Methane Coupling Using Mixed Conducting Catalytic Ceramic Hollow Fibre Membrane Reactor. The Gas product industry is one of the most important economic sectors in Australia, employing 10000 people with market value of $ 100 billion per year from power generation and LNG export. However, there are increasing concerns over issues of the green house gases emission and petroleum dwindling. This project addresses the technology needs in converting natural gas to more useful chemicals via a more effic ....Methane Coupling Using Mixed Conducting Catalytic Ceramic Hollow Fibre Membrane Reactor. The Gas product industry is one of the most important economic sectors in Australia, employing 10000 people with market value of $ 100 billion per year from power generation and LNG export. However, there are increasing concerns over issues of the green house gases emission and petroleum dwindling. This project addresses the technology needs in converting natural gas to more useful chemicals via a more efficient and cleaner means of methane utilization. The project target is to make the natural gas resources in Australia to delivery high value products with considerable economic benefits and increased employment opportunities. Read moreRead less
Aerodynamic enhancement of the capture of fine particle emissions and gaseous pollutants by sorbents. Fine particulate emissions alone, and just within Australia's four largest cities, are estimated to be responsible for some 1600 deaths annually, and are a leading cause of asthma and other lung disease. Hence the economic and social benefits of greatly reducing fine particulate emissions is enormous. Similar benefits can be expected to arise from the enhanced capture of SOx, NOx and heavy metal ....Aerodynamic enhancement of the capture of fine particle emissions and gaseous pollutants by sorbents. Fine particulate emissions alone, and just within Australia's four largest cities, are estimated to be responsible for some 1600 deaths annually, and are a leading cause of asthma and other lung disease. Hence the economic and social benefits of greatly reducing fine particulate emissions is enormous. Similar benefits can be expected to arise from the enhanced capture of SOx, NOx and heavy metals. Many of these pollutants also contribute to the greenhouse effect, so the international exploitation of the technology will also help to mitigate climate change. Should suitable sorbents be developed for CO2 capture, the technology will also enhance carbon capture and storage.Read moreRead less
Reducing wear on rotary coal pulverisers. The aim of this project is to develop an understanding of the small-scale flows and particle breakage required to permit optimised redesign of the attrition stage of the 36 coal pulverisers at Gladstone Power Station, which, because of erosive wear, currently have a maintenance budget of $4M per year. CFD-DEM simulation of the air and particle flows will be used to determine particle flow patterns, particle-particle and particle-wall impact energies. Thi ....Reducing wear on rotary coal pulverisers. The aim of this project is to develop an understanding of the small-scale flows and particle breakage required to permit optimised redesign of the attrition stage of the 36 coal pulverisers at Gladstone Power Station, which, because of erosive wear, currently have a maintenance budget of $4M per year. CFD-DEM simulation of the air and particle flows will be used to determine particle flow patterns, particle-particle and particle-wall impact energies. This information will be input to comminution and wear models to predict pulveriser performance and wear patterns. Simulation results will be validated using measurements from scale visualisation and working models.Read moreRead less
Generation of Ultra-Clean Fuel from Victorian Brown Coal and Its Oxygen-Enriched Combustion Characteristics. Completion of this project can significantly contribute to the national priority of developing alternative energy technologies and ecologically sustainable power generation systems, as well as provide solutions to reduce and capture greenhouse gas emissions during Victorian brown coal firing. Improvements in the quality of Victorian brown coal and its value in national/international trad ....Generation of Ultra-Clean Fuel from Victorian Brown Coal and Its Oxygen-Enriched Combustion Characteristics. Completion of this project can significantly contribute to the national priority of developing alternative energy technologies and ecologically sustainable power generation systems, as well as provide solutions to reduce and capture greenhouse gas emissions during Victorian brown coal firing. Improvements in the quality of Victorian brown coal and its value in national/international trade markets can be achieved through the generation of ultra-clean fuel from coal. Substitution of ultra-clean fuel for Victorian brown coal in energy industries would greatly improve the competitiveness of the Victorian economy in a carbon-constrained future, and ensure power generation near-zero emissions.Read moreRead less
Developing a scientific relationship between non-destructive testing ("NDT"), manufacturing acceptance levels and integrity requirements for pressure equipment welds. The acceptance of pressure equipment welds involves the interplay of three engineering fields: manufacturing acceptance standards, non-destructive testing and structural integrity analysis. Historically each of these fields has been developed separately by different research groups. In recent years these developments have acceler ....Developing a scientific relationship between non-destructive testing ("NDT"), manufacturing acceptance levels and integrity requirements for pressure equipment welds. The acceptance of pressure equipment welds involves the interplay of three engineering fields: manufacturing acceptance standards, non-destructive testing and structural integrity analysis. Historically each of these fields has been developed separately by different research groups. In recent years these developments have accelerated with new demands on failure risk, a revolution in NDT techniques and advances in structural integrity analysis. As a result there are now large inconsistencies between the various requirements which lead to serious disputes in industry.
This project seeks to redefine the appropriate relationship between the fields and develop a scientific and logical pathway for standards development.Read moreRead less
Selective generation of hydrogen from biomass and waste fuels. Biomass fuels account for 14% of global energy supply. This is likely to increase in future as the population increases, energy demand rises, cheap oil and coal reserves are depleted, and the effects of global warming become more readily visible. In Australia the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is a national priority. The hydrogen economy could bring about improved energy security, substantially reduced greenhouse gas e ....Selective generation of hydrogen from biomass and waste fuels. Biomass fuels account for 14% of global energy supply. This is likely to increase in future as the population increases, energy demand rises, cheap oil and coal reserves are depleted, and the effects of global warming become more readily visible. In Australia the development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is a national priority. The hydrogen economy could bring about improved energy security, substantially reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved energy efficiency and improved air quality. This proposal directly addresses this challenge by investigating the science underpinning a large-scale sustainable hydrogen synthesis process using biomass and waste fuels. Read moreRead less
Characterisation of Pyrolytic Thermal Regions in Coal Macerals using Computer Aided Thermal Analysis. The research will assist in the fundamental understanding of coal pyrolysis mechanisms. All coal contains proportions of different fossilised plant material, which behaves differently when heated. This proposal studies thermal behaviour of the density separated fractions in Australian coals using a highly sensitive technique. The characterisation adds value and use to current coal reserves and ....Characterisation of Pyrolytic Thermal Regions in Coal Macerals using Computer Aided Thermal Analysis. The research will assist in the fundamental understanding of coal pyrolysis mechanisms. All coal contains proportions of different fossilised plant material, which behaves differently when heated. This proposal studies thermal behaviour of the density separated fractions in Australian coals using a highly sensitive technique. The characterisation adds value and use to current coal reserves and is aimed towards producing an advanced modelling capability to promote efficient coal usage in existing and future technologies. Such innovative approaches support the sustainability of Australian coal reserves, particularly in the transition towards decarbonised energy.Read moreRead less
Carbon surface oxides: the key to understanding the chemical rate of carbon combustion. This project employs a unique combination of experimental measurements and fundamental quantum chemical calculations to study the oxides which form on the surface of carbon as it burns. Our objective is to develop a quantitative model for the kinetics of carbon combustion which will be a profound improvement over existing approaches. Such a model would provide the basis for the improved prediction of carbon c ....Carbon surface oxides: the key to understanding the chemical rate of carbon combustion. This project employs a unique combination of experimental measurements and fundamental quantum chemical calculations to study the oxides which form on the surface of carbon as it burns. Our objective is to develop a quantitative model for the kinetics of carbon combustion which will be a profound improvement over existing approaches. Such a model would provide the basis for the improved prediction of carbon combustion and gasification in current (coal-burning) power generation appliances, as well as catering for new approaches to lowering greenhouse emissions which also depend on the combustion and gasification of carbon as coal, biomass or refuse-derived fuel.Read moreRead less
Influence of hydrogen on metallic components for clean energy. Hydrogen (H) energy technology for a future H economy, and much of the world's current electricity generation by H-cooled turbogenerators, rely on the availability of affordable materials that are resistant to hydrogen embrittlement (HE), sudden mechanical failure owing to absorption of H atoms. This project will lead to better understanding of the HE resistance of commercial medium-strength steels for use in H pipelines and pressure ....Influence of hydrogen on metallic components for clean energy. Hydrogen (H) energy technology for a future H economy, and much of the world's current electricity generation by H-cooled turbogenerators, rely on the availability of affordable materials that are resistant to hydrogen embrittlement (HE), sudden mechanical failure owing to absorption of H atoms. This project will lead to better understanding of the HE resistance of commercial medium-strength steels for use in H pipelines and pressure vessels, and of the specific steels used in turbogenerator components. More efficient, cheaper and safer clean energy will be the result.Read moreRead less
Modelling the capillary entrapment phenomena and integrity of geological reservoirs for clean energy, water and waste management technologies. This project will improve our understanding of non-linear flow and fracture phenomena in porous media which is prerequisite for the development of new emerging technologies targeting the reduction of the greenhouse gas emission and development of effective waste and water management solutions including coal gasification, in-situ storage of natural and non ....Modelling the capillary entrapment phenomena and integrity of geological reservoirs for clean energy, water and waste management technologies. This project will improve our understanding of non-linear flow and fracture phenomena in porous media which is prerequisite for the development of new emerging technologies targeting the reduction of the greenhouse gas emission and development of effective waste and water management solutions including coal gasification, in-situ storage of natural and non-hydrocarbon gases, underground disposal of hazardous wastes and vadose zone remediation. The project will result in a dramatic improvement of the predictive tools for traditional ground water management, irrigation and petroleum recovery applications. It has the strength to place Australia in the forefront of these technologies. Read moreRead less