Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100245
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$460,237.00
Summary
Transforming wastewater services in regional Australia. Wastewater treatment in regional Australia faces challenges of odour control, poor pollutant and pathogen removal, and greenhouse gas emissions. This project aims to innovatively use iron salts to realise highly efficient wastewater treatment in regional areas. With Partner, Western Australia Water Corporation, this project expects to leverage a recent breakthrough discovery on iron chemistry to co-develop and field test a solar system that ....Transforming wastewater services in regional Australia. Wastewater treatment in regional Australia faces challenges of odour control, poor pollutant and pathogen removal, and greenhouse gas emissions. This project aims to innovatively use iron salts to realise highly efficient wastewater treatment in regional areas. With Partner, Western Australia Water Corporation, this project expects to leverage a recent breakthrough discovery on iron chemistry to co-develop and field test a solar system that doses wastewater with iron, to overcome four challenges and a supply chain issue simultaneously. Expected outcomes include industry capacity to adopt and commercialise a novel technology with important global relevance. Outcomes should reduce the inequity of wastewater services in regional Australia.Read moreRead less
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100437
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,237.00
Summary
Nanobubbles for effective and energy efficient water treatment. This project aims to produce new knowledge for developing ozone nanobubbles as a technological option for the water industry where commercially suitable technologies are unavailable. Australian water utilities have identified two key challenges: destruction of micropollutants and natural organic matter in recycled and reservoir water, respectively. New knowledge from the project will allow these water utilities to utilise the extrao ....Nanobubbles for effective and energy efficient water treatment. This project aims to produce new knowledge for developing ozone nanobubbles as a technological option for the water industry where commercially suitable technologies are unavailable. Australian water utilities have identified two key challenges: destruction of micropollutants and natural organic matter in recycled and reservoir water, respectively. New knowledge from the project will allow these water utilities to utilise the extraordinary properties of nanobubbles and the strong oxidation capability of ozone for effective and energy efficient water treatment. Tech-transfer to the industry is guaranteed through a scientifically designed pilot plant for benchmarking against the current state of the art ozonation process and reverse osmosis.Read moreRead less
High value biocoke for low emission steel production. This project aims to discover methods to fill nanopores that form during conversion of biomass to biocoke through controlled adsorption and carbonisation of tar compounds. By filling nanopores, their disruptive effects during coke-making will be avoided. Coke will remain a vital ingredient for steel production in the future and is currently produced from coal. The expected outcome is breakthrough knowledge to enable, for the first time, te ....High value biocoke for low emission steel production. This project aims to discover methods to fill nanopores that form during conversion of biomass to biocoke through controlled adsorption and carbonisation of tar compounds. By filling nanopores, their disruptive effects during coke-making will be avoided. Coke will remain a vital ingredient for steel production in the future and is currently produced from coal. The expected outcome is breakthrough knowledge to enable, for the first time, technologies for incorporating biomass materials into coke-making operations. Key benefits are for Australia to provide essential technologies for the world’s steel industries to lower CO2 emissions in addition to creating high value carbon products from its agricultural wastes. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100987
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$402,287.00
Summary
Multifunctional polymers for combined algal inactivation and flocculation. Algal cells are harmful because they produce toxins and other undesirable metabolites. So, they are killed, aggregated, and separated from the water in distinct steps. Cell killing and aggregation are achieved via chemical dosing, which damages the cells and releases undesirable compounds. The aim is to develop multifunctional polymers that can simultaneously kill and aggregate the cells without causing cell damage. Addit ....Multifunctional polymers for combined algal inactivation and flocculation. Algal cells are harmful because they produce toxins and other undesirable metabolites. So, they are killed, aggregated, and separated from the water in distinct steps. Cell killing and aggregation are achieved via chemical dosing, which damages the cells and releases undesirable compounds. The aim is to develop multifunctional polymers that can simultaneously kill and aggregate the cells without causing cell damage. Additionally, this project provides insight into the mechanisms of polymer-induced cell damage and death that will be used to improve existing treatment methods. By combining treatment steps, chemical demand and costs will decrease, while there will be an increase in sustainability and benefits to the Australian water industry.Read moreRead less
Monitoring Desalination Membrane Fouling using Sodium Magnetic Resonance. Seawater desalination using membrane modules is critical technology for potable water access, however it faces significant challenges due to fouling. Sodium magnetic resonance techniques will be developed to non-invasively detect and image salt accumulation in these opaque membrane modules due to fouling. These data will first be used to improve our understanding of the unexplored interplay between fouling and detrimental ....Monitoring Desalination Membrane Fouling using Sodium Magnetic Resonance. Seawater desalination using membrane modules is critical technology for potable water access, however it faces significant challenges due to fouling. Sodium magnetic resonance techniques will be developed to non-invasively detect and image salt accumulation in these opaque membrane modules due to fouling. These data will first be used to improve our understanding of the unexplored interplay between fouling and detrimental salt accumulation in the modules (known as cake-enhanced concentration polarisation) and thus validate 3D simulations of this phenomenon. The ability to unambiguously detect salt accumulation in membrane modules will then be extrapolated to a non-invasive monitoring tool for membrane fouling in desalination facilities.Read moreRead less
Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100385
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$453,237.00
Summary
"Circular Economy", via renewable energy and resource recovery. In a circular economy context, wastewater utilities are well placed to exploit the commercial potential of microalgae. Sewage treatment plants have an abundance of key nutrients required for algae growth, existing dewatering infrastructure that is suitable for harvesting algae and in some cases, existing anaerobic digestion infrastructure suitable for the conversion of microalgae to renewable energy in the form of biogas. This proje ...."Circular Economy", via renewable energy and resource recovery. In a circular economy context, wastewater utilities are well placed to exploit the commercial potential of microalgae. Sewage treatment plants have an abundance of key nutrients required for algae growth, existing dewatering infrastructure that is suitable for harvesting algae and in some cases, existing anaerobic digestion infrastructure suitable for the conversion of microalgae to renewable energy in the form of biogas. This project aims to upscale wastewater-based algae production that will enable increased renewable energy production via anaerobic digestion, for onsite thermal, electrical energy and upgraded liquefied natural gas.Read moreRead less
A New Spin on Liquid Hydrogen: Controlled Cold Energy. While hydrogen is set to play a leading role in global decarbonisation, significant challenges remain regarding methods for its reliable storage and transportation. Hydrogen liquefaction has emerged as a promising approach in this regard due to its high energy density and hydrogen purity, but is currently prohibitively expensive. In this project we will exploit the peculiar spin physics of hydrogen to alleviate liquefactions costs through t ....A New Spin on Liquid Hydrogen: Controlled Cold Energy. While hydrogen is set to play a leading role in global decarbonisation, significant challenges remain regarding methods for its reliable storage and transportation. Hydrogen liquefaction has emerged as a promising approach in this regard due to its high energy density and hydrogen purity, but is currently prohibitively expensive. In this project we will exploit the peculiar spin physics of hydrogen to alleviate liquefactions costs through the provision of controllable refrigeration (so-called 'cold energy') following regasification. In particular we will measure, optimise and exploit the highly endothermic catalysed conversion of para- to ortho- hydrogen, which can provide up to 525 kJ/kg of cooling at convenient temperatures. Read moreRead less
Dual-membrane upgrading towards sustainable wastewater management. Water utilities in Australia have set aspirational targets for energy- and carbon-neutral wastewater services by as early as 2030. However, these two aims are often incompatible because of excessive aeration energy consumption and substantial greenhouse gas emissions in wastewater treatment plants. This project aims to develop a novel biotechnology that enables simultaneous bioenergy recovery, cost-efficient nitrogen removal and ....Dual-membrane upgrading towards sustainable wastewater management. Water utilities in Australia have set aspirational targets for energy- and carbon-neutral wastewater services by as early as 2030. However, these two aims are often incompatible because of excessive aeration energy consumption and substantial greenhouse gas emissions in wastewater treatment plants. This project aims to develop a novel biotechnology that enables simultaneous bioenergy recovery, cost-efficient nitrogen removal and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, thus bringing multifaceted benefits to wastewater management. The project will provide strong support to the Australian water industry in their endeavour to achieve economically and environmentally sustainable wastewater services.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101306
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,154.00
Summary
Metal organic framework-based membrane for nanoplastics removal . The aim of this project is to understand the fundamental science governing the removal of nanoplastics from wastewater by developing an innovative dually charged metal organic framework based nanocomposite ultrafiltration membrane. The project expects to lead to a breakthrough in our scientific understanding of how nanoplastics and other pollutants can be efficiently removed from wastewater using membranes. The expected outcome is ....Metal organic framework-based membrane for nanoplastics removal . The aim of this project is to understand the fundamental science governing the removal of nanoplastics from wastewater by developing an innovative dually charged metal organic framework based nanocomposite ultrafiltration membrane. The project expects to lead to a breakthrough in our scientific understanding of how nanoplastics and other pollutants can be efficiently removed from wastewater using membranes. The expected outcome is a process that can be used to convert wastewater into freshwater suitable for household, industrial and agricultural use. Such removal could also be of significant environmental benefit, as secondary effluent is a significant source of nanoplastics entering the aquatic environment.Read moreRead less
Nanoengineered, Encapsulated Catalysts from Fly Ash Waste. This project aims to deliver advanced catalysts and novel catalyst synthesis methods from the use of iron-rich fly ash, an otherwise abundant valueless waste with projected steady growth across Australia and globally. The as-synthesised catalysts are expected to be applicable to and exhibit excellent activity in the production of green hydrogen and renewable bio-fuels from lignocellulosic waste. These efforts are significant and benefici ....Nanoengineered, Encapsulated Catalysts from Fly Ash Waste. This project aims to deliver advanced catalysts and novel catalyst synthesis methods from the use of iron-rich fly ash, an otherwise abundant valueless waste with projected steady growth across Australia and globally. The as-synthesised catalysts are expected to be applicable to and exhibit excellent activity in the production of green hydrogen and renewable bio-fuels from lignocellulosic waste. These efforts are significant and beneficial in restoring the manufacturing capability of Australian industry, driving Australian industry towards the development of a circular economy for the appropriate management of solid waste, as well as for a seamless introduction of renewable and clean energy sources to address the pressing climate change.Read moreRead less