Enhancing the productivity of wastewater desalination. Climate change is causing reduced rainfall over much of populated Australia. New technology to enable membrane desalination of wastewater treatment effluent will be developed to provide secure reliable water supplies for Australian (and international) urban and regional communities. Application of the technology to Western Treatment Plant at Werribee will provide up to 10 gigalitres/year of recycled water to the local agricultural, business ....Enhancing the productivity of wastewater desalination. Climate change is causing reduced rainfall over much of populated Australia. New technology to enable membrane desalination of wastewater treatment effluent will be developed to provide secure reliable water supplies for Australian (and international) urban and regional communities. Application of the technology to Western Treatment Plant at Werribee will provide up to 10 gigalitres/year of recycled water to the local agricultural, business and tourism precincts. The economy, community and environment will benefit due to reduced use of potable, river and ground water. Wide application of this technology to wastewater and brackish water will lead to similar benefits and an environmentally sustainable Australia.
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Synthesis of Activated Carbon Supported Zero Valent Iron Nanoparticles and Application to Contaminant Degradation in Benthic Sediments. Sediment contamination is a major problem in harbours and estuaries around Australia. For example, in Sydney Harbour, a total fishing ban has been implemented as a result of excessive levels of dioxins and benzofurans in fish tissues. There is also concern at the possibility of large scale contamination of Botany Bay as a result of historic industrial activity a ....Synthesis of Activated Carbon Supported Zero Valent Iron Nanoparticles and Application to Contaminant Degradation in Benthic Sediments. Sediment contamination is a major problem in harbours and estuaries around Australia. For example, in Sydney Harbour, a total fishing ban has been implemented as a result of excessive levels of dioxins and benzofurans in fish tissues. There is also concern at the possibility of large scale contamination of Botany Bay as a result of historic industrial activity around the Bay. While dredging and on-land treatment of sediments is being adopted at the most severely contaminated sites, the cost of this approach is exorbitant. For sites where removal of contaminated sediments cannot be justified, the approach proposed in this study of a technology that entraps contaminants and enhances their in situ biodegradation is potentially a way forward.Read moreRead less
Recycling lignocellulosic agricultural waste as an iron oxide reductant in ferrous processing. This project seeks to recycle agricultural waste as a renewable carbon resource to replace coal-based metallurgical coke as a raw material in ferrous processing. This approach will lead to an innovative recycling of this waste, wherein nothing is wasted and maximum value is extracted from agricultural materials.
Novel recycling approach for automotive waste glass and plastics. This project will develop innovative recycling of automotive waste containing glass and plastics by converting them into value-added material resources. The project outcomes will allow industries to tackle this global waste challenge, reduce landfill burden and enhance waste recycling in Australia.
Enhancing Biological Denitrification by Addition of External Carbon Sources: What, Where and When. External carbon addition for enhancing nitrogen removal is being increasingly used by wastewater treatment industry both in Australia and worldwide. This technology adds considerably to the operating cost, to which the non-optimal use of carbon sources has contributed significantly. To ensure long-term optimal denitrification performance with minimal use of external carbon, we will perform the firs ....Enhancing Biological Denitrification by Addition of External Carbon Sources: What, Where and When. External carbon addition for enhancing nitrogen removal is being increasingly used by wastewater treatment industry both in Australia and worldwide. This technology adds considerably to the operating cost, to which the non-optimal use of carbon sources has contributed significantly. To ensure long-term optimal denitrification performance with minimal use of external carbon, we will perform the first comprehensive study of the impact of external carbon addition on the denitrifying community and denitrification performance and, on this basis, answer the questions of what carbon sources should be used, where and when/how they should be added under various process design and operational conditions.Read moreRead less
Optimal management of corrosion and odour problems in sewer systems. Pollutants in wastewater undergo complex changes in sewers, leading to the production and release of odorous and corrosive compounds. Despite major efforts and expenditure by water utilities to mitigate these problems, odorous emissions from sewers are still commonly occurring in urban areas. Furthermore, the value of public assets is significantly diminished due to sewer corrosion, costing hundreds of millions of dollars a yea ....Optimal management of corrosion and odour problems in sewer systems. Pollutants in wastewater undergo complex changes in sewers, leading to the production and release of odorous and corrosive compounds. Despite major efforts and expenditure by water utilities to mitigate these problems, odorous emissions from sewers are still commonly occurring in urban areas. Furthermore, the value of public assets is significantly diminished due to sewer corrosion, costing hundreds of millions of dollars a year in Australia alone. This project is a major joint effort by the Australian water industry and world-leading scientists to generate advanced knowledge and develop effective technologies for optimal odour and corrosion management in sewers, delivering large social, environmental and economic benefits.Read moreRead less
Understanding the Biotransformation Processes in a Sewer System to Achieve Optimal Management. Sewer corrosion and odour emissions are incurring massive costs to the wastewater management authorities. These problems are primarily caused by the hydrogen sulfide produced by the in-sewer biotransformation processes. Through integrating controlled laboratory experiments, extensive field measurement/experiments and advanced computer modelling, the project aims to generate a fundamental understanding ....Understanding the Biotransformation Processes in a Sewer System to Achieve Optimal Management. Sewer corrosion and odour emissions are incurring massive costs to the wastewater management authorities. These problems are primarily caused by the hydrogen sulfide produced by the in-sewer biotransformation processes. Through integrating controlled laboratory experiments, extensive field measurement/experiments and advanced computer modelling, the project aims to generate a fundamental understanding of the in-sewer biotransformation processes, in particular those occurring in sewer biofilms and sediments, and to provide scientific and engineering support to the wastewater authorities to manage their sewers in a more cost-effective way. Emphasis is placed on the integrated sewer and wastewater treatment performance to achieve overall optimal wastewater management.Read moreRead less
Understanding and mitigating nitrous oxide emission from wastewater treatment plants. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges that mankind is facing. Substantial reduction in emissions must be achieved, with responsibility to be shared by all industrial sectors. Wastewater systems contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through not only energy consumptions but also direct emissions of fugitive greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide. This project aim ....Understanding and mitigating nitrous oxide emission from wastewater treatment plants. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges that mankind is facing. Substantial reduction in emissions must be achieved, with responsibility to be shared by all industrial sectors. Wastewater systems contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through not only energy consumptions but also direct emissions of fugitive greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide. This project aims to provide knowledge and technology support to the Australian wastewater industry to minimize the emission of nitrous oxide during biological nitrogen removal from wastewater. This is critically important for this industry to achieve greenhouse gas neutral wastewater management.Read moreRead less
High performance conductive mesoporous carbon electrodes: a low energy desalination alternative. The high cost of existing desalination technology has limited its wider application. There is an urgent need for alternatives which require less energy than current methods. The proposed electrosorption process utilising porous carbon electrodes has the advantage of very low energy demand. Electrosorption therefore has the opportunity to become an alternative desalination option for application in a ....High performance conductive mesoporous carbon electrodes: a low energy desalination alternative. The high cost of existing desalination technology has limited its wider application. There is an urgent need for alternatives which require less energy than current methods. The proposed electrosorption process utilising porous carbon electrodes has the advantage of very low energy demand. Electrosorption therefore has the opportunity to become an alternative desalination option for application in a national and global water desalination market. Advancement in water desalination technology has the potential for a profound social, economical and environmental impact. This vital research is aligned with the National Research Priority 1, An Environmentally Sustainable Australia; Priority Goal: Water, A critical resource.Read moreRead less
Sewer corrosion reduction through model-supported ventilation control. Ventilation is one of the key technologies for sewer corrosion control. However, its design and operation are currently based on experience and empirical equations, often leading to unsatisfactory results. By integrating in-depth laboratory and pilot-sewer studies under defined conditions with extensive field investigations, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop critical models to predict the corrosion process in res ....Sewer corrosion reduction through model-supported ventilation control. Ventilation is one of the key technologies for sewer corrosion control. However, its design and operation are currently based on experience and empirical equations, often leading to unsatisfactory results. By integrating in-depth laboratory and pilot-sewer studies under defined conditions with extensive field investigations, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop critical models to predict the corrosion process in response to ventilation and dynamic wastewater and atmospheric conditions, enabling model-based sewer ventilation design and operation. The project also aims to deliver novel, field-demonstrated ventilation strategies. The project findings will be incorporated in the Australian ventilation design and operation guidelines.Read moreRead less