Sewer Monitoring and Management in the Digital Era. Overflow, flooding, corrosion, and odorous emissions are persistent issues for utilities managing sewers. Current sewer maintenance is reactive, and focuses on solving problems in local networks, despite that optimal solutions require a system-wide approach. Capitalising on recent development in IoT sensors, wireless transmission, and machine learning, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop digital-twin supported data analytics for proa ....Sewer Monitoring and Management in the Digital Era. Overflow, flooding, corrosion, and odorous emissions are persistent issues for utilities managing sewers. Current sewer maintenance is reactive, and focuses on solving problems in local networks, despite that optimal solutions require a system-wide approach. Capitalising on recent development in IoT sensors, wireless transmission, and machine learning, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop digital-twin supported data analytics for proactive sewer management including network-wide real-time control. The project aims to generate significant social, environmental and economic benefits by enabling utilities to better protect public and environmental health, reduce sewer odour and greenhouse gas emissions, and extend sewer asset life.Read moreRead less
Reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from urban wastewater systems. This project aims to develop a systematic framework for water utilities to monitor and reduce direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater systems. A standardised monitoring protocol will be developed to conduct an unprecedented nationwide sampling campaign. The obtained data, with microbial characterisation and mechanism analysis, will be used to develop novel models for accurate prediction of GHG emissions. Expect ....Reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from urban wastewater systems. This project aims to develop a systematic framework for water utilities to monitor and reduce direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater systems. A standardised monitoring protocol will be developed to conduct an unprecedented nationwide sampling campaign. The obtained data, with microbial characterisation and mechanism analysis, will be used to develop novel models for accurate prediction of GHG emissions. Expected outcomes include protocol to accurately monitor emissions, models to predict emission under various conditions, and mitigation guideline for typical plant configurations. The anticipated benefit is a significant reduction in GHG emissions from urban water industry and support it to meet net-zero-emission goal by 2050.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC220100003
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,930,205.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Biofilm Research and Innovation . The ARC Training Centre for Biofilm Research and Innovation aims to transform biofouling management strategies for maritime platforms by building on local and international expertise to mentor and train the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers. Anticipating evolving regulatory stringency, this project expects to establish a dynamic environment for industry partners, students and scientists to collaborate and devel ....ARC Training Centre for Biofilm Research and Innovation . The ARC Training Centre for Biofilm Research and Innovation aims to transform biofouling management strategies for maritime platforms by building on local and international expertise to mentor and train the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists and engineers. Anticipating evolving regulatory stringency, this project expects to establish a dynamic environment for industry partners, students and scientists to collaborate and develop biofilm management strategies. Expected outcomes include new and enhanced collaborations that advance and translate knowledge to better manage biofouling. The significant benefits will include a generation of industry-focused researchers critical for growing Australia’s Defence industry.Read moreRead less
Effect of faults and barriers on groundwater flow and solute transport. This project will address the role of faults and dykes on groundwater flow and solute transport. Faults and dykes can act as barriers to groundwater flow, yet faults can also be conduits for flow through otherwise impermeable layers. Understanding their role is critical to assessing the impacts of mining, unconventional gas and water resource developments. This project expects to develop new methods to quantify groundwater f ....Effect of faults and barriers on groundwater flow and solute transport. This project will address the role of faults and dykes on groundwater flow and solute transport. Faults and dykes can act as barriers to groundwater flow, yet faults can also be conduits for flow through otherwise impermeable layers. Understanding their role is critical to assessing the impacts of mining, unconventional gas and water resource developments. This project expects to develop new methods to quantify groundwater flow through and along faults and dykes by combining geological, hydraulic and geochemical approaches with detailed 3D numerical models. The expected outcome will be an improved understanding of the role of faults and barriers in subsurface hydrology, and an improved ability to model complex groundwater systems.Read moreRead less
Carbon nanotube fluidic channels for desalination - interplay of nanoscale confinement and electrostatics. Tiny tubes of carbon, ten thousand times smaller than human hair, allow water to pass through at extraordinary speed. This project aims to understand and improve their salt rejection properties using comprehensive experimental and theoretical approaches. This will provide the impetus and knowledge for developing advanced membranes for desalination
Groundwater flow age distributions: Understanding open pit mine hydrology. This project aims to improve the estimation of the age of groundwater. Understanding groundwater age is critical for sustainable management and environmental tracers are increasingly used for this purpose. However, groundwater samples are inevitably mixtures of water of different ages. Since for most tracers the relationship between tracer concentration and age is not linear, different tracers can produce different mean a ....Groundwater flow age distributions: Understanding open pit mine hydrology. This project aims to improve the estimation of the age of groundwater. Understanding groundwater age is critical for sustainable management and environmental tracers are increasingly used for this purpose. However, groundwater samples are inevitably mixtures of water of different ages. Since for most tracers the relationship between tracer concentration and age is not linear, different tracers can produce different mean ages for the sample. This project aims to determine whether it is possible to determine moments of the groundwater age distributions from measurements made with different environmental tracers. The project also aims to examine whether the degree of heterogeneity within the aquifer can be determined from the disparity between ages obtained with different tracers. This project aims to tackle the largest problem with using groundwater chemistry to estimate water age – that mixing processes in the subsurface are never known. Solving this problem will allow much more accurate estimates of groundwater velocity and aquifer recharge rates. The groundwater industry contributes an estimated $6.8 billion per annum to the Australian economy, and this project will contribute to the sustainable management of the groundwater resource.Read moreRead less
Unlocking the secrets of the groundwater cycle using Si and Li isotopes. This project aims to determine how non-conventional lithium and silicon isotopes can be used to understand groundwater processes using an innovative source-to-target approach. The project aims to apply these isotope tracers to trace the water cycle within a well constrained system: an island aquifer with a dense borefield which has been analysed using traditional isotopic techniques. Supporting hydrochemical data will be us ....Unlocking the secrets of the groundwater cycle using Si and Li isotopes. This project aims to determine how non-conventional lithium and silicon isotopes can be used to understand groundwater processes using an innovative source-to-target approach. The project aims to apply these isotope tracers to trace the water cycle within a well constrained system: an island aquifer with a dense borefield which has been analysed using traditional isotopic techniques. Supporting hydrochemical data will be used to determine the relationship of the isotopes with environmental processes. The project impact will be the development of new methods to help understand our groundwater resource. The improved process understanding will be translated to groundwater management in general. The projects' focus on carbonate aquifer systems typical of coastal regions of southern, eastern and western Australia will have relevance to groundwater management in urban areas such as Perth and in rural areas for tourism and viticulture, and for management of natural resources in National Parks.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0668452
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$290,000.00
Summary
A research grade liquid chromatograph - mass spectrometer for quantitative analysis of trace organic analytes in complex matrices. The ARC has provided matching funding of $300K to a consortium of Australian universities, CSIRO, CRCs, water utilities and other research centres for an investment in a modern system for measurement of organic species in complex mixtures. The system, called a liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer, has application in environmental studies of soils, sediments and nat ....A research grade liquid chromatograph - mass spectrometer for quantitative analysis of trace organic analytes in complex matrices. The ARC has provided matching funding of $300K to a consortium of Australian universities, CSIRO, CRCs, water utilities and other research centres for an investment in a modern system for measurement of organic species in complex mixtures. The system, called a liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer, has application in environmental studies of soils, sediments and natural waters; in control of quality of potable water supplies; studies of natural products and plant extracts; and in studies related to petroleum exploration, production, and environmental issues. Read moreRead less
Transistor-based sensor technology for fast, reliable and accurate in situ monitoring of recycled wastewater. Water recycling is becoming critical for water supplies worldwide, due to declining natural supplies of fresh water, combined with increasing demand. The greatest community and industry concerns over recycled water are quality assurance and relative cost. Ensuring quality requires monitoring of contaminants, yet no single real-time technology exists to measure the myriad of potential con ....Transistor-based sensor technology for fast, reliable and accurate in situ monitoring of recycled wastewater. Water recycling is becoming critical for water supplies worldwide, due to declining natural supplies of fresh water, combined with increasing demand. The greatest community and industry concerns over recycled water are quality assurance and relative cost. Ensuring quality requires monitoring of contaminants, yet no single real-time technology exists to measure the myriad of potential contaminants. This project will develop technology using AlGaN/GaN-based transistors, sensitised to different contaminants, enabling multi-analyte real-time sensor arrays. In situ monitoring systems based on such arrays will be fast, accurate, reliable, low-cost, and applicable to a broad variety of water recycling projects.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882836
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,000.00
Summary
A novel isotope facility to characterise high-molecular-weight fractions of natural organic matter in soils, sediments, water, petroleum and coal. This facility will improve our ability to forecast environmental responses to future climate change, and help Australia manage current threats to its biodiversity. Furthermore, this research will increase the ability to identify crude oil sources, to the benefit of petroleum exploration in Australia. This facility will also contribute to an improved u ....A novel isotope facility to characterise high-molecular-weight fractions of natural organic matter in soils, sediments, water, petroleum and coal. This facility will improve our ability to forecast environmental responses to future climate change, and help Australia manage current threats to its biodiversity. Furthermore, this research will increase the ability to identify crude oil sources, to the benefit of petroleum exploration in Australia. This facility will also contribute to an improved understanding of controls on water quality and will help to protect our precious freshwater resources, already under intense pressure from climate change. Importantly, this project will enable students and young professionals to be trained in state-of-the-art technology, leading to quality scientists ready for employment in industry.
Read moreRead less