Efficient Pipeline Transport of Highly Concentrated Wastewater Sludge . This project aims to investigate the rheology and fluid mechanics of highly concentrated wastewater sludges and develop tools to support effective pipeline designs for wastewater treatment plants. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the complex flow of concentrated wastewater which will enable predictive models to support the design and optimization of pipeline transport systems. Expected outcomes of the proj ....Efficient Pipeline Transport of Highly Concentrated Wastewater Sludge . This project aims to investigate the rheology and fluid mechanics of highly concentrated wastewater sludges and develop tools to support effective pipeline designs for wastewater treatment plants. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the complex flow of concentrated wastewater which will enable predictive models to support the design and optimization of pipeline transport systems. Expected outcomes of the project include a new toolkit that will enable wastewater treatment plants to design and optimize both existing and future pipeline systems. This will support the Australian wastewater industry to plan for future growth, increase throughput and efficiency, reduce environmental pollutants, and capital and operating costs.Read moreRead less
Engineering two dimensional polymers for membrane-based chemical separation. This project aims to develop novel two-dimensional polymers with precisely controlled pore-sizes for preparing membrane materials which can efficiently separate these gaseous chemicals at ambient temperatures. Key industrial chemical mixtures with similar size and boiling points are difficult to separate by conventional distillation methods. Currently, purification of olefins alone accounts for 0.3% of global energy use ....Engineering two dimensional polymers for membrane-based chemical separation. This project aims to develop novel two-dimensional polymers with precisely controlled pore-sizes for preparing membrane materials which can efficiently separate these gaseous chemicals at ambient temperatures. Key industrial chemical mixtures with similar size and boiling points are difficult to separate by conventional distillation methods. Currently, purification of olefins alone accounts for 0.3% of global energy use. The expected outcomes of the project will have a huge impact on industrial purification processing by providing a disruptive membrane technology, and will significantly reduce energy consumption and open up new routes for resources.Read moreRead less
Miniaturised biosensors with high selectivity . This project aims to develop a technological platform for the fabrication of miniaturised and flexible sensors that enable the quantitative detection of important bioactive compounds such as fatty acids and biogenic amines. By utilising multi-enzymatic reactions in solid phase and engineering task-specific inks, chemiresistive sensors will be printed seamlessly as a whole. The sensors will respond to complex target biomolecules via a series of enzy ....Miniaturised biosensors with high selectivity . This project aims to develop a technological platform for the fabrication of miniaturised and flexible sensors that enable the quantitative detection of important bioactive compounds such as fatty acids and biogenic amines. By utilising multi-enzymatic reactions in solid phase and engineering task-specific inks, chemiresistive sensors will be printed seamlessly as a whole. The sensors will respond to complex target biomolecules via a series of enzymatic reactions through which the analyte will convert to much simpler, reactive and hence measurable molecules. This project will enable to design miniaturised sensors for point-of-care detection of biomolecules that cannot be yet evaluated by the end users.Read moreRead less
Intracellular manufacturing - high performance biomaterials from methane. The aim of this project is to produce high performance biodegradable polymers directly from methane. The key innovation is employing cutting-edge community genomic and transcriptomic approaches to characterise intracellular production lines in order to tailor polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) copolymer microstructures. This is a truly multidisciplinary project bringing together engineers, polymer scientists and molecu ....Intracellular manufacturing - high performance biomaterials from methane. The aim of this project is to produce high performance biodegradable polymers directly from methane. The key innovation is employing cutting-edge community genomic and transcriptomic approaches to characterise intracellular production lines in order to tailor polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) copolymer microstructures. This is a truly multidisciplinary project bringing together engineers, polymer scientists and molecular biologists. It is expected that a direct outcome of the project will be the first PHBV copolymer from methane. As such, the project aims to develop technology for the production of tough, flexible and affordable biopolymers and, at the same time, provide an opportunity to add value to methane.Read moreRead less
The micro-mechanical origins of creep in granular materials. Creep in granular materials is a concern for many problems in technology and science, including long-term deformations of reservoir dams and sudden instabilities along earthquake faults. This project aims to describe the fine-scale origins of granular creep, as a basis for solving problems of much larger-scale in geomechanics and geophysics.
Industrial biotechnology for the manufacture of alkaloid pharmaceuticals. Drugs that treat opioid dependence and overdose are increasingly needed but their manufacture is difficult, inefficient and expensive. This project aims to develop enzymatic N-demethylation as a simpler and more sustainable approach to the manufacture and modification of opioid antagonists, alkaloids and other drug targets. It will increase our understanding of enzymatic N-demethylation and address engineering and biotechn ....Industrial biotechnology for the manufacture of alkaloid pharmaceuticals. Drugs that treat opioid dependence and overdose are increasingly needed but their manufacture is difficult, inefficient and expensive. This project aims to develop enzymatic N-demethylation as a simpler and more sustainable approach to the manufacture and modification of opioid antagonists, alkaloids and other drug targets. It will increase our understanding of enzymatic N-demethylation and address engineering and biotechnology challenges to improve yield and product isolation and concentration. Improvements in drug manufacturing processes will assist drug affected communities and industry will benefit from value adding, greater market share and flexibility, increased innovation and de-risked processes and new products. Read moreRead less
Scaling microfluidics for cell manufacture. Scaling microfluidics for cell manufacture. This project aims to scale microfluidic devices for cell manufacture. Large-scale cell manufacturing processes (cell selection, gene transfer and culture expansion) are expensive, multistep and labour-intensive processes. Lab-on-a-chip devices can automate and integrate these complex processes at microscale. This project will evaluate a prototype bioreactor. This research is expected to make cell therapies ch ....Scaling microfluidics for cell manufacture. Scaling microfluidics for cell manufacture. This project aims to scale microfluidic devices for cell manufacture. Large-scale cell manufacturing processes (cell selection, gene transfer and culture expansion) are expensive, multistep and labour-intensive processes. Lab-on-a-chip devices can automate and integrate these complex processes at microscale. This project will evaluate a prototype bioreactor. This research is expected to make cell therapies cheap enough to become standard treatment, which would benefit patients with diseases that are incurable by conventional therapies (surgery and drug treatments). It should also benefit the Australian advanced manufacturing sector, particularly biopharmaceutical and cell therapy industries.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101402
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Advanced laser micromachining with femtosecond vector beams. This project is aimed at developing a new method for ultra-precision laser micromachining and dissection of biological tissues using femtosecond vector beams. The capability of these unconventional laser beams to process different materials with unsurpassed precision and efficiency offers significant economic and clinical benefits.
Designing high performance gas separation by interfacial diffusion membrane. This project aims to develop a new generation of interfacial diffusion membranes for industrial gas separations including carbon dioxide removal, nitrogen gas enrichment, methane purification and air separation. The project focuses on advancing separation technologies for the petrochemical, natural gas, and clean energy industries in the mining sector. The project is expected to reveal new separation properties and perf ....Designing high performance gas separation by interfacial diffusion membrane. This project aims to develop a new generation of interfacial diffusion membranes for industrial gas separations including carbon dioxide removal, nitrogen gas enrichment, methane purification and air separation. The project focuses on advancing separation technologies for the petrochemical, natural gas, and clean energy industries in the mining sector. The project is expected to reveal new separation properties and performance based on highly selective interfacial diffusion membranes. The project will also create new scientific knowledge about the role of functional surfaces and nanostructures that will not only facilitate new membrane designs but also offer new, more cost-effective devices for solar conversion, energy storage and harvesting, biomedical applications, sensing and information technology.Read moreRead less
Integrated composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. This project aims to develop multifunctional composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from water, nitrogen gas and renewable energy under ambient conditions. Hydrophobic subnanometre water channels will be integrated with an electrocatalyst to control supply of water as vapour, thereby effectively minimising hydrogen evolution reaction and enabling high-efficiency ammonia synthesis. Expected outcomes i ....Integrated composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia. This project aims to develop multifunctional composite electrodes for electrochemical synthesis of ammonia from water, nitrogen gas and renewable energy under ambient conditions. Hydrophobic subnanometre water channels will be integrated with an electrocatalyst to control supply of water as vapour, thereby effectively minimising hydrogen evolution reaction and enabling high-efficiency ammonia synthesis. Expected outcomes include enhanced capacity in developing electrochemical reaction systems, and new fundamental knowledge of electrocatalyst design and reaction engineering. This should provide significant economic and environmental benefits by developing a sustainable manufacturing technology to transform the century-old ammonia industry.Read moreRead less