MoistureMap: A soil moisture monitoring, prediction and reporting system for sustainable land and water management. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal variation of surface and root zone soil moisture content is critical to environmental sustainability and risk adverse farm management. A paddock scale soil moisture prediction tool will allow i) grain growers to make informed decisions of what to plant and when, based on likely germination rates and crop yield, ii) graziers to be proactive rega ....MoistureMap: A soil moisture monitoring, prediction and reporting system for sustainable land and water management. Knowledge of the spatial and temporal variation of surface and root zone soil moisture content is critical to environmental sustainability and risk adverse farm management. A paddock scale soil moisture prediction tool will allow i) grain growers to make informed decisions of what to plant and when, based on likely germination rates and crop yield, ii) graziers to be proactive regarding management of stocking rates based on likely pasture growth, and iii) better weather and climate prediction skill. At regional scales moisture information can be used to support claims of drought exceptional circumstances.Read moreRead less
Design of Advanced Geopolymeric Materials Based on Nanostructural Characterisation and Modelling. Geopolymers are a class of advanced aluminosilicate materials primarily utilised in the construction and building products industries, where their application as a replacement for ordinary Portland cement provides the potential for highly significant Greenhouse gas emission reductions. Australian research has led to the increasingly widespread commercial use of this technology in a range of areas. D ....Design of Advanced Geopolymeric Materials Based on Nanostructural Characterisation and Modelling. Geopolymers are a class of advanced aluminosilicate materials primarily utilised in the construction and building products industries, where their application as a replacement for ordinary Portland cement provides the potential for highly significant Greenhouse gas emission reductions. Australian research has led to the increasingly widespread commercial use of this technology in a range of areas. Development of a full understanding of the exact chemical structure of geopolymers is essential to finding and developing new applications for these materials as well as maximising their use in known applications.Read moreRead less
Advanced Nanocomposites for Enhanced Containment of Hyper-Saline Leachate. This research project seeks to apply nanotechnology approaches to develop tailored materials that are green and cost-effective, which minimise groundwater contamination by hyper-saline industrial leachates and process waters. Australian industries will benefit from lower costs associated with storage, processing and reclamation of process waters, as well as from reduced environmental fines levied by the Environmental Prot ....Advanced Nanocomposites for Enhanced Containment of Hyper-Saline Leachate. This research project seeks to apply nanotechnology approaches to develop tailored materials that are green and cost-effective, which minimise groundwater contamination by hyper-saline industrial leachates and process waters. Australian industries will benefit from lower costs associated with storage, processing and reclamation of process waters, as well as from reduced environmental fines levied by the Environmental Protection Agency due to significantly reduced barrier failure and groundwater contaminations. Australian businesses involved in manufacture, design and construction of environmental barrier systems will have access to new materials and improved technology.Read moreRead less
Expert judgment of environmental health risks from exposures to contaminants in urban water systems. Sustainable urban water policy requires informed risk management procedures for health and environmental risks from exposures to many contaminants in urban water systems. This research articulates with the National Water Quality Management Strategy and national guidelines for drinking and recycled water; and it shows barriers to successful community adoption of new sustainable water technologies. ....Expert judgment of environmental health risks from exposures to contaminants in urban water systems. Sustainable urban water policy requires informed risk management procedures for health and environmental risks from exposures to many contaminants in urban water systems. This research articulates with the National Water Quality Management Strategy and national guidelines for drinking and recycled water; and it shows barriers to successful community adoption of new sustainable water technologies. Technical advances in modelling expert opinion will contribute to improved standardised risk assessment frameworks throughout government. The research is fundamental for better decision-making for regulators, suppliers, and managers and it will influence the international development of similar guidelines for sustainable urban water use.Read moreRead less
Thermal isolation: a novel pathway to transforming complex waste. This project aims to establish a novel pathway for transforming complex waste otherwise destined for landfill into valuable products and resources. By leveraging high temperature reactions, the team plans to thermally isolate useful carbons and silica from within automotive shredder residue (ASR) in situ, to produce activated carbon products and silica layers, and so completely recycle this bulk toxic waste for the first time. Suc ....Thermal isolation: a novel pathway to transforming complex waste. This project aims to establish a novel pathway for transforming complex waste otherwise destined for landfill into valuable products and resources. By leveraging high temperature reactions, the team plans to thermally isolate useful carbons and silica from within automotive shredder residue (ASR) in situ, to produce activated carbon products and silica layers, and so completely recycle this bulk toxic waste for the first time. Such innovative new pathways for separating out valuable materials from complex and toxic wastes offer industries an alternative low-cost and sustainable source of raw materials, while reducing pressures on landfills and finite natural resources.Read moreRead less
Overcoming performance limiting chemistries in membrane distillation. This project aims to study performance limiting chemistries associated with fouling of solution-borne components on membrane surfaces that cause critical vapour pressure loss. Membrane distillation could be used for sustainable resource recovery, but no research has overcome the total loss of membrane water flux when removing water from saturated solutions where the critical resource recovery function occurs. This project will ....Overcoming performance limiting chemistries in membrane distillation. This project aims to study performance limiting chemistries associated with fouling of solution-borne components on membrane surfaces that cause critical vapour pressure loss. Membrane distillation could be used for sustainable resource recovery, but no research has overcome the total loss of membrane water flux when removing water from saturated solutions where the critical resource recovery function occurs. This project will characterise the physical and chemical properties of the flux limiting solid on the membrane surface, and the role of membrane chemistry and functional conditions in overcoming this limit. The outcomes of the work will provide innovative sustainable solutions to recover valuable products from current wastes.Read moreRead less
On-Chip Detection and Molecular Fingerprinting of Emerging Toxicants. The project aims to address key questions about the development and integration of advanced materials and functional molecules into cutting-edge analytical tools for screening emerging environmental pollutants. This is expected to generate fundamental and applied knowledge in analytical chemistry, using an interdisciplinary approach to engineer materials with precisely tailored properties for ultra-sensitive and selective dete ....On-Chip Detection and Molecular Fingerprinting of Emerging Toxicants. The project aims to address key questions about the development and integration of advanced materials and functional molecules into cutting-edge analytical tools for screening emerging environmental pollutants. This is expected to generate fundamental and applied knowledge in analytical chemistry, using an interdisciplinary approach to engineer materials with precisely tailored properties for ultra-sensitive and selective detection of extremely persistent toxicants in water. Anticipated outcomes are optical materials and functional molecules, integrated into lab-on-a-chip platforms with advanced features for real-life environmental applications – with significant benefits for addressing major environmental and health treats to our society.Read moreRead less
Accurately locating the depth and distribution of saline waters with improved shallow conductivity sounding using broadcast radio transmissions. Conductivity meters such as the EM31 are in routine use for mapping shallow salinity, but provide no depth information. This research will provide methodology using broadcast radio transmissions to additionally provide the depth information needed to interpret shallow layering and inhomogeneity. Instruments will initially be tested on the ground, but a ....Accurately locating the depth and distribution of saline waters with improved shallow conductivity sounding using broadcast radio transmissions. Conductivity meters such as the EM31 are in routine use for mapping shallow salinity, but provide no depth information. This research will provide methodology using broadcast radio transmissions to additionally provide the depth information needed to interpret shallow layering and inhomogeneity. Instruments will initially be tested on the ground, but are ultimately intended to be applied from the air, where existing systems have no resolution in the top 5 m. The method will provide crucial root-zone data for precision agriculture in salt-affected areas, and address accurate salt mapping issues in the major efforts to combat Australia's salinity problems.Read moreRead less
Mineral transformation and oxidant production in subsurface environments. Sporadic influx of oxygen-rich rainwater / groundwater into subsurface waste sites induces dramatic biogeochemical changes which greatly influence the transport of contaminants present. In this project, fundamental knowledge gaps regarding the impacts of redox oscillations upon contaminant behaviour in these sediments will be addressed through a comprehensive program of field studies at a purpose-constructed experimental f ....Mineral transformation and oxidant production in subsurface environments. Sporadic influx of oxygen-rich rainwater / groundwater into subsurface waste sites induces dramatic biogeochemical changes which greatly influence the transport of contaminants present. In this project, fundamental knowledge gaps regarding the impacts of redox oscillations upon contaminant behaviour in these sediments will be addressed through a comprehensive program of field studies at a purpose-constructed experimental facility in an existing waste site, and complementary laboratory investigations. The intended outcomes are to improve understanding of contaminant mobility at the field-scale in these pervasive sites spread across the globe, and provide critical insight into their remediation using cost-effective techniques.Read moreRead less
Physics of combustion of multicomponent alternative transport fuels. Reducing Australian reliance on imported fuels, especially oil, will enhance the Australian long term energy outlook and the national energy security, and will assist Australia to reach future greenhouse gas emission targets. At a local level, the production of alternative transport fuels has the potential to provide rural Australia with a sustainable biomass-based industry. The establishment of fast growing wood plantations ....Physics of combustion of multicomponent alternative transport fuels. Reducing Australian reliance on imported fuels, especially oil, will enhance the Australian long term energy outlook and the national energy security, and will assist Australia to reach future greenhouse gas emission targets. At a local level, the production of alternative transport fuels has the potential to provide rural Australia with a sustainable biomass-based industry. The establishment of fast growing wood plantations to supply the needs of the new industry can assist regions of low rain-fall and high salinity to recover. Exporting advanced Australian alternative fuels technology to other countries with similar energy and environmental problems will further enhance the economic and social benefit to Australia.Read moreRead less