Economic conversion of forest biomass into lignocellulosic nanomaterials for advanced applications

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In this proposal, we are exploring to convert the Canadian forest biomass into value-added products using a green and efficient isolation technology. Canada has rich forest resources, which has been used in producing forest products, such as pulp/paper and dimensional lumbers, providing great economic benefit. However, traditional utilization of forest resources proves to be low efficiency, with 40-50% of the trees being wasted or used as low value energy sources. For example, only approximately 50% of a tree can be used to produce dimensional lumber. In the pulp and paper industry, only 30-40% of the wood chips can be converted to pulp. Therefore, there is an urgent need for maximal utilization of the forest bioresources. At UBC, we have developed a green technology that can convert the forest waste (those cannot be used for dimensional lumbers) into lignocellulosic nanomaterials at yield as high as 70%. Such lignocellulosic nanomaterials show great promise in replacing synthetic polymers for varied applications, such as enhanced oil recovery and thermal insulation materials. A US provisional patent has been applied for this technology, we are proposing to further optimize this technology to improve the yield, introduce new functionalities, and explore new markets. This technology is expected to efficiently utilize Canadian forest bioresources, generate less waste, promote bioeconomy, and mitigate the negative effects brought by petroleum economy.