Synthesis and Production of High Value Pyridines Combining the Concepts of Alternative Reaction Media and Process Intensification. This project aims to develop novel syntheses and process route for substituted pyridines by bringing together expertise in the fields of green chemistry and process intensification. Minimisation of waste, energy efficiency, and improved selectivity and control will be the key process and chemistry targets, which will produce high value compounds. Traditional approach ....Synthesis and Production of High Value Pyridines Combining the Concepts of Alternative Reaction Media and Process Intensification. This project aims to develop novel syntheses and process route for substituted pyridines by bringing together expertise in the fields of green chemistry and process intensification. Minimisation of waste, energy efficiency, and improved selectivity and control will be the key process and chemistry targets, which will produce high value compounds. Traditional approaches use organic solvents and preformed salts which are costly, generate waste and the processes are energy intensive due to poor selectivity, low yield and extensive separation steps. This is a generic investigation which will have wide ranging applications in the pharmaceutical, energy and advanced electronic industries.Read moreRead less
Application of process intensification on rotating surfaces (PIRS) in organic synthesis. Process intensification technologies in the form of SDP and RTP are new to Australia and present many opportunities for carrying out the synthesis of organic compounds. They have remarkable versatility in being able to control chemical reactions with greater selectivity than using classical batch technology, at the same time allowing access to new compounds. Moreover, the technologies embrace the principles ....Application of process intensification on rotating surfaces (PIRS) in organic synthesis. Process intensification technologies in the form of SDP and RTP are new to Australia and present many opportunities for carrying out the synthesis of organic compounds. They have remarkable versatility in being able to control chemical reactions with greater selectivity than using classical batch technology, at the same time allowing access to new compounds. Moreover, the technologies embrace the principles of green chemistry in minimising the generation of waste, while operating under continuous flow which is destined to be more attractive to industry. This is likely in the fine chemicals sector, and in drug discovery. The project will provide first-rate research training and promote Australian science. Read moreRead less
Bioanalytical Microchips Based on Integrated, Application Tailored Monolithic Modules. Microfluidic devices offer substantial advantages over current technology, in terms of speed, cost of analysis, portability, operator simplicity and safety. Integrating multiple analytical processes within a simple and reliable portable device will lead to application in a range of areas, from pharmacology to therapeutic drug monitoring, proteomic and metabolomic screening for disease diagnosis and drug develo ....Bioanalytical Microchips Based on Integrated, Application Tailored Monolithic Modules. Microfluidic devices offer substantial advantages over current technology, in terms of speed, cost of analysis, portability, operator simplicity and safety. Integrating multiple analytical processes within a simple and reliable portable device will lead to application in a range of areas, from pharmacology to therapeutic drug monitoring, proteomic and metabolomic screening for disease diagnosis and drug development, and also for performing clinical diagnostics in a rural area. This will significantly impact on the quality of life of the Nation as a whole, not only due to expedient diagnosis and treatment which has obvious health benefits, but also in the considerable financial benefits that result from early and efficient treatment. Read moreRead less
Multi-Scale, Multi-Form Approach to the Modelling, Design and Control of Complex Particulate Processes. Many particulate processes suffer from high recycle rates and instability due to lack of knowledge at various scale levels, and on the fitness between model forms and applications. This project will develop a complete model hierarchy ranging from the microscopic scale to full plant scale using a multi-scale, multi-form approach. The joint force of two world class teams will tackle the complex ....Multi-Scale, Multi-Form Approach to the Modelling, Design and Control of Complex Particulate Processes. Many particulate processes suffer from high recycle rates and instability due to lack of knowledge at various scale levels, and on the fitness between model forms and applications. This project will develop a complete model hierarchy ranging from the microscopic scale to full plant scale using a multi-scale, multi-form approach. The joint force of two world class teams will tackle the complex interaction problems covering granulation fundamentals, dynamic modelling, process design and advanced control. The work will lead to significantly improved productivity and quality for a wide range of industrial particulate processes using innovative design and model based control strategies.Read moreRead less
Flow process and visible-light driven reactions for polymer manufacturing. This project aims to develop rapid, scalable light-driven continuous flow processing techniques that allow the production of value-added synthetic polymers that cannot be achieved by existing technologies. The project will take advantage of the spatio-temporal control of the light mediated polymerisation with flow process to achieve control over the primary structure, the sequential arrangement of monomer units in a polym ....Flow process and visible-light driven reactions for polymer manufacturing. This project aims to develop rapid, scalable light-driven continuous flow processing techniques that allow the production of value-added synthetic polymers that cannot be achieved by existing technologies. The project will take advantage of the spatio-temporal control of the light mediated polymerisation with flow process to achieve control over the primary structure, the sequential arrangement of monomer units in a polymer chain and the molecular weight distribution. The project will result in the preparation of functional polymers containing a specific arrangement of monomers in the polymer chain and a precise distribution of polymer chains. The development of such process will result in the development of advanced materials.Read moreRead less
Manufacturing Nanostructured Polymer Thin Films using Visible Light. This research aims the development of selective photochemical tools driven by different colours of light for the fabrication of nanostructured polymer brush thin films. By using different wavelengths to selectively activate specific chemical reactions, this will enable multiple reactions to be performed simultaneously, significantly streamlining fabrication. Additionally, the increased selectivity offers pathways to more sophis ....Manufacturing Nanostructured Polymer Thin Films using Visible Light. This research aims the development of selective photochemical tools driven by different colours of light for the fabrication of nanostructured polymer brush thin films. By using different wavelengths to selectively activate specific chemical reactions, this will enable multiple reactions to be performed simultaneously, significantly streamlining fabrication. Additionally, the increased selectivity offers pathways to more sophisticated nanoarchitectures in comparison to existing methods. This research will lead to the fabrication of 3D polymer brush architectures with unparalleled precision, which will be of high scientific and industrial value for a diverse range of applications, such as optoelectronics, nanoactuation, and sensing.Read moreRead less
Programming the Microstructure of 3D Printed Objects . This project aims to apply state-of-the-art living polymerisation techniques to 3D printing to efficiently produce customised polymer materials that are tailored at the molecular level. By combining computational modeling and experimental approach, fast and oxygen tolerant photoliving radical polymerisation will be developed and applied to 3D printing. These new systems will produce highly structured polymer materials with remarkable mechani ....Programming the Microstructure of 3D Printed Objects . This project aims to apply state-of-the-art living polymerisation techniques to 3D printing to efficiently produce customised polymer materials that are tailored at the molecular level. By combining computational modeling and experimental approach, fast and oxygen tolerant photoliving radical polymerisation will be developed and applied to 3D printing. These new systems will produce highly structured polymer materials with remarkable mechanical properties. The effect of nanostructure on the macroscopic material properties will be investigated. The intended outcome of this project will produce advanced materials with tailored mechanical properties via streamlined and accessible approaches.Read moreRead less
Unsteady-State Operation of Slurry and Fixed-Bed Fischer-Tropsch Reactors for Improved Process Performance. The development of efficient gas-to-liquid processes via the Fischer-Tropsch reaction is the most economically viable route for the production of non-petroleum based chemicals and environmentally-friendly fuels from abundant natural gas. This investigation proposes the exploitation of both reactor and catalyst dynamics behaviour to obtain higher hydrocarbon synthesis rate and selectivity n ....Unsteady-State Operation of Slurry and Fixed-Bed Fischer-Tropsch Reactors for Improved Process Performance. The development of efficient gas-to-liquid processes via the Fischer-Tropsch reaction is the most economically viable route for the production of non-petroleum based chemicals and environmentally-friendly fuels from abundant natural gas. This investigation proposes the exploitation of both reactor and catalyst dynamics behaviour to obtain higher hydrocarbon synthesis rate and selectivity not attainable under conventional steady-state operation. With current market conditions of about US$30/bbl for crude oil, even modest process improvements of 30-60% will make the process competitive. Whilst individual national energy policy goals are promoted, the research will further strengthen closer economic and technology ties between France and Australia.Read moreRead less
On-demand 3D polymer scaffolds for directed stem cell differentiation. The project will develop new polymer gels that can be sculpted into shapes, representing tissues and organs. This 3D scaffold will provide a surface with biological signals to create functional tissues from stem cells. The approach will create engineered intestinal tissue with great promise to increase the survival rates of colon cancer patients.
Novel Metal Carbide Catalysts For Gas-To-Liquid Conversion Processes. The development of efficient gas-to-liquid fuels processes is driven by the availability of abundant natural gas reserves and environmental advantages of synthetic liquid fuels. In this study, a new molybdenum-tungsten carbide catalyst that with excellent performance but 80 times cheaper than noble metal catalysts is proposed. It is especially attractive for industrial applications because it can be used for steam reforming of ....Novel Metal Carbide Catalysts For Gas-To-Liquid Conversion Processes. The development of efficient gas-to-liquid fuels processes is driven by the availability of abundant natural gas reserves and environmental advantages of synthetic liquid fuels. In this study, a new molybdenum-tungsten carbide catalyst that with excellent performance but 80 times cheaper than noble metal catalysts is proposed. It is especially attractive for industrial applications because it can be used for steam reforming of natural gas to synthesis gas, and subsequent conversion to gasoline. This represents huge cost savings in catalyst and energetically-efficient reactors in the global petrochemical industry where millions of dollars are spent annually on catalyst improvement and rehabilitation.Read moreRead less