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
Thermal isolation: a novel pathway to transforming complex waste. This project aims to establish a novel pathway for transforming complex waste otherwise destined for landfill into valuable products and resources. By leveraging high temperature reactions, the team plans to thermally isolate useful carbons and silica from within automotive shredder residue (ASR) in situ, to produce activated carbon products and silica layers, and so completely recycle this bulk toxic waste for the first time. Suc ....Thermal isolation: a novel pathway to transforming complex waste. This project aims to establish a novel pathway for transforming complex waste otherwise destined for landfill into valuable products and resources. By leveraging high temperature reactions, the team plans to thermally isolate useful carbons and silica from within automotive shredder residue (ASR) in situ, to produce activated carbon products and silica layers, and so completely recycle this bulk toxic waste for the first time. Such innovative new pathways for separating out valuable materials from complex and toxic wastes offer industries an alternative low-cost and sustainable source of raw materials, while reducing pressures on landfills and finite natural resources.Read moreRead less
On-Chip Detection and Molecular Fingerprinting of Emerging Toxicants. The project aims to address key questions about the development and integration of advanced materials and functional molecules into cutting-edge analytical tools for screening emerging environmental pollutants. This is expected to generate fundamental and applied knowledge in analytical chemistry, using an interdisciplinary approach to engineer materials with precisely tailored properties for ultra-sensitive and selective dete ....On-Chip Detection and Molecular Fingerprinting of Emerging Toxicants. The project aims to address key questions about the development and integration of advanced materials and functional molecules into cutting-edge analytical tools for screening emerging environmental pollutants. This is expected to generate fundamental and applied knowledge in analytical chemistry, using an interdisciplinary approach to engineer materials with precisely tailored properties for ultra-sensitive and selective detection of extremely persistent toxicants in water. Anticipated outcomes are optical materials and functional molecules, integrated into lab-on-a-chip platforms with advanced features for real-life environmental applications – with significant benefits for addressing major environmental and health treats to our society.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH130200025
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,181,756.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for transforming waste directly in cost-effective green manufacturing. ARC Research Hub for transforming waste directly in cost-effective green manufacturing. This Research Hub aims to create a unique opportunity for completely different industries to come together, with a common goal of creating value from mixed plastic and glass waste in manufacturing. Starting with fundamental investigations of the transformation behaviour of waste materials under high temperature conditions, ....ARC Research Hub for transforming waste directly in cost-effective green manufacturing. ARC Research Hub for transforming waste directly in cost-effective green manufacturing. This Research Hub aims to create a unique opportunity for completely different industries to come together, with a common goal of creating value from mixed plastic and glass waste in manufacturing. Starting with fundamental investigations of the transformation behaviour of waste materials under high temperature conditions, the hub will focus on developing scalable solutions for its manufacturing partners towards reducing the consumption of primary resources while simultaneously diverting waste streams from landfill. Additionally, the potential of using such transformations to yield improved products such as wear-resistant grinding media and light-weight building materials will be investigated to enhance Australian manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH190100009
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,317,500.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Microrecycling of battery and consumer wastes . This project aims to transform Australia’s waste and resource recovery industry by equipping it with scientifically developed advanced manufacturing capability, focusing on small-scale processing of materials produced from battery and consumer wastes which would otherwise mostly end up in landfill. The project will deliver new knowledge in high-temperature reactions of waste and selective synthesis techniques to transform waste ....ARC Research Hub for Microrecycling of battery and consumer wastes . This project aims to transform Australia’s waste and resource recovery industry by equipping it with scientifically developed advanced manufacturing capability, focusing on small-scale processing of materials produced from battery and consumer wastes which would otherwise mostly end up in landfill. The project will deliver new knowledge in high-temperature reactions of waste and selective synthesis techniques to transform waste into valuable materials and products, including metallic alloys, oxides and carbon. Expected outcomes include industry adoption of commercially viable technology and processes where low value or complex waste is reformed into higher value materials, creating jobs and significant environmental and social benefits.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.
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL140100215
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,370,000.00
Summary
Fundamental high temperature e-waste investigations for high-value products. Fundamental high temperature e-waste investigations for high-value products. This project aims to transform toxic electronic waste (e-waste) into value added metals and alloys, simultaneously segregating hazardous constituents and preventing the generation of harmful emissions during processing. Huge stockpiles of this fast growing waste stream are creating a crisis of quantity as well as of toxic ingredients posing ser ....Fundamental high temperature e-waste investigations for high-value products. Fundamental high temperature e-waste investigations for high-value products. This project aims to transform toxic electronic waste (e-waste) into value added metals and alloys, simultaneously segregating hazardous constituents and preventing the generation of harmful emissions during processing. Huge stockpiles of this fast growing waste stream are creating a crisis of quantity as well as of toxic ingredients posing serious health and environmental problems. Using atomic-level simulations, rapid heating, high temperatures (1000-1600 C) and selective thermal transformations, this project aims to establish novel pathways for a controlled transformation of e-waste. Microrecycling fundamentals on high temperature transformations of metals, plastics and oxides and other micro-level phenomena will be established.Read moreRead less
Ultrathin membranes of novel structures for highly efficient water reuse. This project aims to develop a new generation of reverse osmosis membranes to enable significantly more efficient water reuse. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of membrane technology and wastewater reclamation using innovative designs of membrane structures and new techniques for membrane synthesis. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of highly permeable and high selective reve ....Ultrathin membranes of novel structures for highly efficient water reuse. This project aims to develop a new generation of reverse osmosis membranes to enable significantly more efficient water reuse. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the area of membrane technology and wastewater reclamation using innovative designs of membrane structures and new techniques for membrane synthesis. Expected outcomes of the project include the development of highly permeable and high selective reverse osmosis membranes. This project should provide significant benefits to water reuse by greatly improving product water quality and dramatically reducing its energy consumption by over 50 per cent, which in turn addresses the challenges of water scarcity and water-energy nexus.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150100393
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$335,000.00
Summary
Reducing nitrous oxide emission in wastewater systems by pathway regulation. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas that can be produced during biological nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment systems. N2O emissions primarily occur in aerated zones due to active striping, and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are the major contributors to N2O production under such conditions. The project aims to carry out a systematic study on N2O production by AOB in mixed culture wastewater treatment ....Reducing nitrous oxide emission in wastewater systems by pathway regulation. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas that can be produced during biological nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment systems. N2O emissions primarily occur in aerated zones due to active striping, and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) are the major contributors to N2O production under such conditions. The project aims to carry out a systematic study on N2O production by AOB in mixed culture wastewater treatment systems. The project aims to advance the fundamental knowledge on N2O production pathways by AOB under different operational conditions, and deliver a modelling tool for reliably estimating N2O emission from wastewater treatment systems as well as strategies to reduce the emissions.Read moreRead less