Current research within the water-related themes of social impact, climate change, planning, environmental management, technologies, and wastewater, were discussed by Australian and Chinese postgraduate students. The forum encouraged cross-disciplinary dialogue on ‘wicked’ water challenges, emphasising understanding of differing cultural, social, and economic perspectives.

Complimenting student presentations and keynote lectures were a leadership program and the opportunity to attend the Trans-Tasman 3 Minute Thesis (3MT) final. An inclusive social program completed the forum and highlighted Australian culture, through visits to the Mt Cootha Lookout, Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary as well as a traditional Australian BBQ.

Eytan presented research into identifying and improving low-frequency rainfall variability in climate models through bias correction. Zenah discussed research on the feasibility and environmental consequences of recovering phosphorus from wastewater in Australia. Dr Rita Henderson, senior research associate with the Water Research Centre, presented a keynote lecture on future water challenges facing Australia.

A 2 day Carbon Footprinting Course will be held on Tuesday 20th – Wednesday 21st November at the University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney. This course will help organisations take a pro-active approach to managing their carbon footprint by providing participants with:

• latest information on current and forthcoming challenges of addressing climate change;
• guidance and training on measuring product and organisational carbon footprints;
• the ability to identify opportunities and risks of carbon footprinting; and
• a basis for developing carbon reduction management strategies.

Carbon Footprint Course information and registration form

We will also offer a Water Footprint Course on Thursday 22nd November 2012, as a complement to the carbon footprint workshop or as a specialised stand-alone workshop.

Water footprint: the next carbon footprint!

The UNSW Water Research Centre is running a 1 day workshop ‘Water Footprint – the next carbon footprint!’ on Thursday 22nd November 2012 at the University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney. This workshop can be taken as a complement to the carbon footprint workshop (held on the preceding two days) or as a specialised stand-alone workshop.

Download the Water Footprint Course information and registration form

This course will enable participants to take a pro-active approach to managing water footprints of products or whole corporations. The course aims to provide:

• Understanding of key principles and features of responsible water accounting and reporting;
• Guidance and training on measuring product and organisational water footprints through the use of real-life case studies;
• Knowledge of where the market is going and why; and
• Capacity to assess the implications of the water footprint for your organisation (risks and opportunities).

Funding Source(s) and Period

ARC Linkage Project: LP110100548 (2011-2014)
Water Corporation
WQRA

Research Team

Linkage Project (based at CWQRC, Curtin University)

Unintended chemical disinfection byproducts (DBPs) are produced during disinfection of drinking water treatment, a result of reaction of disinfectant, e.g. chlorine, with a diverse group of precursors, including natural organic matter (NOM). Many DBPs have been implicated in adverse health risks associated with reproduction and cancer. The two most abundant classes of DBPs, the trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs), have received considerable study; however, one group of DBPs that has not been studied extensively are nitrogenous DBPs (N-DBPs). While few N-DBPs are currently regulated, many N-DBPs have been shown to be more toxic than the regulated DBPs. There is therefore an urgent need to better understand the health risks and formation mechanisms of N-DBPs for appropriate regulation. The aim of this research is to further investigate N-DBPs in drinking water, particularly to identify N-DBP precursors, assess their associated health risk, and design advanced treatment methods for their removal. Specifically, the project will investigate the chemistry of a suite of N-DBPs (N-nitrosamines, HNs, HNMs and HAAms) focussing on:

• Testing strategies for N-DBP minimisation in water disinfection, particularly N-DBP precursor removal
• Characterisation of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and precursors of N-DBPs in key source waters.

By addressing both characterisation and treatment, the data can then be used to develop risk-based management tools to facilitate the adoption of improved treatment practices and technologies by drinking water utilities, which will be of significant value nationally and internationally. The treatment technologies and DON characterisation methods developed will be transferable to drinking water schemes globally and project outcomes will be directly translatable into treatment plant design.

PhD Project (based at UNSW Water Research Centre)

The PhD project will focus on the characterisation of DON and will apply numerous techniques previously used for dissolved organic carbon (DOC) characterisation to DON. These procedures will include fractionation methods such as size exclusion chromatography, using an LC-OCD (DOC Labor, Germany) and resin fractionation, as well as spectroscopic methods including fluorescence and mass spectroscopy. The first stage of the project will be in establishing characterisation protocols using well understood model compounds before applying these techniques to key source waters in the second stage. Overall, the PhD project aims to determine the specific characteristics of the source water that increase the potential for N-DBP formation and, in doing so, identify the critical parameters for assessing source water N-DBP formation potential and lend insight into the treatment processes required to remove the precursor material.

Funding Source(s) and Period

ARC Linkage Project: LP100200259 (2010-2013)
SEQ Water
Hunter Water
Melbourne Water
WQRA

Research Team

Project summary

Potable source water frequently has a high organic matter (OM) content originating from decaying plants, soil and peat, bacterial activity, algal blooms and upstream treated effluent discharges. It is important that OM removal at a WTP is optimised by effective process control and monitoring protocols in order to minimise taste and odour problems, disinfection by-product (DBP) formation and bacterial regrowth potential (BRP) during distribution. Consequently, a number of processes are employed to ensure good removal of OM during treatment. Currently, on-line OM monitoring comprises total organic carbon (TOC) and, less frequently, colour or UV absorbance spectroscopy [9]; however, none of these techniques give good overall OM characterisation. Consequently, a rapid, selective and sensitive monitor of OM character is required to provide more informative early warning devices, enhanced process control and improved drinking water quality monitoring. Recent studies suggest that fluorescence spectroscopy is a useful tool for determining OM character and function where it has been used for monitoring river water quality and failures in recycled water treatment and distribution systems. However, limited studies have investigated the use of fluorescence in drinking water treatment plants. This project therefore investigates the use of fluorescence spectroscopy as a tool for monitoring OM character in drinking water treatment systems to improve early warning of elevated OM events, process optimisation and control, and resultant water quality monitoring.

Funding Source(s) and Period

National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA) Project: Funding Round 2 (2011-2013)
Siemens
Veolia Water Australia
Water Corp

Research Team

NCED Project summary

Low-pressure porous membranes are increasingly considered for pre-treatment of sea and brackish waters. However, membrane fouling remains a major drawback, as it results in high operating, maintenance and cleaning costs. Through the development and validation of techniques for advanced characterisation of the organic compounds present in feedwaters, this project aims to better understand and to optimise the strategies currently used for fouling control. The relative efficiencies of both physical (relaxation, backwashing) and maintenance chemical cleanings will be assessed on lab and pilot scales. The organic and inorganic natures of the irreversible fouling formed during long-term filtrations (and repeated cleanings) will be characterised in details, allowing recommendations for sustainable operation and performance

PhD Project (collaboration between UNSW Water Research Centre and UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology)

NCED Project summary

Reverse osmosis (RO) is a well-known treatment process for the provision of drinking water from brackish and seawater. However, fouling of RO systems due to the presence of inorganic suspended solids, sand, oil, clays, bacteria, and dissolved organic in the feedwater remains a major operational issue. Organic matter is the most recalcitrant among the many potential membrane foulants and its pre-treatment remains a key issue influencing the operation and maintenance costs. As organic matter comprises a heterogeneous mix of molecules, advanced characterisation methods are needed to quantify and qualify the organics fractions in seawater and brackish water to provide insights into the RO treatment process performance. An additional potential opportunity of advanced characterisation lies in developing more rapid and accurate screening of feedwaters and pre-treatment performances. This could lead to the reduction of the amount of pilot scale testing needed as well as the optimisation of pre-treatment options for desalination. The purpose of this research project is therefore two-fold:

1. To determine the character of the organics of feedwater to desalination plants in Australia by using state-of-the-art techniques including liquid chromatography-organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), fluorescence excitation emission matrix (FEEM) spectroscopy, and assimilable organic carbon (AOC) and biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) measurements
2. To assess the organics removal using pre-treatment strategies, such as dissolved air flotation (DAF) and ultrafiltration, and investigate the impact of these pre-treatment on membrane bio-fouling

- PhD Candidate -

Barun completed a Master of Science in Water Supply Engineering in 2011 at the UNESCO-IHE, Delft, The Netherlands. Before post graduating, he spent four years working experience for Tokyo Engineering Consultants Ltd. in Water Supply Project as a Senior Engineer. He also completed MBA in Finance & Systems at Bangalore University, Bangalore, India. At the mid of 2011, Barun was awarded an UPA scholarship for a PhD project on the optimising low-pressure membrane pre-treatment for desalination in drinking water. Through the development and validation of techniques for advanced characterisation of the organic compounds present in feedwaters, this project aims to better understand and to optimise the strategies currently used for fouling control. This project is financially supported by the National Centre of Excellence in Desalination Australia (NCEDA) which is funded by the Australian Government through the Water for the Future initiative. Project is based at the UNSW Water Research Centre and UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science & Technology, UNSW and is in collaboration with the Curtin Water Quality Research Centre (CWQRC), Siemens Water Technologies, Veolia Water Australia and Water Corporation.

• Download Barun Karna’s CV

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Related

Areas of expertise

• Water and wastewater treatment

- PhD Candidate -

Xiang graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree (major: Applied Chemistry) from Fudan University in 1999, and with a 1st class Honours of Chemistry from Curtin University in 2011, with a project title of “Marine Atmospheric Corrosion of Resistant Alloys in the Splash Zone”. Xiang had also serviced as a lecturer in chemistry in shanghai foreign language school for 8 years and completed postgraduate programme diploma in Chemistry and Teaching from East China Normal University, Shanghai, China in 2003. Due to the innovational design in a laboratory technique for evaluating marine splash zone corrosion research, Xiang was awarded with APA Scholarship and Engineering Excellence Award Scholarship for undertaking a PhD project in the UNSW Water Research Centre within the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2012, with a title of “Advanced characterisation of dissolved organic nitrogen in drinking water sources: Implications for mitigating against nitrogenous disinfection by-product formation”. This project focuses on characterizing the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) compounds using a range of advanced spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques. The N-DDPs formation mechanisms from the relative precursors, such as algal organic matter (AOM) and effluent organic matter (EfOM) will be investigated. This project is supported by an ARC Linkage project led by Curtin University with project partners including WQRA and Water Corporation.

• Download Xiang Li’s CV

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Related

Areas of expertise

• Water and wastewater treatment

The UNSW DAF Pilot Plant is a portable plant which can be moved and operated in any location with a power source. The main operating components of the plant are installed within a standard 20-foot shipping container. The plant equipment includes an in-line rapid mixer (A), a single stage up-flow flocculator (B), a flotation system (C, E) and standalone filtration units (D). Flotation effluent is filtered via standalone sand filters for use as saturated water.

The main flotation skid comprises components A, B and C. The saturator, component E, and float removal process are automated using control systems. During the operation of the pilot plant, two external auxiliary tanks are used. One is a buffer tank to store DAF effluent and the other collects filtered water.

Chemical dosing and instrumentation

Main tank

Saturator System

ACCARNSI

7th Early Career Researchers National Forum & Workshop

Melbourne, 7-9 May 2012

Participants from the 7th Early Career Researchers National Forum & Workshop
(Photos by Anna Rigosi)

The Peter Cullen Scholarship is supported by the NSW Office of Water and NSW water agencies including the Sydney Catchment Authority, State Water, Sydney Water and Hunter Water, and is worth $60,000 over three years. It honours the memory of Professor Peter Cullen, a visionary in Australian water resource management and mentor to young water scientists.

Eytan’s research focuses on one of the key challenges facing climate scientists and hydrologists, simulating climate change’s impacts on the water cycle, particularly sustained anomalies of climate extremes which cause floods and droughts. His research aims to develop a methodology to improve the simulation of persistence in rainfall through correcting global climate model bias in regional climate models.

Eytan is studying in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering under the supervision of Professor Ashish Sharma and Dr Jason Evans from the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre.
The scholarship also brings with it the opportunity to participate in the mentoring program run by the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, of which Professor Cullen was a founding member.

(L-R) Award winner Eytan Rocheta, Vicky Cullen, and the Hon. Katrina Hodgkinson, MP