Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100477
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,770.00
Summary
Developing sustainable liquid fuels from carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to develop new electrochemical materials and systems capable of converting carbon dioxide to liquid fuels. It expects to generate new knowledge in the area of advanced materials and systems for sustainable fuel production by interdisciplinary integration of catalyst design, real-time characterisation and system engineering. Expected outcomes include electrochemical carbon dioxide-to-alcohol systems with commerc ....Developing sustainable liquid fuels from carbon dioxide conversion. This project aims to develop new electrochemical materials and systems capable of converting carbon dioxide to liquid fuels. It expects to generate new knowledge in the area of advanced materials and systems for sustainable fuel production by interdisciplinary integration of catalyst design, real-time characterisation and system engineering. Expected outcomes include electrochemical carbon dioxide-to-alcohol systems with commercially relevant performances and in-depth understanding of reaction mechanisms at nano and molecular levels. Significant economic, energy and environmental benefits are expected from the concerted greenhouse gas emissions reduction and the development of sustainable, clean, non-fossil fuels, enabled by this project.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100637
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$428,154.00
Summary
An integrated electrolyser for CO2 conversion from capture media. This project aims to develop an efficient electrochemical method to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to valuable chemicals. It expects to displace the energy-costly step of its upstream CO2 capture process. The key novelty is the use of flow-through electrodes and optimal solvents to promote CO2 conversion at high rates. Expected outcomes include enhanced efficiency of CO2 sequestration, and new techniques to develop electrodes with w ....An integrated electrolyser for CO2 conversion from capture media. This project aims to develop an efficient electrochemical method to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to valuable chemicals. It expects to displace the energy-costly step of its upstream CO2 capture process. The key novelty is the use of flow-through electrodes and optimal solvents to promote CO2 conversion at high rates. Expected outcomes include enhanced efficiency of CO2 sequestration, and new techniques to develop electrodes with well-controlled local reaction environments, which are essential for electrochemical energy conversion and storage. This will benefit Australia's environment and industries such as cement and aluminium manufacturing in managing carbon emissions, and accelerate Australia’s transition to a carbon-neutral economy.Read moreRead less
Novel Fuel-Cell Structures based on Electroactive Polymers. The Discovery Project will tackle some of the challenging issues regarding the conversion of our society into a post-petroleum era through: Development and understanding of a new class of organic catalysts for efficient low temperature fuel-cells; Developing cheap and effective, ultra-thin, ion-conducting membranes for fuel-cells based on new plasma-polymers; and Integrating the components into fuel-cells suitable for stationary, portab ....Novel Fuel-Cell Structures based on Electroactive Polymers. The Discovery Project will tackle some of the challenging issues regarding the conversion of our society into a post-petroleum era through: Development and understanding of a new class of organic catalysts for efficient low temperature fuel-cells; Developing cheap and effective, ultra-thin, ion-conducting membranes for fuel-cells based on new plasma-polymers; and Integrating the components into fuel-cells suitable for stationary, portable and automotive applications. These outcomes will contribute to national research priorities: Frontier Technologies for building and transforming Australian Industries, and An Environmentally Sustainable Australia.
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Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220101484
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$449,000.00
Summary
Towards Electrochemical Fertiliser Production Powered by Renewable Energy. The electrochemical manufacturing system is a sustainable alternative to traditional fertiliser manufacturing plants. The system can be assembled inexpensively and readily integrated into the renewable electricity grid, solving the greenhouse gas emission issues of the fertiliser plants. This project will identify ground-breaking electrochemical pathways for urea fertiliser and other value-added C-N containing chemicals s ....Towards Electrochemical Fertiliser Production Powered by Renewable Energy. The electrochemical manufacturing system is a sustainable alternative to traditional fertiliser manufacturing plants. The system can be assembled inexpensively and readily integrated into the renewable electricity grid, solving the greenhouse gas emission issues of the fertiliser plants. This project will identify ground-breaking electrochemical pathways for urea fertiliser and other value-added C-N containing chemicals synthesis. Gaseous CO2 and N2 will be electrochemically reacted to produce the C-N bonds. Therefore, a suite of new materials and electrochemical systems for sustainable fertiliser manufacturing will be developed. It is anticipated that the technology will revolutionise Australian fertiliser manufacturing and agriculture.Read moreRead less
Photochemical toolkit based on tetracyanoquinodimethane metal-organic semiconducting hybrids. This project aims to develop low-cost light-activated materials for flexible electronics, wearable sensors, antimicrobial fabrics and highly active catalysts. A photochemical toolkit will be developed comprising ultraviolet-active zinc oxide, visible-active metals and visible/infrared-active charge transfer semiconducting materials. Hybridisation of these components will create materials photoactive acr ....Photochemical toolkit based on tetracyanoquinodimethane metal-organic semiconducting hybrids. This project aims to develop low-cost light-activated materials for flexible electronics, wearable sensors, antimicrobial fabrics and highly active catalysts. A photochemical toolkit will be developed comprising ultraviolet-active zinc oxide, visible-active metals and visible/infrared-active charge transfer semiconducting materials. Hybridisation of these components will create materials photoactive across the solar spectrum, leading to photo-redox catalysis and light-activated antimicrobial applications. These materials are expected to lead to cost-effective industrial processes, efficient environmental monitoring, clean-up of industrially-contaminated water streams, infection control in wounds and healthcare settings, and advancing consumer technology platforms.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100005
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$404,000.00
Summary
Perovskite-based electrocatalysts for water electrolysis. This project aims to develop novel perovskite-based catalysts with high catalytic activity and long-term stability for the practical application of alkaline water splitting. A new family of overall water-splitting materials in alkaline media based on low-cost and earth-abundant perovskite oxides will be developed, which offer a viable alternative to the benchmark noble metal-based catalysts. Clean hydrogen energy generated by these effici ....Perovskite-based electrocatalysts for water electrolysis. This project aims to develop novel perovskite-based catalysts with high catalytic activity and long-term stability for the practical application of alkaline water splitting. A new family of overall water-splitting materials in alkaline media based on low-cost and earth-abundant perovskite oxides will be developed, which offer a viable alternative to the benchmark noble metal-based catalysts. Clean hydrogen energy generated by these efficient perovskite catalysts will not only reduce carbon dioxide emissions and alleviate air pollution, but also create opportunities for Australian industries, such as the widespread use of renewable solar and wind energy and fuel cell vehicles.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100746
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$433,000.00
Summary
Engineering ion specificity for water electrolysis. This project aims to understand how foreign ions in water can be manipulated to selectively control the activity and selectivity of electrocatalytic water splitting and explore the potential if seawater or low-grade-water can be used as water feed to mitigate the economical barrier for large-scale hydrogen production through electrolysis. The new knowledge gained will be helpful for future design of more cost-effective electrolyser systems to u ....Engineering ion specificity for water electrolysis. This project aims to understand how foreign ions in water can be manipulated to selectively control the activity and selectivity of electrocatalytic water splitting and explore the potential if seawater or low-grade-water can be used as water feed to mitigate the economical barrier for large-scale hydrogen production through electrolysis. The new knowledge gained will be helpful for future design of more cost-effective electrolyser systems to underpin Australia’s emerging hydrogen economy.Read moreRead less
Novel concepts for bioelectrochemical generation of renewable fuels and chemicals from wastewater. Global warming and the diminishing fossil fuel resources are posing an ever increasing threat to our societies and economies. This project aims to develop novel and highly innovative bioelectrochemical processes for the production of valuable fuels and chemicals from wastewater, which is a largely untapped renewable resource.
Medium temperature electrolysis for low-cost carbon dioxide utilization. Carbon dioxide is a notorious greenhouse gas. Its capture, and subsequent storage or utilization, is a major focus not only for researchers, but also for governments trying to meet their obligations of the Paris Agreement on climate change and for industries managing their legal and social responsibilities. This project aims to develop commercially viable medium temperature electrolysers to convert carbon dioxide into value ....Medium temperature electrolysis for low-cost carbon dioxide utilization. Carbon dioxide is a notorious greenhouse gas. Its capture, and subsequent storage or utilization, is a major focus not only for researchers, but also for governments trying to meet their obligations of the Paris Agreement on climate change and for industries managing their legal and social responsibilities. This project aims to develop commercially viable medium temperature electrolysers to convert carbon dioxide into value added chemicals using electricity from renewable sources. New design principles will be developed to generate highly active and selective catalysts with long-term stability. These electrolyzers will be integrated with carbon capture technologies to directly utilize captured carbon dioxide with high energy efficiency.Read moreRead less
The flotation of oxide minerals using hydroxamate collectors. Australian and world mineral resources are declining in quality as we exploit the richest sulfidic ore deposits. This is increasing our reliance on concentration and beneficiation processes to improve the economics of the selective recovery of minerals from lower grade and, increasingly, oxide or lateritic ore bodies. In addition, greater emphasis is being placed on our environmental stewardship and the need to remove hazardous mater ....The flotation of oxide minerals using hydroxamate collectors. Australian and world mineral resources are declining in quality as we exploit the richest sulfidic ore deposits. This is increasing our reliance on concentration and beneficiation processes to improve the economics of the selective recovery of minerals from lower grade and, increasingly, oxide or lateritic ore bodies. In addition, greater emphasis is being placed on our environmental stewardship and the need to remove hazardous material from the concentrate streams. This proposal will develop improved methods and techniques that will facilitate better, cleaner separations and recovery of the valuable oxide mineral components using Australian-developed flotation reagents.Read moreRead less