Energy Neutral Anthropogenic Nitrogen Management. This project aims to develop an innovative energy-neutral biological ammonium management strategy based on a novel anaerobic ammonia oxidation pathway. Ammonium-rich waste streams from urban and agricultural settings are a major cause of eutrophication and impose severe environmental burdens to human and ecological health. This project is expected to fundamentally change how we manage ammonium pollution, and will have immediate applicability to e ....Energy Neutral Anthropogenic Nitrogen Management. This project aims to develop an innovative energy-neutral biological ammonium management strategy based on a novel anaerobic ammonia oxidation pathway. Ammonium-rich waste streams from urban and agricultural settings are a major cause of eutrophication and impose severe environmental burdens to human and ecological health. This project is expected to fundamentally change how we manage ammonium pollution, and will have immediate applicability to engineered bioreactors systems. This will provide significant benefits in supporting a wide range of industries that struggle with finding affordable and net-zero ways to manage ammonium wastes, providing an important step to reach global net-zero carbon emissions.Read moreRead less
Mid-Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IM230100030
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$855,472.00
Summary
Transforming urban water management through technology translation . Through university and industry partnership, this project will develop and demonstrate, at pilot scale, a highly innovative technology that manufactures an iron salt, FeCO3, for use in urban water management, and simultaneously removes CO2, H2S and NH3 from biogas thus achieving biogas valorisation. This project will demonstrate the effectiveness of FeCO3 produced, in infrastructure protection, nutrients removal and recycling, ....Transforming urban water management through technology translation . Through university and industry partnership, this project will develop and demonstrate, at pilot scale, a highly innovative technology that manufactures an iron salt, FeCO3, for use in urban water management, and simultaneously removes CO2, H2S and NH3 from biogas thus achieving biogas valorisation. This project will demonstrate the effectiveness of FeCO3 produced, in infrastructure protection, nutrients removal and recycling, and capacity enhancement of wastewater treatment plants. The outcomes of this project will lead to the adoption and commercialisation of the technology, which will substantially enhance the sustainability of urban water management in Australia, and also create jobs in, and bring incomes to Australia. Read moreRead less
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100437
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,237.00
Summary
Nanobubbles for effective and energy efficient water treatment. This project aims to produce new knowledge for developing ozone nanobubbles as a technological option for the water industry where commercially suitable technologies are unavailable. Australian water utilities have identified two key challenges: destruction of micropollutants and natural organic matter in recycled and reservoir water, respectively. New knowledge from the project will allow these water utilities to utilise the extrao ....Nanobubbles for effective and energy efficient water treatment. This project aims to produce new knowledge for developing ozone nanobubbles as a technological option for the water industry where commercially suitable technologies are unavailable. Australian water utilities have identified two key challenges: destruction of micropollutants and natural organic matter in recycled and reservoir water, respectively. New knowledge from the project will allow these water utilities to utilise the extraordinary properties of nanobubbles and the strong oxidation capability of ozone for effective and energy efficient water treatment. Tech-transfer to the industry is guaranteed through a scientifically designed pilot plant for benchmarking against the current state of the art ozonation process and reverse osmosis.Read moreRead less
Sustainable Hydrogen Production from Used Water. The project aims to address the pressing challenge of water scarcity in hydrogen production by developing an innovative approach of using used water as the feed for water electrolysis. The project will result in an in-depth understanding of the impacts of water impurities in used water on the performance and durability of water electrolysers, and develop guidelines for the design of highly durable water electrolysers and the operation and upgrade ....Sustainable Hydrogen Production from Used Water. The project aims to address the pressing challenge of water scarcity in hydrogen production by developing an innovative approach of using used water as the feed for water electrolysis. The project will result in an in-depth understanding of the impacts of water impurities in used water on the performance and durability of water electrolysers, and develop guidelines for the design of highly durable water electrolysers and the operation and upgrade of existing wastewater treatment plants. The project will advance the practical applications of water electrolysis for scalable and sustainable hydrogen production and help Australia secure a leading position in the global emerging hydrogen economy.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of nutrient removal, membrane fouling and sludge dewatering in hybrid coagulation/submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters. Submerged membrane bioreactor technology for the treatment of wastewaters is now a competitive technology with small footprint and generally high quality of treated effluent. Despite this, challenges remain in ensuring low effluent nutrient concentrations, minimal membrane fouling and acceptable excess sludge dewaterability. Addition of iron or a ....Optimisation of nutrient removal, membrane fouling and sludge dewatering in hybrid coagulation/submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters. Submerged membrane bioreactor technology for the treatment of wastewaters is now a competitive technology with small footprint and generally high quality of treated effluent. Despite this, challenges remain in ensuring low effluent nutrient concentrations, minimal membrane fouling and acceptable excess sludge dewaterability. Addition of iron or aluminium-based coagulant chemicals can assist but many uncertainties with regard to choice of chemical, optimal dosing arrangements and membrane bioreactor operating conditions remain. Experimental and computational studies targeted at improving understanding and optimising performance will be undertaken through collaborative studies by the UNSW and Tsinghua University (Beijing) research team.Read moreRead less
Novel and cost effective mixing technique for anaerobic digesters in municipal wastewater treatment plants. The mixing system and the models that will be developed in this project will be useful in improving the energy efficiency of anaerobic digesters operated in many towns and cities. These improvements will help to reduce greenhouse emissions significantly and also lead to reduced household water bills, as wastewater treatment costs will decrease.
Advancing passive greywater treatment at household scale. Water recycling is increasingly encouraged in drought stricken Australia. The project aims to develop more energy efficient and less chemically driven treatment using passive processes to recycle greywater. The project will help in establishing sustainable communities across Australia and establish Australia as a world leader in water sustainability.
Iron and phosphorus recovery from ferric precipitation sludge. To minimise health risks and environmental pollution, water and wastewater treatment processes often use iron salts to eliminate phosphate and other pollutants. This generates large amounts of chemical sludge that is typically sent to landfill. The benefits of this new process will be the recovery of both the iron, which can be reused in the process, and the phosphate, which is a key component in fertiliser. Since phosphate is a limi ....Iron and phosphorus recovery from ferric precipitation sludge. To minimise health risks and environmental pollution, water and wastewater treatment processes often use iron salts to eliminate phosphate and other pollutants. This generates large amounts of chemical sludge that is typically sent to landfill. The benefits of this new process will be the recovery of both the iron, which can be reused in the process, and the phosphate, which is a key component in fertiliser. Since phosphate is a limited natural resource with an increasingly high value, the recovery and recycling of this critical element in food production is highly important. The process will also avoid a large part of the sludge production and will make the water treatment processes more cost-effective.Read moreRead less
Combating the spread of antibiotic resistance in urban water systems. This projects aims to investigate the occurrence, diversity, and transformation of antibiotic resistant genes in the entire urban water cycle. Using the latest metagenomic and analytical tools, this project will enhance our knowledge on fate and transfer mechanisms of antibiotic resistance genes in the urban water cycle. Based on this understanding, an expected outcome of the project is the development of innovative technologi ....Combating the spread of antibiotic resistance in urban water systems. This projects aims to investigate the occurrence, diversity, and transformation of antibiotic resistant genes in the entire urban water cycle. Using the latest metagenomic and analytical tools, this project will enhance our knowledge on fate and transfer mechanisms of antibiotic resistance genes in the urban water cycle. Based on this understanding, an expected outcome of the project is the development of innovative technologies for efficient reduction of antibiotic resistance genes to have future applications for environmental, human health and economic benefits for Australia.Read moreRead less