Superhydrophobic fabrics for solar desalination of water. This project will further strengthen Australia's world leading position in water desalination technology and advanced fibrous materials research. It will lead to new membrane materials and techniques for high-efficiency, low-cost and energy-saving desalination of sea/saline water, which will have significant social and economic benefits.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101567
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Adding value to wastewater treatment - ultrasound enhanced crystallisation. The difficulty of disposing of concentrated liquid wastes is forcing industries to reassess their waste treatment processes and strive for zero liquid discharge. This project will add value to industrial waste by improving extraction of purified water and valuable solutes from such concentrates by combining ultrasound with crystallisation processes.
Overcoming performance limiting chemistries in membrane distillation. This project aims to study performance limiting chemistries associated with fouling of solution-borne components on membrane surfaces that cause critical vapour pressure loss. Membrane distillation could be used for sustainable resource recovery, but no research has overcome the total loss of membrane water flux when removing water from saturated solutions where the critical resource recovery function occurs. This project will ....Overcoming performance limiting chemistries in membrane distillation. This project aims to study performance limiting chemistries associated with fouling of solution-borne components on membrane surfaces that cause critical vapour pressure loss. Membrane distillation could be used for sustainable resource recovery, but no research has overcome the total loss of membrane water flux when removing water from saturated solutions where the critical resource recovery function occurs. This project will characterise the physical and chemical properties of the flux limiting solid on the membrane surface, and the role of membrane chemistry and functional conditions in overcoming this limit. The outcomes of the work will provide innovative sustainable solutions to recover valuable products from current wastes.Read moreRead less
Fundamental investigation of the briquetting behaviour of iron ore fines. Handling, including transport and processing, may account for up to 60 per cent of the total delivered price of iron ore. This project will develop an integrated computer model for an improved briquetting process of ore fines with reduced operation cost and less environmental impact, leading to a more competitive and sustainable mineral industry in Australia.
Micromechanic modelling and analysis of the dynamics of non-spherical particles coupled with fluid flow. This project aims to develop advanced theories and mathematical models to describe the packing and flow of non-spherical particles coupled with fluid flow. This will be achieved through a combined theoretical and experimental program, involving the use of advanced discrete particle simulation and detailed analysis of packing/flow structures, particle-particle and particle-fluid interactions a ....Micromechanic modelling and analysis of the dynamics of non-spherical particles coupled with fluid flow. This project aims to develop advanced theories and mathematical models to describe the packing and flow of non-spherical particles coupled with fluid flow. This will be achieved through a combined theoretical and experimental program, involving the use of advanced discrete particle simulation and detailed analysis of packing/flow structures, particle-particle and particle-fluid interactions at a particle scale. Research outcomes including theories, computer models and simulation techniques will be applied to representative industrial operations of importance to Australia's economic and technological future.Read moreRead less
Next generation gas separations via innovative adsorption technologies. This project aims to develop new gas separation technologies that combine novel materials and pressure swing adsorption cycles to deliver inexpensive industrial processes capable of both high recovery and high purity products. The project will advance our ability to manipulate the phenomenon of regulated guest admission into microporous materials, and integrate such materials within new types of dual-reflux adsorption cycles ....Next generation gas separations via innovative adsorption technologies. This project aims to develop new gas separation technologies that combine novel materials and pressure swing adsorption cycles to deliver inexpensive industrial processes capable of both high recovery and high purity products. The project will advance our ability to manipulate the phenomenon of regulated guest admission into microporous materials, and integrate such materials within new types of dual-reflux adsorption cycles that deliver multiple refined gas products. Successful implementation of these industrial developments will increase Australia's access to cheap supplies of natural gas, encourage the broader use of biomass, lower the carbon emissions of industrial processes, and efficiently recover high-value compounds only present at trace concentrations.Read moreRead less
Atomically thin membranes to transform chemical separations. Energy-efficient chemical separation is at the heart of modern resource and manufacturing industries, central to a prosperous and sustainable Australia. This project aims to develop next generation membrane technologies to transform chemical separations by employing recent breakthrough in materials discovery and nanofluidics. Expected outcomes include new fundamental understandings on sub-continuum transport physics and new atomically ....Atomically thin membranes to transform chemical separations. Energy-efficient chemical separation is at the heart of modern resource and manufacturing industries, central to a prosperous and sustainable Australia. This project aims to develop next generation membrane technologies to transform chemical separations by employing recent breakthrough in materials discovery and nanofluidics. Expected outcomes include new fundamental understandings on sub-continuum transport physics and new atomically thin membranes that enable energy-efficient separations for processing challenging streams beyond water purification. This project aims to position Australia at the forefront of sustainable separation technology and make the local resource and manufacturing industries more sustainable and globally competitive.Read moreRead less