Research: Collaborations
The Centre has an extensive network of collaborators across academia, industry and research organizations within Australia and around the world.
Several examples of our collaborations are summarised below:
- Self Assembly of Surfactants & Polymers
- Ultrasonics
- Nanocrystals
- Nanoporous Adsorbents for Biochemical Separations
- Water and Waste Water Research
- Solid-Liquid separation
- Production Processes for Concentrated Fresh Milk Ingredients
Self Assembly of Surfactants and Polymers with MIT, USA
Self assembly of surfactants and polymers in solution is a core interest in the PFPC and for the past 10 years Professor Geoff Stevens and Dr Andrea O’Connor have had a strong collaboration with Professor Alan Hatton’s group in the Department of Chemical Engineering, at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the United States. Initially, the collaborative research examined the kinetics of self assembly of micelles. More recently, the research has focussed on the structure and properties of the hydrophobic domains of polymers, including Pluronic poly(acrylic acid) block copolymers which have the characteristic of forming micelles at particular temperatures and so offer the potential of drug delivery agents.
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Ultrasonics with University of Washington, USA
The PFPC’s research activities into the chemical and physical effects of ultrasound in aqueous systems, has evolved significantly over the past 6 years. Professor Franz Grieser and Dr Muthupandian Ashokkumar are collaborating with Dr Tom Matula and Professor Larry Crum of the Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington, in the United States to examine the dynamics of bubble oscillations in the presence of surface active solutes. Through the use of an acoustically "levitated" single bubble this collaboration has explored solute effects on bubble size, sonoluminescence intensity and gas transport across the bubble interface.
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Nanocrystals with Caesar Institute, Germany, University of Vigo, Spain and Notre Dame, USA
Nanocrystals are a leading topic for researchers in the PFPC because nucleation remains one of the least understood phenomena in surface science. Associate Professor Paul Mulvaney has been a key instigator of the PFPC’s research into nanoscale materials and particles over the last ten years, including metal nanoparticles and fluorescent semiconductor nanocrystals (quantum dots). He has held long standing, international collaborations across Europe with Professor Michael Giersig from CAESAR, Germany and Professor Luis Liz-Marzán from University of Vigo, Spain.
Over the past two years nanomechanics has become increasingly important in nanomaterials research. When materials shrink down in size, surface effects begin to influence their behaviour. It has been noted that the colour of small nanocrystals will often change when they are stretched or bent. In 2002, the PFPC began work on gold nanorod mechanics in collaboration with Professor Greg Hartland from the University of Notre Dame, United States.
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Nanoporous Adsorbents for Biochemical Separations with CSIRO, Australia
Dr Andrea O’Connor, A/Professor Michelle Gee and Professor Geoff Stevens are collaborating with Dr Patrick Hartley at CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies and Dr Terry Turney at CSIRO Manufacturing & Infrastructure Technology, Australia to develop nanoporous adsorbents for biochemical separations. The research makes use of infrastructure and expertise at both the PFPC and CSIRO to investigate ways to tailor templated nanoporous silica materials as high performance adsorbents for bioprocess engineering. It involves advanced materials synthesis and adsorbent technology, downstream processing for the biotechnology industries, and understanding of highly specific affinity interactions used for difficult bioseparations.
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Water and Waste Water Research with United Utilities & Yorkshire Water, England
This project is sponsored by United Utilities (UU) and Yorkshire Water (YW), two major utility companies in the United Kingdom, to examine the dewatering properties of water and waste water sludges. Led by Professor Peter Scales and Dr David Dixon the initial aims of the work (almost ten years ago) were to provide a fundamental understanding of the differences between various sludges in the water and waste water industries. It has now moved on to the utilisation of this knowledge, along with models of filtration and thickening, to optimise the operation of a range of dewatering devices at various sites. An additional outcome has been to provide strategic direction on dewatering practice for the two companies. Elements of the work have also been distilled into the minerals and now the dairy industry.
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Solid-Liquid Separation with AMIRA
The minerals industry, through a variety of sources, continues to be a key collaborative focus for the PFPC. A key route to collaborative work is AMIRA, the Australian Minerals Industry Research Association. One of the PFPC’s major projects in solid-liquid separation has been sponsored through AMIRA project P266D. PFPC researchers led by Professor Peter Scales are collaborating with CSIRO Minerals in Perth (Dr John Farrow and Dr Phil Fawell) and Melbourne (Kosta Simic), CSIRO Manufacturing and Infrastructure Technology in Melbourne (Dr Murray Rudman) and more than twenty minerals and minerals industry service companies. A key focus of the work is to understand the relationship between flocculant structure and function and dewatering in a thickener.
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Production Processes for Concentrated Fresh Milk Ingredients with Burra Foods Australia
PFPC researchers are collaborating with Burra Foods Australia, a dairy company based in Korumburra , Victoria to develop production processes for concentrated fresh milk ingredients for the international market. Within this project, the team is assessing and optimising a number of dairy membrane processes. Research is focussed on microfiltration of skim milk to produce a casein concentrate and ultrafiltration to concentrate whey solids. This system is used for the separation of dairy lactose and valuable calcium salts, from the less valuable sodium and potassium salts. The project is coordinated by Dr Sandra Kentish and also involves PFPC members Professor Geoff Stevens and Dr Andrea O’Connor.