui
The Food Engineering Research Group at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry performs research on food fortification technologies. Double Fortified Salt (DFS) technology of adding iron and iodine to salt was developed at the Food Engineering Lab, UofT. This Double Fortified Salt aims to reduce anemia which is a major contributing factor to the 200,000 annual maternal deaths and more than one million annual infant and neonatal deaths globally. DFS technology is now pilot tested in India and is reaching more than 60 million people.
The following opportunities are for MEng students:
Iron Fortification: Approximately 2 billion people are iron deficient worldwide. This is best addressed through food fortification, which is transparent to the consumer. Fortification requires a carrier that is universally and uniformly consumed by the target population. For poor rural consumers in South Asia salt and tea are the most promising carriers. Unfortunately, both salt and iron salts are reactive, and the technical challenge is to maintain the bioactivity of the added micronutrients.
This project seeks to develop appropriate technology for adding iron and other micronutrients to either tea or salt.
Mustard Protein Processing: Mustard is a drought tolerant Canadian crop now used for condiments. Its protein content is well balanced and could be a useful food ingredient replacing soy proteins in manufactured food products. The oil is not allowed in food in Canada, but is a potential fuel feedstock.
This project seeks to further develop processes to simultaneously recover food proteins and biodiesel or green diesel from mustard seed.
Work Load: Both projects entail laboratory work in 5-6 hour experiments for 5-6 months.
Contact: Levente Diosady at l.diosady@utoronto.ca or 416-978-4137 and Juveria Siddiqui at juveria.siddiqui@utoronto.ca or 416-978-5231.
Solid-state anaerobic digestion of organic solid waste in sequentially fed leach beds and upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB)
Faculty advisors: Professor Elizabeth Edwards, Adjunct Professor Nigel Guilford, and Dr. Temesgen Fitamo
Organic solid waste disposed in landfills decomposes generating greenhouse gas emissions and causes environmental pollutions. Anaerobic digestion technology is widely used to recover renewable natural gas (RNG) and stabilize organic solid waste. Anaerobic digestion process involves biochemical transformation of organics into methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) in anaerobic conditions. The bioconversion process is mediated by hydrolytic enzymes and microbes.
In BioZone at U of T, we are currently operating a lab scale solid state anaerobic digester system (known as Daisy). Daisy comprises six sequentially fed leach beds, two tanks and up flow anerobic sludge blanket reactor (UASB). The system involves a two-stage anaerobic digestion process where hydrolysis occurs in the leach beds and soluble organic fraction of the waste is further degraded in the tanks and UASB. Every week, one leach bed is removed from the system and is replaced with a LB loaded with fresh waste.
We are looking for Master of Engineering (MEng) student to conduct research on physicochemical characteristics of organic solid waste, process optimization of solid state anaerobic digestion, controlling, monitoring and operating “Daisy” the anaerobic digester, develop the correlation of microbial community changes with process performance and operating conditions and identify the mechanisms for synergistic biogas production. The research work will be done in collaboration with a Postdoc fellow Temesgen Fitamo and RA Peter Lee under the supervision of Prof. Elizabeth Edwards and Adjunct Prof. Nigel Guilford. We will provide a hands on training on anaerobic digester operation and analytical data analysis.
To apply for this position, please submit your CV and credentials to the contacts below. Evaluation of the applicant’s qualifications will continue until the position is filled. The selected student will commence the research work immediately upon being selected.
Contact: Elizabeth Edwards at elizabeth.edwards@utoronto.ca, Nigel Guilford at nigel.guilford@sympatico.ca, and Temesgen Fitamo at temesgen.fitamo@utoronto.ca
Enzyme discovery and development for the functionalization of industrial lignins
Faculty advisors: Professor Elizabeth Edwards, and Professor Emma Master
The broad objective of this project is to discover and develop novel biocatalysts or enzymes to upgrade and functionalize intact biomass components, specifically, under-utilized industrial (or technical) lignin sources. The enzymes under study will be derived from fungal and bacterial species that are known to be naturally active on diverse lignin sources and will be biochemically characterized. These will include oxidoreductases (laccases, peroxidases) and novel o-demethylases (catalyzing phenyl-methyl ether demethylation) from anaerobic environmental metagenomic sources. This study targets modifications that increase the hydroxyl content in lignin so that it can be effectively used as a substitute for fossil-fuel derived phenol polymeric blends.
We are seeking an M.Eng student to help with the anaerobic enzyme discovery module of the project. The purpose of this module is to discover novel enzymes from anaerobic microbial cultures that have been maintained in-house for several years on lignocellulosic biomass and have a unique repertoire of enzymes that would be especially useful for lignin modification and valorization. There will be a multi-step screening approach taken towards enzyme discovery using firstly, biochemical methane potential assay and next, specific chemical assays for o-demethylation activity.
In this module, there will be opportunities to train on the maintenance and analysis of the biodegradability potential of these cultures when grown on different, industrially important, lignin substrates. Specific tasks will involve biogas measurements, biogas composition analysis using gas chromatography and acetate measurement using ion chromatography. Next, protein extraction will be done from promising cultures demonstrating lignin biodegradability. Finally the trainee will assist in the development of high-throughput, robust chemical assay aimed at testing crude and purified protein extracts for o-demethylating activities.
The project duration is flexible, but an immediate start date is preferred. The student will be supported by other students working on the project.
Contact: Elizabeth Edwards at elizabeth.edwards@utoronto.ca, Emma Master at emma.master@utoronto.ca and Anupama Sharan at anupama.sharan@mail.utoronto.ca
Analysis of Samples From Full-scale Pulp and Paper Mill Anaerobic Digesters
Faculty advisors: Professor Elizabeth Edwards, Professor Emma Master, & Dr. Torsten Meyer
Seeking an M.Eng student to extract and analyze DNA for trace metals in a series of samples taken from full scale anaerobic digesters. Samples are collected every 2 weeks from 3 different digesters in Canada.
The purpose of this project is to acquire data that will later be incorporated into a multivariate analysis to optimize mill performance
Methods for DNA extraction from sludge samples are available and the student will learn how to do this carefully and systematically, and to analyze the quality of the extracted DNA. Methods for trace metal analysis will be developed for the particular sample type using an ICP-OES instrument. For both methods, biases (like the introduction of oxygen, for example) introduced during the shipping of samples will be determined.
The anticipated results are an optimized sampling, shipping and analysis methods for sludge samples, as well as preliminary data regarding microbial and metals composition in samples. Additional analyses (such as Lignin and hemicellulose, and sulfur) may also be collected from these samples, with the help of other students on the project, or by the M.Eng student, depending on progress.
The project duration is flexible, but an immediate start date is preferred.
Contact: Elizabeth Edwards at elizabeth.edwards@utoronto.ca, Emma Master at emma.master@utoronto.ca and Torsten Meyer at torsten.meyer@utoronto.ca
Projects in Air Pollution, Health and Climate
Faculty advisor: Professor Greg Evans
Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR)
The following opportunities are for BASc and MEng students:
- Measurement of air pollutant exposure in micro-environments
- Statistical mining of air pollution data
- Development and application of inexpensive sensors for smart cities
- Studies of traffic related air pollution
- Occupational exposure to air pollutants
Contact: Greg Evans at greg.evans@utoronto.ca
Engineering Education Research: Collaborative Specialisation in Engineering Education
Faculty advisor: Professor Greg Evans
The following opportunities are for BASc and MEng students:
- Development of instructional videos and other digital learning objects
- Development on-line instructional modules
- Instruction of team skills
Contact: Greg Evans at greg.evans@utoronto.ca
Adsorption Guided Photocatalysis
Faculty advisor: Professor Ramin Farnood
Photocatalysis is similar to traditional catalysis but also incorporates incoming light as an energy source facilitating low temperature and pressure reactions. Photocatalysis in aqueous systems typically facilitates photocatalyst-water interactions, by using non-aqueous media we can facilitate direct photocatalyst-adsorbate interactions. To determine if a photocatalyst, adsorbate and solvent are worth further examination the combination can be tested first to discover if any adsorption occurs. By using a combinatorial chemistry approach a large number of possible photocatalyst, adsorbate, solvent combinations can be narrowed down efficiently and the successful combinations can be tested for photocatalytic activity.
Contact: Ramin Farnood at ramin.farnood@utoronto.ca
Projects in the Green Technologies Lab
Faculty advisor: Professor Charles Jia
The following opportunities are for BASc and MEng students:
- Microwave-assisted Combined Carbonization and Activation of Lignocellulosic Biomass
- Measurement of Conductivity of Porous Carbon Film for Electrode in Super-capacitor
- Targeted Activation of Carbon from Natural Sources for Sub-nano Porosity
- Recovery of Vanadium from Oil-sand Fluid Coke
- Temperature Effect on Sulphurdization of Carbon for Enhanced Hg Adsorption
- Visualization and Elucidation of Hierarchical Porous Structure of Carbonaceous Materials from Lignocellulosic Biomass
Contact: Charles Jia at cq.jia@utoronto.ca or 416-946-3097.
Developing Novel Processes for Copper Patination as a Green Building Material
Faculty advisors: Professor Donald Kirk and Dr. Mohaghegh
Copper is commonly used in the interior and exterior cladding of building materials. To improve the corrosion resistance and impart distinctive range of colours to the surface of copper, artificial aging or patination is widely practiced by the cladding industry. In this process, copper is treated by various types of chemicals to form a colorful protective oxide layer. However, the spent chemicals used in this process are typically harmful to the environment and need to be discharged safely. The goal of this collaborative project is to develop a new technology using environmental friendly (green) chemicals for the metal aging process to minimize the adverse environmental impacts.
Project sponsored by Boehme Systems Inc. and OCE.
Contact: Donald Kirk at don.kirk@utoronto.ca
Optimizing enzymatic conversion of xylan to xylitol through reducing non-productive adsorption to lignin
Faculty advisor: Professor Emma Master
Xylitol is used as a sugar substitute in manufactured products, such as dietary supplements and chewing gum. The industrial production of xylitol starts with xylan that is extracted from woods (hardwoods and softwoods) or agricultural waste. Xylan is enzymatically hydrolyzed into xylose, which is then catalytically hydrogenated into xylitol. However, lignin is often present in xylan extracts, preventing enzymatic conversion of xylan. Reducing enzyme adsorption to lignin would increase the conversion yield and allow to efficiently recycle enzymes, and thus reducing enzyme costs.
Potential activities:
- Investigating enzyme/protein binding with lignin under different conditions. Besides conventional binding assays, the candidate might have the opportunity to work with QCM-D (Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation monitoring).
- Applying analytical techniques (HPLC/HPAEC or FTIR) to quantify conversion products and lignin.
- Meeting with the industrial partner.
Timeline: The project is currently underway. We are seeking Masters students to join our team as soon as possible.
Contact: Emma Master at emma.master@utoronto.ca
Metabolic Engineering for Bio-Nylon Production
Faculty advisor: Professor Radhakrishnan Mahadevan
Nylon is an essential component of modern life and is made from a polymer of adipic acid and hexamethylenediamine. Current methods of production are accompanied by a significant release of greenhouse gases (such as N2O) and are energy intensive. Hence, there is significant interest in developing bioprocesses for the production of nylon.
As part of this project, the objective will be to engineer yeast strains for improved adipic acid production, tolerance, and high growth rates. The project will involve a combination of modeling and experimental methods to accomplish this goal. The successful candidate will learn a variety of approaches and tools from systems biology and synthetic biology including CRISPR-Cas based manipulation of the genome, metabolomics characterization and other assays including liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry and will also learn fermentation techniques.
Pre-requisites: Basic knowledge of biochemistry and biochemical engineering; Knowledge of molecular biology tools will be a plus.
Contact: Radhakrishnan Mahadevan at krishna.mahadevan@utoronto.ca
Development of an image analysis pipeline for live imaging of tumour cell culture
Faculty advisor: Professor Alison McGuigan
We are seeking an independent and motivated Masters of Engineering trainee to join our team and lead a project to build an image analysis pipeline for assessing the behaviour of cells in 3D engineered cultures. The trainee will work with a team of graduate students in the lab of Prof Alison McGuigan. The specific project will involve the use imaging software to create an automated program to monitor tumour cell growth rates and tumour cell morphology. The trainee will be expected to attend and present at team meetings and to write up their work for publication.
Prerequisites: Experience in programming is essential. Experience with image analysis is an asset.
Contact: Alison McGuigan at alison.mcguigan@utoronto.ca
Analytical method development for radio-labelled atrazine analysis
Faculty advisor: Professor Elodie Passeport
Role of algae in the removal of selected trace organic contaminants
Faculty advisor: Professor Elodie Passeport
Trace organic contaminants resulting from human activities such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals, are ubiquitously found in the environment. This widespread detection has led to increased concerns for human and ecosystem health. The proposed research project will investigate the role of an algae, Euglena gracilis, on the transfer and transformation of selected pharmaceuticals and personal care products: triclosan, carbamazepine, gemfibrozil, and ibuprofen. The objective of the M.Eng project will be to quantify the adsorption and uptake of the contaminants by the algae. Frozen algae pellets will be thawed at room temperature, where 5 mL of HPLC-grade methanol containing triclosan-d3 will be introduced as a surrogate standard. The extracts will be centrifuged, and the supernatant will be blown down to dryness under a gentle stream of nitrogen. The residual will be reconstituted in 0.5 mL of HPLC-grade methanol and 0.5 mL of Milli-Q water. The concentration of PPCP and its transformation products are expected to be <10% of the overall concentration decrease of each contaminant. This study will help quantify the role of algae in contaminant transformation.
Contact: Elodie Passeport at elodie.passeport@utoronto.ca
Development and assessment of a novel polyester for biomedical device applications
Faculty advisor: Professor Milica Radisic
We are seeking an independent and motivated Masters of Engineering student to work on a polymer biomaterial development project. The student would work with a PhD student in the research group lead by Prof. Milica Radisic. The objective of this project is to systematically assess variations in polymer properties with changes in monomer composition, reaction time, purification techniques, and post–processing. The student would work with existing polyester synthesis techniques to determine optimal formulations for application as a biomaterial with inherent bioactive properties. Daily tasks would include: polyester organic synthesis, spectrophotometric analysis, material purification, and utility assessment.
Pre-requisites: Basic understanding of organic chemistry and polymer development; knowledge of biomaterial field
Contact: Milica Radisic at m.radisic@utoronto.ca
Drop breakup via tip streaming and satellite drop formation for the water-bitumen system at high temperatures
Background: This project will contribute to a larger project sponsored by the oil sands company, Syncrude Canada Limited. In the oil sands industry, the presence of water in bitumen is highly undesirable in downstream unit operations. However, conventional separation methods such as centrifugation and inclined settling are ineffective in removing extremely fine water droplets, which can form a significant fraction of the residual water content in bitumen after separation. In the interest of removing this water, it is important to comprehend how these small water drops can be generated in bitumen in the first place. Unfortunately, the mechanisms of formation of extremely fine, emulsified water droplets have remained poorly understood in the literature due to the complex nature of the bitumen system. In order to fill this gap, we have developed novel microfluidic platforms in our lab to study the emulsification mechanisms. We have already demonstrated the formation of extremely fine water droplets in bitumen via two mechanisms, tip streaming and drop fracture mechanisms at room temperature. The former study has been published in the Fuel journal. Please, follow the link given below to read more about this work: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016236116302186
Since the oil sands industry operates at relatively high temperature (65- 80 oC), we, now, plan to perform these breakup studies at higher temperatures. In order to achieve this, we have integrated a Peltier device with our microfluidic devices, which allows us to do experiments at higher temperatures. Some preliminary tip streaming experiments at a higher temperature have successfully been conducted in the lab.
Objective: This project includes performing tip streaming and drop fracture experiments using in-house developed microfluidic devices at a higher temperature. This study will aid to locate the operating conditions, which can facilitate the formation of the extremely fine water droplets in concentrated bitumen solutions.
Deliverables:
- Conducting tip streaming experiments at higher temperatures for different bitumen concentrations and pH of water
- Performing drop fracture experiments at higher temperatures for different bitumen concentrations and pH
- Analyzing and compiling experimental data
Work Experience: Experience with experimental work in a research lab is desirable.
Work Load: Approximately an average of 20 hours per week for 8 months. The last two months will be used to compile the thesis and do additional experiments and analysis to complete the thesis.
The desired project start date is October 2019, but is flexible.
Contact: Arun Ramchandran at arun.ramchandran@utoronto.ca
Controlled collision of two microscale droplets in a microfluidic device: studying the effects of viscosity on droplets coalescence
Faculty advisor: Professor Arun Ramchandran
Controlled collision of two microscale droplets in a microfluidic device: studying the effects of viscosity on droplets coalescence
Background: Emulsions consist of dispersed droplets that are immersed in an immiscible fluid. Droplets coalescence in emulsions is an important phenomenon due to its impact on oil, food, and pharmaceutical industries. In food and cosmetic products, coalescence of droplets is undesirable as it leads to eventual phase separation, and consequently reduces the shelf-life of the product. On the other hand, in oil-sand industry, droplets’ coalescence results in easier elimination of unwanted water droplets from crude oil products. Despite its importance, coalescence of droplets in an emulsion remains poorly understood due to the restrictions which are imposed by experimental platforms. A practical experimental platform to study the coalescence of a pair of microscale droplets in an immiscible fluid, should allow for a precise control over the position of droplets to bring them to contact. Once the droplets came to contact, the required conditions for their coalescence can be explored.
In our group, we are designing a computer-controlled microfluidic device which allows for trapping and manipulating two confined droplets. The device consists of a circular slot (diameter of 2 mm) which is connected to three flow inlets and three flow outlets to induce a flow field inside the slot. Variation of the flow rate at the inlets/outlets leads to droplets drifting to different positions. We have already designed the control algorithm to manipulate the droplets, and have tested it for simulated experiments on MATLAB. Now, we aim to use the control scheme to perform drops collision experiments on an actual microfluidic device.
Objectives: This project is designed to establish a robust experimental platform to perform coalescence experiments. Once the control algorithm is validated for a model system, e.g., water droplets in light mineral oil, the coalescence experiments will be extended to systems with different dispersed to continuous liquids’ viscosity ratio.
Deliverables for this project are following:
- Implementing the control algorithm in the actual experimental device to control the positions of the droplets in the microfluidic chip.
- Developing protocols for head on and glancing collisions
- Carrying out coalescence experiments for different systems to investigate the effects of viscosity ratio.
- Analyzing the experimental data.
Work experience: Sound mathematical knowledge and experience in MATLAB programing is desirable.
Workload: Approximately an average of 20 hours per week for 8 months. The last two months will be used to compile the thesis and do additional experiments and analysis to complete the thesis.
The desired project start date is October 2019, but is flexible.
Contact: Arun Ramchandran at arun.ramchandran@utoronto.ca
Controlled collision of two microscale droplets in a microfluidic device: studying the effects of viscosity on droplets coalescence
Faculty advisor: Professor Arun Ramchandran
The interfacial tension of the water-bitumen interface at high temperatures using a microfluidic extensional flow device
Background: This project will contribute to a larger project sponsored by the oil sands company, Syncrude Canada Limited. After the froth treatment section in the processing of the oil sands from Athabasca, the product – diluted bitumen, still contains about 2 to 3 wt% of water. This water exists in the form of extremely fine droplets, which cannot be removed using the unit operations of inclined settling and centrifugation currently employed by Syncrude. The salts in the residual water have strong implications for bitumen upgradation, including the possibility of corrosion of equipment and poisoning of catalysts, both of which lead to significant downtimes. Thus, in the oil-sands industry, the presence of water in bitumen is highly undesirable. The retention of water can be attributed to asphaltenes and naphthenic acids, the surfactants indigenous to bitumen. Asphaltenes and naphthenic acids influence drop breakup processes that produce fine droplets and induce interfacial stability that inhibits coalescence. The parameter that is central to all of these processes is the interfacial tension (IFT) of the water-bitumen interface. Unfortunately, the dynamic interfacial behavior exhibited by this system has remained largely unexplored due to its complexity. In our group, we have developed a novel microfluidic platform, the Microfluidic Extensional Flow Device or MEFD, to fill this gap by measuring the dynamic interfacial tension of the system.
We have already performed some preliminary IFT experiments with the water-bitumen system. Our experiments reveal that the interfacial tension is the result of a complex interplay between asphaltene self-association kinetics and asphaltene-naphthenic acid association kinetics. We discovered that the interfacial tension value measured using our microfluidic platform is much lower than the reported value in the literature for the water-bitumen system. This discrepancy may be ascribed to the fact that our measurement technique, MEFD, differs from existing tensiometers in the following ways. Our measurement was carried out under flowing conditions, whereas previous studies were performed under stagnant conditions; this has implications on the kinetics of adsorption of the interfacially active species (particularly the asphaltenes) in bitumen. Second, we have examined the interfacial tension of water-in-oil emulsions, but previous studies measured the interfacial tension of an oil drop in water. Since there are interfacially active species in bitumen that have a finite solubility in the aqueous phase, the partitioning of these species will be different for a water drop placed in bitumen, where the water volume is small, and for a bitumen drop placed in water, where the water volume is large. The quantification of the impacts of these differences on the interfacial tension is the primary focus of this work.
Objective and Deliverables:
This project aims to explore the water-bitumen system further by performing the following IFT experiments using our microfluidic platform:
- Measurement of the interfacial tension of a reverse system (oil-in-water).
- Measurement of interfacial tension using water drops that have been first saturated in bitumen under stagnant conditions for different times.
- Measurement of interfacial tension using water drops that have been first saturated in bitumen under flowing conditions for different times.
Along with experiments, the student is expected to analyze and compile the experimental data. A detailed report elucidating the trends, explaining the physics behind them, and providing suggestions for future work, will need to be produced at the end of the work.
Work Experience: Experience with experimental work in a research lab is desirable. The student will need a working knowledge of MATLAB and Excel. Experience in image processing techniques is desirable.
Work Load: Approximately an average of 20 hours per week for 8 months. The last two months will be used to compile the thesis and do additional experiments and analysis to complete the thesis.
The desired project start date is October 2019, but is flexible.
Contact: Arun Ramchandran at Arun.Ramchandran@utoronto.ca
M.Eng/MASc project in Biomining
Faculty advisor: Professor Bradley Saville
Extraction of base metals from sulfide minerals has led to worldwide challenges with sulfide-laden tailings that represent a potential environmental problem and are costly to clean up. These waste “reservoirs” can also contain a large quantity of metals, such as nickel, gold, or copper, albeit at low concentrations. The Biomining Consortium led out of the University of Toronto is aiming to develop novel bioprocesses and bioleaching technologies that could treat mine discharges/wastes, with the aim of recovering valuable metals and alleviating environmental risks/challenges.
We are seeking an MASc/M.Eng-level graduate student to work on life cycle assessment (LCA) and technoeconomic assessment of existing and developing technologies for management of mine discharges.
Potential Activities include:
- Developing an inventory of tailings ponds at key sites within Canada and North America, to assess current environmental impacts and management costs;
- Work with other team/consortium members to assess economic and environmental impacts of their respective novel recovery and treatment technologies. This will involve creation of theoretical “scaled-up” processes from lab scale operations, assessing capital and operating costs, and projecting overall performance in terms of metal recovery, improvements to water quality, and other regulatory requirements.
Desired background of candidate: Candidates should have experience in process engineering or systems analysis. Additionally, experience in life cycle assessment, technoeconomic assessment, and/or mining/mineral processing would be advantageous. Background in biological processes may be helpful, but not essential.
Timeline: The project is underway. We are seeking MASc. candidates that are available to start a graduate program by January, 2018, or existing M.Eng. students able to begin project work by January 2018.
Contact: Bradley A. Saville at bradley.saville@utoronto.ca using the subject line “Biomining Graduate Project”
