Novel concepts for bioelectrochemical generation of renewable fuels and chemicals from wastewater. Global warming and the diminishing fossil fuel resources are posing an ever increasing threat to our societies and economies. This project aims to develop novel and highly innovative bioelectrochemical processes for the production of valuable fuels and chemicals from wastewater, which is a largely untapped renewable resource.
Boosting photosynthetic efficiency using a plant nanobionics approach. The project aims to improve light capture and enhance electron transport rates using a plant nanobionics approach. Biocompatible plasmonic low-dimensional transition metal oxides with unique optical and electronics properties will be selected as the bioinspired materials. The investigation will focus on developing oxide compounds as artificial antenna, capturing extended optical wavelengths that are not normally available to ....Boosting photosynthetic efficiency using a plant nanobionics approach. The project aims to improve light capture and enhance electron transport rates using a plant nanobionics approach. Biocompatible plasmonic low-dimensional transition metal oxides with unique optical and electronics properties will be selected as the bioinspired materials. The investigation will focus on developing oxide compounds as artificial antenna, capturing extended optical wavelengths that are not normally available to natural plants. Energetic hot electrons excited from plasmonic materials injected into the plant system will further be explored, achieving unprecedented energy conversion from solar to chemical. The anticipated findings will provide a strong base to develop new plant systems with improved photosynthetic efficiency.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210100512
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$416,075.00
Summary
Wireless Power Transfer for Battery-Free Internet-of-Things Ecosystems. This project aims to develop the pioneering antenna technologies for far-field wireless power transfer (WPT) applications. New scientific and advanced engineering methodologies will be created to address the related fundamental technical challenges. Expected outcomes include the advanced multi-functional antenna arrays that will broadcast electromagnetic energy to remote IoT elements and the ultra-compact, highly efficient r ....Wireless Power Transfer for Battery-Free Internet-of-Things Ecosystems. This project aims to develop the pioneering antenna technologies for far-field wireless power transfer (WPT) applications. New scientific and advanced engineering methodologies will be created to address the related fundamental technical challenges. Expected outcomes include the advanced multi-functional antenna arrays that will broadcast electromagnetic energy to remote IoT elements and the ultra-compact, highly efficient rectennas that will convert it to empower the sensor and communications functions seamlessly integrated into them. The intended first zero-waste battery-free wirelessly powered IoT ecosystems will support the realisation of the Australian Government’s goal to pursue sustainable and environmental-friendly economic growth.Read moreRead less
A compact microphone array system for outdoor low frequency noise measurements. To investigate the impact of wind farm noise on surrounding communities, the sound level caused by wind turbines must be accurately measured, which sometimes is hard due to wind induced noise and other interference noise. This project aims to propose a novel compact microphone array solution, where the wind induced noise is attenuated by a specially designed windproof shell first, and then the residual wind induced n ....A compact microphone array system for outdoor low frequency noise measurements. To investigate the impact of wind farm noise on surrounding communities, the sound level caused by wind turbines must be accurately measured, which sometimes is hard due to wind induced noise and other interference noise. This project aims to propose a novel compact microphone array solution, where the wind induced noise is attenuated by a specially designed windproof shell first, and then the residual wind induced noise and other interference noise are further filtered out by a specific adaptive noise cancellation algorithm based on the spherical and differential microphone array structure. With the proposed system, the measurement configuration size is expected to be reduced from the current few metres to less than 10 centimetres, and with better accuracy.Read moreRead less
Electrostatic catalysis from single-molecule events to macroscopic systems. Electrostatics has important applications in day-to-day technologies, from recycling plastics to photocopying, but the exploration of how static charges affect chemical bonds and bonding is still in its infancy. This project aims to demonstrate the experimental links between the magnitude and polarity of an external electric field and chemical rates, expanding our understanding of chemical reactivity and transforming our ....Electrostatic catalysis from single-molecule events to macroscopic systems. Electrostatics has important applications in day-to-day technologies, from recycling plastics to photocopying, but the exploration of how static charges affect chemical bonds and bonding is still in its infancy. This project aims to demonstrate the experimental links between the magnitude and polarity of an external electric field and chemical rates, expanding our understanding of chemical reactivity and transforming our view of catalysis. By investigating the role of static electricity over systems selected from different sub-disciplines of chemistry, the project will derive the ground and selection rules for reactivity and selectivity by electrostatics. The project is expected to show that for chemical reactions of practical and conceptual value a specific catalyst can be replaced by a generic electric field stimulus, an invisible catalyst, enabling cleaner and cheaper opportunities that current technologies cannot fulfil.Read moreRead less
Optical fibre nanophotonics for sensing. This project will develop a new generation of chemical and biological optical waveguide sensors for monitoring energy consumption and the environment, including water and health, that are compatible with SmartGrids. This will be done through an understanding of the evanescent field and its control on the nanoscale, together with advanced material research.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100970
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,966.00
Summary
A novel technology for enhancing resource recovery from wastewater. This DECRA project aims to improve the performance and economics of wastewater management, by developing an innovative technology and the underpinning science that will enhance renewable energy production and nutrient recovery from sludge. This technology is based on the enhancement of resource recovery from anaerobic digestion using waste iron scraps that can be acquired from the waste of metal industry. The intended outcome of ....A novel technology for enhancing resource recovery from wastewater. This DECRA project aims to improve the performance and economics of wastewater management, by developing an innovative technology and the underpinning science that will enhance renewable energy production and nutrient recovery from sludge. This technology is based on the enhancement of resource recovery from anaerobic digestion using waste iron scraps that can be acquired from the waste of metal industry. The intended outcome of the project will substantially increase the profit and reduce the environmental burden of waste treatment, supporting Australia in the transition to a low carbon economy and a secure resource future. This project will produce significant economic, environmental and social benefits to water utilities.Read moreRead less
Controlling nano-carbon complexity and function. The project aims to develop versatile continuous flow thin film microfluidic device technology incorporating different external fields, including innovative magnetic or electric fields coupled with pulsed lasers, for gaining access to novel nano-carbon material for which current methods are ineffective or of limited utility. The technology will allow exquisite control, with real time monitoring, on reforming of carbon into functional material with ....Controlling nano-carbon complexity and function. The project aims to develop versatile continuous flow thin film microfluidic device technology incorporating different external fields, including innovative magnetic or electric fields coupled with pulsed lasers, for gaining access to novel nano-carbon material for which current methods are ineffective or of limited utility. The technology will allow exquisite control, with real time monitoring, on reforming of carbon into functional material with tunable properties, along with the self assembly of nano-carbon, and fabricating composites of nano-carbon material. Understanding their fundamental properties including photoluminescence will be targeted, for leveraging the properties in applications to generate new processes and products.
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Structural diverse nanocarbon using continuous flow thin film microfluidics. This project aims to develop continuous flow thin film microfluidic device technology to gain access to nano-carbon material or carbon nano-material. This project will exploit high shear stress in dynamic thin films, field effects, including Faraday waves, plasma, magnetic, laser and LED irradiation. The technology is expected to allow both scalable ‘top down’ synthesis of graphene scrolls, laterally slicing carbon nano ....Structural diverse nanocarbon using continuous flow thin film microfluidics. This project aims to develop continuous flow thin film microfluidic device technology to gain access to nano-carbon material or carbon nano-material. This project will exploit high shear stress in dynamic thin films, field effects, including Faraday waves, plasma, magnetic, laser and LED irradiation. The technology is expected to allow both scalable ‘top down’ synthesis of graphene scrolls, laterally slicing carbon nanotubes and composites of different types of carbon, and ‘bottom up’ synthesis of nano-carbon from natural saccharides. By incorporating sustainability metrics including scalability, renewable feed-stocks and minimising waste, this research is expected to be attractive to industry and minimise the effect on the environment.Read moreRead less
Exploiting bacterial metal resistance machinery for metal ion nano-biosensors development. This project aims to integrate advanced materials chemistry, molecular biology, bio-electrochemical and synchrotron imaging approaches to understand the role of silver resistance machinery of bacteria in their ability to form silver nanoparticles. This aims to enable discovery of new metal-specific reductase enzymes. The fundamental biomolecular understanding of bacterial silver resistance will allow the u ....Exploiting bacterial metal resistance machinery for metal ion nano-biosensors development. This project aims to integrate advanced materials chemistry, molecular biology, bio-electrochemical and synchrotron imaging approaches to understand the role of silver resistance machinery of bacteria in their ability to form silver nanoparticles. This aims to enable discovery of new metal-specific reductase enzymes. The fundamental biomolecular understanding of bacterial silver resistance will allow the use of a silver-binding protein to develop a series of next-generation nano-biosensors. These biosensing platforms will provide high-throughput, cost-effective, selective, sensitive and continuous monitoring of heavy metal ions in effluents from mining and mineral processing industries in a real-time fashion.Read moreRead less