Detailed understanding of the behaviour of soot in, and emission from, turbulent flames and fires. While combustion processes involving soot have been widely employed for many years, their great complexity puts them beyond present capacity to understand or model reliably. Within a flame, soot plays an important role in radiant heat transfer, and hence in energy efficiency. Beyond a flame, soot can either be emitted as an unwanted air pollutant or as a desirable source of nano-particles, dependin ....Detailed understanding of the behaviour of soot in, and emission from, turbulent flames and fires. While combustion processes involving soot have been widely employed for many years, their great complexity puts them beyond present capacity to understand or model reliably. Within a flame, soot plays an important role in radiant heat transfer, and hence in energy efficiency. Beyond a flame, soot can either be emitted as an unwanted air pollutant or as a desirable source of nano-particles, depending on the application. The benefits to society from improved understanding and predictive capability include reduced air pollution, improved health and safety, increased efficiency in the utilisation of both fossil and alternative fuels, the support of the rapidly growing sector employing carbon nano-particles and increased fire safety. Read moreRead less
Study of hydrocarbon flames under heat and gas recirculation conditions. This project aims to study gaseous flames under heat and gas recirculation conditions. This technology has been proven to reduce fuel consumption, improve thermal efficiency and substantially reduce nitric oxides emission. The effect of mixing, turbulence and temperature on the structure and stability of these flames will be investigated. The project combines experimental and computational research applied to a laboratory s ....Study of hydrocarbon flames under heat and gas recirculation conditions. This project aims to study gaseous flames under heat and gas recirculation conditions. This technology has been proven to reduce fuel consumption, improve thermal efficiency and substantially reduce nitric oxides emission. The effect of mixing, turbulence and temperature on the structure and stability of these flames will be investigated. The project combines experimental and computational research applied to a laboratory scale burner and a small scale furnace. The main objectives are to better understand the chemical pathways in low temperature hydrocarbon flames under heat and gas recirculation conditions and to understand the effect of mixing and turbulence on the flame structure and pollutants emission.Read moreRead less
Engineering nanostructured graphene-based semiconductor photocatalysts. Harnessing solar energy and converting it into useful chemical energy efficiently is the expected outcome of the project. Given the strategic solar-geographical position of Australia, solar photocatalysis is a leading option for utilising our renewable energy resources to applications relating to energy conversion and environmental remediation.
Novel water treatment processes. The objective of this project is the discovery of novel methods for the treatment and reuse of water for both industrial and household applications. Improved treatment systems with the potential for water reuse offer significant improvements to our overall water management potential. The first part of the project is designed to focus on the study of hot bubble column evaporators for solute decomposition, sterilisation and the de-watering of heavily contaminated i ....Novel water treatment processes. The objective of this project is the discovery of novel methods for the treatment and reuse of water for both industrial and household applications. Improved treatment systems with the potential for water reuse offer significant improvements to our overall water management potential. The first part of the project is designed to focus on the study of hot bubble column evaporators for solute decomposition, sterilisation and the de-watering of heavily contaminated industrial wastewater. The second part would be based on the study of a suitable depth filter medium for the treatment of partially treated household sewage water. This is designed to form part of an on-site household sewage water treatment and reuse system which is currently being developed.Read moreRead less