Green Carbon Technologies

Carbon Black Biomass

Carbon Black from Biomass was selected as a Capstone in 2019/2020 for 4th year engineering students. Carbon black is a very widely used industrial material in any rubber and plastic manufacturing and also in batteries, conductive carbons for touchscreens and paints, inks and coatings. Biomass from wood and waste wood products are converted to liquids which are then converted to solids to form green carbon materials.

This project is in collaboration with the University of British Columbia – Okanagan Campus 
Engineering Students Capstone Project

The UBCO Engineering Team

Dr. Lukas Bichler is the supervising Professor of the Carbon Black Biomass team.

Dr. Bichler received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering (specializing in Manufacturing, Materials and Solid Mechanics) from Ryerson University, Toronto. Upon graduation, he received NSERC-Postdoctoral fellowship, tenured at the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto

Raha Yazdandoost Khosravi

 Raha Yazdandoost Khosravi is a fourth-year Electrical Engineering Student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan campus. Before moving to the Okanagan, she completed the two-year transitional engineering program at Capilano University in Vancouver.  

She is always keen on pursuing a career in electrical engineering and applying theoretical knowledge learned, while finding solutions to the problems our world faces today. Joining the Carbon Black Biomass Capstone group is a perfect opportunity to step forward toward more sustainable solutions, rather than the methods that our society seems to be stuck with. This project will be a great way to gain experience that can not only help the community, but will also give a chance to better leadership, teamwork, and time management skills. By further extending knowledge as an electrical engineer in training, and integrating passion for the environment, she hopes to be a part of a sustainable future. 

Alisha Sidhu

Alisha is currently attending UBCO as a fourth-year mechanical engineer and plans to be graduating in the upcoming spring. She began her engineering degree directly out of high school and has had the opportunity to work two engineering related jobs during the summer months of my degree. Her work experience consists of design and manufacturing of stainless steel brewing equipment, but also the construction industry and crane safety. Having an opportunity to work in these two environments was beneficial in displaying the possible routes that can be taken with an engineering degree. She has not had the chance to explore sustainable or environmental engineering in my past work experience. Therefore, she chose the Carbon Black BioMass capstone project to focus on sustainable engineering and to be able to be a part of a project that will be positively impacting the environment immensely in the near future. 

Ben Van Dyk

 Ben Van Dyk is a fourth-year Mechanical Engineering student at UBC Okanagan. During his studies he’s completed several co-op terms, gaining experience in the mining industry, the oil and gas sector, and hydroelectric power generation. These work terms helped him develop my technical skills and made him reflect on his values and long-term goals as he gets ready to graduate and start his career. An important realization was that he want to work on meaningful projects that can help others and contribute to society, which is why he  chose to work with this team on the Carbon Black Biomass project. Green carbon is an important step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and hydrocarbon dependency, and  he’s very excited to be a part of it. 

Natasha Reimer 

Natasha Reimer is a fourth-year electrical engineering student currently at UBCO. Before starting her journey in the Okanagan, she was a student at Capilano University, where she played varsity basketball for two years while studying engineering.

Growing up hiking in the mountains of British Columbia, she realized what an incredible world we live in and how important it is to protect it. She chose electrical engineering believing it was a career path that could make a real difference in this world, with industries like electrical vehicles being a huge inspiration. This desire to make a difference is what drew her to the Carbon Black Biomass Capstone project. She did not have much initial knowledge on the concept of carbon black, but understood the cutting-edge nature of the idea as well as the impact it would make if it was a success. Being able to contribute to such a step forward in environmental sustainability is amazing, and she can’t wait to see where it goes.

Rianne Andrews 

Rianne Andrews is currently a fourth year Mechanical Engineering Student at UBCO. Following a summer internship focused on engineering sustainability, she realized the importance and urgency to have projects that focus on improving current technologies with the future in mind. She believe the Carbon Black BioMass Project is a wonderful opportunity to combine current engineering processes with sustainable solutions. This project has the potential to greatly impact the current production of Carbon Black, and I am looking forward to being a part of this team. 

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This