Dynamic Controllability Analysis for Plantwide Process Design and Control. World-wide chemical plants represent many billions of dollars of investment. Improvements to the process designs in terms of controllability would have the potential to provide large economic benefits, as it implies improved productivity, reduced operating costs and product variability. This proposed research will be a step towards integration of process design and control, which has been widely recognized as the key to t ....Dynamic Controllability Analysis for Plantwide Process Design and Control. World-wide chemical plants represent many billions of dollars of investment. Improvements to the process designs in terms of controllability would have the potential to provide large economic benefits, as it implies improved productivity, reduced operating costs and product variability. This proposed research will be a step towards integration of process design and control, which has been widely recognized as the key to this improvement. The outcomes from this project may be readily implemented in process design practice, and therefore have a direct impact to the Australian and world-wide process industries, helping to build a more efficient and environmental conscious Australian process industries.Read moreRead less
Plantwide Control of Modern Chemical Processes from a Network Perspective. Complex plants increasingly appear in modern Australian process industries, particularly in mineral processing, petrochemical and renewable energies sectors. These plants represent vast capital costs and manufacture products at a very large scale. Improvement in control and operation of these processes can potentially provide significant economic benefits. The expected outcome of this research is an effective approach to ....Plantwide Control of Modern Chemical Processes from a Network Perspective. Complex plants increasingly appear in modern Australian process industries, particularly in mineral processing, petrochemical and renewable energies sectors. These plants represent vast capital costs and manufacture products at a very large scale. Improvement in control and operation of these processes can potentially provide significant economic benefits. The expected outcome of this research is an effective approach to improve operational safety, efficiency, product quality and manufacturing flexibility, helping to build a more efficient and environmental conscious Australian chemical industry. This project will also enhance Australia's scientific reputation in the frontier research area of advanced process control and management.Read moreRead less
Microdynamic study of the flow of granular materials in bladed mixers. This project aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of granular mixing mechanics in bladed mixers. The study will be carried out by means of newly developed advanced numerical and experimental techniques to generate particle scale information. The flow and mixing behaviour of particles under different conditions will be analysed at both micro- and macro-scopic levels. The research outcomes such as predictive equations ....Microdynamic study of the flow of granular materials in bladed mixers. This project aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of granular mixing mechanics in bladed mixers. The study will be carried out by means of newly developed advanced numerical and experimental techniques to generate particle scale information. The flow and mixing behaviour of particles under different conditions will be analysed at both micro- and macro-scopic levels. The research outcomes such as predictive equations will be tested by simulating and analysing complicated industrial mixing processes; modelling to improve granulation and breakage will be targets. It will significantly improve the design, optimisation and control of mixing processes that are widely used in many industries.Read moreRead less
Particle scale studies of powder mixing in bladed mixers. Powder handling and processing are widely used in both conventional and modern industries but rarely reach more than 60% of design capacity because of poor fundamental understanding. Such operations are important to Australia in view of the heavy dependence on raw materials processing (about 40% of the GNP). This project will tackle the core problems in powder mixing which is a key operation in many industries. Application of the research ....Particle scale studies of powder mixing in bladed mixers. Powder handling and processing are widely used in both conventional and modern industries but rarely reach more than 60% of design capacity because of poor fundamental understanding. Such operations are important to Australia in view of the heavy dependence on raw materials processing (about 40% of the GNP). This project will tackle the core problems in powder mixing which is a key operation in many industries. Application of the research outcomes can lead to better process or product control, a decrease in energy consumption and an improvement in productivity, which is very helpful to maintaining Australia's leading position in resource, energy, process and allied industries.Read moreRead less
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
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0882357
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$500,000.00
Summary
A Computational Facility for Multi-scale Modelling in Bio and Nanotechnology. Bio- and nanotechnology have the potential to transform Australian industry and research, and to bring significant benefits for consumers. The scope will include materials for energy storage, medical diagnostics and cellular imaging, bioengineering, drug and gene delivery, improved foods by molecular design, novel materials for electronics, improved techniques for particle processing, and molecular sieves for filtering ....A Computational Facility for Multi-scale Modelling in Bio and Nanotechnology. Bio- and nanotechnology have the potential to transform Australian industry and research, and to bring significant benefits for consumers. The scope will include materials for energy storage, medical diagnostics and cellular imaging, bioengineering, drug and gene delivery, improved foods by molecular design, novel materials for electronics, improved techniques for particle processing, and molecular sieves for filtering/purifying water and gases. The dedicated computing facility will enable a fast interactive cycle between simulation and experiment in these areas, accelerating the pace of research and applications.Read moreRead less
An Intelligent/Smart Framework for Total Process Monitoring And Supervision. Operator failures have an adverse effect on product quality, process safety, occupational health and environmental impact. The management of abnormal operating conditions is a major responsibility and depends critically on information management. A recent report indicates that the total cost attributable to preventable losses in petrochemical companies in U.S. amounts to twenty billion dollars per year. The objective o ....An Intelligent/Smart Framework for Total Process Monitoring And Supervision. Operator failures have an adverse effect on product quality, process safety, occupational health and environmental impact. The management of abnormal operating conditions is a major responsibility and depends critically on information management. A recent report indicates that the total cost attributable to preventable losses in petrochemical companies in U.S. amounts to twenty billion dollars per year. The objective of this project is to develop the theoretical framework and implementation of an Advanced Integrated Support System (ISS) for process monitoring, data analysis and interpretation, event detection and diagnosis, and operations support in chemical and petrochemical processes manufacturing.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