Very thin, highly oriented and featured diamond films. The technology for making very thin diamond films, having sculpted surface features and fabricated from tiny and highly oriented individual diamond crystallites, would enable widespread potential applications, including eg surface acoustic wave devices, optical biosensors for ?lab-on-a-chip?, and field emitter arrays for paper thin, bright and wide angle flat panel displays, amongst others. Diamond is uniquely suited to these applications, ....Very thin, highly oriented and featured diamond films. The technology for making very thin diamond films, having sculpted surface features and fabricated from tiny and highly oriented individual diamond crystallites, would enable widespread potential applications, including eg surface acoustic wave devices, optical biosensors for ?lab-on-a-chip?, and field emitter arrays for paper thin, bright and wide angle flat panel displays, amongst others. Diamond is uniquely suited to these applications, and the capability to manipulate film properties and features which is the key requirement, is within grasp.Read moreRead less
Role of Reactive Particles in Explosive Emulsions. Concentrated water-in oil explosive emulsions are widely used in the minerals industry because they are cheap, easily detonated and relatively safe to handle. Their explosive energy can be significantly increased when reactive particles are introduced into the emulsion matrix. To do this, the interaction between the solid, oil, and water phases needs to be optimised. This investigation will increase our basic understanding of the physical and ch ....Role of Reactive Particles in Explosive Emulsions. Concentrated water-in oil explosive emulsions are widely used in the minerals industry because they are cheap, easily detonated and relatively safe to handle. Their explosive energy can be significantly increased when reactive particles are introduced into the emulsion matrix. To do this, the interaction between the solid, oil, and water phases needs to be optimised. This investigation will increase our basic understanding of the physical and chemical interactions that occur between the particle and the oil-water interface, and develop a more efficient explosive that can be produced continuously on a commercial scale.Read moreRead less
Improvements and Optimisation of Water Electrolysis for Hydroxy Gas Production for Metal Cutting Applications. The current technique for metal cutting mainly uses oxygen-acetylene flames, which means for the large number of Australian remote communities oxygen and acetylene bottles have to be transported from major cities. This incurs significant transport costs and associated environmental emissions and presents major safety concerns. Hydroxy flames using electrolysis of water can alleviate the ....Improvements and Optimisation of Water Electrolysis for Hydroxy Gas Production for Metal Cutting Applications. The current technique for metal cutting mainly uses oxygen-acetylene flames, which means for the large number of Australian remote communities oxygen and acetylene bottles have to be transported from major cities. This incurs significant transport costs and associated environmental emissions and presents major safety concerns. Hydroxy flames using electrolysis of water can alleviate these problems and, by utilising renewable electricity, the new technology to be developed in this research will transform tens of thousands of Australian metal workshops to be more environmentally friendly, safer and more cost-effective, thus contributing to the development of an environmentally sustainable Australia. 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
NOVEL Fe-Cr OXIDE AND SKELETAL (RANEY) CATALYSTS FOR WATER GAS SHIFT REACTION. The water gas shift reaction has an importance implication in the control of carbon monoxide/hydrogen ratios of gas mixtures used during the synthesis of methanol, diesel and hydrogen. The research study aims to develop and characterise Fe-Cr oxide and chromia-promoted Raney Cu catalysts for water gas shift reaction using a tube wall reactor. The catalyst fabrication is based on leaching and electrochemical deposition ....NOVEL Fe-Cr OXIDE AND SKELETAL (RANEY) CATALYSTS FOR WATER GAS SHIFT REACTION. The water gas shift reaction has an importance implication in the control of carbon monoxide/hydrogen ratios of gas mixtures used during the synthesis of methanol, diesel and hydrogen. The research study aims to develop and characterise Fe-Cr oxide and chromia-promoted Raney Cu catalysts for water gas shift reaction using a tube wall reactor. The catalyst fabrication is based on leaching and electrochemical deposition to promote the catalytic activity. The produced catalysts will be characterised and tested for catalytic activity, temperature stability and other physical properties to determine fundamental understanding for future commercial applications.Read moreRead less
A green technology for liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification. Upon arrival to its destination, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) exported from Australia must be converted back into gas to make it suitable for distribution to end users, for which the current technologies burn up to two per cent our LNG exports. This project will design a technology that will use the energy of ambient air, which will not only increase the profit but also reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
Catalytic Conversion of Waste Plastics to Hydrocarbon Fuels. This project aims to investigate the catalytic conversion of waste plastics to liquid fuels. Plastics comprise about 20% of municipal waste by volume, and are a major environmental concern as the present practice of disposal by landfilling has long-term hazard potential and is unsustainable. We propose to study the kinetics of the catalytic degradation of pure component plastics as well as their mixtures in a laboratory screw extrusi ....Catalytic Conversion of Waste Plastics to Hydrocarbon Fuels. This project aims to investigate the catalytic conversion of waste plastics to liquid fuels. Plastics comprise about 20% of municipal waste by volume, and are a major environmental concern as the present practice of disposal by landfilling has long-term hazard potential and is unsustainable. We propose to study the kinetics of the catalytic degradation of pure component plastics as well as their mixtures in a laboratory screw extrusion reactor, compare alternative catalysts, and develop process models to be used for scale up. The process and know-how developed will contribute to sustainable development, and provide an internationally competitive advantage to Australia.Read moreRead less
Dry Processing of Fine Coal Using the Reflux Classifier. New and efficient separation technologies are crucial for developing the concept of Dry Coal Processing. The benefits to the industry of Dry Processing are compelling, with savings in water consumption, and much larger savings in dewatering and transportation of the product. The Reflux Classifier is a new fluidized bed technology developed in Australia using the more conventional water fluidization approach. Already the technology is contr ....Dry Processing of Fine Coal Using the Reflux Classifier. New and efficient separation technologies are crucial for developing the concept of Dry Coal Processing. The benefits to the industry of Dry Processing are compelling, with savings in water consumption, and much larger savings in dewatering and transportation of the product. The Reflux Classifier is a new fluidized bed technology developed in Australia using the more conventional water fluidization approach. Already the technology is contributing to Australian exports in the rapidly growing area of mining services. The purpose of this project is to establish its potential for use in the Dry Processing of fine coal. Other benefits of the study include the education and training of researchers in this field.Read moreRead less
A skin-on-a-chip device for investigating wound healing. This project aims to research the mechanism of skin wound healing. It will design a skin-on-a-chip microfluidic device that mimics human skin in vitro. This device will reduce the need for animal studies and assess how active compounds heal wounds. This project will design smart polymers with superior properties for controlled delivery of multiple active compounds in this device and choose the most effective combination of compounds to boo ....A skin-on-a-chip device for investigating wound healing. This project aims to research the mechanism of skin wound healing. It will design a skin-on-a-chip microfluidic device that mimics human skin in vitro. This device will reduce the need for animal studies and assess how active compounds heal wounds. This project will design smart polymers with superior properties for controlled delivery of multiple active compounds in this device and choose the most effective combination of compounds to boost skin healing rate. This knowledge may ultimately be used to develop wound dressings that maximise healing rate for various skin defects such as chronic wounds and decrease health care costs.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