Reforming of Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels for Application in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Technology. The project will aim at developing a fuel processing system for solid oxide fuel cells which will have the advantages of being fuel flexible through the conversion of liquid fuels (gasoline, LPG, diesel) for application in small to medium stationary power generation systems. This investigation will also generate fundamental information and understanding concerning the catalytic reforming of liquid hydroca ....Reforming of Liquid Hydrocarbon Fuels for Application in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells Technology. The project will aim at developing a fuel processing system for solid oxide fuel cells which will have the advantages of being fuel flexible through the conversion of liquid fuels (gasoline, LPG, diesel) for application in small to medium stationary power generation systems. This investigation will also generate fundamental information and understanding concerning the catalytic reforming of liquid hydrocarbon fuels to produce adequate feeds for SOFCs. These distributed energy devices are of high efficiency and with a novel technology the industrial partner will aim to offer products with high value propositions in the critical areas of price, reliability and service.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100112
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$275,000.00
Summary
A Raman facility for advanced research supporting Australia’s natural gas, oil, coal and minerals industries. This modern Raman Spectroscopy facility will support the science and engineering that underpins the production and processing of Australia’s natural resources. Using high-pressure fibre optics, novel lasers and advanced imaging, the facility will enable the monitoring and improvement of processes and materials under extreme conditions.
Reactivity and Spectroscopy of Gas Phase Metal Oxide Cluster Ions: Structure-Reactivity Correlations and Fundamental Insights into Heterogeneous Catalysis. This project will make use of world class ARC funded instrumentation to carry out breakthrough science. The research will contribute fundamental insights into chemical bond activation relevant to industrial catalytic processes important to national manufacturing industries. These insights will improve the efficiency and selectivity of catal ....Reactivity and Spectroscopy of Gas Phase Metal Oxide Cluster Ions: Structure-Reactivity Correlations and Fundamental Insights into Heterogeneous Catalysis. This project will make use of world class ARC funded instrumentation to carry out breakthrough science. The research will contribute fundamental insights into chemical bond activation relevant to industrial catalytic processes important to national manufacturing industries. These insights will improve the efficiency and selectivity of catalytic processes and lead to increased profitability and/or a reduction in unwanted side products and pollution. The project will train young scientists in important experimental and theoretical chemical techniques, and will enhance and contribute to Australia's international research profile.Read moreRead less
Double Exposure Photoresists for the 32 and 22 nm Lithographic Nodes. The semiconductor industry is one of the largest world-wide, with annual revenue of $220B and employing over 1.5M people around the world. This project provides a unique opportunity for development within Australia of significant expertise in the field of double exposure lithography. The novel photoactive polymeric films to be developed are expected to support the next generation of microchips. A major outcome of this project ....Double Exposure Photoresists for the 32 and 22 nm Lithographic Nodes. The semiconductor industry is one of the largest world-wide, with annual revenue of $220B and employing over 1.5M people around the world. This project provides a unique opportunity for development within Australia of significant expertise in the field of double exposure lithography. The novel photoactive polymeric films to be developed are expected to support the next generation of microchips. A major outcome of this project will be establishment of Australia as a world-leader in this rapidly expanding field. Furthermore the technology can be applied broadly to many printing technologies.Read moreRead less
Advanced Lithographic Solutions using Block Copolymers: Integrating Self Assembly and Lithography. The semiconductor industry is one of the largest world-wide, with annual revenue of $220B and employing over 1.5M people around the world. This project provides a unique opportunity for development within Australia of significant expertise in the field of self assembly in photolithography. Plastics with tailored properties will be made and used to develop novel processes to reduce the defectivity i ....Advanced Lithographic Solutions using Block Copolymers: Integrating Self Assembly and Lithography. The semiconductor industry is one of the largest world-wide, with annual revenue of $220B and employing over 1.5M people around the world. This project provides a unique opportunity for development within Australia of significant expertise in the field of self assembly in photolithography. Plastics with tailored properties will be made and used to develop novel processes to reduce the defectivity in integrated circuit manufacture. The ultimate benefit will be faster and more energy efficient microprocessors. A major outcome of this project will be establishment of Australia as a world-leader in this rapidly expanding field. Furthermore, the technology can be applied broadly to many other applications such as high density data storage.Read moreRead less
The recovery of Cu from chalcopyrite-pyrite containing concentrates, ores and tailings. Chalcopyrite, a major source of Cu, is often associated in ores with the valueless mineral pyrite. The development of more efficient methods for the retrieval of the Cu is of considerable economic importance to Australian minerals processing companies. We aim to develop methodologies allowing the more efficient :
- separation of chalcopyrite and pyrite;
- leaching of Cu from ores and tailing in a heap leach ....The recovery of Cu from chalcopyrite-pyrite containing concentrates, ores and tailings. Chalcopyrite, a major source of Cu, is often associated in ores with the valueless mineral pyrite. The development of more efficient methods for the retrieval of the Cu is of considerable economic importance to Australian minerals processing companies. We aim to develop methodologies allowing the more efficient :
- separation of chalcopyrite and pyrite;
- leaching of Cu from ores and tailing in a heap leach environment and
- leaching of Cu in a concentrated chalcopyrite-pyrite reactor environment.
These aims will be achieved via an integrated surface-solution speciation approach allowing the manipulation of surface properties.
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Controlling density, viscosity and crystallisation in emulsion explosives to enhance safety and efficiency of blasting operations. The performance of emulsion explosives used throughout the mining industry can be severely compromised by the effects of shear arising from pumping and detonation shock waves. Understanding how shear affects droplet coalescence and crystallisation is critical in differential energy blasting, where emulsion density and composition vary widely along the bore hole. This ....Controlling density, viscosity and crystallisation in emulsion explosives to enhance safety and efficiency of blasting operations. The performance of emulsion explosives used throughout the mining industry can be severely compromised by the effects of shear arising from pumping and detonation shock waves. Understanding how shear affects droplet coalescence and crystallisation is critical in differential energy blasting, where emulsion density and composition vary widely along the bore hole. This project aims to contribute to the understanding of the effects of shear, and develop new methods and additives to stabilise droplets and bubbles over a wide range of compositions and conditions. The goal of this project is to improve the efficiency and safety of rock-blasting operations, reduce environmental impact, and reduce operating costs, giving the Australian mining industry a competitive edge.Read moreRead less
Polymers at Mineral Interfaces. Polymers are used widely in the mineral processing industry to alter mineral surfaces, often selectively. In spite of this, there remains a gap in our understanding of how polymers interact with mineral surfaces and how their surface structure affects the mineral surface properties. The aim of this project is to fill this gap by performing fundamental research on adsorbed polymer structure and properties, coupled with applied research on real mineral ores from a ....Polymers at Mineral Interfaces. Polymers are used widely in the mineral processing industry to alter mineral surfaces, often selectively. In spite of this, there remains a gap in our understanding of how polymers interact with mineral surfaces and how their surface structure affects the mineral surface properties. The aim of this project is to fill this gap by performing fundamental research on adsorbed polymer structure and properties, coupled with applied research on real mineral ores from a number of mineral companies. The combination of fundamental and applied research makes this project unique in the study of polymers at mineral interfaces, and will enable us to solve real processing problems through a rational choice of polymers for a given application.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160101488
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
New Photocatalysts for CO2 Reduction. The project aims to develop novel photocatalysts for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) to useful products using solar energy. Carbon dioxide (CO2) photoreduction is attracting growing attention because of its potential to mitigate CO2 emissions and convert the captured CO2 to chemical commodities. The project also plans to identify the photocatalytic mechanisms of the catalysts by investigating the reaction systems, such as the interface morphology, structure co ....New Photocatalysts for CO2 Reduction. The project aims to develop novel photocatalysts for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) to useful products using solar energy. Carbon dioxide (CO2) photoreduction is attracting growing attention because of its potential to mitigate CO2 emissions and convert the captured CO2 to chemical commodities. The project also plans to identify the photocatalytic mechanisms of the catalysts by investigating the reaction systems, such as the interface morphology, structure coherence and energy alignment of the component phases and reactant. Innovative technologies in the field of sunlight-driven photocatalysis have the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.Read moreRead less
High-productivity ammonia electrosynthesis. The aim of this project is to develop and demonstrate high-performance devices for ammonia production from renewables by a scalable electrolysis method. This will be achieved by experimental and modelling investigations of the nitrogen reduction reaction to guide the design of tailor-made cathodes. New knowledge in catalysis and materials science is expected to be generated. The target outcome of the project is a sustainable and affordable ammonia synt ....High-productivity ammonia electrosynthesis. The aim of this project is to develop and demonstrate high-performance devices for ammonia production from renewables by a scalable electrolysis method. This will be achieved by experimental and modelling investigations of the nitrogen reduction reaction to guide the design of tailor-made cathodes. New knowledge in catalysis and materials science is expected to be generated. The target outcome of the project is a sustainable and affordable ammonia synthesis method as an alternative to the current fossil-fuels-based and excessively greenhouse-emitting process. The technology to be developed in this project is anticipated to be of significant benefit to the Australian agriculture sector as a local, on-demand source of low-cost fertilisers.Read moreRead less