Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR180100023
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$940,000.00
Summary
Thermal decomposition of PFAS. This project aims to investigate the thermal decomposition of per- and poly-fluroalkyl substances (PFAS). The project will focus on the catalytic destruction of PFAS reactions at elevated temperatures, which is expected to transform PFAS in a controlled and predictable way into benign products. By understanding the fate of these compounds during thermal decomposition, the project will allow the development of a new technology aimed at treating materials which have ....Thermal decomposition of PFAS. This project aims to investigate the thermal decomposition of per- and poly-fluroalkyl substances (PFAS). The project will focus on the catalytic destruction of PFAS reactions at elevated temperatures, which is expected to transform PFAS in a controlled and predictable way into benign products. By understanding the fate of these compounds during thermal decomposition, the project will allow the development of a new technology aimed at treating materials which have been contaminated with or have been used as absorbants for PFAS. The project will provide the technical underpinning of a new technology developed to treat fluorochemical-contaminated material and, in doing so, reduce the environmental impact of these contaminants.Read moreRead less
Catalytic conversion of Australia's natural gas to value added products. While natural gas (of which methane is the primary component) is an abundant source of energy, it is normally found in remote areas and for its successful exploitation it needs to be processed. The processing usually requires significant energy and resources input. In this project we will develop a fundamental understanding to a single step catalytic process that can utilise natural gas and nitrous oxide (both potent greenh ....Catalytic conversion of Australia's natural gas to value added products. While natural gas (of which methane is the primary component) is an abundant source of energy, it is normally found in remote areas and for its successful exploitation it needs to be processed. The processing usually requires significant energy and resources input. In this project we will develop a fundamental understanding to a single step catalytic process that can utilise natural gas and nitrous oxide (both potent greenhouse gases) and oxygen to produce selectively methanol and hydrocarbons from a natural gas feedstream in a controlled manner. A single step process for natural gas conversion utilising waste green-house gases is expected to be of great benefit to the Australian economy, environment and energy securityRead moreRead less
A System Behavioral Approach to Big Data-driven Nonlinear Process Control. This project aims to develop a novel process control approach that utilises big process data to improve the cost-effectiveness of industrial processes. Existing monitoring systems in the industry have been collecting a tremendous amount of process operation data but little effort has been made to use the big process data to enhance process operations. Based on the system behavioural approach and dissipativity theory, inte ....A System Behavioral Approach to Big Data-driven Nonlinear Process Control. This project aims to develop a novel process control approach that utilises big process data to improve the cost-effectiveness of industrial processes. Existing monitoring systems in the industry have been collecting a tremendous amount of process operation data but little effort has been made to use the big process data to enhance process operations. Based on the system behavioural approach and dissipativity theory, integrated with machine learning techniques, this project expects to develop a novel framework for data-driven control using big process data. The outcomes are expected to benefit the Australian process industry, where many processes are controlled by inadequate logic controllers, by improving their operational efficiency.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC200100023
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,920,490.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for The Global Hydrogen Economy. The centre aims to transform Australia into a hydrogen powerhouse by building enabling capacity in hydrogen innovation in a short timeframe. Australia is well-positioned to capitalise on the emerging global growth of hydrogen, however to be competitive and produce at scale, we need cost-effective hydrogen technologies and capabilities for transitioning hydrogen into industries. This innovative, five-year program will generate new technologies ....ARC Training Centre for The Global Hydrogen Economy. The centre aims to transform Australia into a hydrogen powerhouse by building enabling capacity in hydrogen innovation in a short timeframe. Australia is well-positioned to capitalise on the emerging global growth of hydrogen, however to be competitive and produce at scale, we need cost-effective hydrogen technologies and capabilities for transitioning hydrogen into industries. This innovative, five-year program will generate new technologies and equip a future workforce of industry-focused engineers with advanced skills for development and scaling-up of hydrogen generation and transport. Benefits include: export of hydrogen fuel and advanced technologies; job creation; and a lower emissions domestic energy industry.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100583
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$445,000.00
Summary
Engineering of biocatalysis in metal-organic frameworks for CO2 conversion. Transforming the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable fuels would be beneficial for relieving energy shortage and improving global sustainability. This project aims to architect a biocascade system in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for artificial CO2 conversion. Learned from the living organisms, a whole biocatalysis unit including enzymes and cofactors will be encased and protected in an artificial porous ....Engineering of biocatalysis in metal-organic frameworks for CO2 conversion. Transforming the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) into valuable fuels would be beneficial for relieving energy shortage and improving global sustainability. This project aims to architect a biocascade system in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for artificial CO2 conversion. Learned from the living organisms, a whole biocatalysis unit including enzymes and cofactors will be encased and protected in an artificial porous polymeric MOF coating. This approach is expected to deliver robust biocatalysts with high reaction-activity and chemo-selectivity in converting CO2 into methanol under the industrial operating condition, involving thermal, pH, and chemical stressors. This advancement will contribute to a carbon-neutral industry and society.Read moreRead less
Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based ....Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based waste (including food, garden, paper, and wood) and fossil-fuel derived materials (plastics). Using an innovative and environmentally-sustainable catalytic process, the outcomes of this project are aimed alleviating Australia’s dependence on diesel fuel imports and better waste management solutions in Australia.Read moreRead less
Advanced chemical recycling of mixed plastics for monomer recovery. This project aims to develop innovative catalytic routes to the chemical recycling of mixed plastics for recovery of their molecular building blocks. Plastic pollution poses a significant threat to the Australian ecosystem. Efficient recycling technologies are urgently needed as Australia only recycles ~4% of its 3.4 million tons of mixed waste plastics. This project expects to design highly efficient catalysts for the stepwise ....Advanced chemical recycling of mixed plastics for monomer recovery. This project aims to develop innovative catalytic routes to the chemical recycling of mixed plastics for recovery of their molecular building blocks. Plastic pollution poses a significant threat to the Australian ecosystem. Efficient recycling technologies are urgently needed as Australia only recycles ~4% of its 3.4 million tons of mixed waste plastics. This project expects to design highly efficient catalysts for the stepwise breakdown of mixed polyolefin plastics into monomers for the subsequent manufacturing of virgin plastics in a circular economy, and to elucidate fundamental underpinning reaction mechanisms. Outcomes will stimulate the Australian waste plastic recycling industry, and minimise plastic accumulation in the environment.Read moreRead less
Covalently immobilised molecular catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction. This project aims to develop innovative catalytic systems on semiconductor surfaces, to use sunlight for conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into high energy-content products. Sustainable chemical transformation of CO2 into valuable products, especially fuels, is one of the most important chemical processing challenges. This project will use innovative molecular engineering to covalently fix light-harvester to semiconductors ....Covalently immobilised molecular catalysts for carbon dioxide reduction. This project aims to develop innovative catalytic systems on semiconductor surfaces, to use sunlight for conversion of carbon dioxide (CO2) into high energy-content products. Sustainable chemical transformation of CO2 into valuable products, especially fuels, is one of the most important chemical processing challenges. This project will use innovative molecular engineering to covalently fix light-harvester to semiconductors. The expected outcome will be an efficient system to enhance CO2 conversion, which will not only reduce the environmental impact but also generate a cheap source of energy by closing the carbon loop. Using this approach, existing high carbon-emitting processes will be able to be replaced by new carbon-neutral or even carbon-negative ones for much-reduced environmental impact on our society.Read moreRead less
Data-based Control of Process Feature Dynamics through Latent Behaviours. This project aims to develop a novel data-based approach to control the feature dynamics of complex industrial processes. The dynamic features of desired process operations (leading to high energy and material efficiencies and good product quality) are often not directly measured but can be distilled from high-dimensional big process data. However, little effort has been made to develop process control approaches to achiev ....Data-based Control of Process Feature Dynamics through Latent Behaviours. This project aims to develop a novel data-based approach to control the feature dynamics of complex industrial processes. The dynamic features of desired process operations (leading to high energy and material efficiencies and good product quality) are often not directly measured but can be distilled from high-dimensional big process data. However, little effort has been made to develop process control approaches to achieve desired dynamic features. This project aims to develop such a data-based approach by controlling latent variable dynamics, using the behavioural systems framework integrated with big data analytics and artificial neural networks. The outcomes are expected to help build a cornerstone for future smart manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Scale-up of catalytic furandicarboxylic acid production at room temperature. This project will use new knowledge acquired from our laboratory-scale discoveries to develop a new process feasible for industrial-scale production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The method makes FDCA, a platform chemical for future chemical industry, from a completely renewable source derived from plant sugars, 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural. This is an essential process for production of biodegradable plastic from s ....Scale-up of catalytic furandicarboxylic acid production at room temperature. This project will use new knowledge acquired from our laboratory-scale discoveries to develop a new process feasible for industrial-scale production of 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). The method makes FDCA, a platform chemical for future chemical industry, from a completely renewable source derived from plant sugars, 5-hydroxymethyl-furfural. This is an essential process for production of biodegradable plastic from sugar that has not been commercialised. This technology will realise sizeable industrial-scale production of FDCA at low costs and without heating. The production development of this valuable commodity from renewable plant sugars will provide high-quality postgraduate training in future green chemical production methods.Read moreRead less