Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an ....Early stress experiences and stress resilience in pigs. Animal stress has substantial implications on animal productivity, health and welfare of farm animals and thus farm profitability. This project aims to examine the stress resilience in pigs. Modern pig farming is a major source of food, providing substantial nutritional, social and economic benefits in Australia and worldwide. Animal welfare is of increasing concern to the public, consumers and pork producers, and stress vulnerability is an animal health and production problem in the life of the commercial pig. This project will generate new knowledge on early life management to endow stress resilience in pigs, with expected benefits for animal welfare, farm productivity and profitability.Read moreRead less
Sustainable Hydrogen Production from Used Water. The project aims to address the pressing challenge of water scarcity in hydrogen production by developing an innovative approach of using used water as the feed for water electrolysis. The project will result in an in-depth understanding of the impacts of water impurities in used water on the performance and durability of water electrolysers, and develop guidelines for the design of highly durable water electrolysers and the operation and upgrade ....Sustainable Hydrogen Production from Used Water. The project aims to address the pressing challenge of water scarcity in hydrogen production by developing an innovative approach of using used water as the feed for water electrolysis. The project will result in an in-depth understanding of the impacts of water impurities in used water on the performance and durability of water electrolysers, and develop guidelines for the design of highly durable water electrolysers and the operation and upgrade of existing wastewater treatment plants. The project will advance the practical applications of water electrolysis for scalable and sustainable hydrogen production and help Australia secure a leading position in the global emerging hydrogen economy.Read moreRead less
Optimisation of nutrient removal, membrane fouling and sludge dewatering in hybrid coagulation/submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters. Submerged membrane bioreactor technology for the treatment of wastewaters is now a competitive technology with small footprint and generally high quality of treated effluent. Despite this, challenges remain in ensuring low effluent nutrient concentrations, minimal membrane fouling and acceptable excess sludge dewaterability. Addition of iron or a ....Optimisation of nutrient removal, membrane fouling and sludge dewatering in hybrid coagulation/submerged membrane bioreactor treatment of wastewaters. Submerged membrane bioreactor technology for the treatment of wastewaters is now a competitive technology with small footprint and generally high quality of treated effluent. Despite this, challenges remain in ensuring low effluent nutrient concentrations, minimal membrane fouling and acceptable excess sludge dewaterability. Addition of iron or aluminium-based coagulant chemicals can assist but many uncertainties with regard to choice of chemical, optimal dosing arrangements and membrane bioreactor operating conditions remain. Experimental and computational studies targeted at improving understanding and optimising performance will be undertaken through collaborative studies by the UNSW and Tsinghua University (Beijing) research team.Read moreRead less
Ehanced Hydrodynamic Fractionation of Particles. The coal industry, which is a major contributor to the Australian economy, urgently needs a new washability method following its decision to abandon the existing laboratory standard. The existing method relies on the use of heavy organic liquids which are known to be toxic to human health. The 'water-based' approach proposed in this study overcomes the problem of risk to human health, thus benefiting Australian workers, the immediate industry, and ....Ehanced Hydrodynamic Fractionation of Particles. The coal industry, which is a major contributor to the Australian economy, urgently needs a new washability method following its decision to abandon the existing laboratory standard. The existing method relies on the use of heavy organic liquids which are known to be toxic to human health. The 'water-based' approach proposed in this study overcomes the problem of risk to human health, thus benefiting Australian workers, the immediate industry, and wider community. New separation technologies that could benefit the minerals industries and other key industries should follow. The project will also result in the education and training of two postgraduate students, and the advancement of two postdoctoral researchers in this area of industry. Read moreRead less
Biological phosphorous removal for wastewater treatment. The aim is to provide a scientific basis for understanding how phosphorous can be removed in wastewater treatment plants, using environmentally safe biological methods rather than by using chemicals. This is expected to lead to improved performance in wastewater treatment plants, which will be of economic and environmental benefit, particularly to regional communities in inland Australia.
Novel plastics using renewable signal chemistry to remove bacteria in water. This project plans to develop synthetic plastic surfaces that continuously generate nitric oxide to deter the formation of biofilms. Plastic surfaces exposed to aqueous environments rapidly become covered by a film of bacteria, which can cause infection. Trace levels of generated nitric oxide can combat this problem by breaking up existing bacterial biofilms. Current research has developed plastics that continuously gen ....Novel plastics using renewable signal chemistry to remove bacteria in water. This project plans to develop synthetic plastic surfaces that continuously generate nitric oxide to deter the formation of biofilms. Plastic surfaces exposed to aqueous environments rapidly become covered by a film of bacteria, which can cause infection. Trace levels of generated nitric oxide can combat this problem by breaking up existing bacterial biofilms. Current research has developed plastics that continuously generate nitric oxide, but not for extended periods of time. This project’s approach is significant because it avoids bacterial resistance to the nitric oxide treatment. Applications of this technology may include removing biofilms from environments such as water filtration devices and consumable medical surfaces.Read moreRead less
Degradation of Oestrogenic and Carcinogenic Substances in Water using alternative water treatment technologies- Membrane Technology and Photocatalysis. There is currently much concern about the release into the aquatic environment of oestrogenic and carcinogenic pollutants. Current conventional water treatment technologies are ineffective in removing them from our water supplies. This research proposes to investigate alternative water treatment technologies for the removal of these compounds of ....Degradation of Oestrogenic and Carcinogenic Substances in Water using alternative water treatment technologies- Membrane Technology and Photocatalysis. There is currently much concern about the release into the aquatic environment of oestrogenic and carcinogenic pollutants. Current conventional water treatment technologies are ineffective in removing them from our water supplies. This research proposes to investigate alternative water treatment technologies for the removal of these compounds of concern. The technologies to be investigated involve integrating membrane technology and titanium dioxide photocatalysis to produce a highly effective and efficient water treatment process. The effects of various parameters on degradation of the pollutants will be investigated and monitored using different analytical techniques.Read moreRead less
Application of nano-sized zero valent iron particles to agrochemicals degradation through Fenton's reagent oxidation. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) has been successfully used for the degradation of a wide range of contaminant organics in groundwaters in recent years. The rates of degradation however are relatively slow and render the process unsuitable for situations where there are limits on the time available for reaction. An innovative approach is to couple the dissolution of ZVI with hydrogen perox ....Application of nano-sized zero valent iron particles to agrochemicals degradation through Fenton's reagent oxidation. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) has been successfully used for the degradation of a wide range of contaminant organics in groundwaters in recent years. The rates of degradation however are relatively slow and render the process unsuitable for situations where there are limits on the time available for reaction. An innovative approach is to couple the dissolution of ZVI with hydrogen peroxide addition thereby generating hydroxyl radicals as a result of Fenton's reagent reactions. The efficacy of using this innovative ZVI/H2O2 process to degrade herbicides and pesticides of concern to Australian agriculture is investigated at laboratory and field scale in this project.Read moreRead less
Achieving Nitrite Shunt For Mainstream Sewage Treatment Using Human Waste. This project aims to develop a novel technology to achieve mainstream nitrogen removal from domestic sewage via nitrite shunt. Nitrite shunt can reduce energy consumption and promote energy recovery compared with the conventional nitrogen removal process. However, it is difficult to inactivate nitrite-oxidising bacteria, which is a key barrier for achieving nitrite shunt. By advancing the underpinning science and introduc ....Achieving Nitrite Shunt For Mainstream Sewage Treatment Using Human Waste. This project aims to develop a novel technology to achieve mainstream nitrogen removal from domestic sewage via nitrite shunt. Nitrite shunt can reduce energy consumption and promote energy recovery compared with the conventional nitrogen removal process. However, it is difficult to inactivate nitrite-oxidising bacteria, which is a key barrier for achieving nitrite shunt. By advancing the underpinning science and introducing a novel technology that innovatively harnesses a human waste, the project expects to remove the barrier. Expected outcomes will support the transformation of sewage treatment plants into net-zero energy generators. This should provide economic, environmental and energy benefits for Australia’s water and energy sectors.Read moreRead less
Fluidised bed biosorption-flocculation granular activated carbon (FBBSF-GAC) for membrane filtration in wastewater reuse. Water resource is limited and has been continuously decreasing. The idea of recycling and reusing of wastewater has been adopted for irrigation, industry and other non-potable uses. In Australia, wastewater reuse is now considered a key strategy for conserving water at national, state and local level. In this study, the proposed treatment unit is to produce a superior effluen ....Fluidised bed biosorption-flocculation granular activated carbon (FBBSF-GAC) for membrane filtration in wastewater reuse. Water resource is limited and has been continuously decreasing. The idea of recycling and reusing of wastewater has been adopted for irrigation, industry and other non-potable uses. In Australia, wastewater reuse is now considered a key strategy for conserving water at national, state and local level. In this study, the proposed treatment unit is to produce a superior effluent quality for water reuse while minimize membrane fouling of the membrane filtration system. Hence, it will benefit water industries globally and communities in Australia. There will be a major export opportunity from Australia to supply efficient, low-cost and sustainable flocculant together with an improved treatment system worldwide.Read moreRead less