Transforming Microgrid to Virtual Power Plant –ICT Frameworks,Tools,Control. The project aims to enhance large scale renewable penetrations to national power grid by advancing control, optimization, and ancillary services of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), considering different disruptive events including recent South Australian blackout. This project expects to create new control, frame communication architecture, develop plug and play type IoT enabled grid interfacing inverter, and optimize resou ....Transforming Microgrid to Virtual Power Plant –ICT Frameworks,Tools,Control. The project aims to enhance large scale renewable penetrations to national power grid by advancing control, optimization, and ancillary services of Virtual Power Plants (VPPs), considering different disruptive events including recent South Australian blackout. This project expects to create new control, frame communication architecture, develop plug and play type IoT enabled grid interfacing inverter, and optimize resource management for distributed VPPs. The anticipated benefits from this institutional level collaborations are that VPPs help in enhancing national power grid operations during normal and disruptive conditions when more renewables are connected and also secure benefits of consumers, prosumers, and grid operators.Read moreRead less
Low-temperature ceramic electrolysis cells for renewable energy technology. This project aims to develop advanced protonic ceramic electrolysis cells for greatly improving the efficiency of hydrogen production and carbon dioxide conversion using renewable energy. This will be achieved by nanoscale integration of proton-conducting two-dimensional materials with solid acids and ceramic proton conductors to lower the manufacturing costs and operating temperature of protonic ceramic electrolysis cel ....Low-temperature ceramic electrolysis cells for renewable energy technology. This project aims to develop advanced protonic ceramic electrolysis cells for greatly improving the efficiency of hydrogen production and carbon dioxide conversion using renewable energy. This will be achieved by nanoscale integration of proton-conducting two-dimensional materials with solid acids and ceramic proton conductors to lower the manufacturing costs and operating temperature of protonic ceramic electrolysis cells. Expected outcomes of the project include new intellectual property on materials formulation and process parameters for commercial development of this new type of ceramic electrolysis cell, thereby contributing to the growth of Australian manufacturing and renewable energy industries and reduction of carbon emissions.Read moreRead less
In-situ catalytic upgrading of bio-oil using scrap tyre char. This project aims to develop advanced, cost-competitive catalysts based on scrap tyre char, an otherwise low-value by-product. These catalysts will be optimised for use in upgrading bio-oil derived from the pyrolysis of woody eucalyptus, an abundant biomass resource across Australia. The project is expected to promote the commercialisation of bio-oil production and enhance the valorisation of scrap tyre char. This is expected to reduc ....In-situ catalytic upgrading of bio-oil using scrap tyre char. This project aims to develop advanced, cost-competitive catalysts based on scrap tyre char, an otherwise low-value by-product. These catalysts will be optimised for use in upgrading bio-oil derived from the pyrolysis of woody eucalyptus, an abundant biomass resource across Australia. The project is expected to promote the commercialisation of bio-oil production and enhance the valorisation of scrap tyre char. This is expected to reduce the carbon footprint from Australian industry, and promote the recycling and reuse of waste scrap tyres.Read moreRead less
Design guideline for suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines. This project aims to develop an industry guideline for suction caisson foundations, that are a new form of fixed platform anchor, for offshore wind turbines. The project expects to generate new knowledge of caisson response during installation and over millions of wind/wave load cycles, by integrating field experience with measurements from innovative experiments. The expected outcomes of this project include new methods to ....Design guideline for suction caissons supporting offshore wind turbines. This project aims to develop an industry guideline for suction caisson foundations, that are a new form of fixed platform anchor, for offshore wind turbines. The project expects to generate new knowledge of caisson response during installation and over millions of wind/wave load cycles, by integrating field experience with measurements from innovative experiments. The expected outcomes of this project include new methods to guide suction installation in difficult soil layering and predicting rotation and stiffness over a turbine’s operational life. The benefits of these scientific advances will contribute to the economic and reliable design of suction caisson foundations and a more rapid take-up of offshore wind energy.Read moreRead less
Cryogenic pipelines to replace trestle for liquefied gas transfer terminals. This project aims to develop geotechnical design tools, software, and publish design guidelines, for engineers to lay and keep cryogenic pipelines stable on the seabed. Transferring liquefied natural gas between floating tankers and onshore plants conventionally relies on a pipeline on a trestle system. As an alternative, novel subsea cryogenic pipelines are being considered. By ensuring the stability of subsea cryogeni ....Cryogenic pipelines to replace trestle for liquefied gas transfer terminals. This project aims to develop geotechnical design tools, software, and publish design guidelines, for engineers to lay and keep cryogenic pipelines stable on the seabed. Transferring liquefied natural gas between floating tankers and onshore plants conventionally relies on a pipeline on a trestle system. As an alternative, novel subsea cryogenic pipelines are being considered. By ensuring the stability of subsea cryogenic pipelines laid directly on the seabed, this project will provide significant benefits to Australia’s liquefied natural gas trade by unlocking substantial cost savings, and making this key export industry more competitive.Read moreRead less
Monitoring and Modelling Hydrogeochemical Interactions with Groundwater : Implications for Mine Dewatering on Groundwater, River and Lake Chemistry. Alcoa operates a power station and brown coal mine at Anglesea in western Victoria. Following heavy rain in 2000 acidic water entered the Anglesea estuary causing precipitation of iron and aluminium flocs and fish kills. Estuary closure to tourism resulted. This project will identify the cause(s) of this phenomenon by modelling groundwater movement ....Monitoring and Modelling Hydrogeochemical Interactions with Groundwater : Implications for Mine Dewatering on Groundwater, River and Lake Chemistry. Alcoa operates a power station and brown coal mine at Anglesea in western Victoria. Following heavy rain in 2000 acidic water entered the Anglesea estuary causing precipitation of iron and aluminium flocs and fish kills. Estuary closure to tourism resulted. This project will identify the cause(s) of this phenomenon by modelling groundwater movement and studying geochemical processes. The resultant hydrogeochemical model will also be applied to simulating longer term water quality changes in the catchment arising from current mine dewatering operations and future rewatering following mine closure.
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Efficient Pipeline Transport of Highly Concentrated Wastewater Sludge . This project aims to investigate the rheology and fluid mechanics of highly concentrated wastewater sludges and develop tools to support effective pipeline designs for wastewater treatment plants. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the complex flow of concentrated wastewater which will enable predictive models to support the design and optimization of pipeline transport systems. Expected outcomes of the proj ....Efficient Pipeline Transport of Highly Concentrated Wastewater Sludge . This project aims to investigate the rheology and fluid mechanics of highly concentrated wastewater sludges and develop tools to support effective pipeline designs for wastewater treatment plants. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the complex flow of concentrated wastewater which will enable predictive models to support the design and optimization of pipeline transport systems. Expected outcomes of the project include a new toolkit that will enable wastewater treatment plants to design and optimize both existing and future pipeline systems. This will support the Australian wastewater industry to plan for future growth, increase throughput and efficiency, reduce environmental pollutants, and capital and operating costs.Read moreRead less
3-D Printed Catalytic Monoliths for Energy Efficient Carbon Conversion. Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is an essential pathway for reducing carbon in the Earth's atmosphere. However a major hurdle in the carbon utilisation part is that the conversion technologies often rely on energy derived from fossil sources. Electrification of carbon conversion processes can overcome this hurdle by providing this energy via renewables. This project aims to develop an electrically powered energy efficie ....3-D Printed Catalytic Monoliths for Energy Efficient Carbon Conversion. Carbon Capture and Utilisation (CCU) is an essential pathway for reducing carbon in the Earth's atmosphere. However a major hurdle in the carbon utilisation part is that the conversion technologies often rely on energy derived from fossil sources. Electrification of carbon conversion processes can overcome this hurdle by providing this energy via renewables. This project aims to develop an electrically powered energy efficient catalytic process for carbon conversion. A modular 3-D printed monolithic catalytic reactor prototype powered by induction or resistive heating will be developed to minimise energy loss in the carbon conversion process. An expected outcome of this project is translation of this prototype in a CCU pilot scale facility.Read moreRead less
Novel energy-efficient electrowinning anodes. Developed nations rely extensively on metallic materials to sustain modern society. This places a significant importance on delivery of base metals, and that delivery must be as efficient and clean as possible. The first step in the delivery chain is extraction from the ore, and much of this technology is based on electrowinning (EW), where the behaviour of the anode is critical to overall process efficiency. This project will deliver advances in EW ....Novel energy-efficient electrowinning anodes. Developed nations rely extensively on metallic materials to sustain modern society. This places a significant importance on delivery of base metals, and that delivery must be as efficient and clean as possible. The first step in the delivery chain is extraction from the ore, and much of this technology is based on electrowinning (EW), where the behaviour of the anode is critical to overall process efficiency. This project will deliver advances in EW anodes which will lead to energy savings, which in turn, will result in a cleaner overall production cycle, major emission reductions and cost savings. The expected outcomes of this project are targeted at the development of new and advanced anode materials.Read moreRead less
Controlling coastlines while generating power. The Project aims to produce strategies for protecting coasts from storms using farms of wave-energy machines, which also generate electricity. Increasing lengths of coast need protection as the climate changes, but conventional barriers create permanent environmental impacts and are a sunk cost usually borne by the taxpayer. The Project expects to derive a strategy for the setting of each machine in the farm, so that they collectively absorb or refl ....Controlling coastlines while generating power. The Project aims to produce strategies for protecting coasts from storms using farms of wave-energy machines, which also generate electricity. Increasing lengths of coast need protection as the climate changes, but conventional barriers create permanent environmental impacts and are a sunk cost usually borne by the taxpayer. The Project expects to derive a strategy for the setting of each machine in the farm, so that they collectively absorb or reflect damaging waves under severe conditions. Under normal conditions, enough wave energy to sustain environmental processes would pass through. Sales of electricity would help to pay back the capital cost. Outcomes would include reduced coastal-erosion costs and a low-intermittency energy supply.Read moreRead less