Catalytic Degardation of Emerging Microplastic Pollutants. This project aims to develop robust and low-cost nanocarbon hybrids and advanced remediation technology to address globally emerging microplastic contaminations. The project expects to boost innovations in development of novel magnetic nanomaterials, process of microplastic purification, and green catalysis. Expected outcomes of this project will include efficient strategies in materials fabrication and a cutting-edge nanotechnology. The ....Catalytic Degardation of Emerging Microplastic Pollutants. This project aims to develop robust and low-cost nanocarbon hybrids and advanced remediation technology to address globally emerging microplastic contaminations. The project expects to boost innovations in development of novel magnetic nanomaterials, process of microplastic purification, and green catalysis. Expected outcomes of this project will include efficient strategies in materials fabrication and a cutting-edge nanotechnology. The success of the project will underpin the scientific bases of carbocatalysis, provide significant benefits to the Australian industry and society for a sustainable future with clean water, and increase the leading capacity of Australia in fundamental research and frontier technology.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100253
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$450,948.00
Summary
Functional carbon hybrids for green catalysis and clean water. This project aims to develop a family of structure-tailored, robust and metal-free carbon hybrids and environmental-benign processes for catalytic degradation of emerging microcontaminants in water. Innovations are expected in the design of reaction-oriented nanocarbons, new concept in atomic level carbocatalysis from computation and in-situ characterisation, advanced purification technology, and breakthroughs in material engineering ....Functional carbon hybrids for green catalysis and clean water. This project aims to develop a family of structure-tailored, robust and metal-free carbon hybrids and environmental-benign processes for catalytic degradation of emerging microcontaminants in water. Innovations are expected in the design of reaction-oriented nanocarbons, new concept in atomic level carbocatalysis from computation and in-situ characterisation, advanced purification technology, and breakthroughs in material engineering. The anticipated outcomes will be the scientific basis for functional nanomaterials, nanotechnology, and green remediation technologies. Success will provide significant benefits in securing a sustainable future for Australia, with clean water and strategies for advanced manufacturing in related areas. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101074
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$424,500.00
Summary
Conversion of biowastes to porous carbon materials for green catalysis. This project aims to develop a family of biowaste-derived porous carbon and single-atom-anchored porous carbon catalysts for the degradation of emerging microcontaminants in water. Innovations are expected in systematically developing affordable, facile, productive, and sustainable approaches. Via reaction-oriented structure design, new concept will be defined at the atomic level using calculations and in situ characterisati ....Conversion of biowastes to porous carbon materials for green catalysis. This project aims to develop a family of biowaste-derived porous carbon and single-atom-anchored porous carbon catalysts for the degradation of emerging microcontaminants in water. Innovations are expected in systematically developing affordable, facile, productive, and sustainable approaches. Via reaction-oriented structure design, new concept will be defined at the atomic level using calculations and in situ characterisations in material engineering and advanced purification technology. The anticipated outcomes will provide fundamental knowledge in green nanotechnologies for water remediation. Success will secure a sustainable future for Australia with clean water and strategies for advanced manufacturing in relevant areas.Read moreRead less
Sustainable wastewater management. This project aims to extract high-value liquid products (medium-chain fatty acids) from wastewater with minimised greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, in addition to clean water. Traditional wastewater treatment removes organic carbon and nutrients by using vast amounts of energy and releasing greenhouse gas. However, wastewater is a substantial but largely untapped renewable resource. The intended outcome is to transform wastewater from a troubleso ....Sustainable wastewater management. This project aims to extract high-value liquid products (medium-chain fatty acids) from wastewater with minimised greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, in addition to clean water. Traditional wastewater treatment removes organic carbon and nutrients by using vast amounts of energy and releasing greenhouse gas. However, wastewater is a substantial but largely untapped renewable resource. The intended outcome is to transform wastewater from a troublesome pollutant to a valuable resource and reduce carbon footprints.Read moreRead less
Ultrathin membranes of novel structures for highly efficient water reuse. This project aims to develop a new generation of reverse osmosis membranes to enable significantly more efficient water reuse. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of membrane technology and wastewater reclamation using innovative designs of membrane structures and new techniques for membrane synthesis. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of highly permeable and high selective reve ....Ultrathin membranes of novel structures for highly efficient water reuse. This project aims to develop a new generation of reverse osmosis membranes to enable significantly more efficient water reuse. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of membrane technology and wastewater reclamation using innovative designs of membrane structures and new techniques for membrane synthesis. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of highly permeable and high selective reverse osmosis membranes. This project should provide significant benefits to water reuse by greatly improving product water quality and dramatically reducing its energy consumption by over 50 per cent, which in turn addresses the challenges of water scarcity and water-energy nexus.Read moreRead less
Microbial Control in Wastewater Systems Using a Renewable Material. The project aims to address 3 long-standing problems and an emerging problem for wastewater systems by developing a suite of innovative technologies for microbial control. These will use a renewable material from wastewater. The project expects to advance understanding of microbiology to improve processes for removing phosphorus, managing sludge bulking, cleaning membranes, and reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance. Expec ....Microbial Control in Wastewater Systems Using a Renewable Material. The project aims to address 3 long-standing problems and an emerging problem for wastewater systems by developing a suite of innovative technologies for microbial control. These will use a renewable material from wastewater. The project expects to advance understanding of microbiology to improve processes for removing phosphorus, managing sludge bulking, cleaning membranes, and reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance. Expected outcomes include substantial cost reduction, a secure resource future, and elimination of the need to use chemicals that present safety risks to workers and the environment. The project should benefit public health, the environment and the water industry, as well as create commercial opportunities in Australia.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100970
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,966.00
Summary
A novel technology for enhancing resource recovery from wastewater. This DECRA project aims to improve the performance and economics of wastewater management, by developing an innovative technology and the underpinning science that will enhance renewable energy production and nutrient recovery from sludge. This technology is based on the enhancement of resource recovery from anaerobic digestion using waste iron scraps that can be acquired from the waste of metal industry. The intended outcome of ....A novel technology for enhancing resource recovery from wastewater. This DECRA project aims to improve the performance and economics of wastewater management, by developing an innovative technology and the underpinning science that will enhance renewable energy production and nutrient recovery from sludge. This technology is based on the enhancement of resource recovery from anaerobic digestion using waste iron scraps that can be acquired from the waste of metal industry. The intended outcome of the project will substantially increase the profit and reduce the environmental burden of waste treatment, supporting Australia in the transition to a low carbon economy and a secure resource future. This project will produce significant economic, environmental and social benefits to water utilities.Read moreRead less
Contribution of Comammox Process to Sustainable Wastewater Treatment. This project aims to understand the versatility, activity and physiological features of comammox bacteria, the newly-discovered complete nitrifiers, in Australian wastewater treatment systems, and to model and evaluate their contributions to biological nitrogen removal process. Nitrogen transformations are crucial microbial processes in the wastewater treatment ecosystems, with nitrification largely responsible for ammonium ox ....Contribution of Comammox Process to Sustainable Wastewater Treatment. This project aims to understand the versatility, activity and physiological features of comammox bacteria, the newly-discovered complete nitrifiers, in Australian wastewater treatment systems, and to model and evaluate their contributions to biological nitrogen removal process. Nitrogen transformations are crucial microbial processes in the wastewater treatment ecosystems, with nitrification largely responsible for ammonium oxidation but comammox previously overlooked. The expected outcomes will develop new knowledge on the comammox process and provide novel insight and technological solution to refine strategies to manipulate nitrification processes for achieving improved biological nitrogen removal and sustainable wastewater management.Read moreRead less
Portable instrument for quantification and genotyping of Cryptosporidium . Cryptosporidium is a parasitic protozoan, causing more than 48,000 deaths in children under 5 and 7.2 million disability-adjusted-life-years globally. A low-cost device that rapidly detects the parasite in drinking and recreational water is needed to enable effective disease management practices. Partnering with Advanced Universal Diagnotik, Seqwater, ALS Water and Gold Coast Water, this project aims to develop a novel de ....Portable instrument for quantification and genotyping of Cryptosporidium . Cryptosporidium is a parasitic protozoan, causing more than 48,000 deaths in children under 5 and 7.2 million disability-adjusted-life-years globally. A low-cost device that rapidly detects the parasite in drinking and recreational water is needed to enable effective disease management practices. Partnering with Advanced Universal Diagnotik, Seqwater, ALS Water and Gold Coast Water, this project aims to develop a novel device, comprising advanced microfluidics and biosensing technology for parasite quantification, genotyping and viability analysis. Expected outcomes are improved Cryptosporidium management, risk prediction, and rapid mitigation of impending outbreaks. The proposed platform has a great potential for detecting other pathogens.Read moreRead less
Engineering better sprays for leaf coating: from drop impact to retention. This proposal aims to understand the performance of a unique rheological modifier that can enable an order of magnitude increase in coating efficiency for aerosol sprays while not affecting the quality of droplet formation during spraying. The effect occurs via a dispersed network of fibrous particles in water, providing a weak but useful ability to coat surfaces by responsively adjusting its structure. The material is ex ....Engineering better sprays for leaf coating: from drop impact to retention. This proposal aims to understand the performance of a unique rheological modifier that can enable an order of magnitude increase in coating efficiency for aerosol sprays while not affecting the quality of droplet formation during spraying. The effect occurs via a dispersed network of fibrous particles in water, providing a weak but useful ability to coat surfaces by responsively adjusting its structure. The material is expected to enable a broad array of applications, from agricultural treatments to nasal sprays, by exhibiting responsive behaviour at concentrations much lower than conventional modifiers require. The project will study the responsiveness of the system in single droplet, spray, and coating form as well as an active delivery system.Read moreRead less