Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH210100001
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,062,428.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Nutrients in a Circular Economy (NiCE). Urban utilities are in need to design resilient wastewater infrastructure to tackle the pressures of urban intensification, waterways pollution and climate change. This Hub aims to transform the wastewater industry with an unprecedented, city-scale circular economy of nutrients based on urine separation and processing at building level, to produce safe and effective liquid fertilisers. By engaging with stakeholders across the value cha ....ARC Research Hub for Nutrients in a Circular Economy (NiCE). Urban utilities are in need to design resilient wastewater infrastructure to tackle the pressures of urban intensification, waterways pollution and climate change. This Hub aims to transform the wastewater industry with an unprecedented, city-scale circular economy of nutrients based on urine separation and processing at building level, to produce safe and effective liquid fertilisers. By engaging with stakeholders across the value chain, this Hub expects to bring two urine processing technologies to commercial readiness, and to produce new regulations and business models for the circular economy. This will add resilience to the wastewater and urban farming industries, and will create market opportunities for new Australian technologies.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0347262
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
Upgrading of Wind Tunnel Research Facility with Oxford Lasers VisiSizer. Bringing together expertise within five collaborating research Centres in two Universities, an Oxford Lasers VisiSizer will be used to study the atomisation of pesticide sprays and droplet behaviour in moving flow fields. This equipment, in conjunction with the construction of a new working section in a pesticide wind tunnel research facility, will enable the simultaneous measurement of particle size and droplet velocity. T ....Upgrading of Wind Tunnel Research Facility with Oxford Lasers VisiSizer. Bringing together expertise within five collaborating research Centres in two Universities, an Oxford Lasers VisiSizer will be used to study the atomisation of pesticide sprays and droplet behaviour in moving flow fields. This equipment, in conjunction with the construction of a new working section in a pesticide wind tunnel research facility, will enable the simultaneous measurement of particle size and droplet velocity. The VisiSizer will construct images of the atomisation process and enable the interaction of spray droplets and plant canopies to be studied. Data will support modelling of pesticide transport processes and accelerate leading Australian expertise in pesticide science.Read moreRead less
Minimising environmental and public health risk of pesticide application through understanding the droplet-canopy interface. Pesticides are essential tools for agricultural industries in most Australian cropping systems. Accurate placement of pesticide droplets onto plant surfaces is the key step in guaranteeing high quality food production, while loss of droplets to air and soil are inefficiencies leading to environmental and public health risks. Innovations in plant architecture informatics wi ....Minimising environmental and public health risk of pesticide application through understanding the droplet-canopy interface. Pesticides are essential tools for agricultural industries in most Australian cropping systems. Accurate placement of pesticide droplets onto plant surfaces is the key step in guaranteeing high quality food production, while loss of droplets to air and soil are inefficiencies leading to environmental and public health risks. Innovations in plant architecture informatics will be used to develop an improved understanding of droplet/plant canopy interactions that will be validated through wind tunnel experimentation. This research will result in a risk assessment tool that can be applied generally to controlled spray applications of pesticides.Read moreRead less
Tracing nitrogen through wet tropical aquifers using stable isotopic signatures, molecular markers and gas emissions. The project aims at enabling land managers to reduce the loss of nitrogen into creeks, rivers and estuaries of the Great Barrier Reef catchments. This will improve the economic and environmental viability of primary production while restoring the quality of aquatic and marine ecosystems. The results will identify parts of the landscape where land management needs to change and ov ....Tracing nitrogen through wet tropical aquifers using stable isotopic signatures, molecular markers and gas emissions. The project aims at enabling land managers to reduce the loss of nitrogen into creeks, rivers and estuaries of the Great Barrier Reef catchments. This will improve the economic and environmental viability of primary production while restoring the quality of aquatic and marine ecosystems. The results will identify parts of the landscape where land management needs to change and over what time scale improvements would be apparent. These outputs address the water quality priorites and targets of the 'Reef Water Quality Protection Plan' of the State and National governments and the 'Far North Queensland Natural Resource Management Plan'.Read moreRead less
Next-Generation Reference Process Models. Business process modelling is a key tool for organisations striving to create efficiencies by leveraging their IT infrastructure. This project will develop techniques for increasing the productivity of business process analysts by allowing them to reuse as much as possible existing models rather than systematically desigining new ones from scratch. Specifically, the project will develop and validate a language for designing highly configurable process mo ....Next-Generation Reference Process Models. Business process modelling is a key tool for organisations striving to create efficiencies by leveraging their IT infrastructure. This project will develop techniques for increasing the productivity of business process analysts by allowing them to reuse as much as possible existing models rather than systematically desigining new ones from scratch. Specifically, the project will develop and validate a language for designing highly configurable process models. This language will enable superior approaches to business process modelling and hence smarter use of information. This will place Australia at the forefront of developments in business process management: a crucial technology in today's global, dynamic and heterogeneous environments.Read moreRead less
Tailoring physiologically-based nanomaterial fertilisers for the biofortification of zinc in broadacre crops. Soil zinc deficiency is a global issue causing low crop yield and malnutrition. This project will develop a new class of fertiliser formulations by combining advanced chemistry techniques with plant physiology knowledge and nanomaterial manufacturing. These products will be designed for enhanced agronomic efficiency and environmental safety.
An evaluation of novel aluminosilicate materials based on modified kaolins for environmental applications. We have shown that simple and inexpensive modification of kaolin produces materials that adsorb large amounts of ammonium (N) and phosphate (P). We intend to evaluate and develop these materials for water treatment, so as to reduce N, P inputs into rivers and wetlands. The materials can then be used as fertilisers. Similarly addition of the materials to sandy soils to reduce leaching losses ....An evaluation of novel aluminosilicate materials based on modified kaolins for environmental applications. We have shown that simple and inexpensive modification of kaolin produces materials that adsorb large amounts of ammonium (N) and phosphate (P). We intend to evaluate and develop these materials for water treatment, so as to reduce N, P inputs into rivers and wetlands. The materials can then be used as fertilisers. Similarly addition of the materials to sandy soils to reduce leaching losses of N, P from fertilisers will be investigated. The major outcome of this research will be effective and inexpensive procedures for reducing eutrophication due to N, P from waste water and fertilisers.Read moreRead less
Multi-scale Process Modelling for Intelligent Control. Processing and manufacturing systems are inherently multi-scale in their behaviour. From the molecular scale to the enterprise-wide scale. This and other attributes of the individual models create difficulties in the design and control of such systems. This project will develop suitable multi-scale measures (metrics) for process models based on an object oriented assumption based modelling language. It will lead to enhanced intelligent contr ....Multi-scale Process Modelling for Intelligent Control. Processing and manufacturing systems are inherently multi-scale in their behaviour. From the molecular scale to the enterprise-wide scale. This and other attributes of the individual models create difficulties in the design and control of such systems. This project will develop suitable multi-scale measures (metrics) for process models based on an object oriented assumption based modelling language. It will lead to enhanced intelligent control strategies and improved operational performance through use of the most appropriate model. The work will focus on industrially important reaction and particulate processing systemsRead moreRead less
Enhancing Ammonium Phosphate Slurry Output from the Pre-Neutraliser Reactor via Rheological Study and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling. A thorough understanding of slurry rheology is required for the design and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of slurry reactor to obtain optimal performance. A poorly designed reactor will have poor mixing, flow short circuiting and stagnant zones. This project will provide a means of characterising the ammonia phosphate slurry rheology o ....Enhancing Ammonium Phosphate Slurry Output from the Pre-Neutraliser Reactor via Rheological Study and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Modelling. A thorough understanding of slurry rheology is required for the design and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation of slurry reactor to obtain optimal performance. A poorly designed reactor will have poor mixing, flow short circuiting and stagnant zones. This project will provide a means of characterising the ammonia phosphate slurry rheology on-line for WMC fertilizer plant, perform detailed rheological characterisation of the slurry with and without trace elements, and provide fluid flow behaviour within the reactor through CFD simulation. A mere 1% improvement over the current solids output of 100tonnes/hr will enhance the revenue by $2.5million/yr for WMC.Read moreRead less
Tailoring nano-crystal suspensions for extended ion supply to hydrophobic and hydrophilic leaf surfaces. Nutrient deficiency undermines the potential of billions of people and many nations. The requirement is to rapidly increase micro-nutrient delivery to support intensive and fortified crop production. This proposal seeks to develop a controlled ion release system through the use of tailored suspensions of nano-crystal nutrient materials for delivery to plants through the leaves. This will incr ....Tailoring nano-crystal suspensions for extended ion supply to hydrophobic and hydrophilic leaf surfaces. Nutrient deficiency undermines the potential of billions of people and many nations. The requirement is to rapidly increase micro-nutrient delivery to support intensive and fortified crop production. This proposal seeks to develop a controlled ion release system through the use of tailored suspensions of nano-crystal nutrient materials for delivery to plants through the leaves. This will increase yields from arable land, reduce water requirements and fertiliser applications, fortifying foods for better nutrition leading to improved human health and wellbeing. It leverages and applies recent significant advances in surface science and nanotechnology to gain improved outcomes in agriculture.Read moreRead less