Optimal Source Control in Urban Water Cycle Management. Major opportunities exist to improve the management of the urban water cycle by better use of source control technology such as the use of rainwater tanks and water-sensitive design. This program will optimise the use of this technology at three scales, allotment, subdivision and regional, using genetic algorithms, parallel computing and shadow pricing. The aim is to minimise community lifecycle costs subject to sustainable use of ecosystem ....Optimal Source Control in Urban Water Cycle Management. Major opportunities exist to improve the management of the urban water cycle by better use of source control technology such as the use of rainwater tanks and water-sensitive design. This program will optimise the use of this technology at three scales, allotment, subdivision and regional, using genetic algorithms, parallel computing and shadow pricing. The aim is to minimise community lifecycle costs subject to sustainable use of ecosystems and maintenance of public health standards. The benefits include national savings of the order of $2 billion and significantly reduced demand on water supply and stormwater infrastructure and its supporting ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Characterisation and Treatment of Reverse Osmosis Concentrates from Water Recycling Applications. Concentrates from reverse osmosis (RO) pose a considerable threat to both the environment but also the successful implementation of reverse osmosis as a technology. Naturally, the concentrate contains everything that the RO retains and hence contaminants such as viruses, organics such as pharmaceutically active compounds and hormones as well as nutrients and salinity. Treatment of such waste streams ....Characterisation and Treatment of Reverse Osmosis Concentrates from Water Recycling Applications. Concentrates from reverse osmosis (RO) pose a considerable threat to both the environment but also the successful implementation of reverse osmosis as a technology. Naturally, the concentrate contains everything that the RO retains and hence contaminants such as viruses, organics such as pharmaceutically active compounds and hormones as well as nutrients and salinity. Treatment of such waste streams will enhance the health of receiving water bodies and reduce the risk of increased build up of contaminants if wastes are recycled into wastewater treatment plants. New ways to treat such contaminants will be explored, the efficiency and cost evaluated in the broader water cycle and sustainability framework.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0883080
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$490,000.00
Summary
Detection of Trace Concentrations of Chemical Contaminants in Urban Water Systems. Water is a critical resource in Australia and as pressures on water resources increase, water recycling is becoming more prevalent. The presence of chemical contaminants such as low concentrations (ng/L) of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), endocrine disrupters (EDCs) and other organic micropollutants in the aquatic environment has received much attention around the world including Australia due to their ....Detection of Trace Concentrations of Chemical Contaminants in Urban Water Systems. Water is a critical resource in Australia and as pressures on water resources increase, water recycling is becoming more prevalent. The presence of chemical contaminants such as low concentrations (ng/L) of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), endocrine disrupters (EDCs) and other organic micropollutants in the aquatic environment has received much attention around the world including Australia due to their potential biological impact in urban water systems. The proposed equipment aims to establish analytical techniques and instrumental capacity for the selective analysis of chemical contaminants in order to improve our understanding of the fate of these compounds through different urban water systems.Read moreRead less
Optimising dissolved air flotation (DAF) for algae removal by bubble modification in drinking water and advanced wastewater systems. Algal blooms in potable water reservoirs and advanced wastewater treatment lagoons can impact the performance and economic viability of water treatment processes resulting in taste and odour episodes and the risk of algal toxins as well as causing further limitation to already stressed water resources in Australia. This project aims to develop an adaptation of the ....Optimising dissolved air flotation (DAF) for algae removal by bubble modification in drinking water and advanced wastewater systems. Algal blooms in potable water reservoirs and advanced wastewater treatment lagoons can impact the performance and economic viability of water treatment processes resulting in taste and odour episodes and the risk of algal toxins as well as causing further limitation to already stressed water resources in Australia. This project aims to develop an adaptation of the dissolved air flotation process that is already used for algae treatment that will provide a more robust, economic and sustainable barrier to algal cells in accordance with the Australian Drinking and Recycled Water Guidelines.Read moreRead less
Ozone-Enhanced Particle Removal in Water Treatment. Combined ozonation/biologically active carbon filtration provides effective contaminant removal while minimizing disinfection by-product formation. However, the cost of installation in conventional water treatment plants is very high. This project will investigate the beneficial influence of ozonation on the micro-flocculation of small particles, with the aim to optimising particle removal by sedimentation prior to filtration. To do this, requi ....Ozone-Enhanced Particle Removal in Water Treatment. Combined ozonation/biologically active carbon filtration provides effective contaminant removal while minimizing disinfection by-product formation. However, the cost of installation in conventional water treatment plants is very high. This project will investigate the beneficial influence of ozonation on the micro-flocculation of small particles, with the aim to optimising particle removal by sedimentation prior to filtration. To do this, requires a clear understanding of how dissolved ozone interacts with particle surfaces for different water chemistries. The ideal outcome would be to develop a robust water treatment system that required BAC filtration only and eliminated the need for a conventional sand filtration stage as well.Read moreRead less
Investigation and optimisation of displacement ventilation and cooling systems. An accurate optimisation design tool for cooling and ventilation will be of considerable benefit to the Australian building/construction industry, and will lead to a reduction in energy consumption, thereby reducing both consumer costs and Australia's total greenhouse gas output, as well as providing Australian industry with a competitive advantage. Turbulence modelling for stratified fluids is one of the grand chall ....Investigation and optimisation of displacement ventilation and cooling systems. An accurate optimisation design tool for cooling and ventilation will be of considerable benefit to the Australian building/construction industry, and will lead to a reduction in energy consumption, thereby reducing both consumer costs and Australia's total greenhouse gas output, as well as providing Australian industry with a competitive advantage. Turbulence modelling for stratified fluids is one of the grand challenge areas of science, and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers trained in this area will be well placed to make a significant contribution to the new technologies needed to address the major environmental problems currently being faced.Read moreRead less
Turbulent fountains in stratified fluids with opposing buoyancy flux. Improved design tools will be developed for use in industries which must deal with turbulent fountains in stratified fluids. These tools will assist in the design of more efficient apparatus, reducing energy consumption and thereby reducing both consumer costs and Australia's total greenhouse gas output, as well as providing Australian industry with a competitive advantage. Turbulence modelling for stratified fluids is one of ....Turbulent fountains in stratified fluids with opposing buoyancy flux. Improved design tools will be developed for use in industries which must deal with turbulent fountains in stratified fluids. These tools will assist in the design of more efficient apparatus, reducing energy consumption and thereby reducing both consumer costs and Australia's total greenhouse gas output, as well as providing Australian industry with a competitive advantage. Turbulence modelling for stratified fluids is one of the grand challenge areas of science, and graduate students and postdoctoral researchers trained in this will provide continuing service to Australia in many areas of advanced engineering and science. Read moreRead less
An Investigation Into Fountains Interacting With Both Free Surface and Solid Boundaries. This project will produce an improved understanding of the behavior of fountains interacting with both free surface and solid boundaries. Such flows occur in many environmental and industrial processes and, in particular, the interaction of fountain with boundaries will have a significant influence on the overall performance of the processes. This investigation will combine experiments, numerical simulations ....An Investigation Into Fountains Interacting With Both Free Surface and Solid Boundaries. This project will produce an improved understanding of the behavior of fountains interacting with both free surface and solid boundaries. Such flows occur in many environmental and industrial processes and, in particular, the interaction of fountain with boundaries will have a significant influence on the overall performance of the processes. This investigation will combine experiments, numerical simulations and scaling analysis to provide new insight into the physics governing the behavior of these impinging fountains. Turbulence models will be developed and validated and scaling formulae will be obtained providing relationships for the basic flow properties in terms of the control parameters.Read moreRead less
Assessment and optimisation of N-nitrosamine rejection by reverse osmosis for planned potable water recycling applications. Water recycling is a strategic approach to secure potable water supplies in Australia. The underlying challenge is to protect public health by ensuring robust treatment processes capable of effectively eliminating contaminants of concern. This research aims to enhance the capabilities of advanced water treatment plant designers and operators to control N-nitrosamine concent ....Assessment and optimisation of N-nitrosamine rejection by reverse osmosis for planned potable water recycling applications. Water recycling is a strategic approach to secure potable water supplies in Australia. The underlying challenge is to protect public health by ensuring robust treatment processes capable of effectively eliminating contaminants of concern. This research aims to enhance the capabilities of advanced water treatment plant designers and operators to control N-nitrosamine concentrations by optimised reverse osmosis treatment. A predictive model will be developed allowing for the optimisation of N-nitrosamine removal by reverse osmosis filtration in full scale installation. The project will directly enhance the viability of indirect potable water recycling and thus reduce dependency on water sources vulnerable to climate change.Read moreRead less
Passive biofiltration processes for nitrogen removal from polluted waters. Traditional urban wastewater treatment is energy and resource demanding. By combining principles of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) with advanced pollutant removal processes, we will create necessary knowledge to underpin development of novel sustainable urban water treatment systems. This project aims to understand and utilise Simultaneous Nitrification, Anammox and Denitrification (SNAD) processes within passive pla ....Passive biofiltration processes for nitrogen removal from polluted waters. Traditional urban wastewater treatment is energy and resource demanding. By combining principles of Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) with advanced pollutant removal processes, we will create necessary knowledge to underpin development of novel sustainable urban water treatment systems. This project aims to understand and utilise Simultaneous Nitrification, Anammox and Denitrification (SNAD) processes within passive plant-soil-based biofilters for cost-effective removal of nitrogen from a range of polluted urban water sources. The project will open a potential for a new technological advancements in urban water management, while simultaneously providing benefits to the environment and community through greening and waterway protection.Read moreRead less