Grant: College and Community Innovation Program

The Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology (SIAST) will engage in applied research to develop environmentally sustainable and responsible technologies. This is a joint initiative between SIAST's chemical technology program and two local small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) working to address the province's environmental challenges. These challenges are anticipated to intensify in the next few years due to Saskatchewan's strong economy and population growth. This proposal builds on research expertise established by SIAST's Chemical Technology program through projects with the Saskatchewan Research Council. Our current knowledge capacity gives strength to these new initiatives which link participants to answer a growing need in Saskatchewan for applied research in wastewater remediation. One project will focus on rural challenges (ammonia extraction) and the other will focus on industrial challenges (hydrocarbon removal) to generate cleaner wastewater. both projects address growing provincial environmental concerns, particularly in the southern part of the province where the population is concentrated and fresh water less abundant. The objective of the research is to develop new technologies to reduce water contamination and to create value-added byproducts by recycling the contaminants into a reusable form. The resulting technologies will be employed in municipal wastewater recycling, water purification, sewage treatment, and wastewater management. Laboratory and field research will be conducted to explore the feasibility and viability of the new technologies.