Congratulations to fourth-year chemical engineering students Jack Anderson, Skylar Bone, Olsi Goxhaj and Kien Tran. Their Capstone Design team, Green Sorbs, won first prize in the Ontario Engineering Competition, which was held at the University of Ottawa in January. This year’s competition focused on the theme of automation, encouraging students to design and build a complete solution that functions with little to no human interaction.
Under the mentorship of Professor Leonardo Simon and with industrial sponsorship provided by Clear Blue Sorbents and consultation from Eastern Canada Response Corporation, Green Sorbs is developing a non-mechanical oil spill recovery method known as a sorbent boom that is more environmentally responsible than those now used by industrial and governmental spill response teams. A sorbent boom is a long tube of absorbent material that floats to create a barrier between clean and contaminated water. By simultaneously repelling water and absorbing oil, sorbent booms contain and slow the spread of oil.
As they explained to the judges at the Ontario Engineering Competition, Green Sorbs’ sorbent boom uses a new and powerful combination of environmentally responsible materials to capture oil. In the process of describing the technical, social, environmental and economic impact of their design, Green Sorbs demonstrated their creativity, engineering knowledge and presentation skills.
A judge for the 2018 Ontario Engineering Competition’s Innovative Design category congratulates Waterloo chemical engineering students Jack Anderson, Kien Tran, Skylar Bone and Olsi Goxhaj (left to right) on their first prize win.
With this win, Green Sorbs will move on to the Canadian Engineering Competition, where they will represent Ontario as they pitch their sorbent boom project in the Innovative Design category. The competition will take place at Ryerson University in Toronto from March 8th to 11th.