Non-polyamide-based polymer membranes for efficient water processing. This project aims to develop an innovative, two-dimensional nanosheet scaffold polymerisation technique for the fabrication of advanced membranes. Membrane technology plays a key role in wastewater treatment and water desalination and purification. However, current membranes are not stable in an oxidation environment such as chlorine, which leads to significant membrane replacement costs. Through the development of new membran ....Non-polyamide-based polymer membranes for efficient water processing. This project aims to develop an innovative, two-dimensional nanosheet scaffold polymerisation technique for the fabrication of advanced membranes. Membrane technology plays a key role in wastewater treatment and water desalination and purification. However, current membranes are not stable in an oxidation environment such as chlorine, which leads to significant membrane replacement costs. Through the development of new membrane fabrication technology the project aims to produce non-polyamide-based polymer membranes with outstanding oxidation tolerance and separation properties. This will potentially simplify membrane processes, and improve water processing efficiency in wastewater treatment for power generation, and clean drinking water production.
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Feedthrough technologies for polymeric encapsulated active implants. The project will address the scientific challenges of signal transfer between tissue and novel active implantable medical devices, with major implications for cochlear implant manufacture. This will lead to improvements in the quality of life of the hearing-impaired, and will make an important contribution to the development of other sensory implants.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100583
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$445,000.00
Summary
Engineering of biocatalysis in metal-organic frameworks for CO2 conversion. Transforming the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable fuels would be beneficial for relieving energy shortage and improving global sustainability. This project aims to architect a biocascade system in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for artificial CO2 conversion. Learned from the living organisms, a whole biocatalysis unit including enzymes and cofactors will be encased and protected in an artificial porous ....Engineering of biocatalysis in metal-organic frameworks for CO2 conversion. Transforming the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable fuels would be beneficial for relieving energy shortage and improving global sustainability. This project aims to architect a biocascade system in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for artificial CO2 conversion. Learned from the living organisms, a whole biocatalysis unit including enzymes and cofactors will be encased and protected in an artificial porous polymeric MOF coating. This approach is expected to deliver robust biocatalysts with high reaction-activity and chemo-selectivity in converting CO2 into methanol under the industrial operating condition, involving thermal, pH, and chemical stressors. This advancement will contribute to a carbon-neutral industry and society.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC210100023
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,943,949.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites. There is unprecedented growth in demand for bioderived and biodegradable materials. This Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites will capitalise on Australia’s abundance of the requisite natural bioresources to drive advances in technology for the development of bioplastic and biocomposite products for the new bioeconomy. The aim is to deliver leading edge research with a holistic focus on technical, social, policy and end of life so ....ARC Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites. There is unprecedented growth in demand for bioderived and biodegradable materials. This Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites will capitalise on Australia’s abundance of the requisite natural bioresources to drive advances in technology for the development of bioplastic and biocomposite products for the new bioeconomy. The aim is to deliver leading edge research with a holistic focus on technical, social, policy and end of life solutions, training a cohort of industry ready research specialists to underpin Australia’s transition to a globally significant bioplastics and biocomposites industry, while at the same time laying the foundations for accelerated growth in this space.Read moreRead less
Scale-up of catalytic furandicarboxylic acid production at room temperature. This project will use new knowledge acquired from our laboratory-scale discoveries to develop a new process feasible for industrial-scale production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The method makes FDCA, a platform chemical for future chemical industry, from a completely renewable source derived from plant sugars, 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural. This is an essential process for production of biodegradable plastic from s ....Scale-up of catalytic furandicarboxylic acid production at room temperature. This project will use new knowledge acquired from our laboratory-scale discoveries to develop a new process feasible for industrial-scale production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The method makes FDCA, a platform chemical for future chemical industry, from a completely renewable source derived from plant sugars, 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural. This is an essential process for production of biodegradable plastic from sugar that has not been commercialised. This technology will realise sizeable industrial-scale production of FDCA at low costs and without heating. The production development of this valuable commodity from renewable plant sugars will provide high-quality postgraduate training in future green chemical production methods.Read moreRead less
Mechanical advantage: biomimetic artificial muscles for micro-machines. This project will develop better ways to operate miniature machines by copying the way that muscle operates in Nature. The outcome will be important for portable devices like digital cameras that need small, efficient motors. The artificial muscles developed in this project may also be used in medical prosthetics and more agile robots.
Reconfigurable polymer antennas. This research will utilise conductive polymers, or 'synthetic metals', as flexible and smart materials for radio-frequency antennas technology. The created antenna prototypes will find applications in biomedical devices (for example, for wearable devices and implants), for tagging (identification), and in reconfigurable antennas for wireless communication.