UWO Prof. Dr. Franco Berruti, NSERC Industrial Research Chair, and Bioenterprise SIAC Advisor, warns of the biggest threat to sustainability success – a rising population – and shares his latest innovative biochar research projects geared to keep pace
By Tabitha Caswell for Bioenterprise
With a mountain of issues to climb, it can be difficult to remain positive when imagining the future of humanity and our home here on earth. But thanks to leaders like Franco Berruti, we are scaling that mountain, tackling challenges like climate change and a hungry, growing population through research and innovation. Equal parts realist and dreamer, Dr. Berruti acknowledges the stark reality of where our planet might be headed. But with a steadfast love for nature and the environment, he keeps the summit in his sights and refuses to give up.
Holding the Industrial Research Chair in Thermochemical Conversion of Biomass and Waste to Bioindustrial Resources with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) since 2018, Franco Berruti shares his perspectives surrounding one of the most important topics of our time – waste.
From Death, Comes Life
Dr. Berruti’s story begins in the fertile Italian countryside, tending the family gardens and vineyards, sharing space with animals and riding horses, and learning to drive the tractor at the tender age of ten years old. It was there, on his grandparents’ farm, where Franco first witnessed the delicate balance of nature.
Country life has a way of profoundly affecting humans, revealing the truth and beauty within the infinite cycle of life and death, and this impressionable young boy was not immune to nature’s great influence. There, on the farm, waste was a treasure, a tool, a resource. It was returned to the earth, to the soil, back to the plants and animals, and back to the people. Young Franco may not have realized the significance of this concept then, but his childhood experience undoubtedly shaped his future and his purpose.
Despite his early academic interest in humanities, after high school Franco changed his focus from Greek, Latin, and the arts, to earn his Dott.Ing degree in Chemical Engineering from the Politecnico di Torino, Italy. At the age of 25 he moved to Canada to study at the University of Waterloo, where he earned his Master of Applied Science degree and then his PhD.
Evolving though various leadership roles, from the University of Calgary to the University of Saskatchewan where he served as Dean of Engineering, and finally landing at the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Berruti is also a valued member of the Science and Innovation Advisory Committee (SIAC) at Bioenterprise.
Dr. Berruti has a legendary reputation for developing innovative technologies and for building a solid network in Canada and North America, and across the world. His award-winning work covers the full spectrum of the waste-value loop. In terms of sustainability, we could draw a definite line between the oil and gas industry and the biomass conversion industry, which seem to reside on opposite ends of the spectrum. But Franco chooses to straddle that line, as to keep a steady foothold while reaching for the ledge above.
Adjusting to maintain this position after each move, he draws on lessons from his past as he makes incremental, meaningful advances toward the final ascent. His purpose and vision are embodied in this simple statement, “In my mind, as in nature, waste does not exist.”
Exposing Hidden Resources
Dr. Berruti believes in a sustainable approach where waste is seen as a resource, a vision driven by the natural cycle where nothing is wasted. He is passionate about caring for the environment and advocates for redefining the end-of-life as the beginning of a new cycle, turning residues into new products.
“When a tree dies, it goes back into the soil, providing fertilization for new crops. When an animal dies or is eaten by another animal, it’s the same. In nature, where there are no landfills, there is always a balance. So, we should look at how everything, including inorganic products, can become feedstock for a new purpose once they reach the end of their lives,” he says. His team at the Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR), and others, have successfully proven this concept. “We can utilize any residue from anything and turn it into a new product where it will have another life.”
This philosophy is shared among many of his students and colleagues, energizing their research and commitment to handling complex dilemmas. They find value in tackling the intricacies of recycling difficult materials like contaminated plastics, seeing it as a reflection of real-world issues and an opportunity to make a tangible difference. According to Dr. Berruti, no matter what kind of waste we’re talking about, it can find another life.
The Junction of Feedstocks and Techniques
According to Franco, waste is defined as anything deemed a liability when it reaches the end of its life. These liabilities can be organic by-products from agriculture processes, forestry residues, and food and grocery items. Or they can be inorganic by-products like oil and gas, plastics, and various chemicals. When any of these liabilities are put to use, they become feedstocks, feeding back into the cycle to create something new.
Over the years Franco has taken a multifaceted research approach, integrating both sustainable and non-sustainable resources to develop value-added products. Often at this intersection, lies the opportunity to capitalize on the similarities between processes used for refining heavy oils and cracking biomass waste. This comprehensive approach opens doors to tackle complex problems effectively.
The complexity of real-world feedstocks necessitates a broad understanding of not only the different residues, from agricultural to industrial, but also the different methods to best process these residues. By examining various angles and integrating interdisciplinary research, Dr. Berruti and his team execute their knowledge of thermochemical and biological processes for real-world applications. One project that Dr. Berruti and his team have prioritized is the scale-up of biochar production to farms.
The Beautiful Benefits of Biochar
Biochar is a carbon-rich, porous charcoal created through the process of pyrolysis, where biomass residues from agricultural, forestry, or food sources are heated in the absence of oxygen. This process breaks down the molecules of the feedstock without burning them, leaving behind a stable form of carbon. Unlike attempts to create liquids like biofuels from these residues, which so far prove costly and less efficient than petroleum products, biochar offers a more accessible and practical application, with substantial benefits.
Within agriculture’s circular economy, biochar serves as a desirable carbon-based fertilizer. Its porous nature improves soil quality, fostering a beneficial environment for microbial life and plant growth.
Biochar also plays a broad and significant environmental role in carbon sequestration by capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere in a stable form that is then added back to the soil. This not only traps the carbon, preventing it from contributing to greenhouse gases, but also enhances soil fertility and structure at the same time.
Dr. Berruti sees biochar as an important value-adding component in the circular economy, offering a multipurpose solution for farmers to utilize residues, contrasting with the limited utility of liquid and gaseous by-products from biomass. He says, “If we focus less on producing liquids, and shift our focus to biochar, farmers can upgrade their wastes to fertilizer products that can reap immediate results.”
Further, he adds that this process can all be accomplished independently by the farmer, on site. But how? With an innovative device.
The Green Machine
Franco and his team have conceptualized a machine for agricultural producers to convert their organic waste into biochar. This device allows farmers to create biochar from a variety of agricultural residues, offering multiple benefits such as soil amendment, fertilization, and carbon sequestration.
“A farmer can throw solid residues like corn stalks, pruned limbs from trees, leaves, chicken litter, manure – virtually any organic material – into the machine. They can then take the biochar produced and spread it in the fields. Things become really exciting here, because this means we can produce soil amendments and fertilization, and sequester carbon for offset credits, on the farm,” Franco says.
Right now, a lab-scale prototype exists for testing and producing material samples. The team has designed a larger unit for on-farm implementation, collaborating with international experts and organizations. Dr. Berruti aims to integrate this work into a demonstration unit, marking the culmination of the team’s research and a major step towards commercial application.
Before Franco can fulfill his vision to scale-up this technology and bring it to farmers, the team must address a major barrier standing in the way of commercialization – the availability of feedstock. Here in Canada, especially, we face seasonal limitations, and this affects the business case for continuous operation. However, partnerships in Central and South America, for example, where crops grow year-round, present interesting opportunities.
Additionally, he says, “If we can develop a very versatile technology that works in Canada where we have seasons and it can be implemented throughout the year, perhaps in greenhouses, we will easily overcome any hesitation from investors, both here and internationally.”
Biochar 2.0
Another project Franco’s team is working on adds another valuable dimension, taking biochar to even greater heights. They’re collaborating with an Albertan company to create slow-release, nutrient-rich fertilizers from biomass residues.
They start by producing porous biochar, then enhance it by infusing it with essential nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and sulfur. This process turns the biochar into a more effective fertilizer, giving it fourfold benefits: carbon sequestration, soil amendment, enhanced interaction with plant and microbial life in the soil, and a boosted fertilization value comparable to traditional chemical fertilizers.
This innovation not only recycles waste into a valuable product but also allows for large-scale production. Dr. Berruti says, “We can take a liability, get rid of it, and turn it into wonderful opportunities!” The fertilizer produced is substantial enough to be distributed for extensive field testing, a development that excites the team due to its potential impact.
Setting Up Base Camp
Dr. Berruti’s career is marked by significant contributions through leadership in various collaborative and international networking initiatives. In essence, he’s worked diligently to create a landing spot where integration of ideas, research, resources, and applied science can meet – a metaphorical base camp of collaboration.
His work includes leading major projects like the Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation Network (ABIN), the pyrolysis platform of the BioFuelNet Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE), and the Canadian contribution to the UK-Canada Network for Carbon Capture.
Academically and professionally, Dr. Berruti’s commitment to research is illustrated through his various administrative roles. He is a founder of the Institute for Chemicals and Fuels from Alternative Resources (ICFAR) at Western University. At ICFAR, he fostered industrial partnerships and utilized federal programs like the NSERC Industrial Research Chairs to grow the team. This growth was strategic, converting positions into Research Chairs to hire more faculty members, expanding the two-person team up to as many as five.
Under his leadership, ICFAR has developed a robust network, collaborating with various universities, industries, and international partners. This network supports a dynamic research environment with around 50 graduate students, 10 postdocs, and several international scholars and visiting professors.
With help only from industry relations and the federal government, this journey of self-reliance and resiliency is a proud one for Franco. He says, “We’ve come a long way. It was tough, but at the same time very rewarding.”
Opportunities Amongst the Rubble
The list of current projects underway for Dr. Berruti and his team is much too long to discuss in one sitting, clearly illustrating that the opportunities arising from transforming waste into resources amidst the hardships posed by climate change and human practices are endless. An urgent need to address environmental issues is unmistakeable as we witness, or experience first-hand, the devastating effects of fires and flooding in Canada and around the world.
Franco points out that there is great potential in the field of converting liabilities into valuable products, and this potential is still in its early stages. The success of global transformation goes beyond the need for technical expertise to include business acumen, as a considerable amount of knowledge is being developed or already exists but awaits practical application.
“We have the knowledge. Now we need entrepreneurs to take it and transform it into commercial ventures,” he says. Moreover, he explains that societal attitudes are shifting, creating a demand to solve these issues, and this underscores the immense capacity for innovation in sustainable practices.
Scrambling for Balance
Dr. Berruti believes this is an exciting time, especially for youth, to engage in both research and development as well as the commercial implementation of sustainable processes. But in the same breath, he has grave concerns about the future of our planet and for humanity.
“The baseline is always changing. The world population keeps increasing, and that is the biggest problem,” he says plainly. He goes on to explain that despite advancements in reducing emissions and waste here in North America, challenges in developing countries overshadow our improvements. These developing regions are undergoing major industrial growth, contributing to greater environmental impact as they strive to catch up with developed nations. Progress we make is negated by the destruction of natural resources, such as the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, one of the world’s largest carbon sinks.
The Summit Push
So how can we collectively negotiate such a wide crevasse to successfully overcome these obstacles and setbacks? When pressed, Franco says he sees a glimmer of hope in projects like tree planting in Africa, which can absorb CO2, especially in areas where emissions are set to increase. However, the overarching struggle remains the balancing of opportunities for environmental improvement with the diverse knowledge, expertise, and political will across the global population.
The fluctuating state of this balance leaves him skeptical about the possibility of reaching a sustainable future, as current efforts are insufficient to counteract the negative impacts of population growth and environmental exploitation.
So, Dr. Berruti’s advice for young Canadians is this: aim to harness and implement innovative technologies not only here in Canada, but in developing countries where the biggest impact will be felt. Right now, he believes this is the crux to move to a sustainable future for us all.
Through Franco’s perspective, we gain a broad, yet fractional understanding of the issues and the solutions surrounding one of the world’s most pressing sustainability topics. Although the mountain of waste might seem daunting after reading Dr. Berruti’s solemn and cautionary words, it is evident that through research and innovation, progress toward the peak has been, and continues to be, made. So, let’s not lose hope just yet. Humans created this heap, so if action is taken in time, we should be able to one day successfully scale it.