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 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
An integrated approach to iron salt use in urban water systems. The project aims to develop and demonstrate an integrated and innovative strategy, and the associated science and technologies, to achieve multiple beneficial uses of iron salts in an urban water system. The project intends to use iron chloride to replace the most commonly used alum as a coagulant in water treatment. The same iron is then further used for corrosion and odour control in sewers, phosphorus removal in wastewater treatm ....An integrated approach to iron salt use in urban water systems. The project aims to develop and demonstrate an integrated and innovative strategy, and the associated science and technologies, to achieve multiple beneficial uses of iron salts in an urban water system. The project intends to use iron chloride to replace the most commonly used alum as a coagulant in water treatment. The same iron is then further used for corrosion and odour control in sewers, phosphorus removal in wastewater treatment reactors and hydrogen sulfide removal from biogas in an anaerobic digester. The strategy is expected to substantially reduce the use of chemicals in the entire urban water system, delivering large economic and environmental benefits to urban water utilities.Read moreRead less
In-situ electrochemical generation of caustic and oxygen from sewage for emission control in sewers. This project aims to deliver an innovative technology that controls the emission of notorious compounds from sewer networks using chemicals directly produced from sewage, with electricity being the input. Compared to existing methods, this technology provides a much safer and more environmentally friendly solution, at less than 50 per cent of the cost.
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354804
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impac ....ARC Research Network on Degraded Environment Assessment and Remediation. There are over 80,000 contaminated sites in Australia and >750,000,000 hectares of land impacted by soil acidity, sodicity, heavy-metals, nutrients and agricultural chemicals. The research network advances assessment, management and remediation of degraded environments (land, water, and air) through collaboration of the research programs developing sustainable solutions. The collective focus is minimising disposal and impacts of contaminated soil and wastes, and land remediation. By facilitating communication, the network enhances national and international research coordination, interaction with regulators, end-users, industry, and other stakeholders, achievement of critical mass for new initiatives, enhances research training and contributes to a critical National Priority.Read moreRead less
Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and influence of wastewater discharges. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial emission reduction must be achieved, with responsibilities to be shared by all sectors. Rivers, estuaries and water storages contribute considerably to global nitrous oxide and methane emissions, much of which is anthropogenic contributed by urban and agricultural run-of ....Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and influence of wastewater discharges. Climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions is one of the most serious challenges facing mankind. Substantial emission reduction must be achieved, with responsibilities to be shared by all sectors. Rivers, estuaries and water storages contribute considerably to global nitrous oxide and methane emissions, much of which is anthropogenic contributed by urban and agricultural run-off and wastewater discharges. Through an in-depth study on several rivers, estuaries and reservoirs in South East Queensland, this project will provide data to enable reliable estimation of such emissions in Australia, and deliver knowledge and tool support for the development of strategic catchment management strategies.Read moreRead less
Optimising dissolved air flotation (DAF) for algae removal by bubble modification in drinking water and advanced wastewater systems. Algal blooms in potable water reservoirs and advanced wastewater treatment lagoons can impact the performance and economic viability of water treatment processes resulting in taste and odour episodes and the risk of algal toxins as well as causing further limitation to already stressed water resources in Australia. This project aims to develop an adaptation of the ....Optimising dissolved air flotation (DAF) for algae removal by bubble modification in drinking water and advanced wastewater systems. Algal blooms in potable water reservoirs and advanced wastewater treatment lagoons can impact the performance and economic viability of water treatment processes resulting in taste and odour episodes and the risk of algal toxins as well as causing further limitation to already stressed water resources in Australia. This project aims to develop an adaptation of the dissolved air flotation process that is already used for algae treatment that will provide a more robust, economic and sustainable barrier to algal cells in accordance with the Australian Drinking and Recycled Water Guidelines.Read moreRead less
Bio-electrochemical sulfate reduction and sulfur recovery without external carbon source. Highly acidic waterways and mining wastewaters create major environmental challenges in inland Australia. This project will use novel, solar driven biological processes to remove the acid and metals from these streams and enable beneficial reuse of the water and other resources recovered in the process.
Microbial fuel cells for nutrient recovery from source-separated urine. This project aims to reduce the strain on urban wastewater treatment plants by removing and recovering nutrients from water collected in residential and commercial buildings. Urban wastewater treatment plants in Australia are under pressure from increasing population and urbanisation, and there are also ever stricter environmental regulations on discharge of nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) into receiving waters. W ....Microbial fuel cells for nutrient recovery from source-separated urine. This project aims to reduce the strain on urban wastewater treatment plants by removing and recovering nutrients from water collected in residential and commercial buildings. Urban wastewater treatment plants in Australia are under pressure from increasing population and urbanisation, and there are also ever stricter environmental regulations on discharge of nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) into receiving waters. With many plants operating close to capacity, water utilities may face large expenditure to increase the capacity of existing treatment facilities. This project proposes an alternative solution: decentralised removal and recovery of nutrients from urine separated at the source. It is planned that novel microbial fuel cell technology will be developed to deliver an economical solution, which will additionally generate valuable fertiliser as a by-product.Read moreRead less
Sustainable production of chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide. This project intends to deliver a cost-effective efficient bioelectrochemical process converting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into chemicals and fuels. Microbes are fascinating organisms giving us cheese, beer and wine. A special group of bacteria is even able to produce electricity from waste materials, or eat electricity to convert CO2 emissions into chemicals. This process has the potential to dramatically improve the sustai ....Sustainable production of chemicals and fuels from carbon dioxide. This project intends to deliver a cost-effective efficient bioelectrochemical process converting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into chemicals and fuels. Microbes are fascinating organisms giving us cheese, beer and wine. A special group of bacteria is even able to produce electricity from waste materials, or eat electricity to convert CO2 emissions into chemicals. This process has the potential to dramatically improve the sustainability of future chemical industry and environmental biotechnology. It has been shown that acetate, an important precursor in the chemical industry, can be produced in laboratory-scale reactors using selected microbial communities. The goal of the project is to engineer a process able to produce a broad range of biochemicals and biofuels from CO2 at high rates and high product concentrations.Read moreRead less