Project Examples

A&L Biological Inc. (A&L Biologicals) has undertaken considerable research in understanding what roles chemistry and microbiology play in soil health and crop yields.  For example, A&L researchers have recently published results demonstrating improvement of soil productivity through manipulation of soil microbes. The exact mechanism of these microbial interactions are unknown, but thought to be largely driven by naturally occurring bacterial metabolites that possess diverse biological activities.  

In support of A&L’s goal of developing new sustainable crop inputs, Lambton College conducted chromatographic analyses and structural identification of bacterial metabolites produced under varying cultivation conditions.  

Lambton researchers completed extensive chemical analysis of bacterial culture filtrates including:

• Creating a method to extract and concentrate the metabolites from bacterial species that were grown in different media
• Creating an LC-MS method to analyze the metabolite extracts
• Creating an LC-MS data processing method to determine which metabolites were being produced by each species under different media and growth conditions, and in what quantity

Overall, this project helped A&L Biologicals determine what bacterial growth and media conditions they should use going forward to create a product with the highest bioactivity.

Since 1988, Greenfield Global has grown from a single plant to a global leader with manufacturing and packaging facilities in the US and Canada that reach the entire world. The company’s mission is to unlock the potential of people, partnerships and nature to accelerate sustainable solutions for the health of the planet. Over the last eight years, Greenfield has been conducting research & development in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) and Renewable Diesel and Gasoline (RDG) in partnership with the “de Klerk lab” at the University of Alberta’s Chemical and Materials Engineering Department.  

Greenfield Global has partnered with Lambton College to continue developing a pioneering process for the conversion of waste to SAF by determining optimum catalyst formulation and production for the main engine of their process the Fischer Tropsch (FT) Reactors. To achieve this goal, the research aims to determine the effect of catalyst recipe and production technique on catalyst reactivity, mechanical strength and heat transfer characteristics, and then to optimize a full scale catalyst production process to minimize inputs and waste water to optimize cost of producing the catalyst.  

Successful implementation of this research will strategically position Greenfield in the industry, opening it up to new revenue streams across various sectors. By licensing the technology in North America in the short term and globally in the medium term, Greenfield will further capitalize on this innovative process. Greenfield will be able to establish a first-in-kind commercial facility with a production capacity of 5000 barrels/day to create 250 new jobs. Beyond benefiting Greenfield, this initiative holds significant advantages for Canada. The conversion of over 13 million tonnes of Canadian food waste, forestry waste, construction waste, and municipal solid waste (MSW) into sustainable and renewable fuel will offer a viable alternative to non-use or worse yet, landfill disposal. This supports Canada's commitment to achieving its net-zero emissions target by 2050, contributing to vital environmental benefits and sustainable practices.

Liven Proteins is a precision fermentation company developing animal-free protein ingredients, such as collagen, with comparable functional properties and nutrition as animal proteins. Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins produced in the human body, giving stability and strength to various tissues such as tendons, skin, and teeth. Liven Proteins has developed modified yeast strains for collagen production.

In collaboration with Lambton College's Bio-Industrial Process Research Centre (BPRC), Liven Proteins has tested a few proprietary strains in the fermentation process using bench-scale (5L) and 40L reactors at the College and proven their strain is ready for further scale. This applied research project will focus on screening genetically modified strains producing animal-free collagen for production purposes. Lambton's BPRC will also help to improve the bioprocess by testing different feedstocks, fermentation protocols, and downstream processes to produce animal-free collagen.

The project's success will enable Liven to establish a production strain and bench-scale bioprocess so that the collagen manufacturing process is ready to scale to provide to their customers in functional food and beverage companies for testing incorporating in their formulations, thereby helping Liven to secure strategic partners and early customers.

Terra Optima develops systems within supply chains to create 100% food circularity and soil restoration. They leverage the power of nature and technology to covert food waste into soil which restore the life, nutrients and carbon back into our earth. It is their aim to improve food systems and agriculture to close the carbon and food waste loop.

Food waste is Canada’s largest residual municipal solid waste sector. Despite diversion strategies such as composting, large amounts of residential and industrial solid waste is comprised of food and landfilled or incinerated.

In collaboration with Lambton College, Terra Optima is looking to evaluate the use of black soldier fly larvae and worms for converting food waste to frass (i.e. larval excrement) for renewable fertilizer applications. This will lead to improvements in Terra Optima’s fertilizer process and production which will improve costs for the company while directly supporting circular urban agriculture.

Shogun Maitake Founder, Yoshinobu Odaira, succeeded in steadily producing maitake mushrooms. The maitake mushroom is known to be challenging to cultivate in Japan, which is where he set up a one million square foot growing facility. Additionally, he conducted two years of precise cultivation research in Canada. From this, it was discovered that maitake products can be produced in Canada and result in a higher product than those produced in Japan.

Shogun Maitake is building a $35 million state-of-the-art mushroom production and processing facility in London, Ontario. The facility will produce traditional and functional foods with health benefits. Shogun’s new mushroom production facility aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions within five years by adopting clean energy technology. As Shogun will produce mushrooms for food and natural health products (i.e. mushroom extracts) at this facility, they need assistance in determining the best process for extracting maitake and purifying their health products.

3F Waste Recovery is a Newfoundland and Labrador-based innovative biotechnology company working hand-in-hand with local fishers, farmers and foresters to extract premium quality, sustainable and natural ingredients from their by-products. Parts of traditionally disposed of locally sourced fish and shellfish can be processed into high-value ingredients found in everything from vitamins and supplements to cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

The main objective of this project is to optimize the enzyme extraction specific to the hard water conditions in Newfoundland. First, the research team will identify the collagen yield difference when the water hardness is changed. Then the enzyme extraction would be optimized by adjusting and measuring different factors, using Design of Experiments software to help manage the optimization process. After the completion of the extraction processes, the mixture will be centrifuged, filtered, and freeze-dried for the collagen content and molecular weight range analysis.

Optimization of this process will allow 3F to continue growing and inform their scaled-up production of purified collagen destined for domestic and international markets.

Refined Fool Brewing Co. (RFB) is microbrewery in Sarnia, Lambton. RFB has two locations in Sarnia, both offering a taproom, retail store and restaurant. The two tap rooms produce 24,000 L per month and have a 245-person capacity combined. Their beer is also distributed throughout Ontario via the LCBO, Beer Stores, and numerous restaurants around Sarnia-Lambton and the surrounding region.

RFB is looking to develop a clean in place (CIP)system for their downtown London Road brewery location to increase safety and production volumes. CBARN has partnered with RFB to undertake the design and development of this system. The teams will work together to define the necessary processes and requirements of the system and design a system that works with RFB’s current production set up.

Development and assembly of a CIP system will save RFB time and money cleaning their equipment between batches allowing for more profitable and increased production. Success of this project will allow RFB to hire additional staff to increase production and service of their beer and secure existing positions at the plant.