Partners with communities and industries to research and develop technologies centred around environmental sustainability and circular economy principles.
The Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Clean Technologies Team (CTT) partners with communities and industries in the natural resources, forestry, and agricultural sectors to address environmental challenges while promoting sustainable industrial practices. The team’s multidisciplinary expertise spans chemistry, chemical engineering, and environmental sciences, uniquely positioning them to tackle complex sustainability challenges.
What sets the Clean Technologies Team apart:
• Circular economy innovation: Transform plastic, forestry, and agricultural waste into valuable products, turning liabilities into assets
• Advanced remediation: Proven methodologies for restoring hydrocarbon and salt-impacted sites to productive use
• Emerging contaminant analysis: Leading-edge detection and quantification of microplastics and other environmental threats
• Low-carbon technology development: Convert by-products into value-added intermediates while reducing emissions
• Industry-community partnership: Direct collaboration with natural resources, forestry, and agricultural sectors for real-world impact
The team’s integrated approach combines fundamental research with practical application, ensuring solutions are both scientifically sound and commercially viable.
• Materials circularity
• By-product and waste valorization
• Agriculture and food waste repurposing
• Hydrocarbon impacted site remediation
• Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
• Data analytics and visualization
• Prototype development
• Plastics circularity
• Industrial waste repurposing
• Site remediation
- Chemical industries
- Clean technology
- Energy
- Environmental technologies and related services
- Forestry and forest-based industries
Specialized labs and equipment
- Polymer and materials characterization: Determination of mechanical, viscoelastic, and thermal properties of polymers and materials as a function of temperature, frequency, and applied stress using dynamic mechanical analysis, thermal analysis (TGA/DSC), and universal mechanical testing.
- Elemental and trace metal analysis: Quantification of elemental composition and ultra trace metals in solid and liquid samples using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).
- Chromatographic separation and chemical analysis: Separation, identification, and quantification of gases, ions, polymers, and organic compounds using gas chromatography (GC), liquid chromatography (UHPLC), ion chromatography, and high temperature gel permeation chromatography (HT-GPC).
- High resolution mass spectrometry: Structural characterization and high accuracy mass analysis of small molecules and macromolecules using quadrupole time of flight mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS).
- Spectroscopic and microspectroscopic analysis: Identification of chemical functional groups and material composition at the microscale using Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman microscopy.
- Surface area and porosity analysis: Determination of specific surface area and pore structure of materials using Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) gas adsorption analysis.
- High pressure and high temperature reactions: Controlled batch chemical reactions at elevated temperature and pressure with automated monitoring and data logging using high pressure reactor systems.
- Polymer processing and formulation: Small scale polymer compounding, blending, and formulation with production of injection molded specimens for materials development and testing.
- Pyrolysis and microplastics analysis: Identification and quantification of polymers and complex organic materials, including microplastics, using pyrolysis coupled with gas chromatography, mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).