High purity formaldehyde production from carbon oxides. This project aims to investigate the detailed reaction mechanism of a green chemistry route of producing formaldehyde by reducing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in liquid phase. Formaldehyde is a widely used feedstock for chemical industries, but is not considered a green chemical because it is produced using natural gas as the feed, which loses over 61 per cent of energy. This project will maximise the yield and purity of the product, ....High purity formaldehyde production from carbon oxides. This project aims to investigate the detailed reaction mechanism of a green chemistry route of producing formaldehyde by reducing carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide in liquid phase. Formaldehyde is a widely used feedstock for chemical industries, but is not considered a green chemical because it is produced using natural gas as the feed, which loses over 61 per cent of energy. This project will maximise the yield and purity of the product, making it commercially viable. This project’s method for producing formaldehyde is expected to reduce the capital cost and energy losses.Read moreRead less
Optimal Ethylene Oxide Manufacturing via Advanced Process Modelling and Control. This project aims at improving plant efficiency and safety to a world's best level for the Ethylene Oxide (EO) plant of Huntsman Corporation Australia (HCA). EO is a key chemical intermediate for making polyesters (clothing, PET bottles, insulation) and surfactants. To remain globally competitive, it is essential to improve the efficiency of the plant, which has a small capacity and supports important Australian mar ....Optimal Ethylene Oxide Manufacturing via Advanced Process Modelling and Control. This project aims at improving plant efficiency and safety to a world's best level for the Ethylene Oxide (EO) plant of Huntsman Corporation Australia (HCA). EO is a key chemical intermediate for making polyesters (clothing, PET bottles, insulation) and surfactants. To remain globally competitive, it is essential to improve the efficiency of the plant, which has a small capacity and supports important Australian markets. The goals will be achieved by developing advanced operational and control strategies (through computer modeling, process optimisation and intelligent systems approach), which will assist in better understanding the process and in providing optimal HCA plant operation.Read moreRead less
An Intelligent/Smart Framework for Total Process Monitoring And Supervision. Operator failures have an adverse effect on product quality, process safety, occupational health and environmental impact. The management of abnormal operating conditions is a major responsibility and depends critically on information management. A recent report indicates that the total cost attributable to preventable losses in petrochemical companies in U.S. amounts to twenty billion dollars per year. The objective o ....An Intelligent/Smart Framework for Total Process Monitoring And Supervision. Operator failures have an adverse effect on product quality, process safety, occupational health and environmental impact. The management of abnormal operating conditions is a major responsibility and depends critically on information management. A recent report indicates that the total cost attributable to preventable losses in petrochemical companies in U.S. amounts to twenty billion dollars per year. The objective of this project is to develop the theoretical framework and implementation of an Advanced Integrated Support System (ISS) for process monitoring, data analysis and interpretation, event detection and diagnosis, and operations support in chemical and petrochemical processes manufacturing.Read moreRead less
Novel inkjet-printed organic solvent nanofiltration membranes. The pharmaceutical industry is one of fastest growing industries in Australia. Manufacturing pharmaceutical products requires the use of hazardous and expensive organic solvents, which are toxic for the environment and expensive to recover due to the energy intensive thermal process required. This project aims to discover and manufacture a novel, low-cost, chemically robust nanomaterial-based membrane using an industry scalable inkje ....Novel inkjet-printed organic solvent nanofiltration membranes. The pharmaceutical industry is one of fastest growing industries in Australia. Manufacturing pharmaceutical products requires the use of hazardous and expensive organic solvents, which are toxic for the environment and expensive to recover due to the energy intensive thermal process required. This project aims to discover and manufacture a novel, low-cost, chemically robust nanomaterial-based membrane using an industry scalable inkjet printing process. The membrane will be resistant to organic solvents while efficiently recovering valuable and hazardous organic solvents with minimum environmental footprint. It will effectively provide for the future growth of the Australian pharmaceutical industry while also having global applications.Read moreRead less
Process for treatment of fluorine-containing synthetic greenhouse gases. It is generally agreed that increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are leading to higher average atmospheric temperatures. This research pursues the development of an energy-efficient, non-destructive process for transforming fluorine-containing greenhouse gases (GHGs) into valuable and environmentally benign products. The application of research will lead to the development of a new non-destructive proce ....Process for treatment of fluorine-containing synthetic greenhouse gases. It is generally agreed that increasing levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are leading to higher average atmospheric temperatures. This research pursues the development of an energy-efficient, non-destructive process for transforming fluorine-containing greenhouse gases (GHGs) into valuable and environmentally benign products. The application of research will lead to the development of a new non-destructive process and will benefit Australia, socially by reducing emission of GHGs and thus protecting the environment, and economically through licensing of the technology for treatment of the growing stockpiles of synthetic GHGs.
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Particle motion and particle-convective heat transfer near the walls of fluidized beds. Background: Fluidized bed technology has important industrial applications ranging from petrol production to mineral processing for metal production. Such processes take advantage of the high rates of heat transfer in gas-fluidized beds.
Objective of project: To improve understanding and modelling of heat transfer in gas fluidized beds through the application of state-of-the-art experimental (Positron Emiss ....Particle motion and particle-convective heat transfer near the walls of fluidized beds. Background: Fluidized bed technology has important industrial applications ranging from petrol production to mineral processing for metal production. Such processes take advantage of the high rates of heat transfer in gas-fluidized beds.
Objective of project: To improve understanding and modelling of heat transfer in gas fluidized beds through the application of state-of-the-art experimental (Positron Emission Particle Tracking) and modelling (Discrete Element Method simulation) techniques.
Expected outcomes of project: New knowledge of the mechanisms of fluidized bed heat transfer. Improved the prediction of heat transfer coefficients with consequent improvements in the design and operation of fluidized bed processes.
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Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0775550
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$345,000.00
Summary
Characterisation Equipment for Advanced Gas Separation Applications. The proposed research will lead to the synthesis of new advanced materials capable of performing new and existing separations more efficiently than previous methods. We therefore expect the new materials to directly benefit the community through improved removal and recovery of a wide range of pollutants which would otherwise enter the environment. This research is directly aligned to the National Research Priority of Frontie ....Characterisation Equipment for Advanced Gas Separation Applications. The proposed research will lead to the synthesis of new advanced materials capable of performing new and existing separations more efficiently than previous methods. We therefore expect the new materials to directly benefit the community through improved removal and recovery of a wide range of pollutants which would otherwise enter the environment. This research is directly aligned to the National Research Priority of Frontier Technologies for Building and Transforming Australian Industries: Advanced Materials.Read moreRead less
Lowering membrane fouling by matching pre-treatment to membrane type. Delivery of potable and recycled water to communities and industry increasingly uses membrane treatment to ensure high standards of water quality, particularly as water scarcity leads to the use of poor quality water sources. Fouling of membranes occurs as water is treated, adding expense and complexity to the process. Reducing fouling will lower the cost of water treatment and improve the economics of treating water in smal ....Lowering membrane fouling by matching pre-treatment to membrane type. Delivery of potable and recycled water to communities and industry increasingly uses membrane treatment to ensure high standards of water quality, particularly as water scarcity leads to the use of poor quality water sources. Fouling of membranes occurs as water is treated, adding expense and complexity to the process. Reducing fouling will lower the cost of water treatment and improve the economics of treating water in smaller systems at source. This will enable greater reliability of localised treatment, which will reduce pumping requirements and decrease both cost and carbon emissions. Read moreRead less
Catalytic conversion of Australia's natural gas to value added products. While natural gas (of which methane is the primary component) is an abundant source of energy, it is normally found in remote areas and for its successful exploitation it needs to be processed. The processing usually requires significant energy and resources input. In this project we will develop a fundamental understanding to a single step catalytic process that can utilise natural gas and nitrous oxide (both potent greenh ....Catalytic conversion of Australia's natural gas to value added products. While natural gas (of which methane is the primary component) is an abundant source of energy, it is normally found in remote areas and for its successful exploitation it needs to be processed. The processing usually requires significant energy and resources input. In this project we will develop a fundamental understanding to a single step catalytic process that can utilise natural gas and nitrous oxide (both potent greenhouse gases) and oxygen to produce selectively methanol and hydrocarbons from a natural gas feedstream in a controlled manner. A single step process for natural gas conversion utilising waste green-house gases is expected to be of great benefit to the Australian economy, environment and energy securityRead moreRead less
Clean technologies for the synthesis and purification of a biohybrid and biodegradable polymer. The project aims to transform an Australian industry in the forefront of the global market for manufacturing biodegradable polymers and boost export earnings derived from CO2 based biohybrid polymers. The project will develop cost-effective and clean methods for processing CO2 based polymers and demonstrate its potential for packaging and biomedical applications.