Economic Operability Assessment of Leaching Process at Kwinana Nickel Refinery. Process operability is concerned with systematic analysis and improvement of process performance in the face of variable operating conditions. This project will develop a rigorous methodology for analysis of process operability with respect to short-term and transient disturbances. The proposed technique will be applied to the Kwinana Nickel Refinery Leach section, in order to reduce the plant variability and increas ....Economic Operability Assessment of Leaching Process at Kwinana Nickel Refinery. Process operability is concerned with systematic analysis and improvement of process performance in the face of variable operating conditions. This project will develop a rigorous methodology for analysis of process operability with respect to short-term and transient disturbances. The proposed technique will be applied to the Kwinana Nickel Refinery Leach section, in order to reduce the plant variability and increase nickel throughput and plant availability. This can be considered as significant move by a process industry to embrace advanced theoretical developments and will act as a benchmark to promote future links between Australian industry and academia.Read moreRead less
Thermal management of methane fuelled planar solid oxide fuel cells. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are novel devices for generating energy with extremely low emissions. This project will conduct novel experiments and numerical simulations to improve the efficiency of SOFCs. This will then allow wider adoption of this technology, thus reducing CO2 and other environmental emissions from our power generation systems.
Optimal Ethylene Oxide Manufacturing via Advanced Process Modelling and Control. This project aims at improving plant efficiency and safety to a world's best level for the Ethylene Oxide (EO) plant of Huntsman Corporation Australia (HCA). EO is a key chemical intermediate for making polyesters (clothing, PET bottles, insulation) and surfactants. To remain globally competitive, it is essential to improve the efficiency of the plant, which has a small capacity and supports important Australian mar ....Optimal Ethylene Oxide Manufacturing via Advanced Process Modelling and Control. This project aims at improving plant efficiency and safety to a world's best level for the Ethylene Oxide (EO) plant of Huntsman Corporation Australia (HCA). EO is a key chemical intermediate for making polyesters (clothing, PET bottles, insulation) and surfactants. To remain globally competitive, it is essential to improve the efficiency of the plant, which has a small capacity and supports important Australian markets. The goals will be achieved by developing advanced operational and control strategies (through computer modeling, process optimisation and intelligent systems approach), which will assist in better understanding the process and in providing optimal HCA plant operation.Read moreRead less
Nanostrutured Magnesium-base Composites for High-density Hydrogen Storage. This project aims to develop nanocrstalline magnesium-based composites for effective hydrogen storage, overcoming two main technical barriers of current metal hydride systems: high charging/discharging temperature and slow kinetics. Nanoscale catalysts based on mesoporous carbons and metal nanoparticles will be introduced into the magnesium to increase storage capacity and increase the rate at low temperatures. Fundament ....Nanostrutured Magnesium-base Composites for High-density Hydrogen Storage. This project aims to develop nanocrstalline magnesium-based composites for effective hydrogen storage, overcoming two main technical barriers of current metal hydride systems: high charging/discharging temperature and slow kinetics. Nanoscale catalysts based on mesoporous carbons and metal nanoparticles will be introduced into the magnesium to increase storage capacity and increase the rate at low temperatures. Fundamental understanding on the effects of catalysts, and adsorption and desorption mechanisms will be obtained to optimise the composite materials. This project will lead to effective and practical technology for hydrogen storage that will meet the target of commercial fuel cell vehicles.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
Improving the Processing of Timber from Plantation Forests: The Challenge of Managing Variability. Drying is a key step in processing timber. The increasing availability of plantation hardwood timber, with greater variability in its properties than previous resources, presents an opportunity to take advantage of the development of better mathematical techniques for process optimization and better drying and mechanical models for timber to address this challenge. This project will produce optimi ....Improving the Processing of Timber from Plantation Forests: The Challenge of Managing Variability. Drying is a key step in processing timber. The increasing availability of plantation hardwood timber, with greater variability in its properties than previous resources, presents an opportunity to take advantage of the development of better mathematical techniques for process optimization and better drying and mechanical models for timber to address this challenge. This project will produce optimized drying schedules, which are combinations of temperatures and humidities used during drying, to effectively dry plantation timber with variable properties, producing timber for high-value and appearance-grade end uses, such as flooring and furniture.Read moreRead less
Exploiting Resonance in Improving Dried Timber Quality by Optimizing Cyclic Drying Processes in Solar Kilns. Maximizing the value of final dried timber is essential for maximizing the economic benefits for Australia. If 10% of one million cubic metres of sawn hardwood timber produced annually in Australia increases its value raised by $500/m3, then the potential direct gain to Australian companies is over A$50 million per year. Multiplier effects include future applications to the drying of fo ....Exploiting Resonance in Improving Dried Timber Quality by Optimizing Cyclic Drying Processes in Solar Kilns. Maximizing the value of final dried timber is essential for maximizing the economic benefits for Australia. If 10% of one million cubic metres of sawn hardwood timber produced annually in Australia increases its value raised by $500/m3, then the potential direct gain to Australian companies is over A$50 million per year. Multiplier effects include future applications to the drying of foods, where the potential benefit in using solar kilns is a reduction in CO2 emissions of at least a million tonnes of CO2 per year, and a potential cost reduction of A$38 million per year.Read moreRead less
Advanced modelling and optimisation of Underground Coal Gasification. The last decade is characterised by increasing interest of many countries in obtaining and developing Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) technologies. Recent long-term successful trial in Chinchilla has proven that the technology is ready for commercial use but the fundamental research into UCG is needed for further improvement of the technology performance in commercial applications. The major goal of this project is in comb ....Advanced modelling and optimisation of Underground Coal Gasification. The last decade is characterised by increasing interest of many countries in obtaining and developing Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) technologies. Recent long-term successful trial in Chinchilla has proven that the technology is ready for commercial use but the fundamental research into UCG is needed for further improvement of the technology performance in commercial applications. The major goal of this project is in combining most recent advances in combustion modelling with practical UCG operations and developing new advanced models specifically for UCG diagnostics and optimisation. The project outcomes involve: better understanding and optimisation of UCG processes and further development of advanced modelling techniques.
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Coarse-Grid Eulerian-Eulerian Multiphase Model for Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit. A fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit is an important refinery unit operation responsible for about 45% of total petrol production. The aim of this study is to improve the petrol production efficiency of Australian refineries thus allowing our country not only to maintain its self-sufficiency but also to permit lucrative exports. This will be done by optimising the performance of the FCC unit through novel computat ....Coarse-Grid Eulerian-Eulerian Multiphase Model for Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit. A fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit is an important refinery unit operation responsible for about 45% of total petrol production. The aim of this study is to improve the petrol production efficiency of Australian refineries thus allowing our country not only to maintain its self-sufficiency but also to permit lucrative exports. This will be done by optimising the performance of the FCC unit through novel computational fluid dynamic simulations. The outcomes of this study will enable refiners to produce cleaner fuel (e.g., fuel with less sulphur) and decrease air pollution from the FCC unit (in the form of CO and particulates) thus helping Australia to preserve its diverse and relatively pollution-free environment.Read moreRead less
Discrete Element Method for Analysis and Design of Pharmaceutical Encapsulation. Tablets represent the preferred method of dose delivery in the pharmaceutical industry, with over 80% of the market. PressFit - gelcaps have recently been developed, which encase a tablet core within a gelatin coating. The product combines the consumer appeal of capsules with the processing convenience of tablets, and provides a high degree of tamper-resistance. An important issue is that the caplets are required ....Discrete Element Method for Analysis and Design of Pharmaceutical Encapsulation. Tablets represent the preferred method of dose delivery in the pharmaceutical industry, with over 80% of the market. PressFit - gelcaps have recently been developed, which encase a tablet core within a gelatin coating. The product combines the consumer appeal of capsules with the processing convenience of tablets, and provides a high degree of tamper-resistance. An important issue is that the caplets are required to have very precise dimensional precision, an issue not previously of high priority for tabletting . This project seeks to enhance the competitive advantage of this new technology, through a combination of advanced mathematical modeling supported by experiments.Read moreRead less