Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based ....Nano-engineered catalysts for sustainable fuel production from waste . This project aims to address two major problems simultaneously-reducing the burden of non-recyclable waste currently going to landfill in Australia, and offsetting Australia’s reliance on imported diesel to support industry and transport needs. While approximately 95% of diesel consumed in Australia is imported, vast quantities of carbon-based waste ends up in landfill. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a mixture of plant-based waste (including food, garden, paper, and wood) and fossil-fuel derived materials (plastics). Using an innovative and environmentally-sustainable catalytic process, the outcomes of this project are aimed alleviating Australia’s dependence on diesel fuel imports and better waste management solutions in Australia.Read moreRead less
Development of in Ground and on Site Technologies for Low Cost Metal Remediation of Remote Contaminated Sites. Australia has taken a leading role internationally in promoting environmental awareness and is committed to both tackling existing pollution and mitigating future hazards. The clean-up of contaminated Australian, Antarctic and sub-Antarctic sites is seen as a national priority and research into in-situ technologies is central to meeting established remediation goals. Successful developm ....Development of in Ground and on Site Technologies for Low Cost Metal Remediation of Remote Contaminated Sites. Australia has taken a leading role internationally in promoting environmental awareness and is committed to both tackling existing pollution and mitigating future hazards. The clean-up of contaminated Australian, Antarctic and sub-Antarctic sites is seen as a national priority and research into in-situ technologies is central to meeting established remediation goals. Successful development of a low-cost in-ground remediation scheme will provide vital protection for remote Australian, Antarctic and sub-Antarctic areas. It will also do much to cement Australia as a global leader in environmental protection, offering as it does a generic remote regions metal contamination remediation solution.Read moreRead less
Development of Low Cost In Situ Techniques for Petroleum Remediation in Cold Regions. Internationally, Australia has taken a leading role in promoting environmental awareness and is committed to both the mitigation of future hazards, and the tackling of existing pollution. The clean-up of abandoned Antarctic sites is seen as a priority, and research into low-impact technology is central to meeting established remediation goals. Successful development of a low-cost in-situ remediation scheme wi ....Development of Low Cost In Situ Techniques for Petroleum Remediation in Cold Regions. Internationally, Australia has taken a leading role in promoting environmental awareness and is committed to both the mitigation of future hazards, and the tackling of existing pollution. The clean-up of abandoned Antarctic sites is seen as a priority, and research into low-impact technology is central to meeting established remediation goals. Successful development of a low-cost in-situ remediation scheme will not only serve to protect vulnerable Antarctic habitats in Australian stewardship, but will do much to cement Australia as a global leader in environmental protection offering as it does, a generic cold region hydrocarbon remediation solution.Read moreRead less
The development of low cost sorbents for removal of contaminants in ground water at cold regions contaminated sites. Contamination of soils and waters as a result of industrial and other human activities, is a significant global environmental issue. Both Australia and Japan have a large legacy of hydrocarbon and heavy metals contamination from mining activities and industry. This project aims to address hydrocarbon and heavy metals contamination through investigation of novel, low-cost sorbents ....The development of low cost sorbents for removal of contaminants in ground water at cold regions contaminated sites. Contamination of soils and waters as a result of industrial and other human activities, is a significant global environmental issue. Both Australia and Japan have a large legacy of hydrocarbon and heavy metals contamination from mining activities and industry. This project aims to address hydrocarbon and heavy metals contamination through investigation of novel, low-cost sorbents suitable for implementation in passive in-situ remediation technologies. This will be achieved through the combined efforts of Australian and Japanese scientists who are expert in the fields of water treatment and chemical synthesis of sorbent materials.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100135
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,400.00
Summary
Superhydrophobic thermally rearranged membranes for low-energy separation. This project aims to develop thermally rearranged membranes with superhydrophobicity using novel polymer chemistry and nanofibre morphology. Both water flowrate in membrane distillation and gas flowrate in carbon dioxide stripping from solvents will be increased by minimising the water vapor condensation between the nanofibers; resolving shortcomings in current energy-intensive filtration systems. This project will provid ....Superhydrophobic thermally rearranged membranes for low-energy separation. This project aims to develop thermally rearranged membranes with superhydrophobicity using novel polymer chemistry and nanofibre morphology. Both water flowrate in membrane distillation and gas flowrate in carbon dioxide stripping from solvents will be increased by minimising the water vapor condensation between the nanofibers; resolving shortcomings in current energy-intensive filtration systems. This project will provide significant benefits to Australian communities by advancing cost-effective and energy-efficient potable water production and carbon dioxide separation processes for sustainable development. The advanced materials developed can be manufactured locally and will enhance our national capability in modern manufacturing.Read moreRead less
All-solid-state Z-scheme photocatalysts for water treatment. The project aims to develop high-performance Z-scheme photocatalysts by using two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors as building blocks for low-cost, highly-efficient pathogen inactivation and emerging pollutant degradation in stormwater treatment. The project expects to generate new fundamental knowledge in the area of photocatalyst design and Z-scheme photocatalytic system, and advance the application of photocatalytic oxidation in wate ....All-solid-state Z-scheme photocatalysts for water treatment. The project aims to develop high-performance Z-scheme photocatalysts by using two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors as building blocks for low-cost, highly-efficient pathogen inactivation and emerging pollutant degradation in stormwater treatment. The project expects to generate new fundamental knowledge in the area of photocatalyst design and Z-scheme photocatalytic system, and advance the application of photocatalytic oxidation in water treatment. The expected outcomes of the project include novel 2D Z-scheme photocatalysts and enhanced capacity in stormwater management.Read moreRead less
Atomically thin membranes to transform chemical separations. Energy-efficient chemical separation is at the heart of modern resource and manufacturing industries, central to a prosperous and sustainable Australia. This project aims to develop next generation membrane technologies to transform chemical separations by employing recent breakthrough in materials discovery and nanofluidics. Expected outcomes include new fundamental understandings on sub-continuum transport physics and new atomically ....Atomically thin membranes to transform chemical separations. Energy-efficient chemical separation is at the heart of modern resource and manufacturing industries, central to a prosperous and sustainable Australia. This project aims to develop next generation membrane technologies to transform chemical separations by employing recent breakthrough in materials discovery and nanofluidics. Expected outcomes include new fundamental understandings on sub-continuum transport physics and new atomically thin membranes that enable energy-efficient separations for processing challenging streams beyond water purification. This project aims to position Australia at the forefront of sustainable separation technology and make the local resource and manufacturing industries more sustainable and globally competitive.Read moreRead less
Production of diesel from the catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics. Large amounts of waste plastics go to landfill daily. Landfill simply buries our wastes for future generations and can contribute to the contamination of ground water. This project aims to develop an advanced pyrolysis technology to produce transport diesel from waste plastics. This technology is an economically attractive and environmentally friendly way for the disposal of waste plastics without any environmental problems ass ....Production of diesel from the catalytic pyrolysis of waste plastics. Large amounts of waste plastics go to landfill daily. Landfill simply buries our wastes for future generations and can contribute to the contamination of ground water. This project aims to develop an advanced pyrolysis technology to produce transport diesel from waste plastics. This technology is an economically attractive and environmentally friendly way for the disposal of waste plastics without any environmental problems associated with the landfill or direct incineration of waste plastics. As this technology is based on advances in Australian research and development, exporting this to other countries will further enhance its economic and social benefits to Australia.Read moreRead less
Microbial fuel cells for nutrient recovery from source-separated urine. This project aims to reduce the strain on urban wastewater treatment plants by removing and recovering nutrients from water collected in residential and commercial buildings. Urban wastewater treatment plants in Australia are under pressure from increasing population and urbanisation, and there are also ever stricter environmental regulations on discharge of nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) into receiving waters. W ....Microbial fuel cells for nutrient recovery from source-separated urine. This project aims to reduce the strain on urban wastewater treatment plants by removing and recovering nutrients from water collected in residential and commercial buildings. Urban wastewater treatment plants in Australia are under pressure from increasing population and urbanisation, and there are also ever stricter environmental regulations on discharge of nutrients (mainly nitrogen and phosphorus) into receiving waters. With many plants operating close to capacity, water utilities may face large expenditure to increase the capacity of existing treatment facilities. This project proposes an alternative solution: decentralised removal and recovery of nutrients from urine separated at the source. It is planned that novel microbial fuel cell technology will be developed to deliver an economical solution, which will additionally generate valuable fertiliser as a by-product.Read moreRead less
Influence of Impurities in Commercial Solvent Extraction Processes. This project directly supports the solvent extraction industry in Australia. This industry is responsible for generating in excess of $600M annually of export earnings for Australia. This type of technology can be applied in the recovery of base metals such as coper, nickel, cobalt, etc and in the environmental area for the clean up of heavy metals from waste water. Solvent extraction has the advantage of high selectivity that ....Influence of Impurities in Commercial Solvent Extraction Processes. This project directly supports the solvent extraction industry in Australia. This industry is responsible for generating in excess of $600M annually of export earnings for Australia. This type of technology can be applied in the recovery of base metals such as coper, nickel, cobalt, etc and in the environmental area for the clean up of heavy metals from waste water. Solvent extraction has the advantage of high selectivity that enables metals to be recovered and recycled, thus reducing the wastage of these metals in, for example, the chromium plating process.Read moreRead less