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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Evaluating potential static liquefaction of tailings to prevent failures. This project aims to reduce risk in the mining industry from failing mine tailings by producing a methodology for predicting the susceptibility of these tailings to static liquefaction. The impact of a mine tailing failure is catastrophic to the downstream community. The project brings together a number of industry partners committed to assisting with verification and adoption of characterisation and designed tools develop ....Evaluating potential static liquefaction of tailings to prevent failures. This project aims to reduce risk in the mining industry from failing mine tailings by producing a methodology for predicting the susceptibility of these tailings to static liquefaction. The impact of a mine tailing failure is catastrophic to the downstream community. The project brings together a number of industry partners committed to assisting with verification and adoption of characterisation and designed tools development in this project. This proposal will integrate results from laboratory element, centrifuge and calibration chamber tests with numerical modelling and in-situ tests to produce a methodology for predicting the susceptibility to static liquefaction.Read moreRead less