Reduced water usage in the Australian pulp and paper industry through novel process chemistry. Norske Skog Paper Mill operates two paper mills on major rivers in Australia. For these mills to reduce water consumption greater recycling of the process water is needed which results in a build-up of detrimental substances that will affect paper machine performance and efficiency. The knowledge gained from this project will help the paper mills to find strategies to control the build-up of the detr ....Reduced water usage in the Australian pulp and paper industry through novel process chemistry. Norske Skog Paper Mill operates two paper mills on major rivers in Australia. For these mills to reduce water consumption greater recycling of the process water is needed which results in a build-up of detrimental substances that will affect paper machine performance and efficiency. The knowledge gained from this project will help the paper mills to find strategies to control the build-up of the detrimental material and deal with it in such a way that the process water can be recycled and the paper mills can reduce water consumption.Read moreRead less
Colloid interactions and extraction in sustainable, water efficient paper manufacture. This project will investigate the causes of wood extractive deposits on modern high-speed printing surfaces. The project will also develop alternatives to prevent their deposition in an environmentally sustainable manner, and to remove them from the paper making process allowing their utilisation as valuable natural products.
Are coastal wetlands vulnerable to bushfires? The ‘Black Summer’ fires burned extensive areas of coastal wetland not typically associated with fire impact. These wetlands rely upon plant growth and sediment delivery to respond to sea-level rise, processes which may be impacted by fire. This project aims to quantify the distribution and severity of fire impact, and establish post-fire vegetation and surface elevation trajectories. By integrating fire ecology and wetland science approaches, this p ....Are coastal wetlands vulnerable to bushfires? The ‘Black Summer’ fires burned extensive areas of coastal wetland not typically associated with fire impact. These wetlands rely upon plant growth and sediment delivery to respond to sea-level rise, processes which may be impacted by fire. This project aims to quantify the distribution and severity of fire impact, and establish post-fire vegetation and surface elevation trajectories. By integrating fire ecology and wetland science approaches, this project will ascertain the resilience of coastal wetlands to the cumulative impacts of fire and sea-level rise. Expected outcomes of this project include new, spatially-explicit fire management tools which will aid the sustainable, long-term management of coastal wetlands in a changing climate.Read moreRead less
Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. This project aims to develop indices that link change in invertebrate communities to specific environmental stressors, and combine these indices with innovative, low cost molecular approaches to species identification to rapidly identify the causes of decline. River health assessment methods, usually based on aquatic invertebrates, identify if rivers are impaire ....Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. Diagnosing river health using invertebrate traits and DNA barcodes. This project aims to develop indices that link change in invertebrate communities to specific environmental stressors, and combine these indices with innovative, low cost molecular approaches to species identification to rapidly identify the causes of decline. River health assessment methods, usually based on aquatic invertebrates, identify if rivers are impaired but must be developed to identify the causes of decline. The intended outcomes are improved sustainable water resource management within and among states, and improved natural resource policy development.Read moreRead less
Polymer nanoparticles with gradient morphology for environmentally friendly aqueous coatings applications. The commercial and practical importance of coatings (paints) in today’s society can hardly be overstated. With the ongoing drive towards more environmentally friendly coating systems, there is a strong desire to replace traditionally employed solvent-based coatings with entirely waterborne systems. Waterborne coatings are a key measure by which the coating industry can meet requirements to ....Polymer nanoparticles with gradient morphology for environmentally friendly aqueous coatings applications. The commercial and practical importance of coatings (paints) in today’s society can hardly be overstated. With the ongoing drive towards more environmentally friendly coating systems, there is a strong desire to replace traditionally employed solvent-based coatings with entirely waterborne systems. Waterborne coatings are a key measure by which the coating industry can meet requirements to reduce emission of volatile organic compounds. However, maximum performance cannot be achieved currently using waterborne coatings, which in turn limits applications. The overall aim of this project is to develop environmentally friendly high-performance waterborne coatings that will enable replacement of currently employed solvent-based systems.Read moreRead less
Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-tim ....Automated Sensors for a ‘wetland in a box’. Globally, and particularly in Australia, water supply and water pollution is one of the most critical constraints to our health and growth. This project seeks to validate a new portable remediation system suitable for deployment at regional locations through the integration and development of advanced sensors. We aim to develop the world’s first completely integrated platform for monitoring both water chemistry and microbiology to provide near-real-time information regarding the quality of the remediated water. We expect this to improve the availability of regional water resources by providing a low-cost remediation solution with integrated monitoring to provide assurances of meeting the Australian Guidelines for Water Recycling (2006).Read moreRead less
Study of molecular interactions between wood pitch fixatives and components of wood pitch. Wood resins, released in pulping, agglomerate in the papermaking process to cause pitch deposits. These deposits adversely affect paper machine efficiency and product quality and limit further recycling of process water. This project aims to investigate the interactions between the components of the wood resins and different fixatives using capillary electrophoresis and other techniques. This knowledge w ....Study of molecular interactions between wood pitch fixatives and components of wood pitch. Wood resins, released in pulping, agglomerate in the papermaking process to cause pitch deposits. These deposits adversely affect paper machine efficiency and product quality and limit further recycling of process water. This project aims to investigate the interactions between the components of the wood resins and different fixatives using capillary electrophoresis and other techniques. This knowledge will provide a better understanding of the role of the physical and chemical properties of the fixatives in fixing the different compounds in wood resins. Molecular modelling will be used to design new fixatives that will be selective to a mixture of wood resins.
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Eddy-resolving global ocean-sea ice modelling. Eddy-resolving global ocean-sea ice modelling. This project aims to develop a world-class global ocean-sea ice model framework through a nationwide consortium. The resulting high resolution models are expected to provide the foundation for the next decade of Australian ocean-sea ice modelling capacity. This research should lead to improved ocean and sea ice prediction, ocean reanalyses, and climate projections, enhancing Australia's capacity to pred ....Eddy-resolving global ocean-sea ice modelling. Eddy-resolving global ocean-sea ice modelling. This project aims to develop a world-class global ocean-sea ice model framework through a nationwide consortium. The resulting high resolution models are expected to provide the foundation for the next decade of Australian ocean-sea ice modelling capacity. This research should lead to improved ocean and sea ice prediction, ocean reanalyses, and climate projections, enhancing Australia's capacity to predict the ocean state on timescales of days to decades. This is expected to yield efficiencies in shipping, marine search and rescue and naval operations, and increase the accuracy of projected future changes in climate, sea level, ocean ecosystems and the cryosphere.Read moreRead less
Building Australia's next-generation ocean-sea ice model. Ocean and sea ice models are used for predicting future ocean and climate states, and for climate process research. This project aims to bring the next generation of ocean-sea ice models to Australia and configure the models for our local priorities. The ultimate goal is to create a new coupled ocean-sea ice model for Australia that includes surface waves and biogeochemistry. The model will be optimised and evaluated on Australian facilit ....Building Australia's next-generation ocean-sea ice model. Ocean and sea ice models are used for predicting future ocean and climate states, and for climate process research. This project aims to bring the next generation of ocean-sea ice models to Australia and configure the models for our local priorities. The ultimate goal is to create a new coupled ocean-sea ice model for Australia that includes surface waves and biogeochemistry. The model will be optimised and evaluated on Australian facilities, and released for community use. These developments underpin future ocean state forecasts, sea ice forecasts, wave forecasts, decadal climate prediction and climate process studies. The project will benefit search and rescue, Defence and shipping operations, and will enhance future climate projections.Read moreRead less
How does orography enhance precipitation in Australian wintertime storms? This project aims to employ targeted field observations, numerical simulations and new satellite capabilities to identify the dynamical and microphysical mechanisms that enhance and redistribute precipitation across the alpine regions of south eastern Australia and Tasmania. These observations will be used to evaluate operational numerical weather simulations specifically focusing on quantitative precipitation forecasts an ....How does orography enhance precipitation in Australian wintertime storms? This project aims to employ targeted field observations, numerical simulations and new satellite capabilities to identify the dynamical and microphysical mechanisms that enhance and redistribute precipitation across the alpine regions of south eastern Australia and Tasmania. These observations will be used to evaluate operational numerical weather simulations specifically focusing on quantitative precipitation forecasts and estimates. The observations will also be used to extend known biases in the national gridded precipitation analysis that are a result of the complex mountain terrain. This identification of the physical processes that enhance and redistribute precipitation over the alpine regions across south east Australia and Tasmania will lead to better precipitation estimates and forecasts and better water management.Read moreRead less