We will do our best in this regard! NSERC CHAIR IN · jury for Lucy Cotter's M.Sc project entitled “Multivariate analysis and steady-state modeling of nutrient mechanisms in activated

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Bulletin No. 7

December 2006

NSERC Environmental Design Engineering Chair

Page 8 PROCESS INTEGRATION IN THE PULP & PAPER INDUSTRY Page 1 PROCESS INTEGRATION IN THE PULP & PAPER INDUSTRY

The NSERC Design Chair is off-and-running on its second term! We were the first Design Chair established in Canada, and the first (and thus far only) Chair to renew. …And we are excited about the Chair team and our evolving vision. We still do more of the same: we develop design methodologies and complete systems analysis work for multidisciplinary problems using process integration tools, we interpret process data from mills for decision-making. We address design-directed problems defined to a great extent by our Chair partners, we emphasize value delivery and technology transfer in the context of our advanced methodologies…. The Chair team expertise is greatly enhanced by our new collaboration with the process integration team from NRCan’s CETC-Varennes laboratory. Their outstanding scientists and engineers are interfacing closely with our new graduate students. One of the exciting things we

have noted is the handing of the torch from students in the first Chair term to students in the second Chair term.

A particularly exciting aspect of the 2nd Chair term is the focus on the forest biorefinery. We have been a pioneer in this area, and seek to be amongst the global leaders in terms of systems analysis of the forest biorefinery. Virginie Chambost is developing a product design methodology for the biorefinery. Jean-Christophe Bonhivers is applying advanced thermal pinch techniques to maximize carbon availability for the biorefinery. Rogerio Pires has begun to examine possibilities for industrial symbiosis for the biorefinery, i.e. using feedstocks from different industry sectors, and making non-traditional products. We expect our graduate student numbers in this area will increase significantly in the coming year. In the Chair we have a unique systems perspective, and with this, we have an important responsibility to help the industry implement the forest biorefinery successfully. We will do our best in this regard!

Second Mandate Perspectives.

Visit our Website: www.pulp-paper.ca

NSERC Environmental Design Engineering Chair École Polytechnique - Montréal P.O. Box 6079, Station. Centre-ville Montreal, (Quebec) Canada - H3C 3A7 Contact: Professor Paul Stuart ,Chairholder Phone: (514) 340-4711 extension 4384 Fax: (514) 340-5150 [email protected]

Our collaboration with 3C Software led by Paul Naliwajka and

President Matthew Smith continues to flourish. In 2006, the first results from our ‘process-driven’ models for process design and operations management were

presented (PAPTAC 2006, Martin Laflamme-Mayer and Matty Janssen - PIMA 2006, Martin Laflamme-Mayer). PEPITe S.A. An agreement has been signed between PEPITe S.A. and our NSERC Chair to work jointly on the F.I.R.S.T. – Enterprises International Programme “Formation et impulsion à la recherche scientifique et technologique pour les entreprises”. Data mining tools will be applied to solve critical problems in the pulp and paper industry, such as process variability and energy optimization. The first project aims to provide operators with predictive tools to reduce the occurrence of paper breaks on the

paper machine.

James Palumbo of the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement (NCASI) has agreed to be a member of the defence

jury for Lucy Cotter's M.Sc project entitled “Multivariate analysis and steady-state modeling of nutrient mechanisms in activated sludge treatment of pulp and paper wastewater”. James is an expert in nutrient mechanism modeling for pulp & paper wastewater treatment, and his association with the project is highly valued.

Westworks Consulting In the context of her product design methodology definition, Virginie Chambost had several meetings with key players in the Ontario chemical sector. Thanks to their expertise, Bernard West, President of WestWorks Consulting, and Gregory Penner, President and CEO of NeoVentures Biotechnology Inc, provided interesting perspectives on current challenges in the chemical and the bio-product sectors.

APPI As the 2007 APPI Professor, Paul Stuart will give a series of lectures in June at Monash Univer-sity in Melbourne Australia. The series of about 16 one-hour lectures over a one week period will be provided to the Master of Engineering Science Students. Paul will also be the main speaker at a joint Appita-APPI sponsored two-day industry seminar. The attendees will include chemical, papermaking, and environmental technologists.

New Collaborations

“Innovation is the first and maybe the only competitive advantage in the new economy”

Gary Hamel

Second Mandate Perspectives 1

2006 Publications & Presentations 2

Alumni’s Album The Chair in the News Invited Speakers at École Polytechnique

3

Special Focus on Forest Biorefinery Miscellaneous presentations

4

Bantrel Forum Alumni Section

5 5 & 6

The Chair Team in 2006: New Arrivals Our Students at Pulp & Paper Mills… and abroad...

6

2006 Graduation Honors & Awards NAMP-PIECE

7

New Collaborations CFI Grant Other Interesting Events

8

In this Issue:

Shahram Navaee-Ardeh, PhD Student is building a self-heating continuous biodrying reactor which dries pulp and paper mixed sludge to above 45% from top to the bottom of the reactor with minimum energy consumption. The reactor is funded by the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) won by the Centre de recherche, dévelop-pement et validation des technologies et procédés de traitement des eaux (CREDEAU)

On June 21-22, Martin Laflamme-Mayer and Caroline Gaudreault

attended FOR@C Summer School 5th Edition. Among the themes presented by invited researchers and experts were network design, production management, environmental design, and forest management. Paul Stuart presented “Life Cycle Assesment as a Tool for Analyzing Product Environmental Performance in the Pulp and Paper Industry”. The Information Technology Committee took place this year in Sherbrooke (QC) on October 19-20, 2006. On the first Day, the main subjects were maintenance planning, Linux and automatisation as well as KPIs for purchasing. The second day, discussions were about the potential benefits from ITC Integration and their impacts in a business context. A visit of Domtar Windsor Mill was organized, Martin Laflamme-Mayer was one of the participants.

Other interesting Events CFI Grant

The Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC)

presented Paul Stuart with a “Certificate of Appreciation” to recognize his outstanding service to the Environment Committee, creation of the Forest Biorefinery Session and overall benefit to the Canadian industry. The certificate was given during PAPTAC Paper Week 2007 on February 8th. In addition to being awarded the MFAS complementary scholarship from the Department of Chemical Engineering,

Shahram Navaee-Ardeh was ranked 2nd out of 24 top international PhD candidates selected from different universities across the province of Quebec and was subsequently awarded the

FQRNT of excellence scholarship. The competition was open to all international PhD students in any field. His first paper was published in Drying Technology, one of the best journals in the field and he presented his modeling results on lumped and 1-D modeling in CSChE 2006 conference in Sherbrooke. Currently he is supervising the construction of biodrying reactors for his project to be used for the experimental part of his work in coming years. Also, the C. Howard Smith Award for the best paper was conferred to Shahram. His paper was entitled "A New Model for Maximizing the Bending Stiff-ness of a Symetric Three-Ply Paper on Board".

Robert Wood, J.-Paul Lannen, P.-Yves Dionne, David R. Jones,

Gaston Michaud, Paul Stuart

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GAUDREAULT, C., WISING, U., MARTIN, G., SAMSON, R., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Environmental Benchmarking of Energy-Related Kraft Mill Modifications Using LCA”. Proceeding Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) 92nd Conference, Montreal, QC, A-361-368.

LAMA, I., PERRIER, M., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Modeling the Effect of Plate Age on the Operation of TMP Refiners”. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC, B161-166.

LAFLAMME-MAYER, M., LINKEWICH, J., NALIWAJKA, P. STUART, P.R., 2006. “ Development of a Process-Based Business Model suitable for Supply Chain Management”. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC, B53-59.

CORNEJO, F., SAMSON, R., STUART, P.R., 2006. “ Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Implications Due to the Implementation of Co-Generation and Increased Recycled Paper Production at an Integrated Newsprint Mill “. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC, A49-53.

AKROUR, F., BERTON, A., HÉBERT, P., PERRIER, M., STU-ART, P.R., 2006. “Method for the Analysis of Paper Machine Web Breaks”. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC, B141-148.

LAFOURCADE, S., FAIRBANK, M., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Roadmap to Minimum Energy and Water Use for Integrated Newsprint Mills”. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC, A63-69.

JANSSEN, M.J.M., NALIWAJKA, P., STUART, P.R., 2006. "Using Process-based cost Modeling to Evaluate Process Modernization Alternatives”. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC, B61-71.

WISING, U., STUART, P.R., 2006. “ Identifying the Canadian Forest Biorefinery “. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC, C177-184.

GAUDREAULT, C., MARTIN, G., SAMSON, R., STUART, P.R., 2006. “ Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) for the Evaluation of the Environmental Benefits of Kraft Mill Modifications”. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC, Graduate Student Seminar II , Montreal, QC.

FREI K.M., CAMERON, D., JASMIN, S., STUART, P.R., 2006, “Novel Drying Process for Cost Effective On-Site Sludge Management”. Proceeding, 92nd Pulp & Paper Technical Assoc. of Canada (PAPTAC) Conference, Montreal, QC.

HARRISON, R., STUART, P.R., 2006, “Techniques for Pretreating TMP Process Data for Multivariate Analysis”. Paprican University Report (PUR 899), mars 2006.

BERTON, A., PERRIER, M., STUART PR, 2006, “Opportunity for Real-Time Optimization in a Newsprint Mill : A simulation CaseStudy”. International Symposium on Advanced Control of Chemical Processes, ADCHEM-06, Gramado, Brazil.

LAMA, I., PERRIER, M., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Detecting the inherent operating limitations of a TMP-Refining Process”. Control Systems Conference, Tampere, Finland.

NAVAEE-ARDEH, S., BERTRAND, F., STUART, P. R., 2006. “Emerging Biodrying Technology for the Drying of Pulp & Paper Mixed Sludges”. Drying Technology, 24:7 (2006), pp. 863-878.

HARRISON, R., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Linking Pulp Variations to TMP Operation by Better Selection and Treatment of Process Data”. TAPPI Journal, vol. 5, No. 8, pp. 17-23.

WISING, U., STUART, P.R. 2006, “ Identifying the Canadian Forest Biorefinery “. Pulp & Paper Canada, 107:6, pp. 25-30.

WISING, U., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Strategic Approach to Cogeneration Design”. Pulp & Paper Canada, 107:4, pp. 42-46.

FREI K.M., CAMERON, D., JASMIN, S., STUART, P.R., 2006, “Novel Drying Process for Cost Effective On-Site Sludge Management”. Pulp & Paper Canada, 107:4, pp. 47-53.

JANSSEN, M.J.M., CORNEJO, F., RIEMER, K., LAVALLÉE, H.-C., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Techno-Economic Considerations for DIP Production Increase and Implementation of Cogeneration at an Integrated Newsprint Mill”. Pulp & Paper Canada, 107:9, pp. 33-37.

LAMA, I, PERRIER, P., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Controllability Analysis of a TMP-Newsprint Refining Process”. Pulp & Paper Canada, 107:10, pp. 44-48.

COTTER, L., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Mechanistic model for nutrient transformations in pulp & paper activated sludge wastewater treatment plants”, Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 56th Conference (CSChE), Sherbrooke (QC). Comm. 0421.

LAFLAMME-MAYER, M., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Process-based Approach for Supply Chain Analysis: Application in the Pulp & Paper Industry”, Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 56th Conference (CSChE), Sherbrooke (QC). Comm. 0419.

BRAULT, J.-M., COMEAU, Y., PERRIER, M., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Hybrid Modeling of a Pulp & Paper Mill Activated Sludge Treatment Plant: Steady-state Results”, Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 56th Conference (CSChE), Sherbrooke (QC). Comm. 0420.

NAVARRI, P., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Forest Bioenergy and Bioproducts: A Step-by-Step Approach to Optimize the Carbon Chain Value in the Kraft Pulp & Paper Process”, Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 56th Conference (CSChE), Sherbrooke (QC). Comm. 0494.

NAVAEE-ARDEH, S., BERTRAND, F., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Heat and Mass Transfer Modeling of a Novel Biodrying Proc-ess: Lumped System Approach and Preliminary Results”. Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 56th Conference (CSChE), Sherbrooke (QC). Comm. 0106.

NAVAEE-ARDEH, S., BERTRAND, F., STUART, P.R., 2006. “One Dimensional Heat and Mass Tranfer Modeling of a Novel Continuous Biodrying Process: Physical Modeling and Preliminary Results”. Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 56th Conference (CSChE), Sherbrooke (QC). Comm. 0140.

GAUDREAULT, C., BISSON, J., SAMSON, R., STUART, P.R., 2006. “Assessing Energy Projects at an Integrated Newsprint Mill Using LCA: Impact of Selected Methodological choices”. Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering 56th Conference (CSChE), Sherbrooke (QC). Comm. 0276.

CHAMBOST V., STUART, P.R., 2006, “Development of the Canadian Forest Biorefinery: Establishing Winning Conditions”, Technology Seminar jointly organized with the CQVB “Bioraffinerie forestière : une voie pour l’industrie papetière?”, Montreal, QC.

2006 Publications & Presentations

Honors & Awards

Ph.D.

Ilich LAMA

Sébastien LAFOURCADE

2006 Graduation

M.Sc.A.

Fatiha AKROUR

Bertrand PIGEON

Geneviève ROY

Danielle MAJOR

Robert HARRISON

North American Mobility Program - Distance Learning Modules in Product and Process Design. This new grant that was recently won will develop, through student exchanges between the participating organizations, web-based learning modules which improve engineering student’s design competency and promote innovation. Once completed, the set of web-based modules will provide a new paradigm in engineering education and form the basis for a

distance-learning Masters program in Product and Process Design, ideally to be delivered in three languages via a consortium of universities from Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The participating Universities are: In Canada: Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal & Mc Master University In Mexico: Universidad de Guanajuato & Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí In the United States: University of Texas A&M & Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST) - Georgia Institute of Technology.

NAMP-PIECE

Donald A. Olson, PAPTAC Executive Councillor

& Shahram Navaee-Ardeh

Page 4 PROCESS INTEGRATION IN THE PULP & PAPER INDUSTRY Page 5 PROCESS INTEGRATION IN THE PULP & PAPER INDUSTRY

White Papers on Transformative Technologies Organized in Quebec City by the Canadian

Forest Innovation Council (CCIF), 18-19 April 2006. The workshop objectives were to prioritize products and technologies offering the best potential for the transformation of the sector through fibre value maximisation. The attendees looked for identifying and ranking barriers to realize the benefits of

transformative technologies proposed in four papers: Building and Living with wood, Pulp & Paper products and processes, Bio-chemicals and Bio-energy. The main objective of this meeting was to identify strategies to address the barriers.

Biotechnology and industrial sustainability “Le Carrefour de la biotechnologie” Organized in Montreal jointly by the Institut de la recherche en biotechnologie (IRB) and Natural Resources of Canada (NRC), 22-23 March 2006. Six sessions explored economic, environmental and social drivers and trends that are leading to a new model for sustainable industrial production. These sessions focused on the role of energy in industrial sustainability and the role of energy derived from biological materials and processes. One objective of this meeting was to underline the demand for bio-based chemicals and bio-based materials. The conclusion highlighted the importance of mobilizing international, national and local assets and exploring policy measures.

2006 World Congress on Industrial Biotechnology, Organized in Toronto by Biotechnology Industry Organisation 11-14 July 2006. The conference program featured sessions on a diverse

set of topics such as biotechnology in manufacturing and synthesis, industrial biotech for pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, bioprocessing of agricultural feedstocks for bioenergy and renewable chemical production, the impact of biotechnology on climate change, developments along the nanotech-biotech interface, issues surrounding the application of biotechnology to industrial sustainability and second generation of biorefinery focusing on forest attributes.

Workshop on Energy Efficiency and CO2 Emission Reductions in the Pulp & Paper Industry: Focus on Technology Systems. Organized in Paris, France by the International Energy Agency (IEA), 9 October 2006. This seminar was the first part of an international initiative that was held in Rome on October 30-31 2006. This initiative was led by international experts in order to highlight critical factors in terms of energy efficiency and CO2 reduction in Pulp & Paper mills . Furthermore, experts tried to address viable technical solutions to answer energy issues in the Pulp & Paper sector. European Conference on Biorefinery Research Organized in Helsinki, Finland by the European Commission 19-20 October 2006. This conference organized by the European Commission aimed to present the industrial perspectives of current and future biorefineries and to identify opportunities for synergies among the European stakeholders. The conference provided a forum for a technical review of the state of the art for biomass fractionation and conversion technologies. The EU and national policies to the use of renewable raw materials were particularly emphasized . The potential of the various biorefinery concepts was put in the context of market conditions and the possible financing mechanisms were examined. Round Table on Forest Biorefinery: A path for the Pulp & Paper industry? Organized in Montreal by the Centre Québécois de valorisation des biotechnologies (CQVB). A new initiative between the CQVB and our Chair promoted new approaches for assessing forest biorefinery potential and quickly optimizing the implementation of biorefinery in the Pulp & Paper sector. To ensure the success of such an important challenge, a panel of experts presented how to model the technical and commer-cial facets of the project. The purpose was to organize a technological meeting of the minds in order to create a synergy between researchers and industrial experts of the Pulp & Paper sector.

Special Focus on Forest Biorefinery

The second Bantrel Forum was held on October 18th 2006 in conjunction with the 2006

CSChE Conference at the Delta Hotel and Convention Centre, in Sherbrooke. Janet Walden, Vice- President Research Partnerships Programs with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) , was one of the distinguished speakers. The

Forum theme was “Design-Directed Research”. The goal was to share experiences and synthesize best practices on successful design-directed research projects, and spin-off companies evolving through design-directed research activities. This was followed by break-out sessions where the characteristics of design-directed research were discussed.

Ilich Lama (Ph.D. 2006) was hired in September 2006 by the Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec (CRIQ) as an NSERC post-doctoral fellow working for the OPERA Project (Optimization of TMP Refin-ing Energy). He is in charge of the modeling, optimization and predictive control stages of the project. His current work involves multivariate analysis, PLS (Projection to Latent Structures) modeling, neural nets and flowsheet simulations (CADSIM). 2006 has been an outstanding year for Ilich.

• January 2006: he obtains his Canadian Citizenship • April 2006: he defends his Ph.D. • June 2006: birth of his son Alessandro • September 2006: he is hired at the CRIQ • November 2006: he receives the 2006 Youth Award for

Excellence from Carrefour des communautés du Québec and a 1,500$-stipend.

Erica Salazar, (MScA. 2004) is currently working as an Environmental Inte-gration Champion at Olympic Dam, South Aus-tralia. Olympic Dam is a copper and uranium mine that has recently been acquired by BHP Billiton and is expected to be expanded in the following years to four times its pro-duction capacity. Her main responsibilities at the moment are the implementation of the Closure Planning Standard and support to the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) team. Sébastien Lafourcade (Ph.D. 2006), is now responsible for the development of PEPITe Canadian activities. PEPITe is a Belgian Company specialized in data mining for industrial processes that offers its customers innovative Manufacturing Intelligence solutions that can be used to quickly improve the process or the way it is operating, using stored process data. Sébastien benefits from the

partnership between Abitibi Consolidated and École Polytechnique de Montréal. He is managing and executing projects, develops business opportunities, particularly for techniques related to data mining in the Pulp & Paper industry. Fatiha Akrour (MScA 2006) is employed as a process engineer by SONATRACH, a petrochemical and natural gas company. She is currently detached in an agglomerate of three companies: Sonatrach, BP and Statoil (SH/BP/Statoil). Her main responsibilities consist of managing projects from the design stage through to construction. This includes process simulation work, preparing scope of work documents, evaluation of tenders and project supervision. At the moment, she is based in Japan (Yokohama) and is adapting well to life there, even though the culture is very different. The climate and working conditions are pleasant. Danielle Major (MScA. 2006) married Olivier Gerestein in

Ottawa 26 August 2006, just after receiving her Masters degree. They have moved to France, where Olivier is originally from. While looking for work in her area of interest, Danielle is volunteering at a food bank in Toulouse where they are living, and Olivier is working for Airbus. Knowing the talent

and diverse skills Danielle possesses, we are convinced that she will soon find an exciting and challenging opportunity. Antoine Berton, who was part of our Chair team as a Post-Doctoral fellow has been hired by Soutex. Founded in 2000, Soutex (www.soutex.ca) is a consulting company specialized in ore processing and has 15 employees, most of them engineers. Antoine is currently at Raglan Mine located in the Nunavik territory. Ulrika Wising, started a new job in January of this year. She is now working for a Belgian company called Belsim S.A. that is located outside of Brussels. Belsim develops and sells data validation and data reconciliation software as well as consulting services, and Ulrika is working in business development. Thanks to the number of different topics that the chair is involved in, Ulrika was familiar with data validation and reconciliation and much thanks to that was selected for this job.

Alumni Section

Ilich Lama & Professor Michel Perrier 2006 Youth Award for Excellence

Carrefour des communautés du Québec

Erica Salazar and her team November 2006

Ameus, February 24th 2006, Sher-brooke, QC. The theme of the Ameus (Association of Mastership in Environment of University of

Sherbrooke) annual Conference was “Business Sustainable Management: Social and Environmental Responsibility”. Caroline Gaudreault was representing the Chair.

Wastewater Treatment System Modeling May 15-17 2006 in Portland, Maine, USA Jean-Martin Brault and Lucy Cotter participated in the NCASI North Region Chapter Meeting in Portland, Maine. They attended a workshop on modeling of wastewater treatment systems in the Pulp & Paper industry and particularly on aerated stabilization basins.

PIMA 2006 - 21-24 May 2006. Martin Laflamme-Mayer

presented at PIMA’s 2006 International Leardership Conference. His presentation was entitled “Transforming Data into Business Valuable Information”. Abstract: Bringing real-time data together in a timely manner, understanding the data, identifying key relationships and sharing the information is critical to improve decision-making, support business goals and create added value. This session describes the use of tools, methods and systems which transform data into business valuable information that can deliver significant benefit and help an organization to better respond to challenges.

AFSL, December 2006. Caroline Gaudreault presented LCA and its application in the forest product area at the Annual Confer-ence of the Forest Association of Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. This con-gress was aimed at industrials and intended to underline the environmental benefits of wood for construction and to show the importance of innovation for the survival of the industry.

Miscellaneous Presentations

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Lucy Cotter is actually working on her project at Papier Masson Ltd., and will stay at the mill until May 2007. "I'm very much enjoying the opportunity to carry out laboratory work and see the operation of the wastewater

plant close-up. The experience is adding a great deal to my un-derstanding of the plant and to the context of my project." Jean-Christophe Bonhivers. The Chair is working closely with NR-Can on a project at the Domtar Espanola mill. Jean-Christophe is developing a general model of the kraft mill process from which the water and steam network will be simulated. The objective is to reduce the fossil fuel consumption of the mill and try to characterize the kraft mills throughout Canada, to link the energy consumed with the process configuration in order to future modification plan. Jean-Martin Brault is performing lab analyses on the wastewater of the Abitibi Consolidated integrated newsprint mill at Clermont in order to monitor the evolution of the activated sludge system. ATP tests (adenosine tri-phosphate) and microscopic observations that are being performed will help

quantity the health of bacteria responsible for the wastewater treatment.

Martin Laflamme-Mayer is cur-rently at Imperial College, in London,

in the context of a research collaboration with the Centre for Process Systems Engineering. He is working with Professors Nilay Shah and Prof Stratos Pistikopoulos on the

development of an integrated multi-scale approach for the supply chain optimization of a pulp mill.

Our Students at Pulp & Paper Mills...

Alumni’s Album

Alessandro and his parents: Ilich & Gisella

Newborns 2006:

Alessandro Lama

and

Lucas Frei

Ken Frei and Lucas (born on December 02nd 2006)

THE CHAIR TEAM IN 2006: New Arrivals Virginie Chambost Forest Biorefinery Product Design Methodology.

Lucy Cotter, Multivariate Analysis and Steady-state Modeling of Nutrient Mechanisms in Activated Sludge. Treatment of Pulp & Paper Wastewater

Jean-Christophe Bonhivers Methodology Development to Simultaneously Reduce Energy and Water Use in Kraft Mills.

Milan Korbel On-Line Process and Cost Data Reconciliation in pulp and paper mills.

Rogerio Pires Pulp & Paper Symbiosis with the Agricultural sector for Implementation of the Forest Biorefinery.

In preparation for PAPTAC 2007 and in

light of the general interest developed for the forest biorefinery, P&P Canada organized an interview with Virginie Chambost, Paul Stuart and Robert Eamer aimed at portraying the stakes of the forest biorefinery and to evaluate Canada’s potential to answer the new market opportunities. Strengthened with a thorough knowledge of the Canadian Pulp & Paper industry, Robert

and Paul presented the concepts and accomplishments of an

industry transformation, as well as the development work required to maximize the chance of success in a strongly competitive world. In order to establish the projects of biorefinery in the long term, and to gain an advantageous competitive position, the interviewed panel presented the strategic passway for industry and introduced a methodological approach under development which brings together process design and product design. Major hurdles including the investment, the technical risks (innovations and installation in an existing factory) and commercial risks (redefinition of the current product range and diversification in new markets) could be overcome due to the definition of a new business model combining process design and product design. CHAMBOST, V., EAMER, R., STUART, P.R., 2007, “Forest Biorefinery: Getting on with the job”, Pulp & Paper Canada, 108:2, pp. 19-22.

The Chair in the News

Dr. Peter A. Vanrolleghem, Professor at University of Laval, presented at Ecole Polytechnique on February 22, 2006. His presentation entitled "Potential & limitations of white & black-box modeling concepts for process optimization of SBR wastewater treatment” consisted of two parts, one dealing with a white-box modeling approach with state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant models and the other part dealing with multivariate modeling approaches using on-line sensor data. Limitations of both

approaches were discussed and fueled an interesting discussion on the potential of hybrid modeling approaches. Dr. Vincent Gomes, from University of Sydney, Australia, presented on June 28th 2006 about "Advanced Modeling and Expert

System Application in Emulsion Copolymerization”. Emulsion polymerization is a process of significant industrial importance because of high conversion (100%), high degree of selectivity, environmental benefits and its effectiveness in producing a range of products from adhesives, paints, tyres to wet-suits. An expert system developed for monitoring and fault diagnosis was presented.

Invited Speakers at École Polytechnique

and abroad…

Geneviève Roy is working as a process

engineer within the Melbourne wa-ter/wastewater engineering group at Beca, one of Asia Pacific's largest engineering consultancies. Australia has been undergoing a sustained drought for the last decade making water a priority on every political agenda and creating the need for

pioneering design and innovative solutions. Genevieve has been working on a variety of projects involving conceptual design, innovative technology assessment and process review/evaluation.

Fernando Cornejo (M.Sc.A. 2005) was promoted to intermediate engineer within the Process Engineering Group at the Iron Ore Company of Canada, which is part of the world's second largest mining corporation, the Rio Tinto Mining Group. He is currently managing several capital and operational projects of less than 1.5 MM CDN related to Process Improvements and also Pre-competitive Research with COREM (Consortium de Recherche Precompetitive) in Quebec City. IOC is financing his Masters Certificate in Project Management given by York University and Memorial University's Faculty of Business. At the same time, he is highly involved in the Operational Planning of the business and deeply focused on several technical aspects of ore processing.

Alumni Section (cont’d)