Force Interactions in Packed and Fluidised Beds at Micro-Scale Operation. Industrial processing in the 20th century was about increasing size to gain benefit from economies of scale. This century, the focus is on micro devices like lab-on-a-chip and high speed computer processors that deliver their product directly to the consumer. There are significant obstacles facing this new technology. Mixing is reduced due to laminar flow, and a large amount of energy is needed to move the fluid through su ....Force Interactions in Packed and Fluidised Beds at Micro-Scale Operation. Industrial processing in the 20th century was about increasing size to gain benefit from economies of scale. This century, the focus is on micro devices like lab-on-a-chip and high speed computer processors that deliver their product directly to the consumer. There are significant obstacles facing this new technology. Mixing is reduced due to laminar flow, and a large amount of energy is needed to move the fluid through such small devices. Particles are often added to improve mixing and heat transfer, but their presence adds to the energy requirements. This study will help us overcome these challenges. Read moreRead less
Optimising Removal of Proteinaceous Foulants from Membranes. Removal of proteinacous foulants from membrane systems imposes both significant economic costs in terms of chemical usage as well as significant environmental costs in terms of water usage and production of effluents from the cleaning and rinsing waters. The outcome of this project should allow us to develop methods for the prediction and optimisation of membrane cleaning performance of relevance to major Australian industries includin ....Optimising Removal of Proteinaceous Foulants from Membranes. Removal of proteinacous foulants from membrane systems imposes both significant economic costs in terms of chemical usage as well as significant environmental costs in terms of water usage and production of effluents from the cleaning and rinsing waters. The outcome of this project should allow us to develop methods for the prediction and optimisation of membrane cleaning performance of relevance to major Australian industries including the dairy, food processing and water and waste water treatment industries.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of nutrient removal, membrane fouling and sludge dewatering in hybrid coagulation/submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters. Submerged membrane bioreactor technology for the treatment of wastewaters is now a competitive technology with small footprint and generally high quality of treated effluent. Despite this, challenges remain in ensuring low effluent nutrient concentrations, minimal membrane fouling and acceptable excess sludge dewaterability. Addition of iron or a ....Optimisation of nutrient removal, membrane fouling and sludge dewatering in hybrid coagulation/submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters. Submerged membrane bioreactor technology for the treatment of wastewaters is now a competitive technology with small footprint and generally high quality of treated effluent. Despite this, challenges remain in ensuring low effluent nutrient concentrations, minimal membrane fouling and acceptable excess sludge dewaterability. Addition of iron or aluminium-based coagulant chemicals can assist but many uncertainties with regard to choice of chemical, optimal dosing arrangements and membrane bioreactor operating conditions remain. Experimental and computational studies targeted at improving understanding and optimising performance will be undertaken through collaborative studies by the UNSW and Tsinghua University (Beijing) research team.Read moreRead less
The Development of New Carrier Technologies for Spray-Dried Fruit Extracts. This project aims to develop new carrier techniques for spray drying fruit extracts based on the use of natural fibres, with the aim of overcoming a key problem in the operation of spray dryers for producing powders, the deposition of particles on walls. Carriers are non-sticky materials that effectively dilute the stickiness of any materials. The significance is that it will use waste products from fruit processing (th ....The Development of New Carrier Technologies for Spray-Dried Fruit Extracts. This project aims to develop new carrier techniques for spray drying fruit extracts based on the use of natural fibres, with the aim of overcoming a key problem in the operation of spray dryers for producing powders, the deposition of particles on walls. Carriers are non-sticky materials that effectively dilute the stickiness of any materials. The significance is that it will use waste products from fruit processing (the fibres from skins) to overcome this problem, and it will also be possible to dry sticky materials using material from the fruit itself, rather than additives such as maltodextrin.Read moreRead less
Characterisation and Treatment of Reverse Osmosis Concentrates from Water Recycling Applications. Concentrates from reverse osmosis (RO) pose a considerable threat to both the environment but also the successful implementation of reverse osmosis as a technology. Naturally, the concentrate contains everything that the RO retains and hence contaminants such as viruses, organics such as pharmaceutically active compounds and hormones as well as nutrients and salinity. Treatment of such waste streams ....Characterisation and Treatment of Reverse Osmosis Concentrates from Water Recycling Applications. Concentrates from reverse osmosis (RO) pose a considerable threat to both the environment but also the successful implementation of reverse osmosis as a technology. Naturally, the concentrate contains everything that the RO retains and hence contaminants such as viruses, organics such as pharmaceutically active compounds and hormones as well as nutrients and salinity. Treatment of such waste streams will enhance the health of receiving water bodies and reduce the risk of increased build up of contaminants if wastes are recycled into wastewater treatment plants. New ways to treat such contaminants will be explored, the efficiency and cost evaluated in the broader water cycle and sustainability framework.Read moreRead less
Selective generation of hydrogen from biomass and waste fuels. Biomass fuels account for 14% of global energy supply. This is likely to increase in future as the population increases, energy demand rises, cheap oil and coal reserves are depleted, and the effects of global warming become more readily visible. In Australia the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is a national priority. The hydrogen economy could bring about improved energy security, substantially reduced greenhouse gas e ....Selective generation of hydrogen from biomass and waste fuels. Biomass fuels account for 14% of global energy supply. This is likely to increase in future as the population increases, energy demand rises, cheap oil and coal reserves are depleted, and the effects of global warming become more readily visible. In Australia the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is a national priority. The hydrogen economy could bring about improved energy security, substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved energy efficiency and improved air quality. This proposal directly addresses this challenge by investigating the science underpinning a large-scale sustainable hydrogen synthesis process using biomass and waste fuels. Read moreRead less
Development of High Performance Nanocomposite Filtration Membranes: Fabrication and Fouling Mechanisms. This project will develop high performance membranes for the filtration of water and wastewater using novel nanotechnology processes. This will reduce the costs and environmental impact of water treatment and risk from low-level chemical contaminants such as micropollutants. The project will also provide an enhanced technology base for producing low cost, hybrid inorganic-organic materials fo ....Development of High Performance Nanocomposite Filtration Membranes: Fabrication and Fouling Mechanisms. This project will develop high performance membranes for the filtration of water and wastewater using novel nanotechnology processes. This will reduce the costs and environmental impact of water treatment and risk from low-level chemical contaminants such as micropollutants. The project will also provide an enhanced technology base for producing low cost, hybrid inorganic-organic materials for widespread environmental, agricultural and food applications.Read moreRead less
Innovative strategy for salt management and water recovery from newsprint mill effluent using membrane processes. Newsprint mills are a major employer in regional Australia. The mills are located in environmentally sensitive areas, consume large quantities of water and return high levels of salt to the environment. To remain competitive the newsprint industry, like all industries in regional Australia must develop new strategies for water recycling and salt management. Successful execution of t ....Innovative strategy for salt management and water recovery from newsprint mill effluent using membrane processes. Newsprint mills are a major employer in regional Australia. The mills are located in environmentally sensitive areas, consume large quantities of water and return high levels of salt to the environment. To remain competitive the newsprint industry, like all industries in regional Australia must develop new strategies for water recycling and salt management. Successful execution of this project will minimize water consumption in newsprint production, mitigate the effects of increased sodicity in soils irrigated with mill effluent and accelerate the commercial development a hydrophobic microporous membrane for water recycling and salt removal in environmentally sensitive areas of inland Australia.Read moreRead less
Developing novel aerosol inhalers for pulmonary drug delivery from the fundamental understanding of powder dispersion mechanisms. The project seeks to understand how powder aerosol inhalers can be significantly improved. The outcome will provide therapeutic benefits to the Australian community for better treatment of respiratory diseases and facilitate environmentally friendly technology since these inhalers do not require any harmful organic solvents to operate.
The Study of Pretreatment Options for Composite Fouling of Reverse Osmosis Membranes Used in Water Treatment and Production. It is recognised worldwide that fouling is a major impediment in operation of Reverse Osmosis units used for production, purification and treatment of water. This project is aimed at studying pre-treatment options for composite fouling which is the main type of fouling present in RO units by using both model feed systems and actual field water. The project outcomes are to ....The Study of Pretreatment Options for Composite Fouling of Reverse Osmosis Membranes Used in Water Treatment and Production. It is recognised worldwide that fouling is a major impediment in operation of Reverse Osmosis units used for production, purification and treatment of water. This project is aimed at studying pre-treatment options for composite fouling which is the main type of fouling present in RO units by using both model feed systems and actual field water. The project outcomes are to understand and develop pre-treatment strategies and to use those to develop a hybrid pre-treatment technology. This project will significantly impact water production in general and its outcomes will have far-reaching implications in treatment of water both within Australia and globally.Read moreRead less