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
Scalable and Applicable Nanostructured Adsorbents for Arsenic Removal with High Performance. Arsenic contamination in groundwater and drinking water affects over 100 million people worldwide and causes severe health problems. This project aims to use a recently patented technology to develop a new generation of adsorbents with controlled nanostructure and morphology for arsenic removal. The novel low-cost adsorbents are expected to have superior performance for the treatment of water containing ....Scalable and Applicable Nanostructured Adsorbents for Arsenic Removal with High Performance. Arsenic contamination in groundwater and drinking water affects over 100 million people worldwide and causes severe health problems. This project aims to use a recently patented technology to develop a new generation of adsorbents with controlled nanostructure and morphology for arsenic removal. The novel low-cost adsorbents are expected to have superior performance for the treatment of water containing arsenic at both high and low concentrations. The engineered products will be tested in high-throughput wastewater treatment in pharmaceutical factories and as a household drinking water treatment device. This project aims to bring economic and social benefits to Australian industry and improve the quality of life for people all over the world.Read moreRead less
Improving anti-salt crystallisation for solar-steam desalination. This project aims to solve a critical issue of solar-steam desalination by fundamental research. The solar-steam desalination technology offers an ideal strategy to utilize solar light as the energy source for desalination and water purification to produce affordable clean water. Photothermal materials play a key role in the desalination system to convert sunlight to heat and subsequently evaporate the saline water to generate ste ....Improving anti-salt crystallisation for solar-steam desalination. This project aims to solve a critical issue of solar-steam desalination by fundamental research. The solar-steam desalination technology offers an ideal strategy to utilize solar light as the energy source for desalination and water purification to produce affordable clean water. Photothermal materials play a key role in the desalination system to convert sunlight to heat and subsequently evaporate the saline water to generate steam as clean water. However, salt crystallization on the photothermal material surfaces severely limits the performance of the materials and clean water production. Solving this problem could accelerate the commercialisation and application of this technology, which will benefit millions of people worldwide.Read moreRead less
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
Designing plasmon-enhanced photocatalysts for solar-driven water pollutant removal. The outcomes of this program will lead to a new class of composite photocatalysts for efficient water purification using sunlight. Such technology will speed up the transition of Australian environmental and energy industries from a fossil fuel economy to renewable energy economy.
Fast stimuli-responsive polymer hydrogels as a new class of draw agent for forward osmosis desalination. The ability to extract fresh water from saline water can be important in areas such as desalination and other industrial applications. In this project new materials will be developed to perform this operation at a much lower energy cost than similar processes, whilst also improving the purity of the separated water.
Ultrahigh strength maraging titanium alloys for additive manufacturing . This project aims to pioneer an unprecedented class of ultrahigh-strength titanium alloys for 3D printing by capitalising on both the alloy design theory of ultrahigh-strength steels and the unique capability of laser-based 3D printing. The planned research expects to significantly advance the knowledge base of advanced metallic materials and metal 3D printing via atomistic level characterisation and systematic mechanical p ....Ultrahigh strength maraging titanium alloys for additive manufacturing . This project aims to pioneer an unprecedented class of ultrahigh-strength titanium alloys for 3D printing by capitalising on both the alloy design theory of ultrahigh-strength steels and the unique capability of laser-based 3D printing. The planned research expects to significantly advance the knowledge base of advanced metallic materials and metal 3D printing via atomistic level characterisation and systematic mechanical property evaluation in relation to specifically tailored 3D printing conditions. Expected outcomes include a group of ultrahigh-strength novel titanium alloys for 3D printing and a new alloy design theory. This should provide significant benefits to the manufacturing industry to support the national economy and security.Read moreRead less
A transformational approach to enabling the low cost fabrication of intricate titanium components. The high production cost of titanium components has been the central issue that inhibits the large-scale industrial applications of titanium and its alloys, despite their outstanding properties. This project aims to develop an innovative titanium hydride injection moulding process to enable the fabrication of intricate titanium components at low cost while ensuring excellent mechanical properties. ....A transformational approach to enabling the low cost fabrication of intricate titanium components. The high production cost of titanium components has been the central issue that inhibits the large-scale industrial applications of titanium and its alloys, despite their outstanding properties. This project aims to develop an innovative titanium hydride injection moulding process to enable the fabrication of intricate titanium components at low cost while ensuring excellent mechanical properties. The outcomes have the potential to transform the current manufacturing practice of small intricate titanium components for wide industrial applications. In addition, the project aims to create and deliver new advanced manufacturing technologies and skills urgently needed by the Australian industries for lifting productivity and economic growth.Read moreRead less
Computational alloy design for cold spray deposition. The aim of this project is to design a new generation of proprietary, high performance alloys and composites that are optimised for cold spray deposition. Cold spray is a new manufacturing technology that is used to create coatings for enhancement, repair, restoration and for additive manufacturing. Using a systems approach and by integrating experiment with computational models, this project will generate new knowledge for enhanced materials ....Computational alloy design for cold spray deposition. The aim of this project is to design a new generation of proprietary, high performance alloys and composites that are optimised for cold spray deposition. Cold spray is a new manufacturing technology that is used to create coatings for enhancement, repair, restoration and for additive manufacturing. Using a systems approach and by integrating experiment with computational models, this project will generate new knowledge for enhanced materials design. Partnering with Ruag Australia, a leading Defence aerospace supplier, the project will deliver a practical tool for the accelerated design of metal powders for cold spray and invent commercially useful advanced materials to improve the competitiveness of Australian manufacturing industry.Read moreRead less
A fast, eco-friendly approach to the fabrication of low cost high performance titanium components. The purpose of this project is to develop an innovative manufacturing approach by which the cost of titanium components can be substantially reduced. This will significantly increase the commercial applications of titanium and its alloys.