A novel process for removing phosphorus microbiologically from wastewater. Australia is a water limited continent, and its rivers and lakes are priceless assets, but because of climatic conditions, these are especially sensitive to blooms of 'blue green algae'. Some are highly toxic, and water containing them is unsuitable for most purposes. Current technology for P removal requires constructing complex plant configurations, and most of these operate unpredictably and unreliably. This project ....A novel process for removing phosphorus microbiologically from wastewater. Australia is a water limited continent, and its rivers and lakes are priceless assets, but because of climatic conditions, these are especially sensitive to blooms of 'blue green algae'. Some are highly toxic, and water containing them is unsuitable for most purposes. Current technology for P removal requires constructing complex plant configurations, and most of these operate unpredictably and unreliably. This project will develop and fully evaluate a revolutionarily different alternative with a fully aerobic system, capable of being added onto the end of a conventional treatment plant, making protection of rivers and streams simpler and more feasible. Read moreRead less
Investigation of Geopolymer based Concretes for the Construction of High Fire Risk Infrastructures. Geopolymer concretes are emerging new materials promising superior fire resistance and durability and potentially cheaper than the widely used high strength concretes, which also consume high levels of Portland cements. Production of 1 ton of Portland cement releases 1 ton of green house gases. Further, the 6.5 million tons/year of cement currently produced in Australia is insufficient to meet the ....Investigation of Geopolymer based Concretes for the Construction of High Fire Risk Infrastructures. Geopolymer concretes are emerging new materials promising superior fire resistance and durability and potentially cheaper than the widely used high strength concretes, which also consume high levels of Portland cements. Production of 1 ton of Portland cement releases 1 ton of green house gases. Further, the 6.5 million tons/year of cement currently produced in Australia is insufficient to meet the industry demand. This project investigates the use of fly ash to make geopolymer concrete, without using any Portland cement, to find usage for part of the 11 million tons/year of fly ash produced as a waste from coal power stations in Australia.Read moreRead less
Development of an Alkali Activated Slag based Construction Material for High Fire Risk Infrastructures. This project will develop an alkali-activated slag (AAS) based construction material for tunnel construction. In tunnels, conventional concretes are likely to 'spall' in a hydrocarbon fire accident, possibly resulting in a tunnel collapse. The project is set to develop a spalling-resistant AAS as an alternative to conventional Portland cement, which is responsible for 6.5 million tons of gre ....Development of an Alkali Activated Slag based Construction Material for High Fire Risk Infrastructures. This project will develop an alkali-activated slag (AAS) based construction material for tunnel construction. In tunnels, conventional concretes are likely to 'spall' in a hydrocarbon fire accident, possibly resulting in a tunnel collapse. The project is set to develop a spalling-resistant AAS as an alternative to conventional Portland cement, which is responsible for 6.5 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia per year, whereas AAS is based on slag, an industrial waste product. The project also seeks to provide better understanding of the spalling phenomenon so that the engineers can design fireproofing for conventional concrete tunnels with confidence.Read moreRead less
A Fundamental Study Of The Behaviour Of Clay Brick Fines In Autoclaved Calcium Silicate Based Building Products. Clay brick fines constitute a significant proportion of Construction and Demolition waste, the disposal of which is a recognised global problem. This project aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the behaviour of clay brick fines in autoclaved calcium silicate based building products. Current practice of manufacture of these widely produced building materials does not use cla ....A Fundamental Study Of The Behaviour Of Clay Brick Fines In Autoclaved Calcium Silicate Based Building Products. Clay brick fines constitute a significant proportion of Construction and Demolition waste, the disposal of which is a recognised global problem. This project aims to provide a fundamental understanding of the behaviour of clay brick fines in autoclaved calcium silicate based building products. Current practice of manufacture of these widely produced building materials does not use clay brick fines due to a lack of technical information on this renewable resource material. Findings of this study will provide a benchmark for the development of new generation building products worldwide utlilising clay brick fines.Read moreRead less
Zeolitic Nanoflake-Polymer Composite Membranes for Low Energy Desalination. The desalination of seawater is becoming an important source of drinking water for Australia. The current desalination process using polymer membranes is energy-intensive. The proposed project will contribute to the development of low energy desalination technology by advancing membrane design and fabrication techniques. The use of zeolitic nanoflake-polymer composite membranes developed in this project is expected to su ....Zeolitic Nanoflake-Polymer Composite Membranes for Low Energy Desalination. The desalination of seawater is becoming an important source of drinking water for Australia. The current desalination process using polymer membranes is energy-intensive. The proposed project will contribute to the development of low energy desalination technology by advancing membrane design and fabrication techniques. The use of zeolitic nanoflake-polymer composite membranes developed in this project is expected to substantially reduce energy consumption in the desalination process. This research will produce important economic and environmental benefits by developing a green technology for fresh water production and water treatment for power generation, irrigation and other industrial uses.Read moreRead less
Creating pH-sensitive self-healing concrete using sludge waste for sewers. In Australia, our 117,000 km of concrete sewer pipes are currently internally corroding at a depth rate of 1-3 mm per annum. The repair of deteriorated concrete is costly and often short-lived. Based on an advanced composite technology, this project will develop a pH-sensitive self-healing concrete that can repair itself without human intervention at the early stage of corrosion. Sludge waste from drinking water treatment ....Creating pH-sensitive self-healing concrete using sludge waste for sewers. In Australia, our 117,000 km of concrete sewer pipes are currently internally corroding at a depth rate of 1-3 mm per annum. The repair of deteriorated concrete is costly and often short-lived. Based on an advanced composite technology, this project will develop a pH-sensitive self-healing concrete that can repair itself without human intervention at the early stage of corrosion. Sludge waste from drinking water treatment will be utilised as a healing agent to mitigate the corrosion. Combined experiments and molecular dynamics simulation will uncover all aspects of the healing process to enable the practical application of this technology. The findings will extend the lifetime of concrete structures and promote a circular economy.Read moreRead less
Novel biodegradable starch/clay nanocomposites with enhanced strength and moisture resistance. The outcomes of the project will make an important contribution to a new technology of biodegradable polymer nanocomposites based on natural starch and clay. The project has direct environmental benefit due to the complete biodegradation of the resulting starch/clay nanocomposites which will be able to replace some non-biodegradable polymers in packaging and disposable bags, cups and boxes, etc. The re ....Novel biodegradable starch/clay nanocomposites with enhanced strength and moisture resistance. The outcomes of the project will make an important contribution to a new technology of biodegradable polymer nanocomposites based on natural starch and clay. The project has direct environmental benefit due to the complete biodegradation of the resulting starch/clay nanocomposites which will be able to replace some non-biodegradable polymers in packaging and disposable bags, cups and boxes, etc. The reduction in use of non-biodegradable polymers will be helpful to solve the "white pollution" and improve our living environments. This study will result in huge economic benefits for the national agriculture and plastic industries since Australia has a large starch production, and will enable Australia to be at the leading edge in this area.Read moreRead less
Modelling of polydisperse particle-fluid reacting flows. Complex polydisperse particle-fluid reacting flows are widely practised in many industries where particle size distribution is wide and particle number is huge, yet the process design and optimisation are hindered by the lack of fundamental understanding of the complex reacting flows, particularly polydispersity and interactions. The project will tackle this specific challenge by developing a novel particle-scale mathematical model by inco ....Modelling of polydisperse particle-fluid reacting flows. Complex polydisperse particle-fluid reacting flows are widely practised in many industries where particle size distribution is wide and particle number is huge, yet the process design and optimisation are hindered by the lack of fundamental understanding of the complex reacting flows, particularly polydispersity and interactions. The project will tackle this specific challenge by developing a novel particle-scale mathematical model by incorporating new numerical techniques of interphase heat/mass transfers, polydispersity and computation speed-up; and applying it to two typical industry processes for demonstration. The outcomes will be applied across a range of industries of vital importance to Australian economic and technological future.Read moreRead less
Defining Fundamental Principles for the Design and Operation of Membrane Systems from Time-Varying Performance Analysis. To date, much of the process improvement for industrial application of membrane technology has revolved around polymer science based development of membrane materials and process and module changes resulting from the application of basic (often simplistic) engineering principles. While some future improvements may still come from these areas, the most dramatic advances are li ....Defining Fundamental Principles for the Design and Operation of Membrane Systems from Time-Varying Performance Analysis. To date, much of the process improvement for industrial application of membrane technology has revolved around polymer science based development of membrane materials and process and module changes resulting from the application of basic (often simplistic) engineering principles. While some future improvements may still come from these areas, the most dramatic advances are likely to be derived from the application of advanced engineering principles to this complex system. This project will integrate advanced CFD modelling and control principles for the design and operation of membrane systems in order to develop fundamental understanding that should lead to significant process improvements.Read moreRead less
A Green Technology for Enhancing Resource Recovery from Sewage Sludge. This project aims to develop an innovative technology to recover valuable resource from sewage sludge by enhancing transformation of sewage sludge into high-value medium chain fatty acids and methane. Wastewater treatment generates large amounts of resource-rich sewage sludge. However, the poor biodegradability of sewage sludge is a key barrier that impedes the efficient resource recovery. By advancing the underpinning scienc ....A Green Technology for Enhancing Resource Recovery from Sewage Sludge. This project aims to develop an innovative technology to recover valuable resource from sewage sludge by enhancing transformation of sewage sludge into high-value medium chain fatty acids and methane. Wastewater treatment generates large amounts of resource-rich sewage sludge. However, the poor biodegradability of sewage sludge is a key barrier that impedes the efficient resource recovery. By advancing the underpinning science and introducing a novel technology that innovatively harnesses a human waste, the project expects to remove the barrier. Expected project outcomes will turn sewage sludge from an undesirable waste to a valuable resource. This should provide significant benefits for Australia’s renewable energy and resource sectors.Read moreRead less