Property evaluation of tamarack veneer and plywood

Tamarack is deemed as an underutilized species. Recently York North Veneer Products Inc. (YNVP) received an inquiry on use of Tamarack veneer as sheathing materials in construction of light frame walls in Japanese market with an aim to replace Russian larch and Douglas-fir veneer. To meet this demand, YNVP working with UNB's Wood Science and […]

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Further development of sulphite-based dissolving pulp production

The requested Mitacs-Accelerate Internship application will support Dr. Yishan Liu (as an intern) and Dr. Yonghao Ni (as supervisor) of the University of New Brunswick and Neucel Specialty Cellulose. The overall objectives of the project are: 1) to improve the quality of dissolving pulps; 2) to decrease the manufacturing costs by using low-cost wood material. […]

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Analytical chemistry method development for lignin breakdown products

The partner organization MetaMixis Inc. is attempting to use biocatalytic ways to process lignin, the second most abundant biopolymer on earth, with microbiology methods to transform lignin into fine chemicals in useful quantities within a reasonable time frame. The process and end products need to be fully characterized using analytical tools to ensure the efficiency. […]

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Development of a Raman probe for the on-line determination of pulp properties

Canadian northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) market pulps set standards worldwide for fibre strength, length, fineness and uniformity. These characteristics add unmatched strength and durability to finished goods, and this drives a high international demand for NBSK pulp. However, competition has increased the price-performance pressure on Canadian suppliers. The Canadian pulp industry must innovate to […]

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Development of new generation of tool steels by modification in chemical composition, grain refinement, and cryogenic treatment – Year two

DK SPEC is a major producer of blades, cutters, and saws, made of tool steel, for the Canadian wood industry. In order to keep up with the stiff competition, the company has acquired some state-of-the-art heat treatment furnaces for cryogenic treatment. They have a complete cycle for machining, hardening, cryogenic and tempering cycles. They will […]

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LiDAR derived wood quality attributes across the landscape

The proposed research will create value added models that will be used to predict wood quality attributes (wood density and fibre dimensions) on the landscape within Ontario’s boreal forest. This will be achieved by modeling stem and stand attributes from airborne laser scanner data (LiDAR). The derived stems and stand attributes (such as tree height, […]

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Understanding historical forest landscape dynamics in the Alberta foothills

An emerging strategy for managing natural resources such as Canada’s forests more sustainably and responsibly is to use knowledge of how Mother Nature has done it to help guide our hand. This so-called ‘ecosystem-based” approach has gained favour with provincial and federal governments, as well as national and international certification agencies. One of the foundations […]

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Sustaining our forests in southwestern Alberta

This MITACS internship will support Julie Fortin, an MSc student whose focus is on developing new techniques for analyzing oblique historical mountain survey images based on the world’s largest systematic collection of historical mountain survey images, the Mountain Legacy Project. Her research is driven by questions about shifts in biodiversity over time, built atop biodiversity […]

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