Improving the Durability and Performance of Hollow Fibre Membranes with Nanocomposite and Inorganic/organic Hybrid Materials. Water is a critical resource for societies worldwide and Australia is one of the driest nations on Earth. Options to treat ‘used’ or lower quality waters for reuse are becoming a necessity. This project aims to implement advanced nanotechnology solutions to improve performance characteristics of widely adopted water treatment membranes, which have the potential to reduce ....Improving the Durability and Performance of Hollow Fibre Membranes with Nanocomposite and Inorganic/organic Hybrid Materials. Water is a critical resource for societies worldwide and Australia is one of the driest nations on Earth. Options to treat ‘used’ or lower quality waters for reuse are becoming a necessity. This project aims to implement advanced nanotechnology solutions to improve performance characteristics of widely adopted water treatment membranes, which have the potential to reduce water treatment costs in Australia. This is made possible by the collaboration with Australia's largest manufacturer of water treatment membranes. The outcomes will lead towards a lower maintenance water treatment technology available to communities, at lower cost. The application of such a technology will span from local small scale to major installations worldwide.Read moreRead less
Development of a Model Relating Aggregate Properties with Aggregation Conditions for Design and Control Purposes. The project aims to understand the role of shear and other important parameters in the aggregation of nano- and micron-sized particles through fundamental studies on different particulate systems and shear environments. The knowledge will be used to develop an engineering model relating the floc properties to system conditions, thus allowing the utilisation of experimental data to fu ....Development of a Model Relating Aggregate Properties with Aggregation Conditions for Design and Control Purposes. The project aims to understand the role of shear and other important parameters in the aggregation of nano- and micron-sized particles through fundamental studies on different particulate systems and shear environments. The knowledge will be used to develop an engineering model relating the floc properties to system conditions, thus allowing the utilisation of experimental data to full-scale operations without eschewing their relevance. Project outcomes include a comprehensive guideline to set optimum conditions required to generate flocs with desirable properties for control and design purposes, with applicability extending from solid-liquid separation to nano-material synthesis, and various processes involving particle aggregation.Read moreRead less
Process studies for photocatalytic rejuvenation of spent industrial Bayer liquor. A new low-energy photocatalytic process for the continuous treatment of spent liquor from the Bayer process for alumina production has been demonstrated. This new technology can process up to 1500 litres of industrial caustic effluent per day with a reduction in carbon dioxide release. The photo-treated refinery wastewater also provides water savings of 30 per cent.
Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based ....Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based waste (including food, garden, paper, and wood) and fossil-fuel derived materials (plastics). Using an innovative and environmentally-sustainable catalytic process, the outcomes of this project are aimed alleviating Australia’s dependence on diesel fuel imports and better waste management solutions in Australia.Read moreRead less
Electrocoagulation as a low-cost option for the continuous treatment of highly polluted wastewater. Water is a critically important 'raw material' with less than 0.01% of Earth's total supply being readily available. 'Once through' utilisation of this resource is no longer an acceptable industrial practise. Recycling/reuse of industrial wastewater must become the norm with economic pollutant recovery being seen as integral to the solution. The food/beverage industries are major water users. Deta ....Electrocoagulation as a low-cost option for the continuous treatment of highly polluted wastewater. Water is a critically important 'raw material' with less than 0.01% of Earth's total supply being readily available. 'Once through' utilisation of this resource is no longer an acceptable industrial practise. Recycling/reuse of industrial wastewater must become the norm with economic pollutant recovery being seen as integral to the solution. The food/beverage industries are major water users. Detailed scoping work in 2005 has identified electrocoagulation as a technically simple and economically viable option for this industry sector. Our industry partner is part of a global multi-national corporation within which successful wastewater treatment technology will be rapidly exploited and exported. Read moreRead less
Multi-scale strategy to manage chloramine decay and nitrification in water distribution systems. The generation of knowledge and technologies in preventing chloramine decay would greatly benefit the Australian water industry. The success of the project would provide the highest possible quality of water, both economically and reliably, giving public assurances of microbiological compliance and safe drinking water.
Dynamic Controllability Analysis for Plantwide Process Design and Control. World-wide chemical plants represent many billions of dollars of investment. Improvements to the process designs in terms of controllability would have the potential to provide large economic benefits, as it implies improved productivity, reduced operating costs and product variability. This proposed research will be a step towards integration of process design and control, which has been widely recognized as the key to t ....Dynamic Controllability Analysis for Plantwide Process Design and Control. World-wide chemical plants represent many billions of dollars of investment. Improvements to the process designs in terms of controllability would have the potential to provide large economic benefits, as it implies improved productivity, reduced operating costs and product variability. This proposed research will be a step towards integration of process design and control, which has been widely recognized as the key to this improvement. The outcomes from this project may be readily implemented in process design practice, and therefore have a direct impact to the Australian and world-wide process industries, helping to build a more efficient and environmental conscious Australian process industries.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the catalytic activity of metal oxides through hybrid catalysis. This project aims to understand the interaction of light responsive nano-metals and metal oxide supports in photo-thermal catalysis, and channel light and heat to efficiently drive catalytic reactions. From this understanding, it will develop principles to activate the active site of metal oxides and control catalytic activity with high selectivity and stability. It will use this knowledge to selectively oxidate methane a ....Unlocking the catalytic activity of metal oxides through hybrid catalysis. This project aims to understand the interaction of light responsive nano-metals and metal oxide supports in photo-thermal catalysis, and channel light and heat to efficiently drive catalytic reactions. From this understanding, it will develop principles to activate the active site of metal oxides and control catalytic activity with high selectivity and stability. It will use this knowledge to selectively oxidate methane and oxidative coupling of methane reactions. The expected outcome is an inexpensive green catalysis method for chemical manufacture. This should lower the amount of waste, decrease energy consumption and improve human health, finite global resources and quality of life.Read moreRead less
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
Manufacturing high value carbon products and chemicals from spent tyres. Manufacturing high value carbon products and chemicals from spent tyres. This project aims to develop an innovative and integrated thermochemical process for use of spent tyres. Australia disposes of more than 400,000 tonnes of spent tyres per annum in landfills, stockpiles and random dumping, incurring significant environmental hazards, serious health risks and wastage of resources. This research is expected to result in n ....Manufacturing high value carbon products and chemicals from spent tyres. Manufacturing high value carbon products and chemicals from spent tyres. This project aims to develop an innovative and integrated thermochemical process for use of spent tyres. Australia disposes of more than 400,000 tonnes of spent tyres per annum in landfills, stockpiles and random dumping, incurring significant environmental hazards, serious health risks and wastage of resources. This research is expected to result in new knowledge of the thermal behaviour of rubber and new techniques to identify, extract and use high value carbon materials and chemicals from thermochemical processing of spent tyres. The research outcomes are expected to provide a technological foundation for an emerging industry for environmentally responsible and economically self-sustaining use of spent tyres.Read moreRead less