“One of the opportunities we are cur-Innovation at Lambton College. “No one rently pursuing is the development of an in Ontario was offering specific training for entrepreneurial centre,” says Tom Strifler, bio-process operators.” executive director of the research park. For Western University, the development “Together with Lambton College and other of the research park has led to new opportu-local partners, we are hoping to set that up nities within the biochemical sector. in the region. It also builds on what we are “The research park is a tremendous doing for our existing clients – that is a new opportunity, especially for Western stu-focus area for us.” dents,” says Katherine Albion, director of The Bowman Centre. “Since the park was established, Western has developed a Green natuRal inFRastRuctuRe Engineering program; the school offers a Outside of the Lambton College/Western number of bio-based courses and there are University centres, Sarnia opens up to a vast thesis projects underway for students here.” landscape of massive petrochemical proper-There is also extensive work being done ties. Many of Canada’s largest oil companies to build on bio-based educational oppor-call Sarnia home, like Imperial Oil, Suncor, tunities by both Lambton and Western. and Shell Canada, as well as major chemi-Lambton will launch a new program stream cal manufacturers like NOVA, DuPont and focused on the biosector, called Bio-indus-Praxair. trial Engineering Technology, scheduled to Sarnia has been hit with a series of clo-welcome its first class of students in the fall sures in its recent past, leaving large patches of 2015. of land with built-up chemical infrastruc-Western is looking to both expand ture. That infrastructure provides a strong on the courses offered at the research case for companies in the biochemical sec-park and the complimentary tools that tor to think about building there. PFI conference biomass mayjune 14.pdf 1 2014-05-26 3:54 PM can be brought in to support the industries That infrastructure is at the heart of Sar-onsite. nia’s bio-industrial park, located amongst the massive oil refineries along the eastern shore of the St. Clair River. The property al-ready includes Lanxess, the world’s largest producer of synthetic rubber, along with TransAlta Energy, located at the adjacent Bluewater Energy Park. The Sarnia bio-industrial park will also soon be home to the $110 million BioAm-ber bio-succinic acid production facility. BioAmber chose Sarnia over approximately 100 other locations for its new plant thanks, in part, to the existing infrastructure already in place. The plant expects to be operational some time during the first quarter of 2015. Succinic acid is used as an acidity regu-lator in some food and beverage products, as well as in specialized polyesters and res-ins. The chemical is primarily derived from petrochemicals, but BioAmber has devel-oped a system for creating bio-succinic acid from renewable feedstocks. At full produc-tion, BioAmber expects to produce 30,000 tonnes of bio-succinic acid per year. additional ResouRces The collaboration of industrial, munic-ipal and educational partners has created Join us July 27-29, 2014 for the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate Conference Program PFI ANNUAL CONFERENCE Orlando, FL The conference will feature panels and speakers highlighting topics including: • Day-to-Day Operations Issues Faced by Pellet Mills • Eme rging and Gr owing Markets • • • Bulk Delivery and Storage PFI Standa r ds P r ogram: Achieving Compliance Understanding and Meeting Sustainability Requi r ements and much mo re! P ellet F uels I nstitute Annual Conference July 27-29, 2014 ORLANDO, FL Contact us today at 703-522-6778 email: or register online at 38 Canadian BIOMASS MAY/JUNE 2014
Canadian Biomass May June 2014: Page 38
