Improved Landfill Barrier Design for Changing Climates. The proposed research project will develop advanced methods and guidelines for practising engineers for improved engineering and design of waste containment barrier systems, leading to improved protection of groundwater resources and the environment and sustainable development of the country. The project will contribute to the priority area of building an environmentally sustainable Australia with a specific focus on water as a critical re ....Improved Landfill Barrier Design for Changing Climates. The proposed research project will develop advanced methods and guidelines for practising engineers for improved engineering and design of waste containment barrier systems, leading to improved protection of groundwater resources and the environment and sustainable development of the country. The project will contribute to the priority area of building an environmentally sustainable Australia with a specific focus on water as a critical resource.Read moreRead less
Fluidised bed biosorption-flocculation granular activated carbon (FBBSF-GAC) for membrane filtration in wastewater reuse. Water resource is limited and has been continuously decreasing. The idea of recycling and reusing of wastewater has been adopted for irrigation, industry and other non-potable uses. In Australia, wastewater reuse is now considered a key strategy for conserving water at national, state and local level. In this study, the proposed treatment unit is to produce a superior effluen ....Fluidised bed biosorption-flocculation granular activated carbon (FBBSF-GAC) for membrane filtration in wastewater reuse. Water resource is limited and has been continuously decreasing. The idea of recycling and reusing of wastewater has been adopted for irrigation, industry and other non-potable uses. In Australia, wastewater reuse is now considered a key strategy for conserving water at national, state and local level. In this study, the proposed treatment unit is to produce a superior effluent quality for water reuse while minimize membrane fouling of the membrane filtration system. Hence, it will benefit water industries globally and communities in Australia. There will be a major export opportunity from Australia to supply efficient, low-cost and sustainable flocculant together with an improved treatment system worldwide.Read moreRead less
Novel Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Water Purification - Science and Application. Water is rapidly becoming Australia's most critical natural resource, and there is an urgent need to re-use and recycle water from domestic use (graywater) and industry, as well as utilisation of larger scale harvesting of rainwater. The outcome of this project will be a technology which can remove organic material (biological and non-biological) from water, enabling a greater range of uses of wastewater. This ....Novel Nanomaterials for Photocatalytic Water Purification - Science and Application. Water is rapidly becoming Australia's most critical natural resource, and there is an urgent need to re-use and recycle water from domestic use (graywater) and industry, as well as utilisation of larger scale harvesting of rainwater. The outcome of this project will be a technology which can remove organic material (biological and non-biological) from water, enabling a greater range of uses of wastewater. This technology will play a significant role in delivering future water security, and developing new industries involved in manufacture and export of water treatment technologies. This project directly addresses the National Priority Research area of water, and international priorities involving greater re-use and recycling of water.Read moreRead less
Development of redox-mediated microbial assays for the rapid characterisation and assessment of wastewater, wastewater treatment processes and recycled water. With SE Qld on Level 5 water restrictions the need to reduce our demand on drinking water by increasing our reliance on recycled water is now urgent. To achieve this we need to ensure that the quality of our recycled wastewater is of a suitable and reliable standard. This project will assist the water industry in this endeavour by the de ....Development of redox-mediated microbial assays for the rapid characterisation and assessment of wastewater, wastewater treatment processes and recycled water. With SE Qld on Level 5 water restrictions the need to reduce our demand on drinking water by increasing our reliance on recycled water is now urgent. To achieve this we need to ensure that the quality of our recycled wastewater is of a suitable and reliable standard. This project will assist the water industry in this endeavour by the developing monitoring techniques that can rapidly characterise and assess the effectiveness of wastewater treatment processes and the quality of the water derived from them. These methods will provide early warnings of potential 'upsets' in treatment plants that would otherwise result in poor quality effluents that would need to be discharged as waste rather than be recycled.Read moreRead less
Novel Molecular Markers for the Historical Source Tracing of Faecal Contamination in Urban Water Catchments. Protection of the microbiological quality of raw water systems is imperative to maintaining the safety of drinking water. Monitoring of water samples for the presence of microbes that indicate the presence of faecal pollution can be used to assess the possible threats to human health. The objective of this research is to apply molecular genetic methods to determine their effectiveness as ....Novel Molecular Markers for the Historical Source Tracing of Faecal Contamination in Urban Water Catchments. Protection of the microbiological quality of raw water systems is imperative to maintaining the safety of drinking water. Monitoring of water samples for the presence of microbes that indicate the presence of faecal pollution can be used to assess the possible threats to human health. The objective of this research is to apply molecular genetic methods to determine their effectiveness as tools for the tracking and tracing of faecal bacteria within drinking water catchments. We have chosen the spore-former Clostridium perfringens as an indicator of both long and short-term sewage contamination. It will enable us to predict the origin of contamination and thus identify potential sources of faecal pollution that require remediation.Read moreRead less
Solar Nano-photocatalytic Disinfection and Mineralization of Treated Wastewater from Sewage Treatment Plants. Reuse of the treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants (STPs) has become significantly important in Australia due to dwindling water resources. The poor quality of the wastewater has limited its use for agriculture and aquaculture. This project aims to develop a solar nano-photocatalytic tertiary wastewater treatment process for disinfection and mineralization of the treated waste ....Solar Nano-photocatalytic Disinfection and Mineralization of Treated Wastewater from Sewage Treatment Plants. Reuse of the treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants (STPs) has become significantly important in Australia due to dwindling water resources. The poor quality of the wastewater has limited its use for agriculture and aquaculture. This project aims to develop a solar nano-photocatalytic tertiary wastewater treatment process for disinfection and mineralization of the treated wastewater from STPs, making the wastewater suitable as a water resource. The newly developed nano-fibre catalysts and photocatalytic technology in the teatm will be used and further developed in this novel process. The research will focus on the water quality objectives in terms of technical reliability, and economic and environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
Application of the MIEXR DOC process to membrane hybrid systems for water reuse. Fresh water is increasingly scarce in Australia and wastewater reuse is being advocated as a strategy for both meeting our needs and protecting the environment. This research will test the magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) process as a pretreatment for a membrane-flocculation hybrid system (MFHS). MIEX will remove small and medium molecular weight organics and minimize membrane fouling. Large molecular weight organics, s ....Application of the MIEXR DOC process to membrane hybrid systems for water reuse. Fresh water is increasingly scarce in Australia and wastewater reuse is being advocated as a strategy for both meeting our needs and protecting the environment. This research will test the magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) process as a pretreatment for a membrane-flocculation hybrid system (MFHS). MIEX will remove small and medium molecular weight organics and minimize membrane fouling. Large molecular weight organics, suspended solids and micro-organisms will be removed by MFHS. This research will pioneer a novel hybrid system for treatment and reuse of domestic wastewater for non-drinking purposes and provide high quality research training of a doctoral student.Read moreRead less
Fungal Biomass Protein, a Bioproduct Derived from a Treatment Process of Winery Waste Streams. The Australian wine industry produces a substantial quantity of wastewater containing high levels of organic materials that are both highly polluting and costly to treat. This research aims to develop a biotechnological treatment process integrated with fungal biomass protein (FBP) production from the winery waste streams. The outcomes of this project are i) the production of fungal biomass for use as ....Fungal Biomass Protein, a Bioproduct Derived from a Treatment Process of Winery Waste Streams. The Australian wine industry produces a substantial quantity of wastewater containing high levels of organic materials that are both highly polluting and costly to treat. This research aims to develop a biotechnological treatment process integrated with fungal biomass protein (FBP) production from the winery waste streams. The outcomes of this project are i) the production of fungal biomass for use as a protein-rich animal feed; ii); the treatment of waste water to allow reuse for farm irrigation; and iii) reduced pollution of watercourses. The research will develop a novel technology that is environmentally friendly and adds value to the Australian winery industry via pollution reduction and FBP production.Read moreRead less
Photodesorption Phenomena and Photoreactive Nanosorbent Materials for Water and Wastewater Purification. Introducing more efficient production of drinking water and wastewater treatment methods for reuse is important to address increasing water scarcity in Australia. The proposed project will develop a water purification technology to remove pollutants using a recently discovered process. This process offers simple and affordable operation that is clean, robust and requires minimal attention. Th ....Photodesorption Phenomena and Photoreactive Nanosorbent Materials for Water and Wastewater Purification. Introducing more efficient production of drinking water and wastewater treatment methods for reuse is important to address increasing water scarcity in Australia. The proposed project will develop a water purification technology to remove pollutants using a recently discovered process. This process offers simple and affordable operation that is clean, robust and requires minimal attention. The technology is particularly suitable for small-scale applications in rural and remote areas, and has significant export potential. The project will strengthen established links between Australian and Korean research centres through the production of improved nanomaterials, and the development of the novel water purification technologyRead moreRead less
A Novel Approach for Color and Degradation Control in Post Consumer Polyethylene Terephthalate During Recycling. Discoloration is a critical problem in the manufacturing of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymeric products in which optical clarity requirement is high. The inherent weakness of the PET demands highly efficient stabilisation of this polymer. The project aims to understand and eliminate the occurrence of such discoloration and improve the quality of the Visy product ....A Novel Approach for Color and Degradation Control in Post Consumer Polyethylene Terephthalate During Recycling. Discoloration is a critical problem in the manufacturing of post-consumer polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymeric products in which optical clarity requirement is high. The inherent weakness of the PET demands highly efficient stabilisation of this polymer. The project aims to understand and eliminate the occurrence of such discoloration and improve the quality of the Visy products. New multifunctional additives will be developed, which when added to PET during processing, will not only quench the discoloration reaction but also yield high quality products with excellent optical properties. This project is of substantial strategic importance to the Australian/global polymer processing and recycling industries.
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