As Saskatchewan moves towards its goal of increasing canola crushing by 75% by 2030, helping to fuel the province's record-breaking international exports of canola oil, a University of Saskatchewan professor is being recognized for his role in developing a cutting-edge solution to an emerging problem: what to do with all of the canola meal that is left over after oil extraction.
Applying his expertise in areas of bioprocessing and conversion methods for turning waste into useful end-products Associate Professor Bishnu Acharya is leading a research effort to turn canola meal into a low-cost, nutrient-dense feed for microbes used in fermentation. This is the fastest growing segment of the North American biotechnology sector aimed at supporting new foods, beverages, medicines and other applications.
The innovative work is one of several leading-edge projects that has earned Dr. Acharya a Mitacs Innovation Award Outstanding Research Leadership, presented by Mitacs, a Canadian innovation leader. Supported by the Government of Saskatchewan, Mitacs connects businesses and researchers to drive competitiveness and productivity in sectors such as agriculture, life sciences, biomass, energy and mining. The award will be presented at a ceremony at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa on November 19.
Dr. Acharya the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture Endowed Research Chair in Bioprocess Engineering at the College of Engineering, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan is being recognized for his outstanding effort to bring industry and researchers together to collaborate on finding the value in waste and then connecting it to practical applications.
His work with a Mitacs-funded PhD student to find an environmentally friendly application for canola meal, for example, led to the spin-off of Saskatoon-based CanXtract Innovation Inc., which is now poised to help reduce operating costs of companies focused on fermentation while adding value to canola oil producers.
"There's a big push to move away from a fossil fuel-based economy towards a bio-based economy as a means to mitigate climate change and global warming," Dr. Acharya said. "Our work focuses on innovating new processes and products that will be crucial for this transition to work."
None of the research would be possible without the support of Mitacs and partner organizations like NSERC, he emphasized. "The best part about Mitacs-funded collaborations is that industry becomes more aware of what's happening at the leading-edge and students get an opportunity to understand the workplace," he said, calling the industry experience invaluable to his students.
"It changes our perspective as to how to carry out our research because we're constantly thinking about how that research can be implemented in industry," he added.
In addition, Dr. Acharya is working with industry partner Richardson Milling Inc., one of the world's largest oat millers, to generate value from oat hulls. When grains are processed into food products, only 75% of the grain is used, he explained. The remaining 25% is made up of hulls that are typically disposed of at a cost to the producer.
In a Mitacs-funded pilot project this past summer at the University of Saskatchewan, Dr. Acharya's researcher group successfully demonstrated that the hulls actually contain good quality sugar and fibre that can be used as food additives to enhance the functional and nutritional value of common baked goods and other food items. They also isolated cellulose from the fibre for use as a binding agent to develop sustainable food packaging containers.
"Whereas other research efforts are focused on burning oat hulls to generate heat as an energy source, we discovered much higher value bioproducts in the form of sugar, lignin and cellulose," Dr. Acharya explained.
The Mitacs Award Innovation Award Outstanding Research Leadership is presented to a post-secondary supervisor with an exemplary record of developing collaborations with enterprise partners, providing valuable research and training experiences to their interns, and utilizing Mitacs funding to initiate ground-breaking research. Mitacs programs are supported by funding from the Government of Canada and provincial and territorial governments across the country.
Dr. Acharya is one of eight Mitacs Innovation Award winners nationally, chosen from thousands of innovators who take part in Mitacs programs each year. Additional 2024 categories, updated with a fresh look to better reflect Canada's innovation landscape, include: four winners for Outstanding Innovation, Canadian Start-Up Innovator of the Year, Canadian Enterprise Innovator of the Year and Inclusive Innovator of the Year.
In congratulating the winners, Mitacs's CEO Dr. Stephen Lucas reflected on the organization's long history and proven track record as a Canadian innovation leader. "Not only do these awards recognize achievements of exceptional innovators across Saskatchewan and Canada, but they also highlight the infinite potential for impact when creative leaders work together," Dr. Lucas said.
"As Mitacs celebrates 25 years as a leader in Canadian innovation, we reaffirm our belief that partnerships between research, enterprises, and talent like the ones we honour with the Mitacs Innovation Awards are key to a successful, prosperous Canada," he said.
For more information about the Mitacs Innovation Awards and a full list of winners, visit www.mitacs.ca/newsroom.
