Improving biological nitrogen removal by enhanced mixing in non-aerated bioreactors. Mixing has been identified as a key factor in achieving enhanced performance out of existing and upgraded bioreactors. There is currently a poor understanding of the relationship between non-ideal flow and performance in wastewater treatment bioreactors. The project will determine this relationship and subsequently use it to show how reactor performance can be improved, providing first criteria by which mixing c ....Improving biological nitrogen removal by enhanced mixing in non-aerated bioreactors. Mixing has been identified as a key factor in achieving enhanced performance out of existing and upgraded bioreactors. There is currently a poor understanding of the relationship between non-ideal flow and performance in wastewater treatment bioreactors. The project will determine this relationship and subsequently use it to show how reactor performance can be improved, providing first criteria by which mixing can be assessed, and second a systematic methodology for improving reactor performance by improving mixing.Read moreRead less
Plasma-Catalytist Hybrid Process for Simultaneous Removal of NOx and SOx. Coal combustion provides over 80% of the electricity produced in Australia, with the power stations being major emitters of the pollutants NOx and SOx. This project will potentially lead to a new technology to simultaneously remove NOx and SOx in a single and economical process, eliminating the secondary waste streams that disadvantage current competing technologies. This will provide: significant environmental benefits f ....Plasma-Catalytist Hybrid Process for Simultaneous Removal of NOx and SOx. Coal combustion provides over 80% of the electricity produced in Australia, with the power stations being major emitters of the pollutants NOx and SOx. This project will potentially lead to a new technology to simultaneously remove NOx and SOx in a single and economical process, eliminating the secondary waste streams that disadvantage current competing technologies. This will provide: significant environmental benefits for Australia in reducing these dangerous atmospheric pollutants; economic advantage to our power stations by enabling cheaper, more efficient technologies and consolidate Australia's leading position in the world in air pollution control. Read moreRead less
Drying sewage sludge using hot oil. The project seeks to investigate and develop an entirely new area of fundamental and applied research involving the process, mechanisms and kinetics of direct dehydration of sewage sludge by fry-drying in hot oil. Frying can be carried out as a drying process, though it not widely recognized or applied in this way, and has consequently not been exploited outside of the traditional food industries. It potentially provides a wide range of significant benefits ....Drying sewage sludge using hot oil. The project seeks to investigate and develop an entirely new area of fundamental and applied research involving the process, mechanisms and kinetics of direct dehydration of sewage sludge by fry-drying in hot oil. Frying can be carried out as a drying process, though it not widely recognized or applied in this way, and has consequently not been exploited outside of the traditional food industries. It potentially provides a wide range of significant benefits for sludge drying, including high efficiency and low costs, and produces a non-offensive product with a high energy value suitable for (renewable) power generation.Read moreRead less
A landfill cover that generates electricity: a Microbial Fuel Cell application. Landfills account for over two per cent of Australia’s greenhouse emissions, dominating emissions from waste and wastewater. Methane emissions are inherent to landfills because waste cannot be permanently sealed until a landfill cell is full. In this project, a microbial fuel cell (MFC) landfill cover will be developed as a means of achieving full biogas capture, from the time that waste is placed. The MFC cover syst ....A landfill cover that generates electricity: a Microbial Fuel Cell application. Landfills account for over two per cent of Australia’s greenhouse emissions, dominating emissions from waste and wastewater. Methane emissions are inherent to landfills because waste cannot be permanently sealed until a landfill cell is full. In this project, a microbial fuel cell (MFC) landfill cover will be developed as a means of achieving full biogas capture, from the time that waste is placed. The MFC cover system would consist of a relatively thin and deformable granular graphite layer colonised by current generating methane oxidising microorganisms, overlain by a proton exchange membrane and steel mesh as the anode layer. The MFC cover will provide the benefit of power generation as well as more complete greenhouse gas mitigation. Read moreRead less
Development of a novel technology for DSP separation and soda recovery in alumina refineries. The successful completion of this project will provide economic and environmental benefits to the Australian alumina industry. For example, this project will provide an effective and economical method for separation of DSP (desilication product) from red mud (thus reducing the pollution by the long-term alkalinity) as well as a new solution to soda recovery. The technology developed will be able to be u ....Development of a novel technology for DSP separation and soda recovery in alumina refineries. The successful completion of this project will provide economic and environmental benefits to the Australian alumina industry. For example, this project will provide an effective and economical method for separation of DSP (desilication product) from red mud (thus reducing the pollution by the long-term alkalinity) as well as a new solution to soda recovery. The technology developed will be able to be used as an example to the waste management and recovery of other Australian mineral, energy and chemical industries. The modelling and mechanism studies will also contribute to materials separation and processing.Read moreRead less
Development of a Novel Flue Gas Desulphurization Technology for Alumina Refineries. This project aims to develop a novel technology of flue gas desulphurization for alumina industry. The successful completion of this project will provide a practical solution to the SOx emission problem in alumina refineries. Specifically, we aim to make use of the waste causticiser sludge discharged during the causticisation of the liquor streams and the used filter aid after the polishing filtration of the ref ....Development of a Novel Flue Gas Desulphurization Technology for Alumina Refineries. This project aims to develop a novel technology of flue gas desulphurization for alumina industry. The successful completion of this project will provide a practical solution to the SOx emission problem in alumina refineries. Specifically, we aim to make use of the waste causticiser sludge discharged during the causticisation of the liquor streams and the used filter aid after the polishing filtration of the refinery pregnant liquors as reagent to remove SOx emitted by the power house and the alumina calciners. We also aim to recover some alumina during the process of flue gas desulphurization thus further reducing the cost of air pollution control.Read moreRead less
Development of a Trickle Filter for Treating Sour Water from Oil Shale Processing Plants. Oil is extracted from oil shale by pyrolysing pre-dried crushed shale. Despite drying , the shale retains a residual moisture level of approximately 5% which ultimately ends up as an aqueous phase in the condensate stream from the pyrolysis process. This aqueous phase, know as sour water, contains a range of organic compounds, including carboxylic acids, nitorgen heterocyclics and ketones. This aim of thi ....Development of a Trickle Filter for Treating Sour Water from Oil Shale Processing Plants. Oil is extracted from oil shale by pyrolysing pre-dried crushed shale. Despite drying , the shale retains a residual moisture level of approximately 5% which ultimately ends up as an aqueous phase in the condensate stream from the pyrolysis process. This aqueous phase, know as sour water, contains a range of organic compounds, including carboxylic acids, nitorgen heterocyclics and ketones. This aim of this proposal is to develop trickle filters to treat the sour water. The biofilms that develop in trickle filters are ideal for supporting slow growing microbial species. Research is needed to transfer native microorganisms in the oil shale desposit to the durable gravels that will be used in the filter.Read moreRead less
Smart metering founding a holistic evidence-based performance evaluation framework and demand forecasting model for diversified water supply schemes. The Australian water industry faces the challenge of catering for the potable water demand of a rapidly expanding population with reduced reliability on supply imposed by an increasingly variable climate. Diversified water supply schemes (DWSS) incorporating decentralised systems or reuse sources are touted as a means to handle the inherent weaknes ....Smart metering founding a holistic evidence-based performance evaluation framework and demand forecasting model for diversified water supply schemes. The Australian water industry faces the challenge of catering for the potable water demand of a rapidly expanding population with reduced reliability on supply imposed by an increasingly variable climate. Diversified water supply schemes (DWSS) incorporating decentralised systems or reuse sources are touted as a means to handle the inherent weaknesses of centralised urban water supply schemes by potentially drawing 30-50 per cent less demand on their reserves. This research study will provide evidence to support the implementation of best practice DWSS based on an evidence based holistic assessment of their performance considering potable water savings, capital and operation costs, energy demand, as well as environmental and community impacts.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
Sequestration of CO2 with enhanced methane recovery from deep coal. Coal and gas represent the main energy source for the Australian and many other national economies into the foreseeable future. The continuing use of these critical resources requires that greenhouse gas emission issues be addressed. Any serious attempt to achieve reduced emission of CO2 from power generation requires sequestration as a necessary element. A plausible method for cost effective sequestration of large amounts of ....Sequestration of CO2 with enhanced methane recovery from deep coal. Coal and gas represent the main energy source for the Australian and many other national economies into the foreseeable future. The continuing use of these critical resources requires that greenhouse gas emission issues be addressed. Any serious attempt to achieve reduced emission of CO2 from power generation requires sequestration as a necessary element. A plausible method for cost effective sequestration of large amounts of CO2 is by geological fixing in deep, unminable coal. The key technological and scientific issues regarding capacity, rate, technical viability and site selection form the basis of this proposal.Read moreRead less