Industrial Transformation Research Hubs - Grant ID: IH230100011
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,955,854.00
Summary
ARC Research Hub for Value-Added Processing of Underutilised Carbon Waste. This Hub aims to advance upcycling technologies and associated regulatory and social engagement for processing underutilised carbon waste within Australia. Its anticipated goal is to deliver value-added products, and improved technology readiness levels for full exploitation of carbon wastes from agriculture, tyres and plastics. It will also train a large talent pool providing interdisciplinary knowledge and entrepreneuri ....ARC Research Hub for Value-Added Processing of Underutilised Carbon Waste. This Hub aims to advance upcycling technologies and associated regulatory and social engagement for processing underutilised carbon waste within Australia. Its anticipated goal is to deliver value-added products, and improved technology readiness levels for full exploitation of carbon wastes from agriculture, tyres and plastics. It will also train a large talent pool providing interdisciplinary knowledge and entrepreneurial skills for post-hub commercialisation. The Hub will benefit rural Australia by transforming local job markets and manufacturing capability. Ultimately, this Hub will make a significant contribution towards achieving Australia’s National Waste Action Plan goal by 2030, and a circular economy for a sustainable future. Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL170100086
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,924,858.00
Summary
Methane bioconversion to liquid chemicals. This project aims to develop a suite of leading-edge biotechnology solutions to enable the cost-effective production of liquid chemicals from biogas. This will create a much stronger economic driver for biogas production from organic wastes, by significantly increasing the value of biogas compared to its current use for power generation. With a multi-disciplinary approach, the project will substantially advance the fundamental science in the exciting an ....Methane bioconversion to liquid chemicals. This project aims to develop a suite of leading-edge biotechnology solutions to enable the cost-effective production of liquid chemicals from biogas. This will create a much stronger economic driver for biogas production from organic wastes, by significantly increasing the value of biogas compared to its current use for power generation. With a multi-disciplinary approach, the project will substantially advance the fundamental science in the exciting and highly valuable area of anaerobic microbial conversion of methane, the least understood process in the global carbon cycle. This transformational research has a strong potential to create a new biotechnology sector producing high-value chemicals from methane, and will propel Australia to the forefront of sustainable resources research.Read moreRead less
Building green roads with gasified municipal solid waste composites. This project aims to develop gasified municipal solid waste composites as a novel and green road material. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the fundamental properties of the developed waste composites when used as road subgrades and bases, through experimental study, physical modelling, numerical simulation, and field trials. Expected outcomes include understanding the mechanical behaviour of these waste compos ....Building green roads with gasified municipal solid waste composites. This project aims to develop gasified municipal solid waste composites as a novel and green road material. This project expects to generate new knowledge on the fundamental properties of the developed waste composites when used as road subgrades and bases, through experimental study, physical modelling, numerical simulation, and field trials. Expected outcomes include understanding the mechanical behaviour of these waste composites under static and cyclic loads, development of versatile constitutive models and numerical analysis tools, and determination of their optimal performance. Benefits include diversion of municipal and demolition wastes from landfills and the development of sustainable materials and technology for future roads.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE240100531
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$427,000.00
Summary
Circular clean energy regulation to solve the PV solar waste crisis. This project aims to design a new analytical framework, circular clean energy regulation, to fundamentally re-orient renewable energy law from the accelerated uptake of new technologies to a lifecycle approach. This re-orientation is urgently needed because while Australia is world leading in its uptake of rooftop solar, 90% of used panels go to landfill as hazardous waste. This project will explore how circular clean energy re ....Circular clean energy regulation to solve the PV solar waste crisis. This project aims to design a new analytical framework, circular clean energy regulation, to fundamentally re-orient renewable energy law from the accelerated uptake of new technologies to a lifecycle approach. This re-orientation is urgently needed because while Australia is world leading in its uptake of rooftop solar, 90% of used panels go to landfill as hazardous waste. This project will explore how circular clean energy regulation can improve the management of solar waste to reap the significant environmental, security and health benefits associated with solar recycling and critical mineral recovery. Expected outcomes include a new circular model of regulating renewable technologies, and better regulation and recovery of solar waste.Read moreRead less
Carbon-Supported Iron Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO. Nitric oxide (NO) is a major pollutant from combustion systems. This project aims to develop cost-effective and environmentally benign zerovalent iron catalysts supported on carbon material for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO using CO and unburned hydrocarbons as in-situ reductants. By applying differential reactor experimentation, kinetic modelling and advanced material characterisation techniques, the research w ....Carbon-Supported Iron Catalysts for Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO. Nitric oxide (NO) is a major pollutant from combustion systems. This project aims to develop cost-effective and environmentally benign zerovalent iron catalysts supported on carbon material for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO using CO and unburned hydrocarbons as in-situ reductants. By applying differential reactor experimentation, kinetic modelling and advanced material characterisation techniques, the research will unravel complex relationships among catalyst structural features and activity, NO reduction mechanisms, and catalyst performance under practically relevant combustion conditions that underpin the development of an effective yet affordable SCR technology to control NO emission from industrial utilities and automobiles.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230101472
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$454,054.00
Summary
Converting textiles waste to novel nanostructured porous carbon fibre . This project aims to develop innovative catalytic activation approaches for converting textiles waste to porous activated carbon fibre with potential application in energy storage and carbon capture. The project expects to address the key issue of textile upcycling and generate new knowledge in material science by revealing the principle of alkali metal-induced pore formation and carbon dot synthesis. Expected outcomes inclu ....Converting textiles waste to novel nanostructured porous carbon fibre . This project aims to develop innovative catalytic activation approaches for converting textiles waste to porous activated carbon fibre with potential application in energy storage and carbon capture. The project expects to address the key issue of textile upcycling and generate new knowledge in material science by revealing the principle of alkali metal-induced pore formation and carbon dot synthesis. Expected outcomes include advanced techniques to create value-added materials from recycling textiles waste and in-depth understanding of performance improvement mechanisms. Success will provide significant benefits in securing a sustainable future for Australia, ensuring valuable resources recovery and strategies for advanced manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Seaweed Production As A Nutrient Offset For Moreton Bay
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$370,000.00
Summary
Moreton Bay is a 1,500 km-squared urbanised estuary adjacent to one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. Rapid population growth creates a challenge for wastewater utilities to deal with the increase in nutrient loads. This includes the single largest asset of Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU), the Luggage Point Sewage Treatment Plant, at the mouth of the Brisbane River that discharges into the bay. At the same time, on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, the Queensland rock oyster indu .... Moreton Bay is a 1,500 km-squared urbanised estuary adjacent to one of the fastest growing regions in Australia. Rapid population growth creates a challenge for wastewater utilities to deal with the increase in nutrient loads. This includes the single largest asset of Queensland Urban Utilities (QUU), the Luggage Point Sewage Treatment Plant, at the mouth of the Brisbane River that discharges into the bay. At the same time, on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, the Queensland rock oyster industry faces reduced productivity due to environmental change, disease and algal blooms, and challenges associated with the business risks presented by monoculture. Here, communities on Minjerribah (Nth Stradbroke Island) are also investigating new opportunities during their transition away from sand mining, and Quandamooka Yoolooburrabee Aboriginal Corporation (QYAC) has Native Title on a large tract of the Moreton Bay Marine Park, which to date is mostly unutilised.
Seaweed production offers a unique and timely solution to address some of the economic, environmental and social challenges in Moreton Bay. Seaweed farming is a “no-feed” form of aquaculture; it is zero waste and compatible with oyster farming and marine park zoning. Seaweeds grow quickly and strip nutrients from the water column, draw down carbon dioxide and can remove pollutants such as heavy metals. At the right scale, seaweed farming will reverse environmental change. Because of this, QUU and the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC) are evaluating how much nutrient can be extracted from the bay as an offset for their discharge licences, to avoid substantial capital investment in sewage treatment whilst delivering better environmental outcomes for each dollar spent.
At more than 25 million tonnes per year, seaweed is the largest marine crop in the world. Southeast Queensland is the perfect setting for developing a seaweed industry – ample light, warm water and existing aquaculture leases with farmers, such as Moreton Bay Rock Oysters (MBRO), seeking to diversify their production. Investing in seaweed production will create a new industry for our coastal communities with accountable environmental services and sustainable products.
Objectives: 1. Compare and contrast the nutrient offset and sequestration potential of target seaweeds in controlled experiments 2. Evaluate seaweed production systems using commercially available aquaculture equipment during the scale-up of target seaweeds 3. Determine the yield and properties of harvested seaweed from a year-round pilot production trial at two sites within Moreton Bay 4. Assess the potential effects of seaweed culture on water quality and adjacent marine animals and vegetation 5. Model the removal of nutrients, carbon and other pollutants and the offset capacity of seaweed farming for Moreton Bay Read moreRead less
Microbial junk food: developing synthetic platforms for plastic degradation. This project aims to establish the genetic basis of polyethelene biodegradation (PED) by microbes from the gut microbiome of plastic-eating caterpillars. It will transform the active microbial PED genes into carefully designed synthetic microbes for efficient, safe and large-scale PED. The project will combine innovative functional microbial genetic tools and synthetic biology techniques with solid biochemistry and bioi ....Microbial junk food: developing synthetic platforms for plastic degradation. This project aims to establish the genetic basis of polyethelene biodegradation (PED) by microbes from the gut microbiome of plastic-eating caterpillars. It will transform the active microbial PED genes into carefully designed synthetic microbes for efficient, safe and large-scale PED. The project will combine innovative functional microbial genetic tools and synthetic biology techniques with solid biochemistry and bioinformatics to produce translatable synthetic platforms containing key genes optimised for efficient PE waste removal. The outcomes will have the potential to transform the relative ineffective and expensive current methods for PE disposal into flexible, cost-effective and sustainable solutions applicable to multiple sectors.Read moreRead less
Flipping the mattress: infinite polyurethane recycling by synthetic biology. Australia is covered in billions of tonnes of plastic and yet <10% is recycled today. Polyurethane (PU) is ubiquitous in our everyday lives, from lacquer coatings to elastane clothing to durable foam padding in car seats, cushions and mattresses. Currently, there are few avenues for PU recycling and much ends up in landfill e.g., a single mattress produces 15-20kg of PU foam waste. Luckily, biodegradation of PU can occu ....Flipping the mattress: infinite polyurethane recycling by synthetic biology. Australia is covered in billions of tonnes of plastic and yet <10% is recycled today. Polyurethane (PU) is ubiquitous in our everyday lives, from lacquer coatings to elastane clothing to durable foam padding in car seats, cushions and mattresses. Currently, there are few avenues for PU recycling and much ends up in landfill e.g., a single mattress produces 15-20kg of PU foam waste. Luckily, biodegradation of PU can occur naturally via various microbial means and from insects, like Galleria mellonella larvae. The overall aim of this research project is to understand plastic biodegradation and translate nature’s solutions into flexible and efficient synthetic enzyme technologies that can sustainably recycle commonly used PU foams. Read moreRead less
Assessing The Benefits Of Sea Urchin Processing Waste As An Agricultural Fertiliser And Soil Ameliorant
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$199,996.00
Summary
The primary need of this project is to facilitate a profitable Longspined Sea Urchin fishery to move the industry away from subsidies. A large-scale sustainable fishery is seen as the most feasible and sustainable way to apply downward pressure on the rapidly expanding Sea Urchin population in Tasmania. Longspined Sea Urchin populations have grown to some 20 million (5,500 tonnes) and have resulted in 15% of the Tasmania East Coast reefs becoming unproductive urchin barren, up from 3% 15 years ....The primary need of this project is to facilitate a profitable Longspined Sea Urchin fishery to move the industry away from subsidies. A large-scale sustainable fishery is seen as the most feasible and sustainable way to apply downward pressure on the rapidly expanding Sea Urchin population in Tasmania. Longspined Sea Urchin populations have grown to some 20 million (5,500 tonnes) and have resulted in 15% of the Tasmania East Coast reefs becoming unproductive urchin barren, up from 3% 15 years ago.
Subsides for the Longspined Sea Urchin harvest commenced in 2016 and in the last 3 years some $500,000 has been spent. This initiated significant investment in the industry to facilitate export market establishment and resulted the 2019 harvest reaching an excess of 550 tonnes, now Tasmania’s 3rd largest wild fishery by weight. However, the industry needs to move away from subsides and waste utilisation is seen a viable option to turn a current financial cost (estimated at $80,000 in 2019 to dump 400 tonnes of waste generated) into an income stream.
FRDC 2016-208 highlighted the significant potential of sea urchin waste utilisation in the agricultural industry and called for commercial upscaling of trials. This project is designed to meet that need. Based on this, the Abalone Industry Reinvestment Fund (AIRF) has committed to providing $538,686 in kind to initiate the project. This whole of project application is to allow multi-season agricultural trials of waste products to obtain scientifically and industry meaningful results, allow testing on perennial crops (such as cherries) and to employ a dedicated post-doctoral researcher on the project.
In the push for sustainably produced food, agricultural industries are demanding alternative nutritional sources to synthetic fertilisers. Urchin waste is comprised of two major parts: gut waste - a nitrogenous rich liquid which can be converted in a stable drench or spray and; shell waste – a calcium and boron rich solid which can be dried and powdered for use as a soil ameliorant. As such this fisheries enhancement project will additionally for fill this agricultural need.
Objectives: 1. To develop commercial scale processing equipment of sea urchin waste. 2. Determine the nutrient composition and plant bioavailability of nutrients from two high throughput waste streams: liquid gut waste and dried powdered shell waste 3. Evaluate the agronomic benefits of liquid gut waste as a frost retardant in perennial tree cropping (cherries) 4. Evaluate the agronomic benefits of powdered shell waste as a soil ameliorant in a wide range of annual and perennial cropping systems 5. Undertake a cost benefit analysis comparing fertiliser products (foliar sprays and/or soil conditioners) from this work to other products on the market to assess if the products are commercially viable Read moreRead less