Reference number : GC-2017-Q3-00806, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Bassi, Amarjeet (The University of Western Ontario), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Ontario, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Strategic Projects - Group, program name french : Projets stratégiques - groupe, program purpose english : Approximately 300 million tons of plastics are produced annually on a global scale. Only a fraction of these plastics are recycled and a much larger amount ends up as waste. Plastics in landfills, in water resources, lakes, rivers, and oceans are a serious and growing issue. Of particular concern are micro-plastics (particles of plastic less than 5 mm in diameter), which can be ingested by marine organisms, endangering their life and leading to various downstream environmental problems. In Canada, around 150 billion litres of untreated or under-treated wastewater are introduced into Canadian waterways. The discharge of wastewater into the environment is one of the major causes of harmful algal blooms (HABs), which can have toxic effects on humans, fish, and waterways and economic losses in hundreds of millions of dollars annually. _x000D_
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The overall objectives of this strategic grant are to develop new strategies for harvesting biodegradable plastics from microalgae cultivated on wastewater streams, thus, addressing two serious environmental issues simultaneously. Specifically, in this research, (a) we investigate the production of bio-composite plastics from algae ( which are cultured on effluents from a dairy farm); (b) we investigate the expression of the monomer itaconic acid in microalgal-based expression systems; and (3) we evaluate the development of new approaches to use itaconic acid produced from genetically modifed algae grown on farm effluent streams for the preparation of new biodegradable polymers. We work closely in this research project with a large, local dairy farm, utilizing effluent streams from aerobic and anaerobic digesters as substrates for microalgal bioplastics. The research using recombinant microalgae to harvest algal-fiber composites and itaconic acid and ultimately produce biodegradable segments in conventional plastics will lead to economically competitive bio-products which will benefit society, the environment and the economy. The proposed research will lead to new opportunities to develop the rural economy and also train highly qualified personnel in these fields._x000D_
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_x000D_, program purpose french : Approximately 300 million tons of plastics are produced annually on a global scale. Only a fraction of these plastics are recycled and a much larger amount ends up as waste. Plastics in landfills, in water resources, lakes, rivers, and oceans are a serious and growing issue. Of particular concern are micro-plastics (particles of plastic less than 5 mm in diameter), which can be ingested by marine organisms, endangering their life and leading to various downstream environmental problems. In Canada, around 150 billion litres of untreated or under-treated wastewater are introduced into Canadian waterways. The discharge of wastewater into the environment is one of the major causes of harmful algal blooms (HABs), which can have toxic effects on humans, fish, and waterways and economic losses in hundreds of millions of dollars annually. _x000D_
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The overall objectives of this strategic grant are to develop new strategies for harvesting biodegradable plastics from microalgae cultivated on wastewater streams, thus, addressing two serious environmental issues simultaneously. Specifically, in this research, (a) we investigate the production of bio-composite plastics from algae ( which are cultured on effluents from a dairy farm); (b) we investigate the expression of the monomer itaconic acid in microalgal-based expression systems; and (3) we evaluate the development of new approaches to use itaconic acid produced from genetically modifed algae grown on farm effluent streams for the preparation of new biodegradable polymers. We work closely in this research project with a large, local dairy farm, utilizing effluent streams from aerobic and anaerobic digesters as substrates for microalgal bioplastics. The research using recombinant microalgae to harvest algal-fiber composites and itaconic acid and ultimately produce biodegradable segments in conventional plastics will lead to economically competitive bio-products which will benefit society, the environment and the economy. The proposed research will lead to new opportunities to develop the rural economy and also train highly qualified personnel in these fields._x000D_
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_x000D_, agreement title english : Harnessing biodegradable plastics from microalgae cultivated on recalcitrant waste streams, agreement title french : Harnessing biodegradable plastics from microalgae cultivated on recalcitrant waste streams, agreement number : STPGP, agreement value : 461150.0, agreement start date : 2017-10-18, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2020-2021)., additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2020-2021)., owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada