Optimal Ethylene Oxide Manufacturing via Advanced Process Modelling and Control. This project aims at improving plant efficiency and safety to a world's best level for the Ethylene Oxide (EO) plant of Huntsman Corporation Australia (HCA). EO is a key chemical intermediate for making polyesters (clothing, PET bottles, insulation) and surfactants. To remain globally competitive, it is essential to improve the efficiency of the plant, which has a small capacity and supports important Australian mar ....Optimal Ethylene Oxide Manufacturing via Advanced Process Modelling and Control. This project aims at improving plant efficiency and safety to a world's best level for the Ethylene Oxide (EO) plant of Huntsman Corporation Australia (HCA). EO is a key chemical intermediate for making polyesters (clothing, PET bottles, insulation) and surfactants. To remain globally competitive, it is essential to improve the efficiency of the plant, which has a small capacity and supports important Australian markets. The goals will be achieved by developing advanced operational and control strategies (through computer modeling, process optimisation and intelligent systems approach), which will assist in better understanding the process and in providing optimal HCA plant operation.Read moreRead less
An Intelligent/Smart Framework for Total Process Monitoring And Supervision. Operator failures have an adverse effect on product quality, process safety, occupational health and environmental impact. The management of abnormal operating conditions is a major responsibility and depends critically on information management. A recent report indicates that the total cost attributable to preventable losses in petrochemical companies in U.S. amounts to twenty billion dollars per year. The objective o ....An Intelligent/Smart Framework for Total Process Monitoring And Supervision. Operator failures have an adverse effect on product quality, process safety, occupational health and environmental impact. The management of abnormal operating conditions is a major responsibility and depends critically on information management. A recent report indicates that the total cost attributable to preventable losses in petrochemical companies in U.S. amounts to twenty billion dollars per year. The objective of this project is to develop the theoretical framework and implementation of an Advanced Integrated Support System (ISS) for process monitoring, data analysis and interpretation, event detection and diagnosis, and operations support in chemical and petrochemical processes manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Novel inkjet-printed organic solvent nanofiltration membranes. The pharmaceutical industry is one of fastest growing industries in Australia. Manufacturing pharmaceutical products requires the use of hazardous and expensive organic solvents, which are toxic for the environment and expensive to recover due to the energy intensive thermal process required. This project aims to discover and manufacture a novel, low-cost, chemically robust nanomaterial-based membrane using an industry scalable inkje ....Novel inkjet-printed organic solvent nanofiltration membranes. The pharmaceutical industry is one of fastest growing industries in Australia. Manufacturing pharmaceutical products requires the use of hazardous and expensive organic solvents, which are toxic for the environment and expensive to recover due to the energy intensive thermal process required. This project aims to discover and manufacture a novel, low-cost, chemically robust nanomaterial-based membrane using an industry scalable inkjet printing process. The membrane will be resistant to organic solvents while efficiently recovering valuable and hazardous organic solvents with minimum environmental footprint. It will effectively provide for the future growth of the Australian pharmaceutical industry while also having global applications.Read moreRead less
Gravity Separation and Desliming of Fine Particles. This project will be of benefit to the Australian coal and mineral processing industries, worth tens of billions of dollars to the Australian economy each year. The objective is to establish an innovative system of cascading Reflux Classifiers for achieving both gravity separation and desliming of fine particles. Presently millions of tonnes of fine coal exist in tailings dams, unrecoverable by existing technologies such as flotation. This rese ....Gravity Separation and Desliming of Fine Particles. This project will be of benefit to the Australian coal and mineral processing industries, worth tens of billions of dollars to the Australian economy each year. The objective is to establish an innovative system of cascading Reflux Classifiers for achieving both gravity separation and desliming of fine particles. Presently millions of tonnes of fine coal exist in tailings dams, unrecoverable by existing technologies such as flotation. This research will provide options for the recovery of this resource, making the remediation of these sites economically viable. The project will also support the education and training of researchers in this field of importance to Australia’s future.Read moreRead less
Process for treatment of fluorine-containing synthetic greenhouse gases. It is generally agreed that increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are leading to higher average atmospheric temperatures. This research pursues the development of an energy-efficient, non-destructive process for transforming fluorine-containing greenhouse gases (GHGs) into valuable and environmentally benign products. The application of research will lead to the development of a new non-destructive proce ....Process for treatment of fluorine-containing synthetic greenhouse gases. It is generally agreed that increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are leading to higher average atmospheric temperatures. This research pursues the development of an energy-efficient, non-destructive process for transforming fluorine-containing greenhouse gases (GHGs) into valuable and environmentally benign products. The application of research will lead to the development of a new non-destructive process and will benefit Australia, socially by reducing emission of GHGs and thus protecting the environment, and economically through licensing of the technology for treatment of the growing stockpiles of synthetic GHGs.
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Catalytic conversion of Australia's natural gas to value added products. While natural gas (of which methane is the primary component) is an abundant source of energy, it is normally found in remote areas and for its successful exploitation it needs to be processed. The processing usually requires significant energy and resources input. In this project we will develop a fundamental understanding to a single step catalytic process that can utilise natural gas and nitrous oxide (both potent greenh ....Catalytic conversion of Australia's natural gas to value added products. While natural gas (of which methane is the primary component) is an abundant source of energy, it is normally found in remote areas and for its successful exploitation it needs to be processed. The processing usually requires significant energy and resources input. In this project we will develop a fundamental understanding to a single step catalytic process that can utilise natural gas and nitrous oxide (both potent greenhouse gases) and oxygen to produce selectively methanol and hydrocarbons from a natural gas feedstream in a controlled manner. A single step process for natural gas conversion utilising waste green-house gases is expected to be of great benefit to the Australian economy, environment and energy securityRead moreRead less
Clean technologies for the synthesis and purification of a biohybrid and biodegradable polymer. The project aims to transform an Australian industry in the forefront of the global market for manufacturing biodegradable polymers and boost export earnings derived from CO2 based biohybrid polymers. The project will develop cost-effective and clean methods for processing CO2 based polymers and demonstrate its potential for packaging and biomedical applications.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190101618
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,000.00
Summary
Tailoring multifunctional single site catalysts for carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to develop multifunctional single site catalysts and collaborative surface sites to complete multi-step reactions using carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrogenation to higher alcohols with enhanced selectivity for large-chain alcohols. CO2 is an abundant and renewable carbon source for use as a feedstock, and closing the carbon cycle in an energy efficient manner has the potential for significant environmental ....Tailoring multifunctional single site catalysts for carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to develop multifunctional single site catalysts and collaborative surface sites to complete multi-step reactions using carbon dioxide (CO2) hydrogenation to higher alcohols with enhanced selectivity for large-chain alcohols. CO2 is an abundant and renewable carbon source for use as a feedstock, and closing the carbon cycle in an energy efficient manner has the potential for significant environmental benefits. The project is expected to advance the knowledge in rational design of new catalysts for CO2 conversion and understanding the catalyst structure-property induced reaction mechanism. This will result in an improved understanding of the reaction kinetics of utilising CO2 as a feedstock.Read moreRead less
Particle classification using a ferrofluid in a non uniform magnetic field. The separation of micron size components of suspensions according to the size and density of the particles is presently an intractable problem. However, by using a magnetized ferrofluid it should be possible to generate unique particle trajectories for each combination of particle size and density. This study investigates the potential of this strategy for separating such particles, laying the foundation for new small-sc ....Particle classification using a ferrofluid in a non uniform magnetic field. The separation of micron size components of suspensions according to the size and density of the particles is presently an intractable problem. However, by using a magnetized ferrofluid it should be possible to generate unique particle trajectories for each combination of particle size and density. This study investigates the potential of this strategy for separating such particles, laying the foundation for new small-scale diagnostic "lab-on a chip" technology that could be used in biotechnology to study whole blood, or in mineral processing to control energy intensive ball mills for mineral particle liberation.Read moreRead less
Characterisation of Pyrolytic Thermal Regions in Coal Macerals using Computer Aided Thermal Analysis. The research will assist in the fundamental understanding of coal pyrolysis mechanisms. All coal contains proportions of different fossilised plant material, which behaves differently when heated. This proposal studies thermal behaviour of the density separated fractions in Australian coals using a highly sensitive technique. The characterisation adds value and use to current coal reserves and ....Characterisation of Pyrolytic Thermal Regions in Coal Macerals using Computer Aided Thermal Analysis. The research will assist in the fundamental understanding of coal pyrolysis mechanisms. All coal contains proportions of different fossilised plant material, which behaves differently when heated. This proposal studies thermal behaviour of the density separated fractions in Australian coals using a highly sensitive technique. The characterisation adds value and use to current coal reserves and is aimed towards producing an advanced modelling capability to promote efficient coal usage in existing and future technologies. Such innovative approaches support the sustainability of Australian coal reserves, particularly in the transition towards decarbonised energy.Read moreRead less