Location: Quebec
Online Training Available: Yes/No
Tom Browne is a professional engineer registered in Québec and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering. As a trained Facilitator for CCAB’s Progressive Aboriginal Relations™ Program (PAR), he supports Canadian companies seeking recognition and certification under the PAR program put in place by Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.
Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in chemical engineering from McGill University. He joined FPInnovations in 1994 to work on improving energy efficiency in pulp and paper processes. He was promoted to Research Manager, Mechanical Pulping, in 2001. As Research Manager for Biorefinery and Bioenergy from 2006 to 2016, he managed a research team developing and commercializing novel biorefinery processes for the pulp and paper industry.
Among other successful commercialization exercises, his team developed, patented and licensed out the LignoForce™ system for removing lignin from kraft black liquor, identified the first key products to be made from lignin, and supported moving extraction to full commercial implementation.
He has published a number of papers on the techno-economic conditions necessary for the success of the forest biorefinery, including key contributions to the Future Bio-Pathways Study conducted by FPInnovations in association with the Forest Products Association of Canada and the Canadian Forest Service (a branch of Natural Resources Canada). After leaving FPInnovations in 2016, Tom has provided strategic, market and techno-economic studies of biofuels and bioproducts projects and processes for a range of forest sector and governments clients.
He volunteers as a mentor for young entrepreneurs under the Futurpreneur program and supports local efforts to encourage the growth of cycling as an urban means of transportation.