British Columbia Innovation Council

2008 Lieutenant Governor's Technology Innovation Award

 

Shown clockwise from top left: Dr. James Olson, Dr. Carl Ollivier-Gooch, Dr. Mark Martinez, and Dr. Robert Gooding

Dr. James Olson

Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, UBC

Dr. Carl Ollivier-Gooch

Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, UBC

Dr. Mark Martinez

Associate Professor, Chemical & Biological Engineering, UBC

Dr. Robert Gooding

Vice President, Technology, Advanced Fiber Technologies

Drs. James Olson, Robert Gooding, Mark Martinez, and Carl Ollivier-Gooch are a team whose innovations and leading-edge research led to the development of Advanced Fiber Technologies’ (AFT) advanced screen rotor technology. As pulp and paper manufacturing is an energy-intensive process consuming approximately 20 percent of all the energy produced by BC Hydro, pulp screening is an essential, energy consuming part of the pulping process. AFT’s novel screen rotor technology reduces power usage significantly while improving the capacity and efficiency of the screening process. The economic and environmental impact of saving power is tremendous; and the socio-economic impact of large-scale industrial energy reduction substantial. This development increases British Columbia's competitiveness in the Canadian pulp and paper industry—an achievement also contributing to significant reductions in green house gas emissions.

Work and Achievements

  • The development of AFT’s family of screen rotor technologies, including the AFT GHC™, EP™ and MEF™ rotors.
  • Rotor technology that has been demonstrated to significantly reduce power while improving the capacity and efficiency of the screens – up to 50% over current technology.
  • The development substantially impacts one of B.C. and Canada’s largest manufacturing and expert industries, the pulp and paper industry.
  • Potential energy savings in British Columbia from the advanced rotor technology is 153 gigawatt hours per year or the equivalent to the energy consumed by 15,000 homes. The green house gas savings are approximately 150,000 tonnes per year in areas where energy is generated from fossil fuels.
  • The process of paper recycling is also impacted and made more effective.
  • BC Hydro’s “New technology of the year” (2007)
  • NSERC Synergy Award for Partnership and Innovation (2007)

Acclaim

"The highly innovated new pulp screen technology developed by this small group has had a substantial, nearly immediate, impact on the pulp and paper industry - one of Canada's (and British Columbia's) largest manufacturing and export industries."
- Dr. Elizabeth Croft, Professor & Associate Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, UBC

Individual Media Kit | PDF

Photo credit: Kevin Roberts