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What are the risks of viral infections in drinking water storages? South East Queensland's population growth is the fastest in Australia but our drinking water supplies will be fully allocated by 2020. Maintaining public health standards of the existing supplies is vital. Declines in water quality in these unprotected catchments will influence viral infection but we don't know how. Toxin producing algae (cyanobacteria) also bloom and we don't know why. We have an innovative approach to determine ....What are the risks of viral infections in drinking water storages? South East Queensland's population growth is the fastest in Australia but our drinking water supplies will be fully allocated by 2020. Maintaining public health standards of the existing supplies is vital. Declines in water quality in these unprotected catchments will influence viral infection but we don't know how. Toxin producing algae (cyanobacteria) also bloom and we don't know why. We have an innovative approach to determine how changing water quality influences viral infection of toxic cyanobacteria and the potential of human viral pathogens (disease causing) to infect. This new knowledge will improve SEQWater's ability to manage public and ecosystem health risks in drinking water storages.Read moreRead less
Designing the surface and structural properties of MFI zeolite membranes for low energy ion-selective desalination. Desalination is being established in response to climate change and growing demands on existing supplies. Fresh water from infinitely abundant ocean sources using little energy input will benefit communities by providing affordably a vital resource with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Fresh water from current desalination costs $2 per kl, being a major expense for a vital resourc ....Designing the surface and structural properties of MFI zeolite membranes for low energy ion-selective desalination. Desalination is being established in response to climate change and growing demands on existing supplies. Fresh water from infinitely abundant ocean sources using little energy input will benefit communities by providing affordably a vital resource with minimal greenhouse gas emissions. Fresh water from current desalination costs $2 per kl, being a major expense for a vital resource normally $0.2 per kl. As energy input accounts for half of the desalination cost, the smart ion-selective membrane to be developed in this project has the capability to reduce desalinated water price by 50%. Such an advancement derived from fundamental material properties is a novel contribution to both science and membrane desalinationRead moreRead less
Floc Characteristics in Sheared Systems: Implications to Low Pressure Membrane Filtration in Water Treatment. In this project, we examine the effect of coagulant choice and coagulation conditions on the nature of the flocs formed in drinking water treatment using submerged membrane systems and on the extent of fouling, contaminant removal and difficulties in backwash. We will develop both underpinning knowledge and operational protocols that will assist in improving the efficiency and thus reduc ....Floc Characteristics in Sheared Systems: Implications to Low Pressure Membrane Filtration in Water Treatment. In this project, we examine the effect of coagulant choice and coagulation conditions on the nature of the flocs formed in drinking water treatment using submerged membrane systems and on the extent of fouling, contaminant removal and difficulties in backwash. We will develop both underpinning knowledge and operational protocols that will assist in improving the efficiency and thus reducing the operating costs of submerged membrane water systems. The outcomes of this project will assist our industry partner in developing more cost effective water treatment processes in Australia which will, in turn, assist in increasing market share in the Asian region.Read moreRead less
Combined Ozonation-Flotation for the Treatment of Potable Water. Water Authorities are tightly regulated to guarantee removal of pollutants such as algal cells and toxins, cryptosporidium oocysts, and geosmin from drinking water. Processing options such as membrane filtration are effective but become very expensive when continuously operated to protect against occasional contamination events. This project aims to develop a fully-integrated process combining flotation and ozonation which can be ....Combined Ozonation-Flotation for the Treatment of Potable Water. Water Authorities are tightly regulated to guarantee removal of pollutants such as algal cells and toxins, cryptosporidium oocysts, and geosmin from drinking water. Processing options such as membrane filtration are effective but become very expensive when continuously operated to protect against occasional contamination events. This project aims to develop a fully-integrated process combining flotation and ozonation which can be operated continuously when required in a number of different modes to provide a barrier against a range of contamination events. The process utilises much of the existing water treatment infrastructure reducing capital and operating costs.Read moreRead less
Olfactory Characterisation of Odours for Optimising Impact Assessment. The repeated release of obnoxious odours from intensive livestock, waste management and wastewater treatment facilities can constitute a major air quality problem for a local population. Odour management has traditionally been maintained by the use of buffer distances that have significantly decreased with urban encroachment. Odour assessment is conventionally measured in terms of odour concentration; however this standardise ....Olfactory Characterisation of Odours for Optimising Impact Assessment. The repeated release of obnoxious odours from intensive livestock, waste management and wastewater treatment facilities can constitute a major air quality problem for a local population. Odour management has traditionally been maintained by the use of buffer distances that have significantly decreased with urban encroachment. Odour assessment is conventionally measured in terms of odour concentration; however this standardised method does not take into account odour quality characters or their intensity. The project will characterise by sensory means the odour nuisance types and intensity of different odorous emissions to better define and understand the relationship between process operations and olfactory annoyance.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354781
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$40,000.00
Summary
Research Network for Engineering a Secure Australia (RNESA). The Research Network for Engineering a Secure Australia (RNESA) is a multi-disciplinary collaboration established to strengthen Australia's science and technology capacity for protecting the Nation's critical infrastructure from natural or human-caused disasters. RNESA will facilitate a knowledge sharing network for government, universities and the private sector to produce innovative engineering solutions to the emerging security prob ....Research Network for Engineering a Secure Australia (RNESA). The Research Network for Engineering a Secure Australia (RNESA) is a multi-disciplinary collaboration established to strengthen Australia's science and technology capacity for protecting the Nation's critical infrastructure from natural or human-caused disasters. RNESA will facilitate a knowledge sharing network for government, universities and the private sector to produce innovative engineering solutions to the emerging security problems relating to the safety of critical infrastructure. This initiative will draw together researchers across disciplines to identify a roadmap for future R&D in this area. RNESA's final outcomes will lead to multi-hazard mitigation strategies and a real-time crisis support network to enable the nation to manage potential disasters.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0883080
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$490,000.00
Summary
Detection of Trace Concentrations of Chemical Contaminants in Urban Water Systems. Water is a critical resource in Australia and as pressures on water resources increase, water recycling is becoming more prevalent. The presence of chemical contaminants such as low concentrations (ng/L) of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), endocrine disrupters (EDCs) and other organic micropollutants in the aquatic environment has received much attention around the world including Australia due to their ....Detection of Trace Concentrations of Chemical Contaminants in Urban Water Systems. Water is a critical resource in Australia and as pressures on water resources increase, water recycling is becoming more prevalent. The presence of chemical contaminants such as low concentrations (ng/L) of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), endocrine disrupters (EDCs) and other organic micropollutants in the aquatic environment has received much attention around the world including Australia due to their potential biological impact in urban water systems. The proposed equipment aims to establish analytical techniques and instrumental capacity for the selective analysis of chemical contaminants in order to improve our understanding of the fate of these compounds through different urban water systems.Read moreRead less
Optimal Control of Modular Multilevel Power Electronic Converter Systems for Electrical Distribution Networks. This project will improve the national capability to use multilevel power electronic converter systems to help operate and maintain more efficient electrical distribution networks. The outcomes of the project will also contribute to the implementation into electrical distribution systems of renewable and distributed energy generation systems, and hence will help to reduce greenhouse ga ....Optimal Control of Modular Multilevel Power Electronic Converter Systems for Electrical Distribution Networks. This project will improve the national capability to use multilevel power electronic converter systems to help operate and maintain more efficient electrical distribution networks. The outcomes of the project will also contribute to the implementation into electrical distribution systems of renewable and distributed energy generation systems, and hence will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, it is anticipated that the control strategies to be investigated could lead to subsequent commercial developments with local industries. Finally, the project will foster and develop international links in power electronics between Monash University, and leading-edge international research groups in the area around the world.Read moreRead less
Removal of Potential Impact of Pharmaceutical Active Compounds during Wastewater Treatment. The increasing application of antimicrobial compounds in pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) requires improved understanding of their impact on the environment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a major removal process, however little is known about why certain PPCPs are removed during wastewater treatment and other are not. The project aims to study the fate of PPCPs and the spread of ....Removal of Potential Impact of Pharmaceutical Active Compounds during Wastewater Treatment. The increasing application of antimicrobial compounds in pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) requires improved understanding of their impact on the environment. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are a major removal process, however little is known about why certain PPCPs are removed during wastewater treatment and other are not. The project aims to study the fate of PPCPs and the spread of bacterial resistance in wastewater treatment. Studies will compare the effects of different treatment processes, operational conditions and environmental factors on the removal and treatment of PPCPs. The outcome will be the development of more sustainable WWTPs design and operation in terms of PPCPs removal.Read moreRead less
Sustainability of water and wastewater treatment chemicals. In recent years, the environmental design and management of water and wastewater treatment facilities has broadened from consideration of water quality outcomes to include the environmental consequences of energy and material inputs. This has produced nationally agreed approaches to estimating greenhouse gas emissions from power consumption, but for important chemical additives analysts are forced to work with low-quality estimated dat ....Sustainability of water and wastewater treatment chemicals. In recent years, the environmental design and management of water and wastewater treatment facilities has broadened from consideration of water quality outcomes to include the environmental consequences of energy and material inputs. This has produced nationally agreed approaches to estimating greenhouse gas emissions from power consumption, but for important chemical additives analysts are forced to work with low-quality estimated data. In a time when society wants to account for the 'carbon-footprint' of decisions and more broadly consider the resources used and emissions produced by industry, this research will make this quantitatively possible for chemicals used in water and wastewater treatment.Read moreRead less