Control of Hydrophobic Interactions between Gas Bubbles in Water and Their Role in Gas Hydrate Formation and Dissociation. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and its release in deep oceans and permafrost regions due to decomposition of methane hydrate, an ice-like crystalline, could potentially pose devastating threat to mankind. On the other hand, methane hydrate represents a vast energy potential to Australia and the remainder of the world. Understanding the mechanism of gas hydrate formati ....Control of Hydrophobic Interactions between Gas Bubbles in Water and Their Role in Gas Hydrate Formation and Dissociation. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, and its release in deep oceans and permafrost regions due to decomposition of methane hydrate, an ice-like crystalline, could potentially pose devastating threat to mankind. On the other hand, methane hydrate represents a vast energy potential to Australia and the remainder of the world. Understanding the mechanism of gas hydrate formation and dissociation is of fundamental importance to methane extraction and capture. This project employs state-of-the-art surface analytical tools to explore the mechanism of gas hydrate formation. The outcomes will strengthen Australia's leading role in scientific and technological development in this field. Read moreRead less
A Fundamental Understanding of Methane Driven Denitrification. Eutrophication in waterways due to the presence of nutrients including nitrogen is a well-recognised environmental problem. Moreton Bay, for example, used to receive 3,300 tons of nitrogen each year from point sources. Stringent nitrogen discharge limits have therefore been imposed on most wastewater treatment systems across Australia. Nitrogen removal from wastewater is commonly accomplished in a biological way involving the use of ....A Fundamental Understanding of Methane Driven Denitrification. Eutrophication in waterways due to the presence of nutrients including nitrogen is a well-recognised environmental problem. Moreton Bay, for example, used to receive 3,300 tons of nitrogen each year from point sources. Stringent nitrogen discharge limits have therefore been imposed on most wastewater treatment systems across Australia. Nitrogen removal from wastewater is commonly accomplished in a biological way involving the use of bacteria. The project aims to investigate a particular bacterial community, which is able to perform nitrogen removal from wastewater with methane as a renewable carbon source. The project will therefore lead to more sustainable wastewater treatment systems.Read moreRead less
Biofilm control in wastewater systems using free nitrous acid - a renewable material from wastewater. This project will deliver a technology and the underpinning science to deactivate and remove biofilms in wastewater systems using a renewable material that is produced from wastewater at a low cost. The technology has the potential to revolutionise the management of wastewater systems, bringing massive benefits to the water industry.
Disassembly Automation of End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Batteries. This project aims to develop an automated disassembly solution for End-of-Life (EOL) Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries, which is flexible and modular to handle the uncertainties associated with model changes, condition of the EOL battery packs as well as the projected volume growth. The outcome of this project will lead to a better separation of EV battery components and materials. This will allow recycling of EOL EV batteries with ....Disassembly Automation of End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Batteries. This project aims to develop an automated disassembly solution for End-of-Life (EOL) Electric Vehicle (EV) batteries, which is flexible and modular to handle the uncertainties associated with model changes, condition of the EOL battery packs as well as the projected volume growth. The outcome of this project will lead to a better separation of EV battery components and materials. This will allow recycling of EOL EV batteries with a higher material recovery efficiency and a lower cost due to the significantly reduced labor cost; hence substantially reduce the environmental footprint associated with EOL treatment of these batteries.Read moreRead less
Fundamental study on hydrogen desorption from nanoscale Magnesium (Mg) hydrides. Hydrogen storage is the most challenge in realizing the hydrogen economy, especially for on-board application in hydrogen-driving vehicles. Magnesium is among the few promising candidates of effective, safe, high density and cheap hydrogen storage, which has attracted tremendous interests of research. This project creates an innovative science and technology to solve the critical problem of hydrogen storage that wil ....Fundamental study on hydrogen desorption from nanoscale Magnesium (Mg) hydrides. Hydrogen storage is the most challenge in realizing the hydrogen economy, especially for on-board application in hydrogen-driving vehicles. Magnesium is among the few promising candidates of effective, safe, high density and cheap hydrogen storage, which has attracted tremendous interests of research. This project creates an innovative science and technology to solve the critical problem of hydrogen storage that will enhance the international reputation and impact of Australian research in nanoscience and nanothechnology. Realizing the practical hydrogen storage will also enable hydrogen vehicles soon in Australia that adds Australia great potential to reducing the reliance on fossil fuels and greenhouse emissions.Read moreRead less
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
Multi-component Gas Transport in Deep Coal. The understanding of multi-component gas flow in coal underlies the use, management and optimization of deep coal as an economic resource for methane recovery, CO2 sequestration, pipeline gas storage and underground gasification. This project will develop a predictive reservoir flow model for deep coal behavior under asymmetric, dynamically evolving internal and external stresses, during multi-component gas release or injection. A confluence of new too ....Multi-component Gas Transport in Deep Coal. The understanding of multi-component gas flow in coal underlies the use, management and optimization of deep coal as an economic resource for methane recovery, CO2 sequestration, pipeline gas storage and underground gasification. This project will develop a predictive reservoir flow model for deep coal behavior under asymmetric, dynamically evolving internal and external stresses, during multi-component gas release or injection. A confluence of new tools including a large sample, high pressure, triaxial stress permeameter, and micron resolved 3D reconstruction of the coal cleat and pore structure, will provide physical parameters to the fundamentally based, competitive transport and adsorption/desorption model.Read moreRead less
Advanced solar powered hydrogen production systems based on green algal cells. This project aims to enhance the efficiency of solar powered hydrogen production from water and will facilitate the co-production of H2 and oil through microalgal biofuel systems. This frontier science project will therefore deliver a process with high solar conversion efficiency and will deliver multiple product streams increasing profitability.
Drying sewage sludge using hot oil. The project seeks to investigate and develop an entirely new area of fundamental and applied research involving the process, mechanisms and kinetics of direct dehydration of sewage sludge by fry-drying in hot oil. Frying can be carried out as a drying process, though it not widely recognized or applied in this way, and has consequently not been exploited outside of the traditional food industries. It potentially provides a wide range of significant benefits ....Drying sewage sludge using hot oil. The project seeks to investigate and develop an entirely new area of fundamental and applied research involving the process, mechanisms and kinetics of direct dehydration of sewage sludge by fry-drying in hot oil. Frying can be carried out as a drying process, though it not widely recognized or applied in this way, and has consequently not been exploited outside of the traditional food industries. It potentially provides a wide range of significant benefits for sludge drying, including high efficiency and low costs, and produces a non-offensive product with a high energy value suitable for (renewable) power generation.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