Early Career Industry Fellowships - Grant ID: IE230100437
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$417,237.00
Summary
Nanobubbles for effective and energy efficient water treatment. This project aims to produce new knowledge for developing ozone nanobubbles as a technological option for the water industry where commercially suitable technologies are unavailable. Australian water utilities have identified two key challenges: destruction of micropollutants and natural organic matter in recycled and reservoir water, respectively. New knowledge from the project will allow these water utilities to utilise the extrao ....Nanobubbles for effective and energy efficient water treatment. This project aims to produce new knowledge for developing ozone nanobubbles as a technological option for the water industry where commercially suitable technologies are unavailable. Australian water utilities have identified two key challenges: destruction of micropollutants and natural organic matter in recycled and reservoir water, respectively. New knowledge from the project will allow these water utilities to utilise the extraordinary properties of nanobubbles and the strong oxidation capability of ozone for effective and energy efficient water treatment. Tech-transfer to the industry is guaranteed through a scientifically designed pilot plant for benchmarking against the current state of the art ozonation process and reverse osmosis.Read moreRead less
Monitoring Desalination Membrane Fouling using Sodium Magnetic Resonance. Seawater desalination using membrane modules is critical technology for potable water access, however it faces significant challenges due to fouling. Sodium magnetic resonance techniques will be developed to non-invasively detect and image salt accumulation in these opaque membrane modules due to fouling. These data will first be used to improve our understanding of the unexplored interplay between fouling and detrimental ....Monitoring Desalination Membrane Fouling using Sodium Magnetic Resonance. Seawater desalination using membrane modules is critical technology for potable water access, however it faces significant challenges due to fouling. Sodium magnetic resonance techniques will be developed to non-invasively detect and image salt accumulation in these opaque membrane modules due to fouling. These data will first be used to improve our understanding of the unexplored interplay between fouling and detrimental salt accumulation in the modules (known as cake-enhanced concentration polarisation) and thus validate 3D simulations of this phenomenon. The ability to unambiguously detect salt accumulation in membrane modules will then be extrapolated to a non-invasive monitoring tool for membrane fouling in desalination facilities.Read moreRead less
Ultrasound for control of cyanobacteria. Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, forms in drinking water supplies in Australia and can cause water-quality problems. Current methods to treat blue-green algae involve the use of Copper Sulphate, which is not an environmentally friendly compound. A potential alternative environmentally friendly water-treatment method involves the use of ultrasound to disrupt the cyanobacteria. The aim of this project is to determine the physical properties of ....Ultrasound for control of cyanobacteria. Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, forms in drinking water supplies in Australia and can cause water-quality problems. Current methods to treat blue-green algae involve the use of Copper Sulphate, which is not an environmentally friendly compound. A potential alternative environmentally friendly water-treatment method involves the use of ultrasound to disrupt the cyanobacteria. The aim of this project is to determine the physical properties of the cyanobacteria when excited with ultrasound for the purpose of finding an efficient method to treat large volumes of water. 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
A novel microbial process breaking through the nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen transformation is central to life on Earth. This project will challenge a century-old paradigm that microorganisms must cooperate in a team to convert nitrogen from organic- to inorganic forms. We will carry out the first-ever systematic investigation of a novel process, where a single organism mediates complete ammonification and ammonia oxidation, directly connecting organic- and inorganic nitrogen. By revealing metaboli ....A novel microbial process breaking through the nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen transformation is central to life on Earth. This project will challenge a century-old paradigm that microorganisms must cooperate in a team to convert nitrogen from organic- to inorganic forms. We will carry out the first-ever systematic investigation of a novel process, where a single organism mediates complete ammonification and ammonia oxidation, directly connecting organic- and inorganic nitrogen. By revealing metabolic pathways, characterising ecophysiological properties, isolating key microorganisms and exploring their application potential, this project will change our fundamental understanding of global nitrogen cycling, improve the sustainability of water management, and contribute to the circular economy transitionRead moreRead less
Achieving Nitrite Shunt For Mainstream Sewage Treatment Using Human Waste. This project aims to develop a novel technology to achieve mainstream nitrogen removal from domestic sewage via nitrite shunt. Nitrite shunt can reduce energy consumption and promote energy recovery compared with the conventional nitrogen removal process. However, it is difficult to inactivate nitrite-oxidising bacteria, which is a key barrier for achieving nitrite shunt. By advancing the underpinning science and introduc ....Achieving Nitrite Shunt For Mainstream Sewage Treatment Using Human Waste. This project aims to develop a novel technology to achieve mainstream nitrogen removal from domestic sewage via nitrite shunt. Nitrite shunt can reduce energy consumption and promote energy recovery compared with the conventional nitrogen removal process. However, it is difficult to inactivate nitrite-oxidising bacteria, which is a key barrier for achieving nitrite shunt. By advancing the underpinning science and introducing a novel technology that innovatively harnesses a human waste, the project expects to remove the barrier. Expected outcomes will support the transformation of sewage treatment plants into net-zero energy generators. This should provide economic, environmental and energy benefits for Australia’s water and energy sectors.Read moreRead less
A Green Technology for Enhancing Resource Recovery from Sewage Sludge. This project aims to develop an innovative technology to recover valuable resource from sewage sludge by enhancing transformation of sewage sludge into high-value medium chain fatty acids and methane. Wastewater treatment generates large amounts of resource-rich sewage sludge. However, the poor biodegradability of sewage sludge is a key barrier that impedes the efficient resource recovery. By advancing the underpinning scienc ....A Green Technology for Enhancing Resource Recovery from Sewage Sludge. This project aims to develop an innovative technology to recover valuable resource from sewage sludge by enhancing transformation of sewage sludge into high-value medium chain fatty acids and methane. Wastewater treatment generates large amounts of resource-rich sewage sludge. However, the poor biodegradability of sewage sludge is a key barrier that impedes the efficient resource recovery. By advancing the underpinning science and introducing a novel technology that innovatively harnesses a human waste, the project expects to remove the barrier. Expected project outcomes will turn sewage sludge from an undesirable waste to a valuable resource. This should provide significant benefits for Australia’s renewable energy and resource sectors.Read moreRead less
Mitigation of silica nanoparticle scaling in water treatment. This project aims to develop strategies to mitigate silica scaling at coal seam gas (CSG) water treatment facilities. CSG is adsorbed to the surface of coal along fractures and cleats and released when pressure is reduced by removal of groundwater, which has chemistry specific to the region from which it is extracted. Desalination of produced water is severely impacted by mineral scaling on reverse osmosis membranes. This project will ....Mitigation of silica nanoparticle scaling in water treatment. This project aims to develop strategies to mitigate silica scaling at coal seam gas (CSG) water treatment facilities. CSG is adsorbed to the surface of coal along fractures and cleats and released when pressure is reduced by removal of groundwater, which has chemistry specific to the region from which it is extracted. Desalination of produced water is severely impacted by mineral scaling on reverse osmosis membranes. This project will consider silica and silica-rich nanoparticles in concert with cations and organics, with the aim of better managing cations so to facilitate nanoparticle lubrication. Project outcomes may include more productive use of assets, improved pre-treatment infrastructure to support reverse osmosis operation, and the environmental benefits of reduced chemical waste and increased water recovery.Read moreRead less
Analytics to predict anaerobic codigestion & downstream process performance. This project aims to develop management approaches to enable the use of anaerobic co-digestion — the conversion of organic wastes and wastewater sludge to biogas for electricity production. Anaerobic co-digestion has the potential to bring significant economic savings to water stakeholders and environmental benefits to communities. However, full-scale deployment faces fundamental challenges in terms of managing impacts ....Analytics to predict anaerobic codigestion & downstream process performance. This project aims to develop management approaches to enable the use of anaerobic co-digestion — the conversion of organic wastes and wastewater sludge to biogas for electricity production. Anaerobic co-digestion has the potential to bring significant economic savings to water stakeholders and environmental benefits to communities. However, full-scale deployment faces fundamental challenges in terms of managing impacts on downstream processes (e.g. odour, dewaterability, biogas quality, and nutrient build-up). The analytical framework and analytics tool to be developed in this project by an interdisciplinary team with expertise in process engineering, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and analytics, is expected to enable water stakeholders to cost-effectively manage these impacts and thus realise the benefits of co-digestion.Read moreRead less
Dual-membrane upgrading towards sustainable wastewater management. Water utilities in Australia have set aspirational targets for energy- and carbon-neutral wastewater services by as early as 2030. However, these two aims are often incompatible because of excessive aeration energy consumption and substantial greenhouse gas emissions in wastewater treatment plants. This project aims to develop a novel biotechnology that enables simultaneous bioenergy recovery, cost-efficient nitrogen removal and ....Dual-membrane upgrading towards sustainable wastewater management. Water utilities in Australia have set aspirational targets for energy- and carbon-neutral wastewater services by as early as 2030. However, these two aims are often incompatible because of excessive aeration energy consumption and substantial greenhouse gas emissions in wastewater treatment plants. This project aims to develop a novel biotechnology that enables simultaneous bioenergy recovery, cost-efficient nitrogen removal and mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, thus bringing multifaceted benefits to wastewater management. The project will provide strong support to the Australian water industry in their endeavour to achieve economically and environmentally sustainable wastewater services.Read moreRead less