An integrated approach to achieve net-zero operation in wastewater resource recovery facilities

Water industry is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is now ranked as the 7th largest contributor to the global anthropogenic GHG budget. Australian water industries are determined to take the responsibility to fight climate change. In fact, at least 13 Australia water utilities serving 16.3 million customers have committed to reach net-zero by as early as 2030. The sector has made some impressive progress – but there are still several major challenges, one of which is the direct GHG emissions, mainly nitrous oxide (N2O) and methane (CH4) from urban wastewater systems. N2O emissions are especially important, contributing up to 90% of the overall carbon footprint. WWRFs contribute to GHG emissions not only through operational energy consumption (indirect emissions), but also through the emission of fugitive gases such as N2O and CH4 (direct emissions).

N2O and CH4 are generated from different units in the WWRFs, and the emissions are strongly associated with wastewater characteristic, plant design, and operation, among these, N2O production and emission during nitrogen removal processes is the most challenging process to simulate. This project is 

Under the newly awarded linkage project to GHG research team at the University of Queensland led by Prof Liu Ye, with collaboration of >10 Australian Utilities, which aims to develop a systematic framework for water utilities to monitor and reduce direct greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from wastewater systems. 

This PhD project aims to develop critical knowledge and predictive models based on the  plant-wide quantification data for optimal design and operation of wastewater resource recovery facilities (WWRFs), and to develop and demonstrate novel control strategies with an integrated approach to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions, supporting Australia's plan to reach a net zero target by 2050.

You will be supervised by Prof Ye and Prof Batstone. You will have a unique opportunity to work closely with Australian water utilities to investigate intervention strategies guided by the integrated modelling approach. You will have access to the resources and facilities at the sustainable water labs at both the School of Chemical Engineering and the Australian Center for Water and Environmental Biotechnology. In the meantime, you will be supported by the advisory team to apply for a visiting PhD position at an oversea collaboration institution during the candidature (conditions apply).