Event
Chemical Society Seminar: Edmond Lam - Finding Value in Biomass to Address Today’s Economic and Sustainability Issues
Tuesday, March 8, 2022 13:00to14:30
Maass Chemistry Building
Room 10, 801 rue Sherbrooke Ouest, Montreal, QC, H3A 0B8, CA
Abstract:
Maximizing the utilization of terrestrial and marine biomass can increase the economic prosperity of different sectors in Canada. Large quantities of biomass residues from the agriculture, forestry, and seafood sectors are underutilized as low-value fuel to power manufacturing facilities, or simply left to rot in the environment. Current biorefinery practices aim to produce high-volume, low-value commodity products from residues, but are hampered by fluctuating oil prices and high capital investments. Therefore, there is a need to seize near-term market opportunities to produce high-value, bio-based products with different biomass inputs in existing infrastructure. Concurrently, companies are now incorporating sustainability goals as a viable strategy for product differentiation, manufacturing cost savings, and increased revenue generation. This presentation highlights some of the recent work the Advanced Biomaterials and Chemical Synthesis team at NRC has engaged in with academic and industry partners to identify new opportunities for biomass valorization and meet sustainability goals.
Bio:
Originally from Vancouver, British Columbia, Edmond received a B.Sc. Honours degree in chemistry from the University of British Columbia (2001) where he worked with Prof. Chris Orvig on vanadium coordination complexes. In 2007, he received his Ph.D. degree in inorganic chemistry from the University of Toronto (2007) under the supervision of Prof. David H. Farrar in organophosphorus chemistry. Edmond is a Senior Research Officer and Team Lead (Advanced Biomaterials and Chemical Synthesis) within the Aquatic and Crop Resource Development research centre of the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) in Montreal, QC. He previously served as Technical Service Lead for the NRC’s Bio-based Specialty Chemicals program which aimed to accelerate the commercial readiness of firms by improving the technologies used to produce higher-value, bio-based specialty chemicals. His current research interests include biomass valorization, catalysis, sustainable materials, and synthetic chemistry.