01.11.2022 Ι Aduro in partnership with the University of Western Ontario announces a joint research project entitled „Tuning Supercritical Fluids for Polymer Recycling to Monomers and Chemicals”. It has been approved and awarded $1.15 million in non-repayable funds by the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council („NSERC“) Alliance and Mitacs Accelerate Grants Program. The research project will commence in November 2022 and will continue for three years.

Evaluating effects of intrinsic and extrinsic contaminants

The objective of this research project is to evaluate the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic contaminants present in plastic feedstocks including food, organic waste, plasticizers, and fillers, under varying conditions to maximize output, quality, and yield. The project also aims to improve pre-and post-processing techniques.

The commercial goal is to be able to develop optimal strategies that will minimize the need for expensive sorting and separation systems for pre-processing treatment. The project is expected to advance and further augment the Hydrochemolytic process for chemical recycling of mixed post-consumer industrial and consumer plastics.

A promising collaboration

In collaboration with the Aduro research team, the project will be led by Dr. Paul Charpentier, Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and Mechanical and Materials Engineering, at Western University along with the support of Dr. Cedric L. Briens, Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, and the Director, R&D, at the Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR) at Western University.

“The project is a great opportunity to again collaborate with Aduro,” said Dr. Paul Charpentier, Professor at Western University. “The project will also support advanced training of many graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who will be the research and industry leaders of tomorrow in chemical recycling.”

In addition to the grant funding, through the partnership with Western University, the project provides very cost-effective access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, reactors, and analytical equipment. More importantly, it also provides the Company with a unique opportunity to build its future human capital assets by engaging top talent who will expand their knowledge and expertise in the Company’s patented HCT process through this funded project. Under the leadership of Dr. Charpentier and Dr. Briens, the project will employ over three years: two postdoctoral fellows, three Ph.D. students, five Masters of Engineering, one research engineer, and eight undergraduate students.

All intellectual property generated from the project will be owned by Aduro Energy Inc., the wholly owned subsidiary of the Company; however, in support of the strong partnership with Western University, Aduro will encourage the researchers to publish relevant academic papers once the data is protected.