Polytitanium coagulant for water purification: a systematic investigation to identify mechanisms and benefits over today's technologies. This project will develop a more efficient, environmentally-friendly process for water treatment, using an approach involving titanium that has been attracting interest in recent years, but which is not yet well understood. An Australian-Chinese collaboration will build on existing Australian intellectual property in this project.
Developing an innovative high performance thin-film composite membrane using functionalized nanofibrous support layers for engineered osmosis. Engineered osmosis (EO) is based on the principles of natural osmosis and is an emerging technology for low energy desalination and power generation by pressure-retarded osmosis. However, the process is limited by the challenge of the internal concentration polarisation (ICP) effects experienced when currently available membranes are used. Therefore, the ....Developing an innovative high performance thin-film composite membrane using functionalized nanofibrous support layers for engineered osmosis. Engineered osmosis (EO) is based on the principles of natural osmosis and is an emerging technology for low energy desalination and power generation by pressure-retarded osmosis. However, the process is limited by the challenge of the internal concentration polarisation (ICP) effects experienced when currently available membranes are used. Therefore, the aims of this project are to enhance our understanding of the ICP phenomenon in EO process and to evaluate strategies to mitigate the influence of ICP effects on the performance of the EO process by incorporating innovative functionalised nanofibrous support layers for thin-film composite EO membrane. A significant increase of water flux and mechanical strength is anticipated.Read moreRead less
Development of a novel air pollution monitoring strategy - combining passive sampling with toxicity testing. Present approaches for monitoring risk of air pollutants are limited to grab sample analysis for specific pollutants using concentrations based on independent toxicological and/or epidemiological assessment of compounds. This approach does not allow for evaluation of mixtures or that a given compound may exert different toxic endpoints and is based on short sampling periods. This researc ....Development of a novel air pollution monitoring strategy - combining passive sampling with toxicity testing. Present approaches for monitoring risk of air pollutants are limited to grab sample analysis for specific pollutants using concentrations based on independent toxicological and/or epidemiological assessment of compounds. This approach does not allow for evaluation of mixtures or that a given compound may exert different toxic endpoints and is based on short sampling periods. This research aims to develop and evaluate a novel approach combining extraction of pollutants using time-integrated passive samplers and toxicological evaluation using rapid in-vitro and in-vivo assays. The outcomes provide inexpensive tools for sensitive assessment of pollutant effects and baseline data to derive intervention guidelines based on mixture toxicity.Read moreRead less
Intracellular manufacturing - high performance biomaterials from methane. The aim of this project is to produce high performance biodegradable polymers directly from methane. The key innovation is employing cutting-edge community genomic and transcriptomic approaches to characterise intracellular production lines in order to tailor polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) copolymer microstructures. This is a truly multidisciplinary project bringing together engineers, polymer scientists and molecu ....Intracellular manufacturing - high performance biomaterials from methane. The aim of this project is to produce high performance biodegradable polymers directly from methane. The key innovation is employing cutting-edge community genomic and transcriptomic approaches to characterise intracellular production lines in order to tailor polyhydroxybutyrate-co-valerate (PHBV) copolymer microstructures. This is a truly multidisciplinary project bringing together engineers, polymer scientists and molecular biologists. It is expected that a direct outcome of the project will be the first PHBV copolymer from methane. As such, the project aims to develop technology for the production of tough, flexible and affordable biopolymers and, at the same time, provide an opportunity to add value to methane.Read moreRead less
Optimising CDI Water Treatment for Ion Removal and Energy Recovery. This project aims to develop capacitive deionisation (CDI) for the decontamination of water. The specific goals are firstly to identify applications where CDI could cost-effectively make brackish, contaminated water usable. The project then intends to optimise CDI design and operating conditions to remove particular ions of concern and to develop approaches to energy recovery. The main outcome is intended to be a photovoltaic-po ....Optimising CDI Water Treatment for Ion Removal and Energy Recovery. This project aims to develop capacitive deionisation (CDI) for the decontamination of water. The specific goals are firstly to identify applications where CDI could cost-effectively make brackish, contaminated water usable. The project then intends to optimise CDI design and operating conditions to remove particular ions of concern and to develop approaches to energy recovery. The main outcome is intended to be a photovoltaic-powered CDI unit that is capable of stand-alone operation with optimal energy recovery and inbuilt monitoring, and control technology enabling cost-effective and sustainable operation.Read moreRead less
Microbial Control in Wastewater Systems Using a Renewable Material. The project aims to address 3 long-standing problems and an emerging problem for wastewater systems by developing a suite of innovative technologies for microbial control. These will use a renewable material from wastewater. The project expects to advance understanding of microbiology to improve processes for removing phosphorus, managing sludge bulking, cleaning membranes, and reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance. Expec ....Microbial Control in Wastewater Systems Using a Renewable Material. The project aims to address 3 long-standing problems and an emerging problem for wastewater systems by developing a suite of innovative technologies for microbial control. These will use a renewable material from wastewater. The project expects to advance understanding of microbiology to improve processes for removing phosphorus, managing sludge bulking, cleaning membranes, and reducing the spread of antibiotic resistance. Expected outcomes include substantial cost reduction, a secure resource future, and elimination of the need to use chemicals that present safety risks to workers and the environment. The project should benefit public health, the environment and the water industry, as well as create commercial opportunities in Australia.Read moreRead less
Energy efficient membrane-based hybrid system for sustainable desalination. Seawater desalination plants have been built in Australia in response to increasing pressure on water supplies. The sustainability of these plants is challenged by their significantly high energy cost and concentrated brine output. By exploiting the high residual hydraulic energy contained in the concentrated brine and using it in a membrane-based hybrid system with renewable osmotic energy, this project aims to provide ....Energy efficient membrane-based hybrid system for sustainable desalination. Seawater desalination plants have been built in Australia in response to increasing pressure on water supplies. The sustainability of these plants is challenged by their significantly high energy cost and concentrated brine output. By exploiting the high residual hydraulic energy contained in the concentrated brine and using it in a membrane-based hybrid system with renewable osmotic energy, this project aims to provide solutions for overcoming these challenges. Renewable osmotic energy will be generated from the salinity differences between concentrate and fresh seawater (or other water sources) by pressure retarded osmosis. This will be enabled by the development of highly efficient composite membranes using an electrospinning technique. Read moreRead less
Hydrogen production from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste using a novel membrane. Solid organic waste is a potentially large, decentralized and sustainable source of hydrogen. The potential hydrogen yield from the anaerobic digestion of solid organic waste in Sydney alone could power over 750,000 passenger vehicles. Hydrogen is always generated in the digestion of organic material, but under natural conditions it is scavenged by methanogens. Recently developed silica membranes are sel ....Hydrogen production from the anaerobic digestion of organic waste using a novel membrane. Solid organic waste is a potentially large, decentralized and sustainable source of hydrogen. The potential hydrogen yield from the anaerobic digestion of solid organic waste in Sydney alone could power over 750,000 passenger vehicles. Hydrogen is always generated in the digestion of organic material, but under natural conditions it is scavenged by methanogens. Recently developed silica membranes are selectively and highly permeable to hydrogen, and these can be used to draw hydrogen from the digester. The digester will be run at high temperatures (>65oC) because this favours organisms that produce hydrogen over methanogens. Anaerobic digesters are well established in Europe and at least 3 municipal plants already exist in Australia.Read moreRead less
Iron - a solution for uranium resource recovery and pollution response. This project aims to determine key processes controlling uranium transport and fate in natural and engineered environments. This will result in improved efficiency in extracting uranium from tailings and subsurface deposits, reduced risk of contamination of water supplies, and improved management of radioactive waste repositories.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100661
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$426,551.00
Summary
Nanoparticle with Metal Organic Framework for Lithium Recovery from Brine. The project aims to develop technology enabling lithium to be cost-effectively extracted from brine. Today Australia meets the increasing demand for lithium by mining hardrock lithium, an environmentally damaging activity. An alternative is to source lithium from brine produced as industrial wastewater (in desalination or shale gas production). The main challenge that brine presents to selectively extracting lithium is co ....Nanoparticle with Metal Organic Framework for Lithium Recovery from Brine. The project aims to develop technology enabling lithium to be cost-effectively extracted from brine. Today Australia meets the increasing demand for lithium by mining hardrock lithium, an environmentally damaging activity. An alternative is to source lithium from brine produced as industrial wastewater (in desalination or shale gas production). The main challenge that brine presents to selectively extracting lithium is competing ions. By advancing knowledge of nanomaterials and membrane distillation, the project expects to overcome both this technical challenge and other practical challenges. From wastewater, the anticipated system will produce additional clean water and a valuable commodity that can offset the cost of water treatment. Read moreRead less