Process studies for photocatalytic rejuvenation of spent industrial Bayer liquor. A new low-energy photocatalytic process for the continuous treatment of spent liquor from the Bayer process for alumina production has been demonstrated. This new technology can process up to 1500 litres of industrial caustic effluent per day with a reduction in carbon dioxide release. The photo-treated refinery wastewater also provides water savings of 30 per cent.
Adsorption on activated alumina: mitigating fouling of water treatment processes caused by deposition of silica, organics and hardness ions. Coal seam gas offers tremendous economic potential but development of gas reserves will generate considerable quantities of saline water. This project will develop activated alumina technology for the removal of silica and organics from these waters to enable the industry to use evaporative technologies to reduce water volumes.
Halophytes for high-saline agriculture: optimising performance and understanding physiology. The recent drought has shaved off up to 1 per cent of Australia's economic growth and resulted in losses of over $6 billion in crop and livestock production. At the same time, very large volumes of water with impaired chemical quality are generated by industry and municipal water treatment processes. In most cases, these cannot be used directly for crop irrigation and have to be disposed of at extreme co ....Halophytes for high-saline agriculture: optimising performance and understanding physiology. The recent drought has shaved off up to 1 per cent of Australia's economic growth and resulted in losses of over $6 billion in crop and livestock production. At the same time, very large volumes of water with impaired chemical quality are generated by industry and municipal water treatment processes. In most cases, these cannot be used directly for crop irrigation and have to be disposed of at extreme cost and waste. This project will utilise halophytes as 'alternative cash crops' to use the saline water produced by the coal seam gas operations in the Surat Basin area in Queensland. This will result in a saving of at least $48 million over the five years of operation.Read moreRead less
Development of advanced ceramic membranes: a robust solution to sustainable water treatment. Australia is one of the driest nations on Earth. While available fresh water supplies dwindle, options to treat 'used' water for reuse are gaining rapid popularity. Membranes are now state-of-the-art for water treatment, including all new desalination plants, but as they are polymeric based, they must be routinely cleaned with chemicals and replaced. The outcomes of this research will demonstrate innovat ....Development of advanced ceramic membranes: a robust solution to sustainable water treatment. Australia is one of the driest nations on Earth. While available fresh water supplies dwindle, options to treat 'used' water for reuse are gaining rapid popularity. Membranes are now state-of-the-art for water treatment, including all new desalination plants, but as they are polymeric based, they must be routinely cleaned with chemicals and replaced. The outcomes of this research will demonstrate innovative functional ceramic membranes which last longer and have lower requirement for cleaning chemicals and expert maintenance. This, in turn, will deliver water at lower cost and reduced environmental burden (chemical and membrane disposal), giving industry more sustainable solutions to treat water, which has now become an essential practice in society.Read moreRead less
Establishing a next generation framework to determine the influence of intelligent water metering on householder attitudes and behaviours. This project will test competing theories on how householders respond to interactive water consumption data from smart meters. The outcome is a novel framework for intelligent water management; underpinned by innovative research into causal mechanisms linking data communication to knowledge, and the impact of knowledge on attitudes and behaviours.
Smart Polymer Hydrogels for Simultaneous Waste Heat Utilisation and Wastewater Treatment for Sustainable Manufacturing. This project aims to develop dual-functionality, temperature-responsive polymer hydrogels as draw agents for continuous, forward osmosis wastewater treatment processes. It intends to use low–and-medium temperature waste heat as a green input into the process and thus significantly reduce the costs of wastewater treatment, and fresh water consumption, whilst effectively utilisin ....Smart Polymer Hydrogels for Simultaneous Waste Heat Utilisation and Wastewater Treatment for Sustainable Manufacturing. This project aims to develop dual-functionality, temperature-responsive polymer hydrogels as draw agents for continuous, forward osmosis wastewater treatment processes. It intends to use low–and-medium temperature waste heat as a green input into the process and thus significantly reduce the costs of wastewater treatment, and fresh water consumption, whilst effectively utilising waste heat generated in the manufacturing industry. The outcomes of this research aim to provide a unique opportunity for Australian researchers to become world leaders in the rapidly-emerging, energy-efficient forward osmosis technology which is very relevant not only to wastewater treatment, but also to desalination.Read moreRead less
Water availability and demand: better forecasts, better management. This project aims to improve Australia’s capability in the provision and use of water forecasts for managing water resources. The current water forecasts are not fully utilised by water agencies as they are not sufficiently comprehensive and advanced. This project expects to achieve a step change in the uptake and utility of hydro-climate forecasts through an extensive partnership of leading researchers and operational agencies ....Water availability and demand: better forecasts, better management. This project aims to improve Australia’s capability in the provision and use of water forecasts for managing water resources. The current water forecasts are not fully utilised by water agencies as they are not sufficiently comprehensive and advanced. This project expects to achieve a step change in the uptake and utility of hydro-climate forecasts through an extensive partnership of leading researchers and operational agencies of hydro-climate forecasting, with federal, state and regional water agencies.Read moreRead less
A fundamental study of milk ultrafiltration. The Dairy Industry is one of Australia's largest domestic and export industries. The fundamental knowledge and models developed in this project will be used to optimise dairy membrane processing. This will reduce water and energy use to improve the global competitiveness and reduce the environmental impact of the Australian Dairy Industry.
Accelerating Consolidation and Closure of Mine Tailings Storage Facilities. All mining operations involve the production of waste. Many regard such waste (tailings) and their environmentally acceptable storage as constituting the largest waste problem on Earth because of the enormous damage and loss-of-life that have resulted from failures of tailings storage facilities. This project focuses on a dewatering technology, electro-osmosis (EO), which has yet to be fully operationalised, for improvin ....Accelerating Consolidation and Closure of Mine Tailings Storage Facilities. All mining operations involve the production of waste. Many regard such waste (tailings) and their environmentally acceptable storage as constituting the largest waste problem on Earth because of the enormous damage and loss-of-life that have resulted from failures of tailings storage facilities. This project focuses on a dewatering technology, electro-osmosis (EO), which has yet to be fully operationalised, for improving the strength, stability and settlement characteristics of the tailings. Sophisticated testing will be undertaken at three scales (lab, meso and, most importantly, field), as well as the development of generic numerical models, to create practical guidelines to facilitate the implementation of EO in mines around the world.Read moreRead less
Improving thiocyanate bioremediation with meta-genomics/transcriptomics. Improving thiocyanate bioremediation with meta-genomics/transcriptomics. This project aims to elucidate the roles of thiocyanate-degrading microbial consortium members involved in sulphur and nitrogen oxidation, using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics. The gold mining industry generates environmentally toxic thiocyanate as a waste by-product, for which the most cost-effective remediation strategy is degradation by natura ....Improving thiocyanate bioremediation with meta-genomics/transcriptomics. Improving thiocyanate bioremediation with meta-genomics/transcriptomics. This project aims to elucidate the roles of thiocyanate-degrading microbial consortium members involved in sulphur and nitrogen oxidation, using metagenomics and metatranscriptomics. The gold mining industry generates environmentally toxic thiocyanate as a waste by-product, for which the most cost-effective remediation strategy is degradation by natural microbes. Efforts to bioremediate, however, suffer from a lack of understanding of the full metabolic potential of the microbes involved. The intended outcome of this project is the improved design and operation of thiocyanate bioremediation reactor systems.Read moreRead less