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
Sewer corrosion reduction through model-supported ventilation control. Ventilation is one of the key technologies for sewer corrosion control. However, its design and operation are currently based on experience and empirical equations, often leading to unsatisfactory results. By integrating in-depth laboratory and pilot-sewer studies under defined conditions with extensive field investigations, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop critical models to predict the corrosion process in res ....Sewer corrosion reduction through model-supported ventilation control. Ventilation is one of the key technologies for sewer corrosion control. However, its design and operation are currently based on experience and empirical equations, often leading to unsatisfactory results. By integrating in-depth laboratory and pilot-sewer studies under defined conditions with extensive field investigations, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop critical models to predict the corrosion process in response to ventilation and dynamic wastewater and atmospheric conditions, enabling model-based sewer ventilation design and operation. The project also aims to deliver novel, field-demonstrated ventilation strategies. The project findings will be incorporated in the Australian ventilation design and operation guidelines.Read moreRead less
Quantitative structural health assessment of large membrane-like structures. This project aims to develop a new approach, based on remote sensing and computational modelling, to assess and manage the structural health of large floating covers used for odour control and biogas harvesting to prevent unexpected failures. The project has potential benefits for high-value-added manufacturing and maintenance of these floating covers by Australian industry.
Automated On-Line Analysis and Contaminant Detection in Mineral Ore Processing. On-belt analysis is a key to efficient functioning of several
industries involved in the mining and use of minerals. It provides
chemical analysis of the minerals as they run through the instrument
on a conveyer belt. It permits quality control and detection of
impurities. The Scantech on-line analyser is at the forefront of this
technology. Our aim is to produce novel techniques to significantly
improve and m ....Automated On-Line Analysis and Contaminant Detection in Mineral Ore Processing. On-belt analysis is a key to efficient functioning of several
industries involved in the mining and use of minerals. It provides
chemical analysis of the minerals as they run through the instrument
on a conveyer belt. It permits quality control and detection of
impurities. The Scantech on-line analyser is at the forefront of this
technology. Our aim is to produce novel techniques to significantly
improve and make more efficient the processing of data from the
analyser. A particular focus will be quicker and improved calibration
of the instrument. These techniques will increase the accuracy and
speed while reducing the costs of such analysers, thus retaining and
enhancing their competitiveness in the global market.
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Crowd tracking and visual analytics for rapidly deployable imaging devices. Crowd tracking and visual analytics for rapidly deployable imaging devices. This project aims to develop visual analytics technology that adds machine intelligence to a rapidly deployable time-lapse imaging platform. Such devices can operate on solar and wind power, and be remotely programmed (via a cellular network) to take photos and send them to a server at given times. This project, which focuses on monitoring crowds ....Crowd tracking and visual analytics for rapidly deployable imaging devices. Crowd tracking and visual analytics for rapidly deployable imaging devices. This project aims to develop visual analytics technology that adds machine intelligence to a rapidly deployable time-lapse imaging platform. Such devices can operate on solar and wind power, and be remotely programmed (via a cellular network) to take photos and send them to a server at given times. This project, which focuses on monitoring crowds of objects of interest, is expected to introduce “smart” imaging platforms that could be triggered and shoot high-quality photographs when “events of interest” occur. This project could make Australia both a world leader in video analytics and secure through on-line threat detection, and improve traffic control and agriculture.Read moreRead less
Sewer Monitoring and Management in the Digital Era. Overflow, flooding, corrosion, and odorous emissions are persistent issues for utilities managing sewers. Current sewer maintenance is reactive, and focuses on solving problems in local networks, despite that optimal solutions require a system-wide approach. Capitalising on recent development in IoT sensors, wireless transmission, and machine learning, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop digital-twin supported data analytics for proa ....Sewer Monitoring and Management in the Digital Era. Overflow, flooding, corrosion, and odorous emissions are persistent issues for utilities managing sewers. Current sewer maintenance is reactive, and focuses on solving problems in local networks, despite that optimal solutions require a system-wide approach. Capitalising on recent development in IoT sensors, wireless transmission, and machine learning, this multidisciplinary project aims to develop digital-twin supported data analytics for proactive sewer management including network-wide real-time control. The project aims to generate significant social, environmental and economic benefits by enabling utilities to better protect public and environmental health, reduce sewer odour and greenhouse gas emissions, and extend sewer asset life.Read moreRead less
Reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from urban wastewater systems. This project aims to develop a systematic framework for water utilities to monitor and reduce direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater systems. A standardised monitoring protocol will be developed to conduct an unprecedented nationwide sampling campaign. The obtained data, with microbial characterisation and mechanism analysis, will be used to develop novel models for accurate prediction of GHG emissions. Expect ....Reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from urban wastewater systems. This project aims to develop a systematic framework for water utilities to monitor and reduce direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater systems. A standardised monitoring protocol will be developed to conduct an unprecedented nationwide sampling campaign. The obtained data, with microbial characterisation and mechanism analysis, will be used to develop novel models for accurate prediction of GHG emissions. Expected outcomes include protocol to accurately monitor emissions, models to predict emission under various conditions, and mitigation guideline for typical plant configurations. The anticipated benefit is a significant reduction in GHG emissions from urban water industry and support it to meet net-zero-emission goal by 2050.Read moreRead less
Advanced cryobanking for propagation-recalcitrant and critically endangered plant species. This project aims to advance methods for the conservation of recalcitrant/threatened plant species to achieve best practice ecological restoration in areas of high biodiversity. In particular, the nature of freezing and dehydration damage to cell membranes at various stages of tissue culture and cryopreservation will be investigated to try to minimise deleterious effects. In addition, metabolic changes tha ....Advanced cryobanking for propagation-recalcitrant and critically endangered plant species. This project aims to advance methods for the conservation of recalcitrant/threatened plant species to achieve best practice ecological restoration in areas of high biodiversity. In particular, the nature of freezing and dehydration damage to cell membranes at various stages of tissue culture and cryopreservation will be investigated to try to minimise deleterious effects. In addition, metabolic changes that affect cryogenic survival will be assessed to provide further insight into the role of oxidative stress and the toxicity of cryopreservation processes. Ultimately, improved cryogenic protocols will be developed to maintain the integrity of long-term cryobanks of key species for ecological restoration, such as in post-mined areas.Read moreRead less
Enabling three dimensional stochastic geological modelling. This project aims to develop technologies to mitigate three dimensional (3D) geological risk in resources management. This project expects to create new knowledge and methods in the field of 3D geological modelling through the innovative application of mathematical methods, structural geology concepts and probabilistic programming. The expected outcomes are an enhanced capability to model the subsurface, characterise model uncertainty a ....Enabling three dimensional stochastic geological modelling. This project aims to develop technologies to mitigate three dimensional (3D) geological risk in resources management. This project expects to create new knowledge and methods in the field of 3D geological modelling through the innovative application of mathematical methods, structural geology concepts and probabilistic programming. The expected outcomes are an enhanced capability to model the subsurface, characterise model uncertainty and test multiple geological scenarios. This enhanced capability is important for the future of Australia's subsurface management, including urban geology and our continuously growing sustainable resources industry.Read moreRead less