Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based ....Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based waste (including food, garden, paper, and wood) and fossil-fuel derived materials (plastics). Using an innovative and environmentally-sustainable catalytic process, the outcomes of this project are aimed alleviating Australia’s dependence on diesel fuel imports and better waste management solutions in Australia.Read moreRead less
Microfluidics with core-shell beads: handling liquids like solids. Reducing waste of consumables in chemical reactions promises to solve environmental problems as well as enable novel applications in space. This project aims to establish a revolutionary fluid handling technology that lowers waste in the labs and in satellites. The project deciphers the fundamental physics behind our recent discovery of encapsulating a tiny liquid content in a solid shell, allowing for handling liquid samples lik ....Microfluidics with core-shell beads: handling liquids like solids. Reducing waste of consumables in chemical reactions promises to solve environmental problems as well as enable novel applications in space. This project aims to establish a revolutionary fluid handling technology that lowers waste in the labs and in satellites. The project deciphers the fundamental physics behind our recent discovery of encapsulating a tiny liquid content in a solid shell, allowing for handling liquid samples like solid particles. Examples of the benefit of this project are more precise detection of bacteria on earth and compact reactors in space. The research outcomes are instrumental for promoting a clean environment, good health, and creating new business opportunities, particularly in space industry, for Australians.Read moreRead less
Functional biomass carbons for low-cost sodium and potassium-ion batteries. The development of hard carbon anode materials for stationary rechargeable sodium and potassium ion batteries remains a major technological challenge. This project aims to utilise two very different biomass feedstock sources, sorghum and macadamia shell agricultural waste to manufacture low-cost, high-performance carbon anodes. Current carbon anode materials such as graphite or carbonised sucrose, pitch or phenolics suff ....Functional biomass carbons for low-cost sodium and potassium-ion batteries. The development of hard carbon anode materials for stationary rechargeable sodium and potassium ion batteries remains a major technological challenge. This project aims to utilise two very different biomass feedstock sources, sorghum and macadamia shell agricultural waste to manufacture low-cost, high-performance carbon anodes. Current carbon anode materials such as graphite or carbonised sucrose, pitch or phenolics suffer from poor performance, high cost and/or low carbon yield and device durability issues. This project will investigate combinations of biomass precursors, tailored graphene and carbon alloys in order to significantly enhance anode performance while minimising cost.Read moreRead less