Development of High Performance Nanocomposite Filtration Membranes: Fabrication and Fouling Mechanisms. This project will develop high performance membranes for the filtration of water and wastewater using novel nanotechnology processes. This will reduce the costs and environmental impact of water treatment and risk from low-level chemical contaminants such as micropollutants. The project will also provide an enhanced technology base for producing low cost, hybrid inorganic-organic materials fo ....Development of High Performance Nanocomposite Filtration Membranes: Fabrication and Fouling Mechanisms. This project will develop high performance membranes for the filtration of water and wastewater using novel nanotechnology processes. This will reduce the costs and environmental impact of water treatment and risk from low-level chemical contaminants such as micropollutants. The project will also provide an enhanced technology base for producing low cost, hybrid inorganic-organic materials for widespread environmental, agricultural and food applications.Read moreRead less
Optimising Fouling Control in Membrane Bioreactors. Membrane bioreactors (MBR) are growing in importance for wastewater treatment because they offer an alternative for producing higher effluent quality wastewater within a more compact space compared to conventional processes. However, due to the pumping and bubbling used to keep the membranes clear of foulants resulting from the biological processes in MBR's, controlling fouling incurs significant energy usage and costs. The proposal aims to red ....Optimising Fouling Control in Membrane Bioreactors. Membrane bioreactors (MBR) are growing in importance for wastewater treatment because they offer an alternative for producing higher effluent quality wastewater within a more compact space compared to conventional processes. However, due to the pumping and bubbling used to keep the membranes clear of foulants resulting from the biological processes in MBR's, controlling fouling incurs significant energy usage and costs. The proposal aims to reduce the costs of fouling control by understanding the optimal conditions to remove these depositions and improve the design of MBR modules, operating conditions and shear delivery in the membrane system.Read moreRead less
Macromolecular Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors. As the demands for domestic and industrial water increasing in Australia and overseas, membrane bioreactors (MBR) offer an alternative for producing higher effluent quality wastewater compared to conventional processes. However, aeration costs used to remove fouling deposits (which reduce the operating performance) need to be further minimised. The proposal aims to study fundamental mechanisms involve in the deposition of foulant components by usin ....Macromolecular Fouling in Membrane Bioreactors. As the demands for domestic and industrial water increasing in Australia and overseas, membrane bioreactors (MBR) offer an alternative for producing higher effluent quality wastewater compared to conventional processes. However, aeration costs used to remove fouling deposits (which reduce the operating performance) need to be further minimised. The proposal aims to study fundamental mechanisms involve in the deposition of foulant components by using model systems of polysaccharides, proteins and microbial cells and comparing these with real MBR systems. The effect of bubbling varied gas compositions (air/H2S ratios) a novel approach in this study will be investigated to prevent or remove foulants in MBR systems. Read moreRead less
Novel Synthesis and Bio-applications of Functional Macroporous Ordered Siliceous Foams. This project will lead to advances in materials science and nanotechnology, providing high efficiency separation and purification for viruses or plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which are important in modern gene engineering for the treatment of genetic and acquired diseases. Application benefits also include developing a new protocol in the detection of trace amount proteins, which will afford a signific ....Novel Synthesis and Bio-applications of Functional Macroporous Ordered Siliceous Foams. This project will lead to advances in materials science and nanotechnology, providing high efficiency separation and purification for viruses or plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), which are important in modern gene engineering for the treatment of genetic and acquired diseases. Application benefits also include developing a new protocol in the detection of trace amount proteins, which will afford a significant improvement in diverse fields such as health care. Through this project, novel macroporous materials will be fabricated using an economically and environmentally sustainable approach. These new materials will have unique structures and properties compared to conventional macroporous materials, advancing Australia's intellectual position in this discipline.Read moreRead less
Frictional and viscous effects during transport in nanopores. Gas mixtures exposed to materials containing molecular sized pores (nanopores) are adsorbed, forming states of matter not existing in the bulk. Differential forces acting on the components of mixtures promote industrially and environmentally important separations. However, transport of confined fluids has been poorly understood. Recently we have made progress using computer simulation, and have proposed a highly successful theory. ....Frictional and viscous effects during transport in nanopores. Gas mixtures exposed to materials containing molecular sized pores (nanopores) are adsorbed, forming states of matter not existing in the bulk. Differential forces acting on the components of mixtures promote industrially and environmentally important separations. However, transport of confined fluids has been poorly understood. Recently we have made progress using computer simulation, and have proposed a highly successful theory. These investigations have revealed the crucial role of scattering from the surface atoms of the confining solid. Theoretical investigation of single spherical species has been initiated, and extension to other species and to mixtures is now envisaged.Read moreRead less
Multicomponent Transport in Nanopores. Good understanding of transport mechanisms in nanopores is crucial to the successful application of numerous recently developed novel templated microporous and mesoporous materials. This project seeks to extend a new theory developed by the applicants for single component transport in cylindrical mesopores, to cylindrical micropores as well as to multicomponent adsorbates, in conjunction with experiments using microporous and mesoporous materials such as M ....Multicomponent Transport in Nanopores. Good understanding of transport mechanisms in nanopores is crucial to the successful application of numerous recently developed novel templated microporous and mesoporous materials. This project seeks to extend a new theory developed by the applicants for single component transport in cylindrical mesopores, to cylindrical micropores as well as to multicomponent adsorbates, in conjunction with experiments using microporous and mesoporous materials such as MCM-41, VPI-5 and AlPO4-5. The outcome will be a powerful new theory for a priori prediction of transport coefficients for multicomponent fluids in nanopores based on molecular level information alone, thereby overcoming the empiricism in existing models.Read moreRead less