Bright Sand Canada Inc. — Applied Research & Development

Research Areas

Four active
research streams

From wood vinegar chemistry to oil sands remediation, each stream moves through the same rigorous pathway — laboratory formulation, controlled trials, field validation, and commercial readiness.

01 — Wood Vinegar & Biochar Platform

Core Platform Development

Development and optimisation of aqueous wood vinegar formulations from Canadian softwood and hardwood pyrolysis — including birch, maple, and mixed hardwood species alongside softwood mill residuals. Research focuses on concentration parameters, stability profiles, and application protocols for each product sector — industrial, forestry, agricultural, marine, and public health. The platform underpins all seven EcoFresh™ products.

AgriMend™ engineered biochar research targets 600–800 m²/g surface area, 90%+ toxin adsorption, 1.8–2.6 tCO₂e/tonne carbon sequestration, and 5–10 regeneration cycles.

Core Platform · U.S. Patent No. 12,485,084 B2

02 — Tailings Pond Remediation

Oil Sands Water Recovery

Applied research on using engineered biochar and EnviroGuard™ wood vinegar slurry to dewater, detoxify, and biologically restore oil sands tailings ponds. Research targets 95%+ water recovery and 40% native boreal vegetation return within 3 years.

Oil Sands · Alberta AER Directive 085

03 — Soil Amendment & Carbon Sequestration

AgriMend™ Biochar Optimisation

Research into USDA BioPreferred certified soil amendments — optimising carbon sequestration rates, toxin adsorption kinetics, and soil water retention improvements (20–45%). Current validation focus: converting Ticonderoga paper mill waste stream (sludge, ash, rejects) into certified soil boosters at commercial scale.

Carbon credit monetisation pathway: AgriMend™ biochar qualifies for Verra and Gold Standard carbon offset protocols, creating an additional revenue layer from existing remediation operations.

USDA BioPreferred® · Ticonderoga Application

04 — Environmental Product Field Trials

Multi-Site Field Validation

Testing protocols and sites are being evaluated across Canada, US, South Pacific, and Alberta. The following results were achieved in prior field programmes:

TropiMist™ — 90%+ larval reduction in Caribbean island spray tests · ArborCare™ — canker arrest and callus formation in 6 weeks, validated by 3 independent forestry trials · AquaGuard™ — cyanobacteria suppression and sargassum odour elimination within 24 hours · OdorGuard™ — 100% H₂S removal and 60% methane reduction in landfill gas trials · EnviroGuard™ — tailings pond settling accelerated from weeks to hours in initial tests.

Canada · US · South Pacific · Alberta

Patent Allowed · Developed in Windsor, Ontario

Continuous processing.
Continuous improvement.

Patent pending · Allowed Sep 23, 2026

The USPTO allowed our Continuous Feed Processor application (US 2025/0075131 A1) on September 23, 2026. Bright Sand Canada designs, tests and refines the processor in Windsor: a sealed, continuously fed system that converts municipal solid waste, tires, plastics and biomass into syngas, engineered carbon and feedstock for high-value products — and gets better with every run.

01 · Feed

Bales or loose waste

A ram, rotary screw or conveyor feeds the line; built-in blades cut bales open. Sealed doors keep the hot zone isolated from loading.

02 · Rotary calciner

Indirect heat, 250–1,000 °C

Heat is applied to the outside of a rotating drum. Internal fins mix the material and carry it forward.

03 · Conversion

Conversion chamber

Processing continues. Anything that cannot be converted drops to a sealed chute and is quenched.

04 · Modules

Swappable processing modules

Hydrocracking, nanoparticle deposition or catalyst-based gas conversion — matched to each waste stream and target product.

05 · Products

Energy & materials

Syngas for power and heat, engineered carbon, and carbon feedstock for our nanotube platform.

Continuous

Feed, not batch

250–1,000 °C

Processing range

Swappable module types

Open flame on the waste

Built for the hardest
waste streams.

MSW

Mixed municipal solid waste is handled baled or loose, the way it arrives from collection, and converted into energy and carbon instead of landfill.

Biomass

Forestry and mill residues, yard and agricultural waste and invasive species blend straight into the MSW feed — no separate line needed — and become energy and carbon instead of rotting or being burned in the open.

Tires

End-of-life tires become syngas and recovered carbon rather than stockpiles, fire risks or fuel for open burning.

Plastics

Mixed plastics run on the same line. Their carbon-rich gases can be routed to the nanoparticle deposition module to feed carbon nanotube production.

High value

The goal is not disposal. Each module upgrades the stream toward a product worth more than the waste: energy, engineered carbon, nanomaterials.

Environment &
sustainability.

No flame

Heat comes through the drum wall and the drum regulates oxygen, so the waste is gasified rather than burned.

Clean gas

Process gases pass through catalyst modules and on to scrubbing and filtration before use, so pollutants are treated inside the system.

Diversion

Waste that would generate landfill methane and leachate, or be dumped or burned in the open, becomes energy and materials.

Steady state

Designed for continuous operation: steadier temperatures and gas quality, without the energy lost to batch start-up and cool-down.

Advanced controls.
Every run improves the next.

A processor is only as good as the decisions running it. Our control architecture links PLC/SCADA control, live sensor data, a physics-based digital twin and a reinforcement-learning agent to tune temperature, residence time and module selection run by run. Spectral grades the carbon coming off the line, and those results feed back into the next run’s setpoints.

MeasureLive sensor data from every zone, logged to the lab data pipeline.

ModelThe digital twin predicts how each feedstock will behave.

OptimiseThe learning agent adjusts setpoints within safe limits.

VerifySpectral grades the product and closes the loop.

Allowed by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on September 23, 2026; the patent issues once the issue fee is paid. Published as US 2025/0075131 A1 (Appl. No. 18/820,172). Invented by Earl R. Decker and developed in Windsor, Ontario by Bright Sand Canada Inc. A demonstration unit is in development. Process descriptions summarise the published application and our development programme; figures are design ranges, not guaranteed performance.

Advanced Materials · CNT Development

Carbon Nanotube Research
& System Intelligence

Bright Sand Canada leads the applied research and system intelligence layer for MWCNT and SWCNT production — developing the reactor science, process control architecture, and AI-driven optimisation that makes the hybrid plasma production platform commercially viable for the BSI Advanced Materials Division. In parallel, BSC is developing the feedstock protocols and reactor integration for LNG flare gas conversion — routing methane from LNG operations directly into the hybrid plasma reactor to produce high-value MWCNT and SWCNT at the wellhead. Not carbon capture: carbon transformation.

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System Internals

Reactor Architecture & Process Control

Hybrid Plasma Reactor

Proprietary hybrid plasma reactor technology enables precise CNT nucleation without bulk heating — achieving controlled diameter and chirality tuning between MWCNT and SWCNT output. Detailed process architecture is protected corporate IP.

Ni-Fe Bimetallic Catalyst System

Nickel-iron catalyst nanoparticles deposited on mesh anodes. Catalyst composition, particle size, and support geometry are optimised per CNT type. MWCNT and SWCNT require distinct catalyst configurations and growth conditions.

CNT Collection & Quality Grading

Electrostatic precipitation and membrane filtration for MWCNT/SWCNT capture. Acid washing removes residual catalyst. Final product undergoes Raman spectroscopy and TEM imaging for quality grading and specification.

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Process Control

Programming & Automation Architecture

PLC / SCADA Control Layer

PLC architecture manages plasma pulse sequencing, gas valve actuation, kiln feed rate, and thermal zone control. SCADA provides real-time process visualisation, alarm management, and historian data logging across all reactor subsystems.

Edge Computing & Sensor Fusion

100+ sensor points. Distributed edge nodes fuse optical emission spectroscopy (OES), mass flow, temperature, and pressure signals into a unified process state vector — closed-loop plasma control at <10ms latency.

Digital Twin & Scale-Up Modelling

Physics-based digital twin continuously updated from live sensor data. Generative surrogate models predict commercial-scale (1–5 t/day) process behaviour from lab data — with uncertainty quantification to guide physical validation priorities.

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AI Integration

Machine Intelligence & Adaptive Optimisation

Reinforcement Learning Optimisation

RL agent continuously explocontinuously optimises process parameters to maximise CNT yield and purity for a given feedstock. Specific parameter architecture is protected corporate IP. Learns from every synthesis run, improving setpoint recommendations across thousands of cycles.

LSTM Predictive Maintenance

Time-series anomaly detection across all rotating and plasma components. Flags failures 48–72 hours in advance — enabling scheduled intervention rather than emergency shutdown, critical for continuous commercial operations.

Feedstock Variability Adaptation

NIR spectroscopy + ML classifier identifies plastic/tire feedstock composition at intake. Automatically adjusts pyrolysis temperature profiles and plasma parameters to maintain consistent CNT output despite variable waste input chemistry.

MWCNT

Multi-Wall CNT

Walls3–15 concentric Diameter5–30 nm Tensile>150 GPa ConductivityMetallic/Semi

EMI shielding composites · Structural reinforcement · Battery & supercapacitor electrodes · Industrial polymer additives

SWCNT

Single-Wall CNT

Diameter0.7–2 nm Bandgap0–1.4 eV tunable Market Value$500–$5,000+/g

High-performance composites · Drone & UAV airframes · Battery electrodes · Advanced electronics · Semiconductor transistors

Integrated System Data Flow

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Feedstock

NIR scan

⚗️

Reactor

100+ sensors

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Edge/SCADA

<10ms loop

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AI Layer

RL + LSTM

⬡

CNT Output

Graded

↺ continuous feedback loop — parameter adjustment every synthesis cycle

Development Roadmap

Lab · Now

0.52 kg/d

hybrid plasma bench validation · AI model training

Prototype

1–5 kg/d

Digital twin calibration · First customer samples

Commercial

1–5 t/d

Detroit BSI Advanced Materials Division

Scale

100 t/d

Replicated lines · $2.7B+/yr potential

All AI and control system IP generated by Bright Sand Canada R&D is owned and retained by Bright Sand Canada Inc. System hardware design and deployment is managed by BSI Advanced Materials Division.

Spectral · Live, Auditable Raman Analysis

Same powder. Three lasers.
One honest read.

Spectral is Bright Sand Canada’s live, auditable analysis of carbon product — recovered carbon black (rCB), graphene and carbon nanotubes, across third-party processes and our own. Before it grades a production lot, it has to read a known material correctly. An independent third-party laboratory measured one commercial raw HiPCO single-wall carbon nanotube powder at three excitation wavelengths — 532, 561 and 785 nm — and supplied the raw spectra. We ran them through Spectral with its detection gates frozen.

Full spectrum · normalised to G band

Radial breathing modes · tube diameter

Raw spectra from an independent third-party laboratory, baseline-offset and normalised by Bright Sand Canada for display. Shaded band marks the (6,5) chirality window (295–335 cm⁻¹); dotted line is the reference (6,5) position at 308 cm⁻¹. Reference material only — not Bright Sand product.

Excitation	I_D/I_G	Defect grade	G⁻/G⁺	Tubes in resonance	Dominant RBM
532 nm	0.14	Good	0.50	Metallic	268 cm⁻¹ · ~0.9 nm
561 nm	0.11	Good	0.42	Near (6,5) resonance	236 cm⁻¹ · ~1.0 nm
785 nm	0.04	Good	0.26	Semiconducting	228 cm⁻¹ · ~1.0 nm

0.04–0.14

Defect grade: good

D-to-G band ratio stayed well inside the “good” threshold (≤ 0.35) at every wavelength — a consistent quality call on one powder across three lasers.

0.50→0.26

Metallic vs semiconducting

The broad G⁻ shoulder halves from 532 to 785 nm. Spectral flagged metallic character at 532 nm and semiconducting at 785 nm — the resonance switch the physics predicts.

304 cm⁻¹

(6,5) seen — and sized

Only at 561 nm, near the (6,5) resonance, does a real (6,5)-assignable peak appear — at about 8% of the dominant ~1.0 nm tube. Unsorted HiPCO is not (6,5)-rich, and Spectral says so.

0.4%

False-positive rate

Spectral’s resonance validator was held to a frozen 256-spectrum set of minerals, pharmaceuticals and ordinary carbons. One false flag in 256. The gate was not loosened to fit the result.

If you make carbon — rCB, graphene or nanotubes —
Spectral can:

Grade every lot to your spec

D/G defect ratio, 2D/G and G-band shape, scored against thresholds you set for what a good lot means.

Tell you what you actually made

Nanotube, graphene, graphitic and fullerene signatures are read separately, so a batch is identified before it is graded.

Read nanotube detail

Metallic vs semiconducting character, tube diameter from radial breathing modes, and chirality, but only when the laser can support the claim.

Check a chirality claim

A spec sheet or certificate says (6,5)-enriched? Spectral checks whether the laser used can support that claim, and whether (6,5) is a real peak or only a shoulder.

Refuse to overcall

It returns “unknown” when a spectrum doesn't cover the bands it needs, and it rejects mineral and pharmaceutical lookalikes. False-positive rate is 0.4% on a frozen negative set.

Keep an audit trail

Each reading is a record: the file, the laser, the grade and the claim that laser is allowed to make. Run the same file again and the record matches.

Work with your instrument

Runs on spectra from your Raman, a third-party lab or open reference libraries, at 532, 561 or 785 nm.

Run live on the line

Read the carbon while it is forming, and adjust heat, pulse timing or catalyst before the lot is finished.

A 532 nm scan can grade quality.
It cannot sign a chirality claim.

For CNT development, that is the release rule Spectral enforces: quality on 532 or 785 nm, a chirality statement only on a resonant line. A good grade at 532 nm means low-defect carbon with a metallic G band. It does not mean the lot is (6,5).

Spectral · Developed at Bright Sand Canada · U.S. patent pending

When you’re ready to get serious about the value of your carbon.

Take control of your carbon output. Spectral reads a Raman file and keeps the laser wavelength on every number. It returns a defect grade, whether the G band looks metallic or semiconducting, a tube diameter from the radial breathing modes, and how much of the signal sits in the (6,5) window, and it only lets each laser make the claim that laser can support.

One reader. The laser stays on the number.

532 nmDefect grade and metallic G. Not a chirality claim.

785 nmSemiconducting check. D and 2D move with this laser.

561 nmIs (6,5) actually there, or only a small peak?

What it means for your product

Carbon nanotubes

The release rule: quality on 532 or 785 nm, a chirality statement only on a resonant line. A good 532 nm grade is not a (6,5) lot.

Graphene

D, G and 2D are the quality language, and they move when the laser changes. Two sheets measured at two wavelengths are not one comparison.

Recovered carbon black

The same reader is a structure check: defects and order, not a guess based on how the powder looks.

From reading to control

01 · AUDIT

Every reading is a record

The file, the laser, the grade and the claim that laser is allowed to make stay in one place. Run the same file again and the record matches, so a buyer, a partner or a later shift can check the number.

02 · LIVE SCAN

Read the carbon while it forms

The same audited reading, taken during production instead of after it.

03 · LIVE TUNE

Act before the lot is finished

Change heat, pulse timing or catalyst while there is still time to change the result.

The software recommends. A person accepts the change.

Take control of your carbon output →

Spectral · Traceability

Know every lot.
Prove every lot.

Every graded lot gets a record that keeps the evidence behind the result, not just a pass or fail, and shows if anything was changed later. Buyers can check it against the specification they agreed to.

1 · Raw spectrumThe original data points exactly as exported from the instrument.

2 · ProcessingBaseline and peak-fitting settings, so the result can be reproduced.

3 · Operator & timeWho ran the measurement and when, with a digital signature.

4 · InstrumentInstrument identifier and calibration recorded at measurement.

5 · Spec versionThe exact limits the lot was graded against.

6 · SealedA SHA-256 hash of the record. Change anything and it no longer matches.

Example lot certificate · illustrative data

Lot: EXAMPLE-CNT-0001
Material: Multi-wall carbon nanotubes
Specification: CUSTOMER-SPEC-EXAMPLE v1
I(D)/I(G): 0.12 (limit ≤ 0.15) — Pass
G-band position: ~1580 cm⁻¹ — Pass
Result: Conforms to specification
Record hash: sha256: 3f1a…example…9c20

Example only. Values, lot and specification are made up to show the format. Each record is shared as a readable PDF for incoming-inspection files and as a machine-readable file customers can load into their own quality systems.

Where lot-by-lot proof matters

Defence

Incoming material checks and documented lot history for carbon-enhanced components.

Aerospace & UAS

Consistent feedstock for composite airframes, rotor blades and conductive skins.

Space

Low-volume, high-value parts where each lot’s properties matter.

Motorsport

Quick, quantitative checks on carbon-enhanced prepregs and panels.

Protective nanocomposites

EMI shielding, lightning-strike protection, thermal management and radiation shielding depend on the carbon going in.

Uses your equipmentWorks from standard spectral file exports of common benchtop and inline Raman instruments. Nothing to replace to evaluate it.

Pilot · early accessSpectral is in pilot with a small number of early-access partners. It does not currently hold any quality certifications.

Beyond carbonSpectral analysis for food, ingredients and general materials is in development. Exploratory; no results claimed.

Spectra supplied by an independent third-party laboratory on a commercial HiPCO SWCNT reference powder. Results describe that reference material and Spectral’s analysis of it; they are not a specification of Bright Sand product. Diameters estimated from radial breathing mode positions using a standard empirical relation.

EcoFresh™ Products

Six solutions
developed here.

Agriculture / Forestry

ArborGen™ Biostimulant

100% biobased liquid biostimulant derived from Canadian softwood wood vinegar. Promotes root development, plant health, and vigour across agricultural and forestry applications.

USDA BioPreferred® Certified · 100% Biobased

All EcoFresh™ formulations were developed by Bright Sand Canada's R&D team. The granted wood vinegar platform patent behind them is held by Bright Sand Inc. Products are commercialised by Bright Sand Industries Inc. through the EcoFresh Plant (in design) and national retail channels. BSC also develops the biomass pyrolysis parameters for ArborForce™ BSI-EHC — battery-grade engineered hard carbon for sodium-ion batteries.

Industrial / Commercial

EnviroGuard™

Odor modulation and surface methane management for landfills, tailings, and compost. Reduces odours 80–90% within hours. Cuts methane emissions by up to 70%.

3–5% dilution · 100 gal/1,000 t waste

USDA BioPreferred® Certified

Industrial / Commercial

OdorGuard™

100% H₂S removal in landfill gas. 60% methane reduction. Federal GSA Procurement eligible. Petroleum-free and fully biodegradable.

Landfill · Compost · Sludge

USDA BioPreferred® Certified

Forestry Conservation

Dr. Judi's ArborCare™

Targeted lesion injection for Butternut and Beech canker. Field-validated: arrest of canker progression and callus formation within 6 weeks across 3 independent forestry trials.

1–5% dilution · 10–20 mL per site

USDA BioPreferred® Certified

Public Health

TropiMist™

Biobased mosquito breeding habitat management. Over 90% larval reduction in Caribbean field tests. Non-toxic to wildlife, fully biodegradable, petroleum-free.

1–3% dilution · 1 gal/acre via ULV fogging

Marine / Coastal

AquaGuard™

Suppresses cyanobacteria and algae blooms. Eliminates sargassum odour within 24 hours. Florida lake programs and Caribbean coastal management.

1–3% dilution · Early season preventive

Agriculture / Soil / Carbon

AgriGuard™ & AgriMend™ Biochar

AgriGuard controls fungal pathogens and enhances germination. AgriMend™ engineered biochar: 600–800 m²/g, 90%+ toxin adsorption, 1.8–2.6 tCO₂e/tonne sequestration, 5–10 cycle regeneration.

Soil · Tailings · Carbon Credits

Partnerships & Collaborations

Building on
shared knowledge

Bright Sand Canada pursues partnerships that combine applied science with institutional rigour — university testing programmes, multi-college R&D labs, and commercial research alliances.

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Multi-College R&D Hub — Ticonderoga, NY

A proposed $5M joint research facility in partnership with NCCC, SUNY Adirondack, Paul Smith's College, and SUNY ESF at the Ticonderoga sustainability hub. The lab will provide classrooms, research capacity, and applied science programming for 200+ students annually — focused on EcoFresh™ soil amendments and thermochemical waste conversion.

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Independent Forestry Trial Network

Three independent forestry research bodies have validated Dr. Judi's ArborCare™ performance — confirming canker arrest and callus formation within 6 weeks of targeted injection on Butternut and Beech specimens. Field trial network continues to expand across Ontario, Quebec, and the US Northeast.

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Sylvamo — Ticonderoga Mill Partnership

Letter of Intent signed with Sylvamo for Bright Sand Canada to develop the biochar soil amendment formulation and production process for Sylvamo paper mill waste streams. The Ticonderoga facility will process 109,500+ tonnes per year of mill residuals into USDA BioPreferred certified soil boosters, with Bright Sand Canada providing ongoing process optimisation and product validation.

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Pacific Environmental Solutions — South Pacific Partner

PES, based in Nuku‘alofa, Tonga, holds exclusive South Pacific rights to Bright Sand technology and works with the governments of Tonga, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu on circular waste and energy systems built for each community. Bright Sand Canada is PES’s technology partner; together we prepared the Nauru 2050 master plan.

Visit PES →

Applied
Research &
Development

Where science meets
the land

Four active
research streams

Continuous processing.
Continuous improvement.

Carbon Nanotube Research
& System Intelligence

Same powder. Three lasers.
One honest read.

If you make carbon — rCB, graphene or nanotubes —
Spectral can:

When you’re ready to get serious about the value of your carbon.

Know every lot.
Prove every lot.

Six solutions
developed here.

Validated.
Certified. Protected.

Building on
shared knowledge

Part of something
larger.

Research partnerships
& enquiries

AppliedResearch &Development

Where science meetsthe land

Four activeresearch streams

Continuous processing.Continuous improvement.

Carbon Nanotube Research& System Intelligence

Same powder. Three lasers.One honest read.

If you make carbon — rCB, graphene or nanotubes —Spectral can:

When you’re ready to get serious about the value of your carbon.

Know every lot.Prove every lot.

Six solutionsdeveloped here.

Validated.Certified. Protected.

Building onshared knowledge

Part of somethinglarger.

Research partnerships& enquiries

Applied
Research &
Development

Where science meets
the land

Four active
research streams

Continuous processing.
Continuous improvement.

Carbon Nanotube Research
& System Intelligence

Same powder. Three lasers.
One honest read.

If you make carbon — rCB, graphene or nanotubes —
Spectral can:

Know every lot.
Prove every lot.

Six solutions
developed here.

Validated.
Certified. Protected.

Building on
shared knowledge

Part of something
larger.

Research partnerships
& enquiries