Novel water treatment processes. The objective of this project is the discovery of novel methods for the treatment and reuse of water for both industrial and household applications. Improved treatment systems with the potential for water reuse offer significant improvements to our overall water management potential. The first part of the project is designed to focus on the study of hot bubble column evaporators for solute decomposition, sterilisation and the de-watering of heavily contaminated i ....Novel water treatment processes. The objective of this project is the discovery of novel methods for the treatment and reuse of water for both industrial and household applications. Improved treatment systems with the potential for water reuse offer significant improvements to our overall water management potential. The first part of the project is designed to focus on the study of hot bubble column evaporators for solute decomposition, sterilisation and the de-watering of heavily contaminated industrial wastewater. The second part would be based on the study of a suitable depth filter medium for the treatment of partially treated household sewage water. This is designed to form part of an on-site household sewage water treatment and reuse system which is currently being developed.Read moreRead less
Volatile Organic Compound removal from indoor air environments by an integrated photocatalytic/filtration system. This project promotes the development of technology for providing improved air quality in indoor environments. Mentoring by internationally renowned experts of young Australian researchers on this issue of high importance will be undertaken by the Chief and Partner Investigators. Success from this project will place Australia as a leader in the global community for developing technol ....Volatile Organic Compound removal from indoor air environments by an integrated photocatalytic/filtration system. This project promotes the development of technology for providing improved air quality in indoor environments. Mentoring by internationally renowned experts of young Australian researchers on this issue of high importance will be undertaken by the Chief and Partner Investigators. Success from this project will place Australia as a leader in the global community for developing technology in air pollution quality control.Read moreRead less
Optical fibre photoreactor for removing airborne molecular contaminants and volatile organic carbons for semiconductor fabrication and fuel cell applications. The collaboration integrates concepts from photocatalysis, optical fibre technology and filtration, to solve important issues in the semiconductor fabrication and fuel cell industries. The project will place Australia amongst the world-leaders in novel integrated photocatalytic/filtration techniques and provide significant opportunities fo ....Optical fibre photoreactor for removing airborne molecular contaminants and volatile organic carbons for semiconductor fabrication and fuel cell applications. The collaboration integrates concepts from photocatalysis, optical fibre technology and filtration, to solve important issues in the semiconductor fabrication and fuel cell industries. The project will place Australia amongst the world-leaders in novel integrated photocatalytic/filtration techniques and provide significant opportunities for penetration, in particular, into the US filtration market. The collaboration will afford young Australian-based researchers the opportunity to access technology, expertise and knowledge developed in the US, which is currently unavailable in Australia. It will strengthen ties between UNSW and UMN and provide opportunities for further collaboration.Read moreRead less
Development and Modellling of Advanced Coagulation and Oxidation Processes. The success of this program will help place Australia at the forefront of water quality control and management research. It will address concerns with managing and treating waters of changing characteristics due to climate change. In addition to the socio benefits, project success will also impart economic benefits to the nation through (i) fabricating new hybrid coagulants, that are versatile with enhanced performance ....Development and Modellling of Advanced Coagulation and Oxidation Processes. The success of this program will help place Australia at the forefront of water quality control and management research. It will address concerns with managing and treating waters of changing characteristics due to climate change. In addition to the socio benefits, project success will also impart economic benefits to the nation through (i) fabricating new hybrid coagulants, that are versatile with enhanced performance for removing NOM, and possess antimicrobial properties (ii) developing a new energy efficient photocatalysis technology.The proposed research will expand the knowledge base in this area and increase Australia’s international profile as a global leader in developing cutting-edge cost effective water resource technologies.Read moreRead less
Engineering nanostructured graphene-based semiconductor photocatalysts. Harnessing solar energy and converting it into useful chemical energy efficiently is the expected outcome of the project. Given the strategic solar-geographical position of Australia, solar photocatalysis is a leading option for utilising our renewable energy resources to applications relating to energy conversion and environmental remediation.
The elutriation of ultrafine particles according to their density. This study is concerned with exploiting a new and powerful mechanism for separating particles according to their density, with strong potential for recovering and concentrating tens of billions of dollars worth of valuable minerals annually. By coupling the new separation mechanism with a centrifugal force it should be possible to apply gravity separation technology, arguably for the first time, to the recovery of ultrafine parti ....The elutriation of ultrafine particles according to their density. This study is concerned with exploiting a new and powerful mechanism for separating particles according to their density, with strong potential for recovering and concentrating tens of billions of dollars worth of valuable minerals annually. By coupling the new separation mechanism with a centrifugal force it should be possible to apply gravity separation technology, arguably for the first time, to the recovery of ultrafine particles from 200 microns to well below 10 microns, at high separation efficiency, and high feed rates. This study is also ideal for training new researchers, especially at the PhD level, in an area of importance to Australia's economic future. Read moreRead less
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
Particle classification using a ferrofluid in a non uniform magnetic field. The separation of micron size components of suspensions according to the size and density of the particles is presently an intractable problem. However, by using a magnetized ferrofluid it should be possible to generate unique particle trajectories for each combination of particle size and density. This study investigates the potential of this strategy for separating such particles, laying the foundation for new small-sc ....Particle classification using a ferrofluid in a non uniform magnetic field. The separation of micron size components of suspensions according to the size and density of the particles is presently an intractable problem. However, by using a magnetized ferrofluid it should be possible to generate unique particle trajectories for each combination of particle size and density. This study investigates the potential of this strategy for separating such particles, laying the foundation for new small-scale diagnostic "lab-on a chip" technology that could be used in biotechnology to study whole blood, or in mineral processing to control energy intensive ball mills for mineral particle liberation.Read moreRead less
Use of Parallel Inclined Channels to Enhance Foam Drainage in Ion Flotation. This study is concerned with increasing the rates of foam drainage in flotation processes. The findings will have direct benefit in the field of ion flotation, and will be highly relevant to the flotation of high value minerals worth tens of billions of dollars annually. The Reflux Classifier, a device that employs the Boycott Effect to achieve a significant increase in the effective area of the vessel, will be used. Th ....Use of Parallel Inclined Channels to Enhance Foam Drainage in Ion Flotation. This study is concerned with increasing the rates of foam drainage in flotation processes. The findings will have direct benefit in the field of ion flotation, and will be highly relevant to the flotation of high value minerals worth tens of billions of dollars annually. The Reflux Classifier, a device that employs the Boycott Effect to achieve a significant increase in the effective area of the vessel, will be used. This device has already attracted three national awards in the area of gravity concentration in mineral processing. The study is ideal for training new researchers, especially at the PhD level, given the importance of the field to Australia. Read moreRead less
Unlocking the catalytic activity of metal oxides through hybrid catalysis. This project aims to understand the interaction of light responsive nano-metals and metal oxide supports in photo-thermal catalysis, and channel light and heat to efficiently drive catalytic reactions. From this understanding, it will develop principles to activate the active site of metal oxides and control catalytic activity with high selectivity and stability. It will use this knowledge to selectively oxidate methane a ....Unlocking the catalytic activity of metal oxides through hybrid catalysis. This project aims to understand the interaction of light responsive nano-metals and metal oxide supports in photo-thermal catalysis, and channel light and heat to efficiently drive catalytic reactions. From this understanding, it will develop principles to activate the active site of metal oxides and control catalytic activity with high selectivity and stability. It will use this knowledge to selectively oxidate methane and oxidative coupling of methane reactions. The expected outcome is an inexpensive green catalysis method for chemical manufacture. This should lower the amount of waste, decrease energy consumption and improve human health, finite global resources and quality of life.Read moreRead less