|
|
|
June Research News
|
 |
|
Research Newsletter – June 2024
|
|
|
Welcome to our June 2024 Research and Innovation Newsletter.
There are an army of researchers out there looking for solutions to make our economy more circular, find creative uses for our waste and provide a food grade product to our kitchen taps.
It is astonishing how much research they produce from month to month. This month is no exception. Read on to see what they have been up to.
If you’ve stumbled on this newsletter and would like to receive future editions please click here to subscribe.
|
|
Industry Innovation and Resilience
|
|
 |
|
The sewage solution – The promise of recycled water and why it’s so hard to swallow
|
|
The Solutionists, with Mark Scott
The idea of drinking water that was once swirling down your toilet bowl or kitchen sink may make you feel squeamish, but it could hold the key to future water security.
University of Sydney Professor Stuart Khan explains the promise of purified recycled water, and how it can future-proof water supplies in a thirsty nation prone to drought.
Listen to this podcast here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Applications Now Open for the WSAA Young Utility Leaders Program
|
|
Are you 30 or under (or know someone who is). Are you passionate about the water industry and looking for an opportunity to work with and learn from the best?
If your utility or council is also a member of WSAA, you are eligible to apply to part of the WSAA Young Utility Leaders Program.
Applications close at 9 AM (AEST) Tuesday 11 June 2024.
For more details on how to submit an application click here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Barwon Water Partners with Iota for Digital Meter Rollout
|
|
With support from a technology platform developed at South East Water, Barwon Water is expanding its digital meter rollout, following successful trials in Apollo Bay and Birregurra.
The trial in Apollo Bay, part of Barwon Water’s Smart Networks project, saw the installation of 300 digital meters with integrated vibration sensors designed to find and fix network leaks that would otherwise go undetected.
Read more at Utility Magazine
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Is There a Crisis of Trust In University Research Papers?
|
|
A scandal involving Wiley, publisher of multiple academic publications, has revealed a thriving black market worth tens of millions of dollars trading in fake science, corrupted research and bogus authorship.
In response to the scandal, Wiley has now pulled more than 11,300 papers and shuttered 19 journals.
|
|
|
|
|
Energy and the Circular Economy
|
|
 |
|
Researchers to Investigate Prevalence of PFAS in Livestock
|
|
A new national study by the University of Adelaide will seek to understand the prevalence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Australian livestock.
The researchers are seeking farmers who have previously applied biosolids as fertiliser to be collaborators in the project.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
New Approach Degrades PFAS
|
|
Researchers led by Nebraska Engineering claims to have found a way to use nanomaterials to not only remove PFAS from water, but to effectively degrade or destroy them.
The team used carbon-metal based nanomaterials to degrade the two major PFAS — perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanoic sulfonic acid (PFOS) — that are also major targets of the new US EPA regulations.
Read more at WaterOnline
|
|
|
|
 |
|
New Method to Detect PFAS in Under 3 Minutes
|
|
Researchers from the New Jersey Institute of Technology have demonstrated a new lab-based method to detect traces of PFAS from food packaging material, water and soil samples in just three minutes or less.
The method uses an ionization technique called paper spray mass spectrometry (PS-MS) and is 10-100 times more sensitive than the current standard technique for PFAS testing, liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Breakthrough Uses Sun to Desalinate Seawater
|
Researchers at the Australian National University have developed a new approach for desalinating water that does not use electricity.
The method uses thermodiffusion, a temperature gradient to move salt from the warmer to the colder side to bring about desalination. In this process, water remains in the liquid phase, and no energy is spent turning it into vapor and cooling it back.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Urban Utilities Develops Pipeline Root Removal Innovation
|
|
Urban Utilities in Queensland have partnered with the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Hub to develop a microwave robot that combats pipe blockages.
The technology is placed inside wastewater pipes and zaps tree roots with microwaves, removing any moisture so they’re unable to regrow.
Read more at Utility Magazine
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Netherlands Build New Biobased Water Pipeline
|
|
Brabant Water has begun the construction of the first biobased water pipeline in the Netherlands.
The pipe is exactly the same as a standard PVC pipe, but it is made of old frying fat, wood pulp and sugar cane residues.
Read more at WaterForum
(You will need to click the right mouse button and use ‘translate to English)
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Removing Dye from Water Via Plasma Jet
|
|
Researchers from the University Of Córdoba have designed a plasma reactor maintained by microwaves that makes it possible to decontaminate water with high concentrations of dye.
The research offers a glimpse into the multiple future uses of plasma for a host of applications.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Researchers Use Electron Beams to Eradicate PFAS In Water
|
|
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, in collaboration with 3M, have successfully demonstrated that an electron beam can destroy the two most common types of PFAS in water — PFOA and PFOS.
Electron beams could be used in pump-and-treat methods, a common groundwater treatment approach, or in a manufacturing facility, directly treating waste streams before they leave the facility.
Read more at WaterOnline
|
|
|
|
 |
|
3D Material Found To Break Down Antidepressant That Contaminates Water Bodies
|
|
Researchers from Brazil have described a strategy to produce a material based on zinc oxide (ZnO) capable of degrading sertraline, an antidepressant that has been detected in groundwater worldwide.
Sertraline is considered an emerging pollutant and has physicochemical properties that hinder removal by conventional wastewater treatment methods.
Read more at WaterOnline
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Modified Stainless Steel Could Kill Bacteria Without Antibiotics or Chemicals
|
|
Researchers at at Georgia Tech approach capitalizes on the natural antibacterial properties of copper and creates incredibly small needle-like structures on the surface of stainless steel to kill harmful bacteria like E. coli and Staphylococcus.
The material offers an antibiotic-free bactericidal surface effective against Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Metal-Organic Frameworks Study Unravels Mechanism for Capturing Water from Air
|
|
Researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and Dresden University of Technology have unravelled the water adsorption mechanism in certain microporous materials—so-called hierarchical metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)—while probing them on the atomic scale.
Read more at PhysOrg
|
|
|
|
|
WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY
|
|
 |
|
Best-Practice Engagement with First Nations Peoples on Renewable Energy Projects
|
|
A new best-practice guide to engaging First Nations people has been developed by the Clean Energy Council, the First Nations Clean Energy Network and KPMG.
The guide aims to support better engagement with communities across onshore and offshore wind farms, solar, hydroelectricity facilities, new large-scale storage projects and renewable hydrogen projects.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Green Concrete Uses 80% Coal Ash
|
|
Researchers at RMIT have partnered with AGL’s Loy Yang Power Station and the Ash Development Association of Australia to substitute 80% of the cement in concrete with coal fly ash.
Not only can it recycle double the amount of coal ash compared to current standards, it also halves the amount of cement required and performs exceptionally well over time.
Read more at RMIT
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Voices from the Bush Conference 2024
|
|
10 – 11 September 2024, Alice Springs
This conference has been created as a dedicated space for open dialogue on the pressing matters affecting regional and remote Australian communities. The focus is on sharing, connecting, and promoting thought leadership, acknowledging the particular significance and challenges relating to water in the lives and livelihoods of our rural and remote communities.
Read more here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
International Cleanup Conference – Adelaide 2024
|
|
15 – 19 September 2024, Adelaide
The 10th International Contaminated Site Remediation Conference incorporating the 4th International PFAS Conference.
Join delegates from Australia and around the world to help build professional skills on PFAS management, human health risk assessment, bioremediation and more.
More Information Here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Circular Economy for Climate and Environment
|
|
Sep 29 – Oct 2, University of Technology Sydney
This conference aims to serve as a dynamic platform, bringing together researchers from academia, industries, government, and NGOs on a global scale.
The conference’s thematic scope extends across circular economy applications in water, energy, environment, waste, resource recovery, and climate change.
Read more here
|
|
|
|
|
|
Global Nature Positive Summit
|
|
8-10 October 2024, International Convention Centre, Sydney
Australia will host the first Global Nature Positive Summit at the International Convention Centre in Sydney on 8-10 October 2024.
The Summit will bring together delegates from around the world including ministers, environment groups, Aboriginal peoples, business, scientists and community leaders, to consider how to supercharge investment in projects that repair nature.
The Global Nature Positive Summit is an invitation-only event.
To register your interest in hearing more about the Summit, please go to: www.dcceew.gov.au/naturepositivesummit
|
|
|
|
If you see any interesting articles, projects or news about new research that others might be interested in, please send to [email protected] – it could even make the next newsletter due in July 2024. |
|
Research Data Australia
|
|
Find, access, and re-use data from over one hundred Australian research organisations
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Australian Government – GrantConnect
|
|
Forecast and current Australian Government grant opportunities
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
