Novel gas-liquid columns for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. Novel gas-liquid columns for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. This project aims to design distillation and absorption columns, perhaps the most important unit operations in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, and whose optimization is integral to overall performance of any LNG plant. This project will use 3D printers to rapidly prototype concepts of columns and their internals, and test them using flow characterization ....Novel gas-liquid columns for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. Novel gas-liquid columns for liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. This project aims to design distillation and absorption columns, perhaps the most important unit operations in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, and whose optimization is integral to overall performance of any LNG plant. This project will use 3D printers to rapidly prototype concepts of columns and their internals, and test them using flow characterization tools and numerical models. The final outcome of the project will be a set of designs of the columns, which should be more efficient, safer and cheaper to operate, and have smaller physical and environmental footprints, thus helping the Australian LNG industry to stay globally competitive.Read moreRead less
Vaporization of heavier gas oil in Fluid Catalytic Cracking risers. Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) is an important refinery operation responsible for about 45 per cent of the total petrol produced. The project is aimed at improving production efficiency of Australian refineries by applying fundamental modelling to the FCC. The outcomes will enable refiners to produce cleaner fuel and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
Improving the scale-up of spray drying for bioactive extracts and fibres. The project will develop new processing techniques that will contribute to better functional foods and bioactive products from fruit and vegetable wastes. The total national crop of fruit and vegetables produces over 3 million tonnes of wastes, where the bioactive materials in the wastes have a potential value of $3 billion/year.
Development of a novel desalination process. The process proposed in this submission provides a simple, flexible and cost effective platform for small-scale desalination applications. The proposed process can be an integral part of a more comprehensive approach to resolve the shortage of freshwater in arid to semi-arid regions of rural Australia. This will contribute to the Federal Government's National Research Priority 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, particularly the priority goal ....Development of a novel desalination process. The process proposed in this submission provides a simple, flexible and cost effective platform for small-scale desalination applications. The proposed process can be an integral part of a more comprehensive approach to resolve the shortage of freshwater in arid to semi-arid regions of rural Australia. This will contribute to the Federal Government's National Research Priority 1: An Environmentally Sustainable Australia, particularly the priority goal 'Water - a Critical Resource'.Read moreRead less
New dispersants for improved agrochemical and allied formulations. This project will deliver substantial benefits for national regional communities and the environment through improved agrochemical dispersion, and reduced pesticide and water use. This project will deliver improved products for agrochemicals and animal food, bringing significant agricultural advantages to Australia. This will help Huntsman with cutting-edge technologies in manufacturing agrochemical and related products for the n ....New dispersants for improved agrochemical and allied formulations. This project will deliver substantial benefits for national regional communities and the environment through improved agrochemical dispersion, and reduced pesticide and water use. This project will deliver improved products for agrochemicals and animal food, bringing significant agricultural advantages to Australia. This will help Huntsman with cutting-edge technologies in manufacturing agrochemical and related products for the national and global markets. We will provide advanced training for postgraduate and research personnel that will be sought-after by the agrochemical and allied industries.Read moreRead less
A green technology for liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification. Upon arrival to its destination, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from Australia must be converted back into gas to make it suitable for distribution to end users, for which the current technologies burn up to two per cent our LNG exports. This project will design a technology that will use the energy of ambient air, which will not only increase the profit but also reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Utilisation of dense gas technology for the development of controlled release active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) delivery systems. The aim of this project is to develop an orally administered drug formulation for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and other diseases of the colon. Irritable bowel syndrome is a debilitating condition and the cost to society is similar to that of asthma. As such, the project has the potential to have a major impact on society.
Improving the Processing of Timber from Plantation Forests: The Challenge of Managing Variability. Drying is a key step in processing timber. The increasing availability of plantation hardwood timber, with greater variability in its properties than previous resources, presents an opportunity to take advantage of the development of better mathematical techniques for process optimization and better drying and mechanical models for timber to address this challenge. This project will produce optimi ....Improving the Processing of Timber from Plantation Forests: The Challenge of Managing Variability. Drying is a key step in processing timber. The increasing availability of plantation hardwood timber, with greater variability in its properties than previous resources, presents an opportunity to take advantage of the development of better mathematical techniques for process optimization and better drying and mechanical models for timber to address this challenge. This project will produce optimized drying schedules, which are combinations of temperatures and humidities used during drying, to effectively dry plantation timber with variable properties, producing timber for high-value and appearance-grade end uses, such as flooring and furniture.Read moreRead less
Exploiting Resonance in Improving Dried Timber Quality by Optimizing Cyclic Drying Processes in Solar Kilns. Maximizing the value of final dried timber is essential for maximizing the economic benefits for Australia. If 10% of one million cubic metres of sawn hardwood timber produced annually in Australia increases its value raised by $500/m3, then the potential direct gain to Australian companies is over A$50 million per year. Multiplier effects include future applications to the drying of fo ....Exploiting Resonance in Improving Dried Timber Quality by Optimizing Cyclic Drying Processes in Solar Kilns. Maximizing the value of final dried timber is essential for maximizing the economic benefits for Australia. If 10% of one million cubic metres of sawn hardwood timber produced annually in Australia increases its value raised by $500/m3, then the potential direct gain to Australian companies is over A$50 million per year. Multiplier effects include future applications to the drying of foods, where the potential benefit in using solar kilns is a reduction in CO2 emissions of at least a million tonnes of CO2 per year, and a potential cost reduction of A$38 million per year.Read moreRead less
Process Systems for Distributed Chemical Manufacturing. This Project investigates a new paradigm for chemicals production, moving away from large-scale centralised plant to distributed manufacture in relatively small localised facilities. The Project is built on the conjunction of a revolutionary process systems synthesis methodology with a new approach to highly compact equipment manufacture. The Project is of great significance to developing countries and to smaller, remote economies such as A ....Process Systems for Distributed Chemical Manufacturing. This Project investigates a new paradigm for chemicals production, moving away from large-scale centralised plant to distributed manufacture in relatively small localised facilities. The Project is built on the conjunction of a revolutionary process systems synthesis methodology with a new approach to highly compact equipment manufacture. The Project is of great significance to developing countries and to smaller, remote economies such as Australia's, which cannot justify or compete with world-scale production facilities. We will develop our ideas in a case study and identify routes to practical implementation of this example in particular and of the new approach in general.Read moreRead less