Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354656
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Particulate Science and Technology Network. Particulate Science and Technology (PST) is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary research field concerned with particle-related phenomena at different time and length scales and represents a very significant research and development effort in Australia for many years. This network is formed by linking the world-recognized research centres/groups with different expertise. Its aim is to provide greater collaboration among the Australian and overseas re ....Particulate Science and Technology Network. Particulate Science and Technology (PST) is a rapidly developing interdisciplinary research field concerned with particle-related phenomena at different time and length scales and represents a very significant research and development effort in Australia for many years. This network is formed by linking the world-recognized research centres/groups with different expertise. Its aim is to provide greater collaboration among the Australian and overseas researchers and enhance the scale and focus of particulate research. It will help develop and maintain Australia's leading position in PST, generating massive research outcomes and training that can lead to improvement in resource, energy, process and allied industries.Read moreRead less
High performance conductive mesoporous carbon electrodes: a low energy desalination alternative. The high cost of existing desalination technology has limited its wider application. There is an urgent need for alternatives which require less energy than current methods. The proposed electrosorption process utilising porous carbon electrodes has the advantage of very low energy demand. Electrosorption therefore has the opportunity to become an alternative desalination option for application in a ....High performance conductive mesoporous carbon electrodes: a low energy desalination alternative. The high cost of existing desalination technology has limited its wider application. There is an urgent need for alternatives which require less energy than current methods. The proposed electrosorption process utilising porous carbon electrodes has the advantage of very low energy demand. Electrosorption therefore has the opportunity to become an alternative desalination option for application in a national and global water desalination market. Advancement in water desalination technology has the potential for a profound social, economical and environmental impact. This vital research is aligned with the National Research Priority 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia; Priority Goal: Water, A critical resource.Read moreRead less
New nanocomposites of porous materials and visible light sensitive TiO2 for efficient wastewater purification. The innovative newly proposed materials can trap and efficiently decompose dissolved organics in the same process, without generating any waste for disposal. No UV is required and the solar radiation can be efficiently used. The proposed research will be a significant breakthrough in the field of water treatment that reduces energy consumption, uses low cost materials and provides a rea ....New nanocomposites of porous materials and visible light sensitive TiO2 for efficient wastewater purification. The innovative newly proposed materials can trap and efficiently decompose dissolved organics in the same process, without generating any waste for disposal. No UV is required and the solar radiation can be efficiently used. The proposed research will be a significant breakthrough in the field of water treatment that reduces energy consumption, uses low cost materials and provides a real solution. The research findings will be useful to a wide spectrum of manufacturing industries which are currently generating slightly contaminated wastewater, and will be beneficial to the community in general. At the same time, the industries will be a step forward toward sustainable manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Solar Nano-photocatalytic Disinfection and Mineralization of Treated Wastewater from Sewage Treatment Plants. Reuse of the treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants (STPs) has become significantly important in Australia due to dwindling water resources. The poor quality of the wastewater has limited its use for agriculture and aquaculture. This project aims to develop a solar nano-photocatalytic tertiary wastewater treatment process for disinfection and mineralization of the treated waste ....Solar Nano-photocatalytic Disinfection and Mineralization of Treated Wastewater from Sewage Treatment Plants. Reuse of the treated wastewater from sewage treatment plants (STPs) has become significantly important in Australia due to dwindling water resources. The poor quality of the wastewater has limited its use for agriculture and aquaculture. This project aims to develop a solar nano-photocatalytic tertiary wastewater treatment process for disinfection and mineralization of the treated wastewater from STPs, making the wastewater suitable as a water resource. The newly developed nano-fibre catalysts and photocatalytic technology in the teatm will be used and further developed in this novel process. The research will focus on the water quality objectives in terms of technical reliability, and economic and environmental sustainability.Read moreRead less
SYNTHESIS OF A NANO-STRUCTURED TITANIA SURFACE AND ITS APPLICATION IN PHOTOCATALYTIC OXIDATION FOR WATER TREATMENT. Australia is facing severe freshwater crisis. Although there is an increasing public awareness of saving and using water efficiently, re-using water/wastewater has been neglected. In Australia, 97% of city runoff and 86% of effluent water is unproductive. How to recycle and re-use them becomes an urgent issue. This project attempts to develop novel titania based photocatalysts to c ....SYNTHESIS OF A NANO-STRUCTURED TITANIA SURFACE AND ITS APPLICATION IN PHOTOCATALYTIC OXIDATION FOR WATER TREATMENT. Australia is facing severe freshwater crisis. Although there is an increasing public awareness of saving and using water efficiently, re-using water/wastewater has been neglected. In Australia, 97% of city runoff and 86% of effluent water is unproductive. How to recycle and re-use them becomes an urgent issue. This project attempts to develop novel titania based photocatalysts to convert organic contaminated water into reusable/potable freshwater. The project's innovation lies in the synthesis of highly reactive nano-structured titania surfaces in fixed form to solve downstream separation problem. Successful development of such photocatalysts will show significant environmental and socio-economic benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Nanotechnology enabled electrochemical energy storage materials from indigenous natural graphite. This project aims to develop a technology package for reclamation of fine-fractions of indigenous natural graphite to create high-value, nano-engineered 'graphene-based' energy storage materials. A multidisciplinary team of experts in materials science, chemical engineering, physics and electrochemistry will address this issue of national priority.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120102967
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Interaction between silver ions, silver nanoparticles and reactive oxygen species: implication to toxicity. The project investigates the ability of various different (supported and stabilised) types of nanosized silver particles (SNPs) to oxidatively degrade selected contaminants and or kill microorganism. The project also aims to determine the effect of solution condition (for example pH) and light on SNP longevity and hence their oxidative capacity.
Nanosilver antimicrobial resistance in target pathogens. This project aims to elucidate the important phenomena of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial nanosilver, currently one of the most developed and commercialised products of nanotechnology. The integrated research approach comprises of concurrent identification of the origins and routes of nanosilver toxicity in bacteria and the arising emergence and mechanisms of bacterial defence to the toxicity. The generated knowledge is to form a bas ....Nanosilver antimicrobial resistance in target pathogens. This project aims to elucidate the important phenomena of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial nanosilver, currently one of the most developed and commercialised products of nanotechnology. The integrated research approach comprises of concurrent identification of the origins and routes of nanosilver toxicity in bacteria and the arising emergence and mechanisms of bacterial defence to the toxicity. The generated knowledge is to form a base template for novel nanosilver engineering with less tendency for resistance development and to facilitate tracking of resistance and its spread amongst microorganisms. The knowledge has far-reaching implications on the better governance of nanosilver use, including its disposal.Read moreRead less
The Molecular Basis of Nanoparticle Resistance in Mixed-Species Biofilm. The project aims to understand how the globally significant mixed-species growth of pathogens develop resistance to silver nanoparticle, currently one of the most important alternative antimicrobials to antibiotics. The integrated research is to elucidate, for the first time, the nanoparticle multi-targeting toxicity on mixed-species bacterial community and how, in turn, the bacteria activate their cell-to-cell signalling f ....The Molecular Basis of Nanoparticle Resistance in Mixed-Species Biofilm. The project aims to understand how the globally significant mixed-species growth of pathogens develop resistance to silver nanoparticle, currently one of the most important alternative antimicrobials to antibiotics. The integrated research is to elucidate, for the first time, the nanoparticle multi-targeting toxicity on mixed-species bacterial community and how, in turn, the bacteria activate their cell-to-cell signalling for a synergistic defence to adapt to the nanoparticle toxicity. The pioneering knowledge is the foundation for technologies targeting the interspecies metabolite cross-talking to overcome the resistance phenomena, ensuring a long-term efficacy of the alternative antimicrobial on the difficult-to-control pathogenic growth.Read moreRead less
Optimizing the UV Protection of Textiles with Nano Zinc Oxide. Colour fading, due to poor fastness to light - especially ultraviolet light - is a critical problem that continues to plague the textile industry, especially for products such as flags, awnings and car upholstery that are used in outside applications and therefore exposed directly to sunlight. This research, in collaboration with Micronisers Pty Ltd, will develop improved nano zinc oxide formulations that will significantly reduce th ....Optimizing the UV Protection of Textiles with Nano Zinc Oxide. Colour fading, due to poor fastness to light - especially ultraviolet light - is a critical problem that continues to plague the textile industry, especially for products such as flags, awnings and car upholstery that are used in outside applications and therefore exposed directly to sunlight. This research, in collaboration with Micronisers Pty Ltd, will develop improved nano zinc oxide formulations that will significantly reduce the colour fading problems, and hence add value to the fledgling nano-tech (as well as traditional textile) industries in Australia. It could enable local production of a specialised textile finishing agent for export to major textile producers in South East Asia.Read moreRead less