Launched under Budget 2010 and renewed under Economic Action Plan 2014, the Investments in Forest Industry Transformation (IFIT) program is laying the groundwork for a more economically viable and sustainable forest sector by investing in innovative technologies that are leading to a more diversified, higher-value mix of products.
The program provides funding for the near-commercial or first-commercial deployment of innovative technologies in the Canadian forest sector — a critical step in taking ideas from the research and development stage to the marketplace.
Under the IFIT program, Natural Resources Canada is investing $10 million to support the introduction of a hemicellulose extraction process at Cascades Canada ULC’s Norampac–Cabano mill.
Hemicellulose is a polymer in plant cell walls that connects lignin and cellulose fibres. Through a new hot water pulping process, Cascades Canada will be able to extract the hemicellulose from hardwood chips at the beginning of the pulping process (referred to as pre-extraction). This process will result in a new value-added product, a concentrated hemicellulose stream, that can be sold as a concentrated form of wood-extracted sugars. This new product has various commercial applications, including bioenergy and a sweetening agent in food and beverages. The conversion of the existing method into a hot water based pulping process will not affect the Norampac–Cabano mill’s current pulp production capacity and quality. The company can continue to produce corrugated medium (cardboard) in addition to the sale of the new sugars stream products.
This project constitutes an important and unique advancement in biorefinery technology development in Canada, positioning this facility as a potential leader in the commercialization of wood-based sugars. It will also provide economic benefits to the local community and surrounding region and protect existing mill jobs.
For more information, visit Natural Resources Canada on the web.
Chris McCluskey
Director of Communications
Office of Canada's Minister of
Natural Resources
613-996-2007
or
Media Relations
Natural Resources Canada
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