Homogeneous Combustion Catalysts for Efficiency Improvements and Emission Reduction in Diesel Engines. Australia currently consumes about 25 billion litres of diesel annually through the mining industry, road transportation and electricity generation for remote communities which presentins a significant cost and carbon footprint. A small reduction of say 2.5% in diesel consumption nationwide by improving engine performance and energy efficiency can result in more than $0.5 billion in savings and ....Homogeneous Combustion Catalysts for Efficiency Improvements and Emission Reduction in Diesel Engines. Australia currently consumes about 25 billion litres of diesel annually through the mining industry, road transportation and electricity generation for remote communities which presentins a significant cost and carbon footprint. A small reduction of say 2.5% in diesel consumption nationwide by improving engine performance and energy efficiency can result in more than $0.5 billion in savings and a reduction of 1.75 million tonnes in greenhouse gas emission annually. The homogeneous combustion catalysts, to be developed in this research for direct doping into diesel supply system, will help realise these objectives and contribute to the development of an environmentally sustainable Australia.Read moreRead less
Increasing the operational lifetime and optimising the design of crankcase oil-mist filters. Australia is one of the largest (per capita) users worldwide of heavy diesel engines, within sectors such as transport, mining, construction, shipping and power generation (usage of many of the above is concentrated in regional communities e.g. mining). This work will minimise emissions from such industries, as well as reduce lubricant oil usage - thereby maximising waste oil recovery and reuse (approx 5 ....Increasing the operational lifetime and optimising the design of crankcase oil-mist filters. Australia is one of the largest (per capita) users worldwide of heavy diesel engines, within sectors such as transport, mining, construction, shipping and power generation (usage of many of the above is concentrated in regional communities e.g. mining). This work will minimise emissions from such industries, as well as reduce lubricant oil usage - thereby maximising waste oil recovery and reuse (approx 5500 tonnes p.a.). Oil mists can be regarded as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) for the purposes of CO2 equivalent emissions, so therefore, the efficient capture of oil mists will reduce carbon emissions from the above industries in Australia.Read moreRead less
Managing Hydrate Formation for Viable CO2 and Energy Transport. Increasing the allowable water content during the pipeline transportation of carbon dioxide (CO2) would greatly increase the viability of carbon capture and storage but would also increase the risk of CO2-hydrate blockages. Subsea methane (CH4) hydrate sediments represent a tremendous new energy resource if blockages in production pipelines can be avoided. Conventional oil industry approaches to hydrate avoidance are of limited rele ....Managing Hydrate Formation for Viable CO2 and Energy Transport. Increasing the allowable water content during the pipeline transportation of carbon dioxide (CO2) would greatly increase the viability of carbon capture and storage but would also increase the risk of CO2-hydrate blockages. Subsea methane (CH4) hydrate sediments represent a tremendous new energy resource if blockages in production pipelines can be avoided. Conventional oil industry approaches to hydrate avoidance are of limited relevance and too expensive for these new applications. Formation probability distributions, cohesive forces and agglomeration tendencies of CO2 and CH4 hydrates are intended to be measured and integrated into predictive multi-phase flow models, enabling quantitative risk assessments of blockages in CO2 transport or hydrate production pipelines.Read moreRead less
Carbon-Supported Iron Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO. Nitric oxide (NO) is a major pollutant from combustion systems. This project aims to develop cost-effective and environmentally benign zerovalent iron catalysts supported on carbon material for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO using CO and unburned hydrocarbons as in-situ reductants. By applying differential reactor experimentation, kinetic modelling and advanced material characterisation techniques, the research w ....Carbon-Supported Iron Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO. Nitric oxide (NO) is a major pollutant from combustion systems. This project aims to develop cost-effective and environmentally benign zerovalent iron catalysts supported on carbon material for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO using CO and unburned hydrocarbons as in-situ reductants. By applying differential reactor experimentation, kinetic modelling and advanced material characterisation techniques, the research will unravel complex relationships among catalyst structural features and activity, NO reduction mechanisms, and catalyst performance under practically relevant combustion conditions that underpin the development of an effective yet affordable SCR technology to control NO emission from industrial utilities and automobiles.Read moreRead less