Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140100569
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,952.00
Summary
Recovering helium from Australia’s natural gas: A case study for advanced adsorption processes to concentrate dilute gases. This project will deliver breakthroughs in gas separation technologies for the production of helium from natural gas. Global demand for helium in critical medical, scientific and industrial applications is projected to grow at around five per cent per annum. To overcome the forecast short falls in helium production, new low cost and energy efficient technologies to recover ....Recovering helium from Australia’s natural gas: A case study for advanced adsorption processes to concentrate dilute gases. This project will deliver breakthroughs in gas separation technologies for the production of helium from natural gas. Global demand for helium in critical medical, scientific and industrial applications is projected to grow at around five per cent per annum. To overcome the forecast short falls in helium production, new low cost and energy efficient technologies to recover helium from natural gas fields must be developed. This project will contribute novel microporous adsorbents, a better understanding of helium sorption kinetics and general methodologies for design of pressure swing adsorption processes to concentrate dilute mixtures.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101687
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,000.00
Summary
Nanostructure Tailoring of Inorganic Membranes by Rapid Thermal Processing. This project aims to produce inorganic membranes with desired nanostructures using a Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) technique for gas separation applications. The key concept of the research is that the RTP will be able to achieve thin-film membrane layer with a finer microstructure and pore size control without heat stress-induced cracking. RTP aims to deliver superior membrane performance with less than 10 per cent of ....Nanostructure Tailoring of Inorganic Membranes by Rapid Thermal Processing. This project aims to produce inorganic membranes with desired nanostructures using a Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) technique for gas separation applications. The key concept of the research is that the RTP will be able to achieve thin-film membrane layer with a finer microstructure and pore size control without heat stress-induced cracking. RTP aims to deliver superior membrane performance with less than 10 per cent of the fabrication time compared to normal slow calcination. The outcomes of this new technology aims to make inorganic membranes a commercial reality and maximize the membrane manufacturing capability and productivity of petrochemcial, chemical and clean coal/energy industries.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101618
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,000.00
Summary
Tailoring multifunctional single site catalysts for carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to develop multifunctional single site catalysts and collaborative surface sites to complete multi-step reactions using carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrogenation to higher alcohols with enhanced selectivity for large-chain alcohols. CO2 is an abundant and renewable carbon source for use as a feedstock, and closing the carbon cycle in an energy efficient manner has the potential for significant environmental ....Tailoring multifunctional single site catalysts for carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to develop multifunctional single site catalysts and collaborative surface sites to complete multi-step reactions using carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrogenation to higher alcohols with enhanced selectivity for large-chain alcohols. CO2 is an abundant and renewable carbon source for use as a feedstock, and closing the carbon cycle in an energy efficient manner has the potential for significant environmental benefits. The project is expected to advance the knowledge in rational design of new catalysts for CO2 conversion and understanding the catalyst structure-property induced reaction mechanism. This will result in an improved understanding of the reaction kinetics of utilising CO2 as a feedstock.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100952
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
A chemical looping process for carbon fibre production from plastics. This project aims to develop Mineral Looping Plastic Reforming (MLPR), a chemical looping reforming process for tonnage production of carbon nanofibers from plastic waste. This efficient process uses naturally occurring minerals (limestone, dolomite and ilmenite) to convert plastic waste to carbon nanofibers. The project will research the inner working of the MLPR process and the reforming reactions of plastics in the presence ....A chemical looping process for carbon fibre production from plastics. This project aims to develop Mineral Looping Plastic Reforming (MLPR), a chemical looping reforming process for tonnage production of carbon nanofibers from plastic waste. This efficient process uses naturally occurring minerals (limestone, dolomite and ilmenite) to convert plastic waste to carbon nanofibers. The project will research the inner working of the MLPR process and the reforming reactions of plastics in the presence of naturally occurring mineral mixtures. This project is expected to make Australia a leader in waste use, facilitate the uptake of abundant waste streams to produce high value products, and resolve sustainability, energy and environmental issues in Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101215
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
A novel pyrolysis process for high-quality bio-oil production from biomass. The project outcome will provide fundamental knowledge essential to the development of a novel pyrolysis process for high-quality bio-oil production with biochar, a value-added by-product. It will largely accelerate the commercialisation of the biomass pyrolysis process to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fossil fuel use in the energy sector.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100266
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$367,446.00
Summary
Granular interfaces for sustainable processing of raw materials. This project aims to develop an innovative interface model and a comprehensive understanding of the interfacial behaviours between granular materials using advanced numerical, experimental and theoretical approaches. This project expects to generate new knowledge of mixing and segregation in particle science and technology and a practical guide to applications. Expected outcomes of this project include the enhanced competitiveness ....Granular interfaces for sustainable processing of raw materials. This project aims to develop an innovative interface model and a comprehensive understanding of the interfacial behaviours between granular materials using advanced numerical, experimental and theoretical approaches. This project expects to generate new knowledge of mixing and segregation in particle science and technology and a practical guide to applications. Expected outcomes of this project include the enhanced competitiveness of Australia and energy efficiency in its important industries such as minerals, metallurgical, chemical, energy and pharmaceutical. These outcomes should provide significant benefits such as mitigated emissions and global warming in a carbon and resource constrained world.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100960
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Simulation and characterisation of the packing of uniform non-spherical particles. The effect of particle shape on the packing of uniform particles is a fundamental problem in the study of granular materials and is also related to other important scientific problems. This project aims to solve this problem by an innovative computer simulation method, using virtual but insightful numerical results to build solid theories.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100803
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$418,956.00
Summary
Single-enzyme membrane biofuel cells for wastewater and flue gas treatment. This project aims to mitigate energy and environmental problems by fusing the fields of membrane separation, biocatalysis and electrochemistry. The novel single-enzyme biofuel cells can generate electrical power from processes like wastewater micropollutant degradation and flue gas carbon dioxide conversion. However, the bottleneck is the lifetime of enzymes and the lack of efficient reactor design. This project expects ....Single-enzyme membrane biofuel cells for wastewater and flue gas treatment. This project aims to mitigate energy and environmental problems by fusing the fields of membrane separation, biocatalysis and electrochemistry. The novel single-enzyme biofuel cells can generate electrical power from processes like wastewater micropollutant degradation and flue gas carbon dioxide conversion. However, the bottleneck is the lifetime of enzymes and the lack of efficient reactor design. This project expects to overcome these challenges by developing metal-organic framework-based bioelectrode materials, and integrating them with separation membranes and single-enzyme fuel cells for energy generation. This project is expected to transform the current biocatalytic process for wastewater treatment and gas separation.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100429
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$406,177.00
Summary
Bioinspired Photocatalysts for Solar-Driven Hydrogen Peroxide Production. This project aims to develop advanced photocatalysts that can efficiently produce hydrogen peroxide from just water, air, and sunlight. By mimicking the structure and function of the natural photosynthetic apparatus, the key innovations are expected in the design of reaction-oriented conjugated polymer-based photocatalysts at the atomic and molecular nanostructure levels. It expects to generate new knowledge in artificial ....Bioinspired Photocatalysts for Solar-Driven Hydrogen Peroxide Production. This project aims to develop advanced photocatalysts that can efficiently produce hydrogen peroxide from just water, air, and sunlight. By mimicking the structure and function of the natural photosynthetic apparatus, the key innovations are expected in the design of reaction-oriented conjugated polymer-based photocatalysts at the atomic and molecular nanostructure levels. It expects to generate new knowledge in artificial photosynthesis and rational design of functional materials, and sustainable technology for hydrogen peroxide production. This cross-disciplinary research will benefit Australia by the development of biomimetic catalysts for advancing solar energy conversion and enabling sustainable manufacturing of commodity chemicals. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100329
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide with water into hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals. This project aims to develop a highly efficient photocatalytic process for converting CO2 into hydrocarbon fuels and high value-added chemicals. This new technology can reduce CO2 concentrations in the environment and provide a feasible mean to produce non-fossil fuels and industrial chemicals that society has to depend upon.