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Formation of organic pollutants in fires of treated and contaminated wood. This project quantifies the emission of dioxins and biphenyls in burning of treated and contaminated wood to provide data on whether combustion of such materials should be regulated in Australia and whether an educational campaign needs to be mounted to make public aware of this problem. For example, our preliminary results indicate that, timber treated with copper boron azole, a non-arsenic replacement for CCA preservat ....Formation of organic pollutants in fires of treated and contaminated wood. This project quantifies the emission of dioxins and biphenyls in burning of treated and contaminated wood to provide data on whether combustion of such materials should be regulated in Australia and whether an educational campaign needs to be mounted to make public aware of this problem. For example, our preliminary results indicate that, timber treated with copper boron azole, a non-arsenic replacement for CCA preservative, produces extremely high levels of dioxins, both in flames and in the ash. If the preliminary results are confirmed, this agent must be disallowed as a wood preservative in Australia, as it poses unacceptable risks to the Australian population and environment. Read moreRead less
High performance drying of plantation grown eucalypt timber. Forest industries generate $14 billion annually in Australia and employs 86,000 staff. Hardwood sawn timber is a value added product and microwave technology will increase returns due to more improved timber utilization and better profit margins due to more efficient processing and reduced drying degrade. At the forefront the development of clean, high-tech microwave drying technology and equipment, that is invented in Australia, will ....High performance drying of plantation grown eucalypt timber. Forest industries generate $14 billion annually in Australia and employs 86,000 staff. Hardwood sawn timber is a value added product and microwave technology will increase returns due to more improved timber utilization and better profit margins due to more efficient processing and reduced drying degrade. At the forefront the development of clean, high-tech microwave drying technology and equipment, that is invented in Australia, will allow Australian companies to be forefront in this industrial area, to sell licences, designs, project management and equipment on international markets. This initiative will value-add plantation forests, reduce oil consumption and sequester CO2 in high value products.Read moreRead less
Industrial Transformation Training Centres - Grant ID: IC180100008
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$3,981,223.00
Summary
ARC Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling and Manufacturing. The ARC Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling and Manufacturing aims to connect the detailed microscopic characteristics of materials with their macroscopic properties and design characteristics of natural and manufactured structures. It will train a new generation of researchers and practitioners in the emerging discipline of Digital Materials. The approach allows optimisation at all scales, enabling cost ....ARC Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling and Manufacturing. The ARC Training Centre for Multiscale 3D Imaging, Modelling and Manufacturing aims to connect the detailed microscopic characteristics of materials with their macroscopic properties and design characteristics of natural and manufactured structures. It will train a new generation of researchers and practitioners in the emerging discipline of Digital Materials. The approach allows optimisation at all scales, enabling cost reductions and performance enhancements in key industries, including Oil, Gas and Energy Resources, Medical Technologies, and Advanced Manufacturing. The Centre expects to reduce the time needed in the prototyping cycle and product development, increasing industry’s capacity for accelerated innovation. The developments will build world-class Australian capabilities for developing high-value scaleable production of bespoke products and optimised process design.Read moreRead less
Study of molecular interactions between wood pitch fixatives and components of wood pitch. Wood resins, released in pulping, agglomerate in the papermaking process to cause pitch deposits. These deposits adversely affect paper machine efficiency and product quality and limit further recycling of process water. This project aims to investigate the interactions between the components of the wood resins and different fixatives using capillary electrophoresis and other techniques. This knowledge w ....Study of molecular interactions between wood pitch fixatives and components of wood pitch. Wood resins, released in pulping, agglomerate in the papermaking process to cause pitch deposits. These deposits adversely affect paper machine efficiency and product quality and limit further recycling of process water. This project aims to investigate the interactions between the components of the wood resins and different fixatives using capillary electrophoresis and other techniques. This knowledge will provide a better understanding of the role of the physical and chemical properties of the fixatives in fixing the different compounds in wood resins. Molecular modelling will be used to design new fixatives that will be selective to a mixture of wood resins.
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Improving the Processing of Timber from Plantation Forests: The Challenge of Managing Variability. Drying is a key step in processing timber. The increasing availability of plantation hardwood timber, with greater variability in its properties than previous resources, presents an opportunity to take advantage of the development of better mathematical techniques for process optimization and better drying and mechanical models for timber to address this challenge. This project will produce optimi ....Improving the Processing of Timber from Plantation Forests: The Challenge of Managing Variability. Drying is a key step in processing timber. The increasing availability of plantation hardwood timber, with greater variability in its properties than previous resources, presents an opportunity to take advantage of the development of better mathematical techniques for process optimization and better drying and mechanical models for timber to address this challenge. This project will produce optimized drying schedules, which are combinations of temperatures and humidities used during drying, to effectively dry plantation timber with variable properties, producing timber for high-value and appearance-grade end uses, such as flooring and furniture.Read moreRead less
Exploiting Resonance in Improving Dried Timber Quality by Optimizing Cyclic Drying Processes in Solar Kilns. Maximizing the value of final dried timber is essential for maximizing the economic benefits for Australia. If 10% of one million cubic metres of sawn hardwood timber produced annually in Australia increases its value raised by $500/m3, then the potential direct gain to Australian companies is over A$50 million per year. Multiplier effects include future applications to the drying of fo ....Exploiting Resonance in Improving Dried Timber Quality by Optimizing Cyclic Drying Processes in Solar Kilns. Maximizing the value of final dried timber is essential for maximizing the economic benefits for Australia. If 10% of one million cubic metres of sawn hardwood timber produced annually in Australia increases its value raised by $500/m3, then the potential direct gain to Australian companies is over A$50 million per year. Multiplier effects include future applications to the drying of foods, where the potential benefit in using solar kilns is a reduction in CO2 emissions of at least a million tonnes of CO2 per year, and a potential cost reduction of A$38 million per year.Read moreRead less
Manufacture of precision optical components: ground-breaking through innovative constitutive modeling. It has been a worldwide challenge to make high precision optical elements using glass moulding though it is the most effective process. This project aims to develop a novel way to optimise precision glass moulding processes. The success of this research will significantly reduce the development cost and improve the quality of the moulding products.
Programming anisotropy into responsive soft materials. The project aims to generate viscoelastic soft materials with programmable anisotropy using aqueous suspensions of colloidal rods that have tunable surface coatings. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the rheology and structural characteristics of this unique class of materials. A key innovation is the use of charge-directed polymer self-assembly to control colloidal interactions, suspension rheology and phase behaviour. The in ....Programming anisotropy into responsive soft materials. The project aims to generate viscoelastic soft materials with programmable anisotropy using aqueous suspensions of colloidal rods that have tunable surface coatings. The project expects to generate new knowledge in the rheology and structural characteristics of this unique class of materials. A key innovation is the use of charge-directed polymer self-assembly to control colloidal interactions, suspension rheology and phase behaviour. The intended outcome is spatial control over the orientation of nanostructures, potentially mimicking the structural hierarchy found in nature. This should provide significant benefits to the creation of viscoelastic materials with complex rheology as well as structural, mechanical and optical heterogeneity.Read moreRead less
Elucidation of genetic and physiological factors controlling biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids in sandalwood, Santalum spp. Plantation sandalwood removes pressure from natural populations and is a profitable long term investment. Australia is in a highly competitive position with regards to market supply but this cannot be taken for granted. This research seeks to understand the complex biology of sandalwood using the latest genomic and molecular technologies. This knowledge will be applied thro ....Elucidation of genetic and physiological factors controlling biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoids in sandalwood, Santalum spp. Plantation sandalwood removes pressure from natural populations and is a profitable long term investment. Australia is in a highly competitive position with regards to market supply but this cannot be taken for granted. This research seeks to understand the complex biology of sandalwood using the latest genomic and molecular technologies. This knowledge will be applied through directed, marker-assisted tree selection and improved plantation management. Ultimately we are developing a highly advanced production system with which Australia can lead Sandalwood production. Sandalwood plantations use a variety of native perennial hosts, increase biodiversity, help manage underground water resources and address carbon sequestration demands.Read moreRead less
Extreme expression: building a platform for industrial plant biotechnology. Plants have remarkable potential as bioreactors for the production of usually non-plant compounds such as medical proteins, industrial proteins including enzymes and polymers. However, to realise this potential, there needs to be very significant advances in the amount of target compounds produced in the bioreactor plants and to develop other plant species as bioreactors. The aim of this project is to develop technologie ....Extreme expression: building a platform for industrial plant biotechnology. Plants have remarkable potential as bioreactors for the production of usually non-plant compounds such as medical proteins, industrial proteins including enzymes and polymers. However, to realise this potential, there needs to be very significant advances in the amount of target compounds produced in the bioreactor plants and to develop other plant species as bioreactors. The aim of this project is to develop technologies that provide the platform to produce large quantities of target novel compounds in plants and extend the range of plant species that can be used as bioreactors. These technologies will provide the basis of a dynamic biofarming industry in Australia.Read moreRead less