Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based ....Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based waste (including food, garden, paper, and wood) and fossil-fuel derived materials (plastics). Using an innovative and environmentally-sustainable catalytic process, the outcomes of this project are aimed alleviating Australia’s dependence on diesel fuel imports and better waste management solutions in Australia.Read moreRead less
Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite ....Development of nanoporous materials for capture and release of oxygen. This project aims to develop new materials to make lighter, more efficient oxygen concentrators. The project will combine materials that can capture oxygen with particles that can be magnetically heated, making it possible to release the oxygen rapidly and efficiently when needed. Expected outcomes from this project include new composite materials and better understanding of how gases are trapped and released within composite materials. Benefits from this project may include oxygen concentrators that are more portable and have longer battery life, both with industrial and medical applications.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101687
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,000.00
Summary
Nanostructure Tailoring of Inorganic Membranes by Rapid Thermal Processing. This project aims to produce inorganic membranes with desired nanostructures using a Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) technique for gas separation applications. The key concept of the research is that the RTP will be able to achieve thin-film membrane layer with a finer microstructure and pore size control without heat stress-induced cracking. RTP aims to deliver superior membrane performance with less than 10 per cent of ....Nanostructure Tailoring of Inorganic Membranes by Rapid Thermal Processing. This project aims to produce inorganic membranes with desired nanostructures using a Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP) technique for gas separation applications. The key concept of the research is that the RTP will be able to achieve thin-film membrane layer with a finer microstructure and pore size control without heat stress-induced cracking. RTP aims to deliver superior membrane performance with less than 10 per cent of the fabrication time compared to normal slow calcination. The outcomes of this new technology aims to make inorganic membranes a commercial reality and maximize the membrane manufacturing capability and productivity of petrochemcial, chemical and clean coal/energy industries.Read moreRead less
Advanced chemical recycling of mixed plastics for monomer recovery. This project aims to develop innovative catalytic routes to the chemical recycling of mixed plastics for recovery of their molecular building blocks. Plastic pollution poses a significant threat to the Australian ecosystem. Efficient recycling technologies are urgently needed as Australia only recycles ~4% of its 3.4 million tons of mixed waste plastics. This project expects to design highly efficient catalysts for the stepwise ....Advanced chemical recycling of mixed plastics for monomer recovery. This project aims to develop innovative catalytic routes to the chemical recycling of mixed plastics for recovery of their molecular building blocks. Plastic pollution poses a significant threat to the Australian ecosystem. Efficient recycling technologies are urgently needed as Australia only recycles ~4% of its 3.4 million tons of mixed waste plastics. This project expects to design highly efficient catalysts for the stepwise breakdown of mixed polyolefin plastics into monomers for the subsequent manufacturing of virgin plastics in a circular economy, and to elucidate fundamental underpinning reaction mechanisms. Outcomes will stimulate the Australian waste plastic recycling industry, and minimise plastic accumulation in the environment.Read moreRead less
Manufacturing high value carbon products and chemicals from spent tyres. Manufacturing high value carbon products and chemicals from spent tyres. This project aims to develop an innovative and integrated thermochemical process for use of spent tyres. Australia disposes of more than 400,000 tonnes of spent tyres per annum in landfills, stockpiles and random dumping, incurring significant environmental hazards, serious health risks and wastage of resources. This research is expected to result in n ....Manufacturing high value carbon products and chemicals from spent tyres. Manufacturing high value carbon products and chemicals from spent tyres. This project aims to develop an innovative and integrated thermochemical process for use of spent tyres. Australia disposes of more than 400,000 tonnes of spent tyres per annum in landfills, stockpiles and random dumping, incurring significant environmental hazards, serious health risks and wastage of resources. This research is expected to result in new knowledge of the thermal behaviour of rubber and new techniques to identify, extract and use high value carbon materials and chemicals from thermochemical processing of spent tyres. The research outcomes are expected to provide a technological foundation for an emerging industry for environmentally responsible and economically self-sustaining use of spent tyres.Read moreRead less
Bubble Dynamics in Fine Droplets: Behaviour and Control. The principal vision in this project is to gain a deeper understanding of the formation, growth and collapse of bubbles within micron-size droplets and, in doing so, provide the technical underpinning necessary to advance the development of a range of emerging technologies in the light alloys manufacturing, atomisation, non-invasive medical therapy, drug delivery, and nucleation / solidification in thermal energy storage systems. Expected ....Bubble Dynamics in Fine Droplets: Behaviour and Control. The principal vision in this project is to gain a deeper understanding of the formation, growth and collapse of bubbles within micron-size droplets and, in doing so, provide the technical underpinning necessary to advance the development of a range of emerging technologies in the light alloys manufacturing, atomisation, non-invasive medical therapy, drug delivery, and nucleation / solidification in thermal energy storage systems. Expected outcomes include new experimental evidence and validated mathematical models for the analysis of bubbles encapsulated by fine droplets. The outcomes should significantly enhance Australia’s research and innovation capacity in the field of confined space bubble dynamics and related industrial applications. Read moreRead less
Fires of halogenated industrial chemicals and their impact on the Australian environment. Recent large fires of industrial chemicals in Australia led to significant environmental pollution. In this project, we will develop sophisticated techniques to assess pollutants formed in fires of commonly used industrial chemicals. The results will find immediate applications in training fire brigades in their response to chemical fires.
Low emission iron and steelmaking using hydrogen to pre-reduce lump ore. This project aims to develop and apply a new route of lump iron ore pre-reduction with hydrogen or H2-enriched gases for ironmaking to minimise CO2 emission from steel production. The route will be built up on the base of H2 reduction kinetics of iron ore and with novel technologies such as CO2 recycle and H2-heating using hot blast, underpinning the hydrogen economy by addressing the environmental concerns in mineral and s ....Low emission iron and steelmaking using hydrogen to pre-reduce lump ore. This project aims to develop and apply a new route of lump iron ore pre-reduction with hydrogen or H2-enriched gases for ironmaking to minimise CO2 emission from steel production. The route will be built up on the base of H2 reduction kinetics of iron ore and with novel technologies such as CO2 recycle and H2-heating using hot blast, underpinning the hydrogen economy by addressing the environmental concerns in mineral and steel industries. It is not only significant for low-carbon steel production, but also for better fundamental understanding to develop the future zero-emission iron and steelmaking with hydrogen. The project will be very beneficent because it increases the use of lump iron ore and expends Australian export of iron ores.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100429
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$406,177.00
Summary
Bioinspired Photocatalysts for Solar-Driven Hydrogen Peroxide Production. This project aims to develop advanced photocatalysts that can efficiently produce hydrogen peroxide from just water, air, and sunlight. By mimicking the structure and function of the natural photosynthetic apparatus, the key innovations are expected in the design of reaction-oriented conjugated polymer-based photocatalysts at the atomic and molecular nanostructure levels. It expects to generate new knowledge in artificial ....Bioinspired Photocatalysts for Solar-Driven Hydrogen Peroxide Production. This project aims to develop advanced photocatalysts that can efficiently produce hydrogen peroxide from just water, air, and sunlight. By mimicking the structure and function of the natural photosynthetic apparatus, the key innovations are expected in the design of reaction-oriented conjugated polymer-based photocatalysts at the atomic and molecular nanostructure levels. It expects to generate new knowledge in artificial photosynthesis and rational design of functional materials, and sustainable technology for hydrogen peroxide production. This cross-disciplinary research will benefit Australia by the development of biomimetic catalysts for advancing solar energy conversion and enabling sustainable manufacturing of commodity chemicals. 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