Ammonia recovery from wastewaters using flow electrode-membrane systems. This project aims to develop an innovative approach to the recovery of ammonia from dilute wastewaters using coupled-flow electrode-membrane technologies that also enable energy recovery. The outcome of the project is expected to minimise damage to, and develop solutions for, restoration and remediation of, soil, fresh and potable water, urban catchments and marine systems, and significantly improve the environmental impact ....Ammonia recovery from wastewaters using flow electrode-membrane systems. This project aims to develop an innovative approach to the recovery of ammonia from dilute wastewaters using coupled-flow electrode-membrane technologies that also enable energy recovery. The outcome of the project is expected to minimise damage to, and develop solutions for, restoration and remediation of, soil, fresh and potable water, urban catchments and marine systems, and significantly improve the environmental impacts of ammonia.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
Monitoring organic matter in drinking water systems using fluorescence spectroscopy: improved early warning, process optimisation and water quality. Climate change is contributing to elevated organic matter (OM) concentrations in drinking water supplies. If insufficiently treated, OM can lead to unacceptable concentrations of disinfection by-products, considered to be potential carcinogens, as well as taste and odour problems and bacterial re-growth in the distribution system. Currently availabl ....Monitoring organic matter in drinking water systems using fluorescence spectroscopy: improved early warning, process optimisation and water quality. Climate change is contributing to elevated organic matter (OM) concentrations in drinking water supplies. If insufficiently treated, OM can lead to unacceptable concentrations of disinfection by-products, considered to be potential carcinogens, as well as taste and odour problems and bacterial re-growth in the distribution system. Currently available on-line monitoring techniques give limited information regarding the nature of OM; however, fluorescence spectroscopy has shown promise in this regard. Hence, this project aims to provide an on-line monitoring protocol utilising fluorescence to aid utilities in their provision of safe drinking water, thus addressing the National Research Priority goal water – a critical resource.Read moreRead less
Adaptive ecotyping of the toxic cyanobacterium Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii to predict its invasive capacity. We change the world while other organisms adapt to these new conditions. Cyanobacteria (blue green algae) increasingly dominate water bodies that were previously free of these harmful blooms. To minimise the spread of these algae, this project will study the genetic basis that determines how rapidly they can evolve and adapt to a changing planet.
Activating lazy stormwater wetlands through real time monitoring & control. Constructed stormwater wetlands are the last line of defence preventing pollution of urban waterways, but wetlands often fail, with their passive operation unable to adapt to the highly variable climate and hydrology they experience. This project aims to use advances in real-time control technology to turn these lazy wetlands into active wetland systems, optimising their performance. It aims to deliver new-generation tec ....Activating lazy stormwater wetlands through real time monitoring & control. Constructed stormwater wetlands are the last line of defence preventing pollution of urban waterways, but wetlands often fail, with their passive operation unable to adapt to the highly variable climate and hydrology they experience. This project aims to use advances in real-time control technology to turn these lazy wetlands into active wetland systems, optimising their performance. It aims to deliver new-generation technologies to enhance water quality treatment, enhance urban water security and guarantee environmental flows to maintain healthy waterways. Working in partnership with waterway managers and water retailers, this project strives to deliver a nationally and globally relevant technology to change how we manage water in cities.Read moreRead less
Smart management of disinfectant in chloraminated water-supply systems. Smart management of disinfectant in chloraminated water-supply systems. This project aims to develop an adaptive, real-time control system for managing disinfectant residuals in chloraminated water supply systems. While chloramine delivers microbiologically safe drinking water in warmer climates and in long distribution systems, it is largely unpredictable, costs water utilities millions of dollars annually, and has uncertai ....Smart management of disinfectant in chloraminated water-supply systems. Smart management of disinfectant in chloraminated water-supply systems. This project aims to develop an adaptive, real-time control system for managing disinfectant residuals in chloraminated water supply systems. While chloramine delivers microbiologically safe drinking water in warmer climates and in long distribution systems, it is largely unpredictable, costs water utilities millions of dollars annually, and has uncertain benefits. This project’s control system will be guided by quantitative models formulated from multi-pronged, fundamental experiments. The project will quantify microbial chloramine decay and determine mechanisms to increase predictability. The project will develop and demonstrate a real-time control technology which delivered microbiologically safe, cost-efficient drinking water to people in warmer climates, despite warming climate and increasing population.Read moreRead less
On-line monitoring of cyanobacteria to predict coagulant doses and powdered activated carbon application in water treatment. Cyanobacteria, more commonly known as blue-green algae, can impact water quality by releasing toxins that can be harmful to human health and imparting unpleasant taste and odours to the water. This project will support the water industry in managing these risks by providing a rapid, on-line tool to assist in their removal during water treatment.
Revolutionising water-quality monitoring in the information age. In today’s information age, automated low-cost sensors distributed in the environment have the potential to revolutionise the way we monitor and manage air, water and soil. This project aims to develop novel statistical methods to detect anomalies in the data generated from these in-situ sensors with computationally efficient modelling on river networks through space and time, with the applied goals of automating anomaly detection ....Revolutionising water-quality monitoring in the information age. In today’s information age, automated low-cost sensors distributed in the environment have the potential to revolutionise the way we monitor and manage air, water and soil. This project aims to develop novel statistical methods to detect anomalies in the data generated from these in-situ sensors with computationally efficient modelling on river networks through space and time, with the applied goals of automating anomaly detection in water-quality data and generating predictions of sediment and nutrient concentrations throughout river networks in near-real time. This will represent a fundamental increase in scientific knowledge, which will be immediately useful in the domains of aquatic science, environmental monitoring, and statistics.Read moreRead less
Adapting catchment monitoring and potable water treatment to climate change. Adapting catchment monitoring and potable water treatment to climate change. This project aims to make the water industry capable of foreseeing and managing adverse raw water organic matter quality from the catchment to the treatment plant. It will research the triggers for organic matter excursions that compromise treatment plant performance and affect public health. The project will develop and deploy innovative senso ....Adapting catchment monitoring and potable water treatment to climate change. Adapting catchment monitoring and potable water treatment to climate change. This project aims to make the water industry capable of foreseeing and managing adverse raw water organic matter quality from the catchment to the treatment plant. It will research the triggers for organic matter excursions that compromise treatment plant performance and affect public health. The project will develop and deploy innovative sensors to detect targeted water quality changes at the molecular level in situ and real time, and improve operating strategies for robust and reliable performance of existing treatment plants. This catchment to plant approach is expected to make existing treatment assets more productive and defer additional treatment costs.Read moreRead less
Predicting water quality at the catchment scale: learning from two decades of monitoring. Poor water quality affects many rivers and receiving waters such as the Great Barrier Reef and Gippsland Lakes. This project aims to use Bayesian hierarchical models of statewide water quality data to quantify the effects of a range of factors on stream water quality including climate, land use, river flow, vegetation cover, etcetera. The analysis intends to extract information from the entire data set rath ....Predicting water quality at the catchment scale: learning from two decades of monitoring. Poor water quality affects many rivers and receiving waters such as the Great Barrier Reef and Gippsland Lakes. This project aims to use Bayesian hierarchical models of statewide water quality data to quantify the effects of a range of factors on stream water quality including climate, land use, river flow, vegetation cover, etcetera. The analysis intends to extract information from the entire data set rather than concentrating on individual sites. It intends to underpin a new predictive capacity including response to land use and management changes and climatic variations based on long-term data sets, as well as a water quality prediction capability. It is intended that the models developed will jointly model a range of inter-related water quality parameters.Read moreRead less