Sustainable Technology for Removal of Trace Contaminants in Rural Water Supplies. Provision of safe drinking water treatment using sustainable technology which can be applied in rural locations and emergency situations is the main aim of this project. A hybrid membrane process will be combined with solar energy for the removal of pathogens and trace pollutants such as uranium, fluoride, arsenic, boron and nitrates. The technology will be designed for remote community situations and hence be robu ....Sustainable Technology for Removal of Trace Contaminants in Rural Water Supplies. Provision of safe drinking water treatment using sustainable technology which can be applied in rural locations and emergency situations is the main aim of this project. A hybrid membrane process will be combined with solar energy for the removal of pathogens and trace pollutants such as uranium, fluoride, arsenic, boron and nitrates. The technology will be designed for remote community situations and hence be robust and low in maintenance. Using solar energy is a challenge for trace contaminant removal as the operating conditions vary with the power fluctuations, which presents a substantially different situation to grid power connection.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 and innovation in outer-suburban housing developments. This project will investigate the sustainability outcomes that are possible in outer suburban project homes using current building and design technologies, and the barriers to the uptake of these technologies more broadly in outer suburban project home developments. The outcomes will include a critically needed decision support tool to help the industry to meet regulatory requirements for more sustainable housing. The project ....Sustainability and innovation in outer-suburban housing developments. This project will investigate the sustainability outcomes that are possible in outer suburban project homes using current building and design technologies, and the barriers to the uptake of these technologies more broadly in outer suburban project home developments. The outcomes will include a critically needed decision support tool to help the industry to meet regulatory requirements for more sustainable housing. The project is strongly supported by a consortium of industry partners including the Urban and Regional Land Corporation, Metricon Homes, Building Commission, Origin Energy, City West Water, Melbourne Water, Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria and Hassell Architects.
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Design Of Practical Passive Cooling Radiators Utilising Spectrally Selective Covers And Surfaces. Radiative cooling offers a means to cool buildings sustainably without complex and costly heat pumps or air conditioners. Units similar to solar panels can be designed with surfaces which radiate mostly into the 8 - 12 micron atmospheric window, which has a radiance much less than for other wavelengths. Commercial development has been limited by problems associated with the degradation, performance ....Design Of Practical Passive Cooling Radiators Utilising Spectrally Selective Covers And Surfaces. Radiative cooling offers a means to cool buildings sustainably without complex and costly heat pumps or air conditioners. Units similar to solar panels can be designed with surfaces which radiate mostly into the 8 - 12 micron atmospheric window, which has a radiance much less than for other wavelengths. Commercial development has been limited by problems associated with the degradation, performance or cost of radiator surfaces. This project seeks to improve both performance and durability with innovative use of alternative materials and sputtered coatings suitable for mass manufacture, and to test the outdoor performance of laboratory produced radiative plates.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100113
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,437.00
Summary
Interactions between volumetric units in modular buildings. This project aims to develop an in-depth understanding of the interactions between volumetric units in modular buildings to develop integration strategies for the interconnection of modules. The uptake of modular construction has been hindered by the technical complexities of the design process for manufacture and assembly, in particular the flexible connection of services. By addressing significant gaps in the guidance on the design of ....Interactions between volumetric units in modular buildings. This project aims to develop an in-depth understanding of the interactions between volumetric units in modular buildings to develop integration strategies for the interconnection of modules. The uptake of modular construction has been hindered by the technical complexities of the design process for manufacture and assembly, in particular the flexible connection of services. By addressing significant gaps in the guidance on the design of modular interconnections and their integration strategies, this project expects to enhance the industry’s capacity to adopt safe, economical and standardised designs of modular systems. This project should significantly reduce the risk in decision making in modular construction, and transformation to advanced building manufacturing technologies in Australia and beyond.Read moreRead less
Integrated Autonomous Housing for Remote Australian Communities: Analysis, Synthesis and Testing. At remote mining communities, little consideration is given to comfort or energy efficiency in housing - services have not been optimised to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and solid waste. This project will address these environmental issues and the associated social problems by combining the resources of BHP Billiton and the University of Newcastle to develop a model for remot ....Integrated Autonomous Housing for Remote Australian Communities: Analysis, Synthesis and Testing. At remote mining communities, little consideration is given to comfort or energy efficiency in housing - services have not been optimised to minimise greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption and solid waste. This project will address these environmental issues and the associated social problems by combining the resources of BHP Billiton and the University of Newcastle to develop a model for remote housing. The project aims to design and test an integrated low impact or autonomous transportable house. The results of this research are applicable to remote defence sites, small rural townships and Aboriginal communities as well as for international export.Read moreRead less
A pilot study to demonstrate the use of 15N tracers for determining the flow of nitrogen through lower food webs. This project will have a significant impact on the way wetland wastewater treatment and reuse (WWTR) facilities are constructed in the future. Addressing the key biochemical issues to WWTR systems this study will facilitate improved construction design and management to optimise treatment performance. As National Priority One Area, sustainable water use and the efficiency of WWTR sys ....A pilot study to demonstrate the use of 15N tracers for determining the flow of nitrogen through lower food webs. This project will have a significant impact on the way wetland wastewater treatment and reuse (WWTR) facilities are constructed in the future. Addressing the key biochemical issues to WWTR systems this study will facilitate improved construction design and management to optimise treatment performance. As National Priority One Area, sustainable water use and the efficiency of WWTR systems is fundamental to our economic and social development. The results gleaned from this study will assist in the future design of WWTR systems that will be transferable outside the local study area and as such be of potential benefit both Nationally and internationally.Read moreRead less
Adverse effects of sopite syndrome on occupants in wind-excited buildings. Current building motion design guidelines focus primarily on motion perception and complaint rates. However, wind-induced building motion can cause sopite syndrome or early onset motion sickness which adversely affects occupant wellbeing and work performance. This research aims to advance the understanding of the physiology of sopite syndrome, quantify the motion dosage that causes sopite syndrome and determine its advers ....Adverse effects of sopite syndrome on occupants in wind-excited buildings. Current building motion design guidelines focus primarily on motion perception and complaint rates. However, wind-induced building motion can cause sopite syndrome or early onset motion sickness which adversely affects occupant wellbeing and work performance. This research aims to advance the understanding of the physiology of sopite syndrome, quantify the motion dosage that causes sopite syndrome and determine its adverse effects on building occupants in real-world motion environments. This knowledge is expected to guide the formulation of building motion acceptability criteria based on safe motion exposure duration to facilitate the design of tall building that promotes population health and wellbeing and lifts work performance and productivity.Read moreRead less
Engineering defect-intensive ozonation catalysts to degrade micropollutants. This project aims to engineer unique particles containing defect-intensive surfaces which are designed to accelerate the catalytic ozonation of waters contaminated with pharmaceuticals and other recalcitrant pollutants. This will enable timely treatment of industrial waste water as well as sewerage treatment plant effluents using simple and cheap catalyst materials. Wet- and flame-based particle fabrication technologies ....Engineering defect-intensive ozonation catalysts to degrade micropollutants. This project aims to engineer unique particles containing defect-intensive surfaces which are designed to accelerate the catalytic ozonation of waters contaminated with pharmaceuticals and other recalcitrant pollutants. This will enable timely treatment of industrial waste water as well as sewerage treatment plant effluents using simple and cheap catalyst materials. Wet- and flame-based particle fabrication technologies paired with unique post-synthesis treatment strategies, including either a coupled hydrogenation-illumination approach or plasma exposure, will be implemented for defect manipulation so as to produce new cheaper, stable, and higher-performing catalysts for activating ozone to treat water containing pharmaceutical and endocrine disrupting micro-pollutants under different process conditions.Read moreRead less
Advanced Particles and Systems for Photoinduced Processes. One of the most crucial challenges facing chemical scientists is the need for ecologically clean chemical processes and technology. Solar induced processes, such as photocatalysis, are adept at utilising more of our natural energy resources. However, these processes currently suffer from low efficiencies. The proposed research aims to address these issues. Successful implementation of this technology will help place Australian research a ....Advanced Particles and Systems for Photoinduced Processes. One of the most crucial challenges facing chemical scientists is the need for ecologically clean chemical processes and technology. Solar induced processes, such as photocatalysis, are adept at utilising more of our natural energy resources. However, these processes currently suffer from low efficiencies. The proposed research aims to address these issues. Successful implementation of this technology will help place Australian research at the forefront of sustainable methods for water treatment and material synthesis for functional applications. This will provide economic and social benefits due to improvements in processes with higher efficiencies and greater use of clean, natural resources.
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