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ADVANCED WATERMANAGEMENT CENTREANNUAL REPORT2009

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Dr Cath O’Sullivan and Mr Alastair Grinham, Centre for Water Studies, The University of Queensland, A brief introduction to work on South East Queensland’s water storages, 21-Aug-09

Mr Maxime Rattier, University Institute of Technology of Nates, France, Infl uence of reverse osmosis membrane ageing on membrane properties and rejection of minerals and organic micropollutants, 28-Aug-09

Mr Barry Cayford, AWMC, Microbiology of corrosion inducing sewer biofi lms, 28-Aug-09

Dr Korneel Rabaey, AWMC, Bioelectrochemical Systems: present and future directions, 4-Sep-09

Dr Keshab Sharma, AWMC, Sewer Model: A Tool for Sewer Management, 11-Sep-09

Mr Guangming Jiang, AWMC, Sulfur transformation in rising main sewers receiving nitrate dosage, 11-Sep-09

Dr Jelena Radjenovic, AWMC, Qualitative analysis applied for the study of fate of pharmaceutical residues in (waste)water treatment, 18-Sep-09

Dr Paul Jensen, AWMC, Banana waste-to-energy process proves viable, 18-Sep-09

Prof Raphael Semiat, Director Grand Water Research Institute (GWRI) and Rabin Desalination, Laboratory, Technion-Israel’s Institute of Technology, Israel, Energy aspects in osmotic processes: A comparison of desalination processes, 1-Oct-09

Mr Lishan Zhang, AWMC, Impact of ferric iron dosing on anaerobic sewer biofi lm activities, 2-Oct-09

Dr Antony Joseph, AWMC, The setting up of laboratory experiments for the study of sewer corrosion, 2-Oct-09

Mr Balopi Lopson Kebapetswe, AWMC, The microbiology composition of brewery biofi lms: Yatala brewery case study, 9-Oct-09

Dr Yang Mu, AWMC, Decolourization of Azo dyes in bio-electrochemical systems, 9-Oct-09

Ms Sue Read, AWMC, A US study trip, 16-Oct-09

Ms Huoqing Ge, AWMC, Pre-treatment mechanisms during thermophilic-mesophilic temperature phased anaerobic digestion of primary sludge, 16-Oct-09

Ms Katrin Doederer, University of Applied Science Augsberg, Germany, Kinetic studies on N-nitrosodimethylamine formation during the production of high quality recycled water, 23-Oct-09

Mr Allan Wong, AWMC, Microbial community structure within Enhanced Biological Phosphorous Removal (EBPR) reactors, 23-Oct-09

Dr Phil Bond, AWMC, Investigating the impact of pandemic levels of an antiviral drug on wastewater treatment, 30-Oct-09

Ms Hasina Pervin, AWMC, Unraveling bacterial diversity and dynamics using full cycle 16s rRNA approach and tRFLP during pretreatment of two stage anaerobic digestion, 30-Oct-09

Ms Jean Moselen, AWMC, Cathodic behaviour of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in microbial fuel cells: A proteomic investigation., 6-Nov-09

Mr Andrew Smith, AWMC, Microbial ecology during Granulation in a sequence batch reactor and the analysis of glycoprotein content in EPS, 6-Nov-09

Dr Maria José Farré, AWMC, Generation of disinfection by-products during the production of high quality recycled water. Case study: N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), 13-Nov-09

Mr Ilje Pikaar, AWMC, Electrochemical abatement of sulfi de in sewer systems, 20-Nov-09

Mr Yang (Kenn) Lu, AWMC, Microbial ecology of mixed culture fermentaion (MCF), 27-Nov-09

Dr Andrew Cook, AWMC, Differential gene expression in fl occular and granular systems, 4-Dec-09

Mr Max Noyon, Polytechnique Institute of Grenoble, France, The parameters affecting the activity of the sludge: the length of time, the substrate concentration and the mixing, 4- Dec-09

Dr Gatut Sudarjanto, AWMC, Impacts of trade wastes in sewers, 11- Dec-09

Mr Bernardino Virdis, AWMC, Fundamental studies of nitrogen removal in bioelectrochemical systems, 11- Dec-09

Interested in attending AWMC seminars? Send your details to the coordinator at [email protected] to receive announcements.


AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

CONTENTS

02 DIRECTOR’S REPORT04 2009 ACHIEVEMENTS05 A COMMERCIAL FOCUS06 ANALYTICAL RESEARCH AND SERVICES09 DYNAMIC RESEARCH 10 TIME TO TAKE SEWERS SERIOUSLY 11 CLIMATE CHANGE CHALLENGE 12 (BIO)ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS 14 BIOPROCESSES AND NUTRIENT REMOVAL 15 BIOPRODUCTS FROM WASTEWATER 16 ANAEROBIC TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES 18 WATER RECYCLING RESEARCH PROGRAM 20 FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIED MICROBIAL ECOLOGY22 THE AWMC TEAM29 INTERNATIONAL VISITORS30 FINANCIAL REPORT31 2009 ACTIVE RESEARCH GRANTS33 2010 RESEARCH AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING SUCCESS34 2009 PUBLICATIONS39 CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION40 2009 SEMINARS

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DIRECTOR’SREPORT

WE CAN ONCE AGAIN LOOK BACK ON AN EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL AND EXCITING YEAR AT THE AWMC.

AWMCANNUALREPORT2009

The world is changing more rapidly than ever. With these changes new challenges are emerging, requiring new solutions, which is a key role of research in our society. At the AWMC, as a leading research organisation, we need to be at the forefront of providing such solutions, which also means we have to predict what the next emerging challenges will be. This in turn creates a continuous drive for change and adaptation of our focus.

Several years ago, we set out on a strategy to focus on research that would convert wastewater treatment operations into a resource recovery processes. We are progressing well down that path, with major growth in areas such as water recycling, energy recovery through anaerobic processes and the conversion of chemical energy (in waste organics) to new products through bioelectrochemical processes. Increasingly, we are also focusing efforts on nutrient recovery technologies, which are replacing the research on nutrient removal processes that has been a major emphasis at the AWMC over the last 15 years. These are areas where sustainability-focused businesses are also moving towards, hence we can provide valuable support for this major paradigm shift.

In parallel, the rapidly growing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions are now engaging the water industry not just in relation to energy consumption. Two direct emission contributors, methane and nitrous oxide, are of signifi cant importance in the industry due to their very strong global warming potentials. At the AWMC, we have been at the forefront of this research for a number of years, and now have more projects focused on this aspect than on the wastewater treatment process as such. However, our outstanding knowledge in anaerobic digestion and in nutrient removal is critically important in tackling these newly emerging challenges. Additionally, with our world-leading research on sewer

processes, we have not only been able to assist utilities with odour and corrosion related challenges, but have also for the fi rst time identifi ed sewers as major sources of methane emissions. At present, we are already moving beyond identifying the problem as research has started to look at possible solutions, particularly those that are able to control both the sulfi de and methane production in sewer systems.

To support these rapidly expanding activities mostly at the engineering end of our work, we have been able to also strengthen our underlying scientifi c research. We have considerably increased our bio-science and molecular ecology expertise in recent years, and we are also rapidly growing our physico-chemical expertise, particularly in the water recycling area. Overall, the expertise of our academic and research staff is rapidly expanding both in breadth and in quality. The latter is best demonstrated by the fact that we now have eight staff members with fellowships, including fi ve prestigious Australian Research Council Fellowships. Together with our continuously expanding range of activities, we can provide both high quality and comprehensive coverage of most research needs in the water industry.

The AWMC has now established its strong role as a core research provider both for scientifi c and industry-related work. We are very confi dent that we can maintain and further grow our strong credentials in this area and we are keen to engage with the broader environmental (or “cleantech”) industry over the coming years.

Prof Jurg Keller

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AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

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2009ACHIEVEMENTS

Postdoctoral research fellow, Ms • Shoshana Fogelman, was named the 2009 Young Water Professional of the Year

Dr Gene Tyson received a prestigious • QE II Fellowship from the Australian Research Council starting 2010

Dr René Rozendal received a highly • competitive UQ Postdoctoral Fellowship for 2010 – 2012

Dr Korneel Rabaey was awarded • a 2009 UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award ($80,000)

PhD Student, Thomas Seviour, • was awarded the best student presentation prize at the IWA Specialist conference on Processes in Biofi lms - Fundamentals to Applications conference, 13-16 September 09, California USA

Visiting PhD student Liu Ye, Dr • Christoph Ort and Dr Oriol Gutierrez all were awarded presentation prizes at the 10th IWA specialist conference on Instrumentation, Control and Automation, 14-17 June 2009, Cairns Australia

Mr Jeremy Barr, PhD student, was • awarded:

2009 Australian Society for • Microbiology Becton Dickenson Award – Queensland (This honours the top Microbiology student in each state of Australia) Best Student Presentation Award at • the International Water Association Conference on Activated Sludge Population Dynamics, held in Denmark Best paper prize awarded by the • International Society for Microbial Ecology

In 2009 the AWMC opened their doors • to a group from the Experience Science Workshops. These workshops are run by The University of Queensland to allow High School Students to experience science in the University environment. The AWMC workshop was Water Independence Day - We are stuck on the University Island and exploring how we would treat and supply water for all those trapped. The students looked at different methods, explored the energy required and the carbon footprint of each method.

A team of brave AWMC Staff and • Students - Tom Seviour, Jeremy Barr, Fran Slater, Wolfgang Gernjak, Julien Reungoat and Shihu Hu - shaved and waxed their way to almost $2000 for the Cancer Research Fund.

Dr René Rozendal has been recognised • for his service in providing scholarly and timely reviews by the Environmental Science and Technology Journal by awarding him its Excellence in Review Award.

AWMC was a core member of the • successful Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence bid to begin in 2010

Chief Operating Offi cer, Dr Bronwyn • Laycock, won a CSIRO 2009 Research Achievement Medal as a part of the Opthalmic Biomaterials Team

The 2008 Dean’s Award List for • Outstanding Research Higher Degree Theses included AWMC PhD student Dr Stefano Freguia for his thesis work “Fundamental Studies of Anodic and Cathodic Processes In Microbial Fuel Cells”

Dr Christoph Ort was awarded the • Best Presentation at the Urban Water Security Research Alliance Forum

Dr Rene Rozendal, Postdoctoral • fellow, was awarded the DOW Energy Dissertation Prize. This prestigious award seeks to reward researchers that recently completed their PhD research in a subject which could promote sustainable development in the process industry.

PhD student, Miss Preethi Gopalan, • was awarded the “Best Presentation-PhD student” at the Australasian Pig Science Association workshop 2009 held in Cairns Australia.

Prof Paul Lant and Ying Yu Law, • AWMC PhD Student, were successful in obtaining a AINSE (Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering) Award for 2010, to the value of $23,070, for their work on the transformation and distribution of fossil carbon in wastewater treatment pathway, from input to discharge.

UQ Early Career Researcher grants • were awarded to Steven Pratt, Keshab Sharma and Michael Lawrence for 2010 projects

A microscope image of microbial • consortia involved in denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation produced by Fauzi Haroon (Honours student), was runner-up in the ISME Journal’s cover competition


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AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

A COMMERCIAL FOCUS

AWMC HELPS TRISCO FOODS MAKE ENERGY FROM WASTEWATER

The AWMC conducted a feasibility study for Trisco foods that will allow replacement of 20% of their current natural gas consumption, and reduce trade waste fees by $50,000 per year. Trisco Foods in Carole Park is a smaller wastewater producer, with a relatively high impact on their local treatment plant, due to peak fl ows, and a high strength. The wastewater contains large amounts of sugars, and trade waste charges currently exceed $50,000 per annum. Challenges included relatively low fl ows (~15 kL/day), high concentrations (10 g COD/L), and highly variable fl ow. The study recommended a small-scale high-rate anaerobic system, which is proven technology that is rarely applied at such small scale. This converts the organics in the wastewater to methane, which can be used to produce hot water, which will replace 20% of their current energy consumption. The study was also used as the basis for an Ausindustry Retooling for Climate Change grant, which funds 50% of capital expenses, and allowed a payback period of under 4 years. As well as enabling energy savings, the project will reduce greenhouse gas impacts by 97 t CO2-equivalents per year. The project is now in construction phase, with engineering and project management supplied by Integral Logic Pty and engineering design and startup consultancy by the AWMC.

BILEXYS - SUSTAINABLY CONVERTING WASTEWATER TO VALUABLE CHEMICALS

Bilexys has developed a revolutionary wastewater treatment technology, which converts organics in wastewater to caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide for re-use on site. The Bilexys technology is based on a bioelectrochemical system, which harnesses naturally occurring electrochemically active bacteria as catalysts to convert dissolved organic pollutants to hydrogen peroxide and caustic soda. The process is highly controllable and can produce the desired product at high purity. The Bilexys technology is applicable to a wide range of wastewater types, concentrations and fl owrates. The chemicals produced by Bilexys reduce or replace the need to purchase and bring in chemicals, providing signifi cant environmental and economic benefi t to customers, with payback times between 2-3 years. Target industries include pulp and paper, petrochemical, breweries and wineries, with a total market opportunity of several billion dollars. Bilexys technology has already been taken successfully from the one litre laboratory scale to a fully operational pilot plant system. For more information please contact [email protected]

SeweX

SeweX is a consulting business based at the AWMC, and is operated under UniQuest Pty Ltd, the commercial arm of UQ. SeweX provides advice on odour and corrosion problems in sewer systems to industry, based on the SeweX model developed by the Centre’s strong and internationally leading research team on sewer systems in the past seven years. SeweX also offers strong expertise and tools for offl ine and online measurement of wastewater characteristics in sewer systems.

The SeweX (Sewer Transformation) model is a mathematical model describing the physical, chemical and biological processes in sewers. The model also predicts the formation and emission of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, in sewer networks. The SeweX model won the 2008 International Water Association’s Project Innovation Award (East Asia and Pacifi c Region) and the 2008 Excellence Award in Research, Development and Innovation of Engineers of Australia (Queensland Division). The model is under continuous enhancement under the Sewer Corrosion and Odour Research (SCORe) project, see page 10.

For further information please contact the SeweX Business Manager Mr. Shaun Corrie on [email protected] or visit our website at www.sewex.com.au.

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2009

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ANALYTICAL RESEARCHAND SERVICES

THE AWMC ANALYTICAL SERVICES LABORATORY (AWMC ASL)

The AWMC has an analytical laboratory providing services for internal and external clients and also adapts and develops new analytical methods in the area of waste, surface and drinking water. It is headed by Dr Beatrice Keller-Lehmann and supported by Jianguang Li and Kar Man Leung.

In 2009 the ASL was successful in receiving another Major Equipment Infrastructure Grant (MEI). This allowed the ASL to purchase an Inductive Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectroscopy instrument (ICP-OES) for the analysis of metal ions and an industrial microwave for the digestion of samples.

The AWMC Analytical Research and Services Lab has the following analytical instruments:

LC-MS-MS (AB4000 QTRAP): • Micropollutants (e.g. pharmaceuticals)Agilent Gaschromatograph-• Mass-spectrometer (GC-MS): Organic sulfur compounds, Disinfection by-products, OrganicsShimadzu HPLC with refl ective • index, photoarray and fl uorescence detector: Glucose, succinic acid, formic acid, lactic acid, volatile fatty acid, ethanol, methanol, aniline, nitrobenzeneThree gas chromatographs • with FID detectors: Volatile fatty acids, ethanol & methanol, methane, polyhydroxybutyrate, polyhydroxyvalerate

WORLD CLASS FACILITIESAs a leader in the water cycle research sector, the AWMC has built extensive in-house analytical facilities that are designed for many applications. With wider access to the University of Queensland’s world-class research infrastructure, this facility provides a vast range of scientifi c and applied services for both internal and external users.

The facilities, located at the St. Lucia campus, have been established through successful ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities and Major Equipment Infrastructure grants. The range of services includes; a dedicated analytical research and services lab, microbial population identifi cation drawing on expertise in the methods of fl uorescence in situ hybridisation, microscopy and microbial ecology, and professional development courses.

Analytic Jena Total Organic Carbon • Analyser with Total Nitrogen detector (TOC/TN): Total organic carbon, Total inorganic carbon, Non purgable organic carbon, Total nitrogenDionex Ion Chromatograph with • conductivity and UV detector: Inorganic sulfur species: hydrogen sulfi de, sulfate, sulfi te, thiosulfate, Anions: chloride, nitrate, nitrite, fl uoride, etc.Lachat Flow Injection Analyser: • Ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen and Total phosphateInductive Coupled Plasma – Optical • Emission Spectroscopy instrument (ICP-OES): Metal ions

The ASL routinely measures nutrients (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate), Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen and Total phosphate, sulfur species (hydrogen sulfi de, sulfate, thiosulfate, sulfi te) and anions, volatile fatty acids, ethanol, methanol, and other alcohols, methane, Total organic carbon, glucose, lactic acid, formic acid, succinic acid, aniline, nitrobenzene, polyhydroxy butyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxy valerate (PHV) and COD (chemical oxygen demand).

In 2009, ASL analysed about 2300 samples per month (28,000 samples/year) and 3 to 4 parameters were measured per sample.

For more information please contact Dr Beatrice Keller-Lehmann, [email protected]


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AWMC OFFERS METHANE POTENTIAL AND ACTIVITY TESTING

New tests developed at the AWMC can provide certainty for anaerobic digestion projects. Anaerobic digestion technologies are an attractive option for the treatment of organic solids, resulting in a net energy generation and production of safe, easy-to-handle residues for benefi cial reuse in agriculture. However, the feasibility of such a project is highly dependent on the speed and extent of degradation, which can vary for different materials. The AWMC is a key leader and developer of such tests, offering independent testing to enable certainty in feasibility analysis. In 2009, BMP testing was used to help Gold Coast Water evaluate treatment options for a new centralised wastewater treatment plant. A variation of this test allows independent testing of anaerobic seed biomass. Clients for this testing in 2009 included:- Foster’s Brewery, Gold Coast Water, Trisco foods, Visy Pulp and Paper, WSN Environmental Solutions Australia.

For more information please contact Dr Damien Batstone, [email protected] Paul Jensen, [email protected]

SERVICES AT THE ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY LABORATORY (EML)

The Environmental Microbiology Laboratory (EML) offers a range of services. The EML is a fully equipped modern laboratory for molecular biology and the culturing of microorganisms. These include facilities for manipulation and fi ngerprinting of DNA and various forms of enrichment and microbial culture techniques. Our location ensures we have ready access to a range of excellent complementary facilities that include confocal laser scanning microscopy, electron microscopy and fl ow cytometry. We have strong expertise and experience for molecular characterisation of environmental and industry samples particularly for determining microbial community composition. Services include;

Microbial community • profi ling: Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) and Terminal Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (TRFLP) are high throughput methods that are very powerful for the comparison of microbial diversity in a number of samples, for example to examine spatial and temporal population variations. Community DNA sequencing and • phylogenetic analysis: At the core of identifying microorganisms from environmental samples is sequencing of ribosomal genes. EML uses the latest techniques for cloning and “next-generation” DNA sequencing. Phylogenetic sequence analysis is used to determine the relationship of unknown microorganisms to known representatives.Microbial community structure • using fl uorescent probes: Fluorescently-labeled oligonucleotide probes based upon RNA sequences have achieved wide acceptance in the fi eld of microbial ecology. This technique is widely used to visualise and identify microorganisms directly in the environmental sample, and is known as fl uorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH).

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES OFFERED BY THE EML

FISH COURSEFluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) is extensively used for analysis of microbial communities in a wide range of environmental samples such as sludge, seawater, rumen and biofi lms. The FISH course is held annually at the AWMC and includes both the theory and practice to provide in-depth details and hands-on experience.

ARB COURSEARB is a software package for analysis of DNA sequences and determining phylogenetic relationships between organisms. This is a convenient and widely used package that contains a large cumulative database – simplifying management and sequence analysis for phylogenetic comparisons, and for design and evaluation of FISH probes and primers. ARB incorporates some of the newest and most sophisticated tree-building algorithms. The most recent ARB course at EML was successfully conducted with a total of 26 participants.

For more information please contactDr Phil Bond, [email protected] Gene Tyson, [email protected]

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

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DYNAMICRESEARCH

THE WATER AND ENERGY CRISIS HAS BROUGHT ABOUT A MAJOR CHANGE IN MANY ASPECTS OF THE WATER INDUSTRY. THE SHIFT TOWARDS A TRUE URBAN WATER CYCLE, BOTH AT A LOCAL AND REGIONAL SCALE, POSES NUMEROUS CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE WATER INDUSTRY AS A WHOLE.

The Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) is an internationally recognised centre of excellence in innovative water technology and management research. The AWMC thrives on both challenges and opportunities, and is embracing the changes, particularly in the urban and industrial water context.

The AWMC strength is in the team of engineers, chemists and biomolecular scientists that lead multidisciplinary research programs (shown below).

The AWMC has identifi ed that there is an increased recognition of the importance of water and energy in our society and will make signifi cant contributions to the many existing and emerging challenges. The following pages highlight just some of our dynamic research projects.

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

GREENHOUSE GASES

Program LeaderZhiguo Yuan

Paul Lant

SEWER RESEARCH

Program LeadersZhiguo YuanJurg Keller

(BIO)ELECTRO-CHEMICAL SYSTEMS

Program LeadersKorneel Rabaey

Jurg Keller

NUTRIENT REMOVAL AND BIOPRODUCTS

Program LeadersMaite PijuanSteven Pratt

ANAEROBIC PROCESSES

Program LeaderDamien Batstone

Paul Jensen

MICROBIAL ECOLOGY

Program LeadersPhil Bond

Gene Tyson

WATER RECYCLING

Program LeaderWolfgang Gernjak

Jurg keller

AWMC RESEARCH PROGRAMS

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TIME TO TAKESEWERSSERIOUSLY

The size of the odour and corrosion problem is refl ected in the broad support being provided to the project by water utilities throughout Australia. An Australian Research Council Linkage grant brings together eleven industry partners, fi ve Australian Universities and fi ve International Institutions. The Project started in late 2008 and will run for 5 years with a total budget of close to AUD$ 20 million. Partners of the project are:

Barwon Water• CH2M Hill• Curtin University• Ghent University, Belgium• Gold Coast Water• Hunter Water Corporation• INRA - French National Institute for • Agricultural Research, FranceMelbourne Water• SA Water• South East Water Limited• Sydney Water Corporation• United Water International• Université Laval, Canada• University of California in Los Angeles• University of New South Wales• University of Newcastle• University of Sydney• WA Water Corporation• Water Quality Research Australia•

This project brings together the scientifi c knowledge of world-leading researchers and the vast amount of practical expertise available in the Australian utilities, which will ensure practical outcomes based on fundamental scientifi c knowledge. The skills and expertise possessed by the research providers and industry partners are diverse yet complementary, enabling the integration of process engineering, mathematical modelling, environmental chemistry, material science and microbiology, together with operational experience, in the search for solutions.

The project comprises four themes under which 10 subprojects are managed:

Understanding and predicting • corrosion processesGas phase technologies• Liquid phase technologies, and• Decision support and knowledge • management

Despite being operational for only just over 12 months, the project has been able to deliver to industry many exciting outcomes and promises to change the way industry people think about sewers – Time to Take Sewers Seriously.

Analytical tools and protocols-Chambers for testing corrosion of • concrete under controlled conditions have been developed and are in operation;A laboratory setup has been • developed, verifi ed and validated to replicate a real rising main for testing of products for control of sulfi de and methane concentrations and generation;Standard protocols for the physical, • chemical and biological analysis for the corrosion assessment of concrete has been established.

Decision support and knowledge management-

Industry survey conducted on the • chemical dosing systems used by industry to control odour;A review conducted of new and • emerging biochemical products that are available for odour control in sewers and a recommendation report of products to be tested under laboratory conditions;The SeweX model has been • enhanced to better refl ect carbon transformations and the effect of trade wastes and fl ow velocity on sulfi de concentrations and generation;A web-based knowledge • management system has been developed to make knowledge generated in sub-projects readily available to Industry Partners.

New technology-Proof of concept for electrochemical • control of sulfi de in sewers has been demonstrated;Design of a laboratory scale fi eld • plant has been completed and trial installation at the Gold Coast has commenced;Training to industry partners on the • use of the SeweX model has been delivered;The inhibitory effect of both ferric • chloride and nitrite on the generation of both sulfi de and methane has been identifi ed. Trial applications are planned for Sydney and Adelaide.

OUTCOMES DELIVERED TO INDUSTRY IN 2009


Optimal corrosion and odour management has clearly been hindered by a limited understanding of several key in-sewer processes, and the lack of tools and reliable technologies to support strategic decisions and cost-effective sewer operation. The value of public assets is being signifi cantly diminished as a result of corrosion problems, with concrete sewer pipes estimated to corrode at an average rate of 1-3 mm a year, costing hundreds of millions of dollars in Australia alone. By fi lling in the gaps, the SCORe Project aims to provide knowledge and technology support to the Australian water industry for cost-effective and effi cient corrosion and odour management in sewers.

SEWER CORROSION AND ODOUR RESEARCH (SCORe) PROJECT

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CLIMATE CHANGECHALLENGE

Climate change is a key issue impacting the water industry. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) calls on all signatory countries (of which Australia is one) to compile an annual National Green House Gases (GHG) inventory. In Australia, the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme White Paper has outlined a framework for carbon trading and other options for reducing GHGs have also been proposed. However, GHG emissions in the water industry are not usually measured directly and many assumptions are made. Many of these assumptions are now subject of wide scale international research. The implications for water utilities, amongst others, with respect to the uncertainty of GHG emissions may have signifi cant impact on their operations from both an environmental responsibility and business risk perspective.

In addition to CO2 emissions caused by energy consumption, water and wastewater systems also have the following direct fugitive emissions:

Methane (CH• 4) with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) 21 times that of CO2; and Nitrous Oxide (N• 2O) with a GWP 310 times that of CO2.

AWMC has been directly addressing issues of GHG in the water industry since 2007 and indirectly long before this. AWMC began working in 2007 with the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) who are the “peak industry association for urban water utilities”. The initial research was focussed on gaining basic information of the magnitude of GHG emissions from water industry assets. The research is being expanded into fundamental research with ARC Discovery grants as well as industry

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

collaboration through ARC Linkage projects aimed at the understanding, quantifi cation and mitigation of GHG emissions with industry partners such as Western Australia Water Corporation, Seqwater and the SEQ Healthy Waterways Partnership.

Key fi ndings to date from these studies include:

By measuring 7 BNR plants with • a range of designs from around Australia, we found that N2O emissions from these plants varied widely between 0.6% to 25.3% of the amount of nitrogen denitrifi ed.The IPCC/UNFCCC assumption in • their guidelines that “wastewater in closed underground sewers is not believed to be a signifi cant source of methane” has been found to be inaccurate. To the contrary, methane emission from sewers has been found to be very signifi cant. A model for predicting CH4 formation in rising mains has been developed.Several methods for sulfi de control • in sewers, including oxygen, nitrate, ferric chloride and magnesium hydroxide, have been found effective in reducing CH4 formation in sewers.

On-going research into GHG includes:

Quantifi cation and understanding of • N2O production during nitrifi cation and denitrifi cation.Development and demonstration of • strategies to mitigate N2O emissions from WWTPs.Fundamental understanding and • mitigation of CH4 emission from sewers.Evaluation of CH• 4 and N2O emissions from rivers, estuaries, lakes and reservoirs.

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(BIO)ELECTROCHEMICAL SYSTEMS(B)ES

THE (B)ES GROUP

The AWMC (B)ES group is a fast growing team, consisting of 13 academics, postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students. Since its inception in 2006, this group has published 26 journal publications in this fi eld, cited over 800 times. The research has led to 8 patents or patent applications; Bilexys Pty. Ltd. presently commercialises a subset of these. In December 2009 the book “Bioelectrochemical Systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application” was published by IWA Publishing. This book contains contributions by many of the top groups in this research fi eld, 2 (B)ES team members were editors for this publication, and several other members contributed chapters. The book can be ordered at IWA Publishing, http://www.iwapublishing.com

CAUSTIC SODA AND HYDROGEN PEROXIDE: BULK CHEMICALS PRODUCED FROM WASTEWATER ORGANICS

Both caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide are bulk chemicals that are widely used in industry. The traditional production methods are highly energy intensive, which results in a large carbon footprint. Based on our expertise in the fi eld, the AWMC (B)ES group has developed bioelectrochemical technology for the production of caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide from wastewater. Because a signifi cant part of the energy is obtained from the wastewater organics, this novel bioelectrochemical process is much less energy-intensive than the traditional methods. Moreover, the process is capable of delivering the chemicals at a concentration suitable for practical use. The economic and environmental attractiveness of the process was quickly recognised by industry and therefore the technology is already being commercialised through the spin-off company Bilexys. This company already pilot trialled the caustic process at the Foster’s beer brewery in Yatala. In 2009, René Rozendal was awarded a UQ Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for the development of the hydrogen peroxide process.

SULFUR AND NITROGEN REMOVAL (AND RECOVERY) FROM WASTEWATER

Sulfi de is one of the most problematic compounds ubiquitously present in wastewater. Not only is it toxic to aquatic life, sulfi de also causes sewer corrosion and odour nuisance. The AWMC (B)ES group has developed an electrochemical approach to selectively remove sulfi de from waste streams. In certain conditions, the sulfi de can be removed by precipitating its oxidation product, elemental sulfur. Via a patent pending approach, this elemental sulfur can be recovered as concentrated sulfur, sulfi de or polysulfi de. Thus, a nuisance compound can be removed from wastewater while recovering it in an attractive, concentrated form for industrial use. At present, the (B)ES group is further developing this process towards pilot scale testing, in collaboration with an industrial partner. In parallel, the team has been developing an electricity driven denitrifi cation process, capable of removing ammonia or nitrate as nitrogen gas in a single reactor concept. The use of electrical current allows a signifi cant reduction of the required carbon to achieve denitrifi cation – in fact, the process can be operated in the absence of carbon.


THERMALLY HYDROLYSED BIOSOLIDS: A VIABLE (B)ES FEEDSTOCK?

The handling and disposal of biosolids represents approximately half of the operational costs of domestic wastewater treatment plants. Biosolids have an untapped energy content that researchers are attempting to recover. At the Oxley Creek water reclamation plant, biosolids are thermally hydrolysed in the CAMBI process. As part of the EU Neptune (B)ES project, the suitability of this solubilised biosolids stream has been evaluated as a (B)ES infl uent. The high viscosity and concentration of suspended solids makes this a particularly challenging infl uent for state-of-the-art BES reactor designs. The project has successfully demonstrated that the key to using this stream is a pre-treatment strategy including: (1) the use of an onsite continuous centrifuge, (2) a fermenter to tune the substrate properties, and (3) dilution with onsite anaerobic digester effl uent to improve alkalinity. The resultant infl uent (no synthetic additives) has demonstrated signifi cantly better (B)ES performance and stability than other wastewater and synthetic streams, thus illustrating that (B)ES technology could be integrated into existing domestic WWTP anaerobic digestion infrastructure and add value.

12


MICROBIAL ELECTROCATALYSIS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BIOCHEMICALS

The (B)ES group has developed a platform for the production of biofuels and biochemicals, using electrical current as a driver. In a nutshell, electricity can be used to drive bacterial conversion processes, enabling the production of chemicals. It would be highly complex using conventional, chemical catalysts or even immobilised enzymes. Examples of target chemicals at this stage are butanol, 1,3-propanediol and poly- β-hydroxybutyrate (a bioplastic). The advantage of this approach is the expected high production density that can be achieved without the requirement for excess fermentable substrate (typically plant derived). The work builds further on the AWMC (B)ES group’s strong background in extracellular electron transfer and bioelectrochemical process & reactor design. An associated project proposal for the production of butanol has been awarded a 2009 Research Excellence Award for Dr Korneel Rabaey.

HIGH RATE ELECTROCATALYTIC TREATMENT OF REVERSE OSMOSIS CONCENTRATES

The production of potable water from sources such as wastewater often uses a reverse osmosis membrane step. During this step, trace contaminants (pesticides, pharmaceuticals, etc.) are concentrated in the so-called reverse osmosis concentrate. Having these compounds of concern in a concentrate provides an excellent opportunity to remove them from the water cycle. The (B)ES group is developing electrochemical technology for the oxidation and/or reduction of these trace contaminants. The process promises cost effective, highly controllable removal of the contaminants with a quite straightforward practical implementation – the application fi eld will ultimately expand beyond the reverse osmosis concentrate to other (problematic) waste streams. This development project runs in collaboration with Veolia Water Australia, Magneto Special Anodes, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientifi c Services, as well as federal (Australian Research Council) and QLD state based organisations (WaterSecure, SEQ Urban Water Security Research Alliance).

BIOELECTROCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATION AND DEGRADATION OF RECALCITRANT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS FROM WASTEWATER

The removal of recalcitrant organic pollutants, such as textile dyes or pharmaceuticals, from wastewater is crucial for environmental and human health protection. The (B)ES group has developed an innovative and versatile process for the treatment of such recalcitrant pollutants from wastewater using the powerful oxidation and reduction capabilities in (B)ES. The concept is that wastewater needs to be fi rst treated at the abiotic or biotic cathode (reduction) to improve its biodegradability, followed by biological oxidation of the remaining products at the anode of the (B)ES. One or both of the oxidation/reduction reactions in the two chambers of the (B)ES can be catalysed by bacteria to help reduce the over-potential and the power consumption. The electrons released from the oxidation step at the bioanode can be utilised to reduce the recalcitrant organic pollutants at the cathode, hence eliminating the need for any co-substrates. This work has been funded through an ARC Discovery Grant which included a postdoctoral fellowship for Dr Yang Mu.

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

13


BIOPROCESSESAND NUTRIENTREMOVAL

MAJOR OUTCOMES OF 2009

A quick start-up procedure for aerobic • granular sludge reactors has been established and demonstrated. We have demonstrated that the start-up time of aerobic granular sludge systems for nutrient removal from high strength wastewaters can be reduced by up to 85%. A key aspect of this procedure is that nutrient removal can be maintained during the granulation process with no decrease of biomass observed in the reactors.

Simultaneous nitrifi cation, denitrifi cation • and phosphorus removal can be easily established in aerobic granular sludge reactors by providing anaerobic feeding and maintaining low dissolved oxygen during aeration. This process has been successfully implemented in our lab-scale systems and allows the reduction of aeration costs and carbon requirements.

Exciting discoveries on the fundamental • understanding of aerobic granular formation have shown that extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) hold the key differences between granules and fl ocs. While fl occular EPS is found in a soluble phase under normal operating pH conditions aerobic granular EPS is found as a gel material, holding the cells together to form granules.

Additionally, we continue to investigate • and identify which bacterial genes potentially play a role during granulation using a microarray approach. Identifying the genes that infl uence granulation could allow us to manipulate the environmental conditions to trigger the expression of these genes. This project, a part of the European Union project Innowatech, is supported by International Sciences Linkages established under the Australian Government with support and funding from the Environmental Biotechnology CRC and Meat and Livestock Australia.

Pilot and full scale demonstration of this • technology is underway.

Aerobic granulation is an emergent technology for the treatment of different types of wastewaters. However, one of the main drawbacks of this technology is the long start-up times required for these reactors when nutrient removal is desired. The granulation team at the AWMC has been focusing their research in the last year in optimising and understanding this technology for the treatment of domestic and high strength wastewaters.

This work has been generously funded and supported by the Environmental Biotechnology CRC with industry support from Meat and Livestock Australia.


14


BIOPRODUCTS FROMWASTEWATER

NEXT GENERATION BIOPLASTICS PHA bioplastics are recognised as outstanding candidates to replace conventional plastics. Their mechanical properties are industrially relevant, they are produced from renewable resources, and they are truly biodegradable. Furthermore, our recent work shows that PHA bioplastics synthesised in mixed cultures, which have the capacity to utilise cheap and renewable carbon sources such as organic wastes, are economically competitive with petroleum based alternatives.

At the AWMC we are attempting to engineer commercial grade PHA bioplastics from organic wastes. This is a part of Project Neptune, a European Commission sponsored project with funding of over A$7 m and involves partners from Australia, Canada and more than 11 European countries. Financial support for our activities in Australia is from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

A key aspect of our project is the collaboration with AnoxKaldnes Biopolymer of Sweden and Ghent University in Belgium. As part of this collaboration we have used waste biosolids as a substrate for production of PHA biopolymers. We have shown that fermented thermally hydrolysed biosolids is an effective substrate for enriching a population of PHA accumulating bacteria. The capacity for our biomass to accumulate PHA was tested by harvesting excess biomass from the enrichment reactor and subjecting it to a period of extended feeding. The intracellular PHA content was observed to increase substantially.

Our team has successfully extracted the PHA from within the biomass, and we have found that the properties of our polymer are as desirable as those produced in pure cultures. We are now working on processing our polymer into a saleable bioplastic commodity.

CASE STUDY: ALGAL PRODUCTION IN COAL SEAM GAS (CSG) WATER Coal seam gas (CSG) offers tremendous economic potential for Queensland. However, the development of coal seam gas reserves will generate in the order of 100 GL of saline water per year. The QLD Government requires that this water be put to benefi cial use. Our research explores the potential for using open ponds full of CSG water to support algae derived biofuel production. Multiple environmental benefi ts associated with algae production are possible including biofuel, methane and fertilizer. Based on the management of 10 GL per year of CSG water at a salinity of 10% sea water, we estimate that $30 M per year of biofuel could be generated. In addition, 80,000 t of organic matter for fertilizer could be produced and 100,000 t of CO2 would be off-set annually.

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

HARNESSING MICROBIAL FACTORIES FOR NEW PRODUCTSWe use microorganisms to make many products – energy, fuel, food, and plastics. This is done by manipulating the energy available to the microbes. A major factor infl uencing this is the way in which microbes share energy. Reactions that are impossible for a single species are made possible by two organisms working together in a syntrophic association. As part of this energy is shared by direct transfer of electrons. Electrons can be carried chemically, or even conductively, through nano-sized biochemical structures.

The AWMC is leading a major ARC funded research project in this area that is attempting to identify ways in which microbes transfer energy and how to either promote or disrupt, transfer mechanisms. This can be used to improve existing processes, such as fermentation and methane production, or generate entirely new processes.

15


ANAEROBICTREATMENTTECHNOLOGIES

NEW SENSOR SAVES ANAEROBIC PROCESSESAnaerobic digestion is a great method for removing organics, as it eliminates the use of power for aeration, and generates a methane gas stream, a renewable clean energy source.

Digester failure can be an extremely serious problem and should be avoided at all costs. It can add thousands per day in costs of hazardous solids disposal, and in industrial settings, cause primary activities to cease. For this reason, an early warning system that can detect when a digester is approaching failure is vitally important.

We have developed a sensor system that is based on the response of individual compounds to the addition of an acid or base, through automatic titration. This system allows for the rapid detection of volatile fatty acids, which are an important indicator of reactor stress. It can also detect inhibitors such as ammonia and sulfi des by analysing the titration profi les of samples. Such a system not only provides early warning, but can reduce analytical costs dramatically.

This project is funded by an ARC Linkage grant with industry partners Brisbane City Council and Gold Coast Water. The sensors have been placed at partner sites and are now undergoing extensive reliability testing and tuning.

ECONOMIC SOLUTIONS TO HELP AGRICULTURE GO GREENAWMC researchers are working with agricultural industries to develop economic and green solutions for treating organic wastes. Agricultural industries are large producers of organic wastes in the form of livestock manure and with many family run operations, the high capital costs of advanced waste treatment processes are simply not an option. Instead, the agricultural sector favors low capital solutions such as anaerobic treatment lagoons. At the same time, fl uctuations in fertiliser prices, and practical agronomic advantages of natural fertilizers is increasing their attractiveness. The AWMC has two major projects that focus on these areas.

A clear advantage of anaerobic treatment is the production of renewable energy as methane. This can be used in a wide range of ways, including as heating, to drive machinery, or to generate electricity. However, there is very little knowledge available about how much methane can be generated from wastes, or how effi cient current technologies are. Research at the AWMC will address this, by taking samples from a wide range of Australian primary producers, and using specialised tests to assess methane potential and principal design parameters. Another key component is detailed model-based analysis of anaerobic ponds, which are a widely used and economical, but occasionally tricky to operate.

Once waste is digested, it is normally a sanitised, stable product that is suitable as fertiliser, but is also high in volume, containing large amounts of water and solids. Another research project, funded by the Grains Research and Development Corporation, is assessing the use of existing material, particularly locally, as well as production of a high-value organically derived mineral fertilizer. This will be a direct replacement for existing fertilizer sources, with a fraction of the environmental footprint, and with a better agronomic profi le.


ANAEROBIC TECHNOLOGY GROUP OVERVIEWThe anaerobic technology group has developed over the last fi ve years to $4 M in total funding with 6 academic and engineering researchers, 6 higher degree research students, and a number of undergraduates. The group works across the product development cycles, from investigation of basic relationships between microbes to construction of large demonstration plants. The knowledge we develop in the laboratory feeds directly into our full-scale implementation and consulting work.

Linkages are strong with industry, and we have large research projects across most industrial sectors, including energy, agriculture, waste/wastewater treatment, and industrial biotechnology.

16


PRE-TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES PROVIDE ECO ALTERNATIVES TO SMALL PRODUCERSResearchers at the AWMC are using pre-treatment technologies to achieve similar environmental and fi nancial benefi ts of advanced large scale anaerobic treatment technologies with much lower capital investment. Until now, advanced anaerobic digestion technologies have required huge capital investments that put them beyond the reach of many small to medium producers.

The process is based on the latest advances in environmental biotechnology, combining a short biological pre-treatment and conventional anaerobic stabilisation to improve process performance. The pre-treatment process has been designed to be highly fl exible for application to food processing residues, domestic sludge treatment from large municipalities to smaller communities and other solid organic wastes.

The technology process is a signifi cant improvement over current options for treating biosolids at small scale which are expensive and energy intensive, emitting greenhouse gases at 40 kg of carbon dioxide per tonne of biosolids treated. Therefore the net greenhouse reduction of the new technology is up to 80 kg carbon dioxide per tonne treated. The renewable energy certifi cates can either be used directly by the council, farmer or food processor or sold externally. The sanitised fi nal biosolids produced with the pre-treatment step is a higher quality than biosolids generated from conventional digestion and can be reused as a fertiliser product. This is superior to chemical fertilisers in terms of environmental impact, cost, and plant nutrition.

THE NEXT STEP: PUTTING OUR TECHNOLOGIES TO THE INDUSTRIAL TEST

In 2009, the AWMC began construction of a full scale demonstration plant to showcase technologies developed in the lab and prove them in a real industrial application. The plant is being hosted by partners in the meat industry to treat food processing waste streams rich in degradable organic solids.

The demonstration plant incorporates a pre-treatment vessel and 100,000 L conventional digester. It has been designed to treat approximately 8,000 L of waste material containing 500 kg (dry) solid waste per day. Biogas from the plant will be utilised to fi re an industrial water heater capable of producing over 100 MJ/hr this will exceed heating requirements of the process with excess energy available for the host facility. The plant will be commissioned in early 2010 and run till 2011.

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

Funding for the pre-treatment technologies project and the pilot scale plant is through the Environmental Biotechnology CRC with industry support from Meat and Livestock Australia and the Australian Meat Processor Corporation.

17


WATER RECYCLINGRESEARCH PROGRAM

In 2008, the AWMC broadened its research program to the recovery of what constitutes the biggest part of wastewater (>99%), water. The AWMC assembled a multi-disciplinary team to provide scientifi cally sound, independent expertise towards the responsible closing of the water cycle, focusing on treatment technology, but also on the fate of contaminants in treatment trains and larger systems.

A strategic collaboration (worth more than AUD $2.5 Million) between The University of Queensland, WaterSecure and Veolia Water was formed to focus the research efforts on;

Membrane fouling, ageing and • integrity in membrane fi ltration of secondary effl uents;Micropollutant monitoring and • management across advanced water treatment plants in S.E. QueenslandStrategies to control the formation of • chloramine disinfection by-products (DBPs), in particular nitrosamines;Treatment and management of • reverse osmosis concentrate.

Additionally, projects funded through the SEQ Urban Water Security Research Alliance, are focusing on;

Source control: Through • measurement and modelling we are quantifying the contribution of hospitals to the overall micropollutant load in the urban water cycle (see article);Source control: The assessment of • formation potential of nitrosamines in secondary effl uents across S.E. Queensland;Treatment alternatives to membrane • fi ltration such as ozone/biological activated carbon (BAC) fi ltration or BAC processes alone.

The AWMC is also leading a project on risk and health aspects of stormwater within ‘Cities as Water Supply Catchments’, a $13.5 M research program coordinated through Monash University and funded jointly by the National Water Commission, Victoria Smart Water Fund and numerous industry partners.

It all began with the millennium drought. Prior to which, abundant clean water was taken for granted. Then scarce rain in South East Queensland, and across most of the densely populated regions in the country, increased pressure on our water supplies and awareness of the value of water. As a consequence in addition to conservation measures, a diversifi cation of water supply options and the concept of providing water fi t-for-purpose are being gradually implemented across the country.


18


ARE HOSPITALS MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS OF PHARMACEUTICALS TO WASTEWATER?The contribution of hospitals to pharmaceutical loads in wastewater may not be as signifi cant as suspected, according to Dr. Christoph Ort.

In Caboolture, a catchment particularly suited for this type of experimental study, 59 pharmaceutical substances were studied. While this is a case study, these results are transferable to other hospitals as well. In Caboolture there is only one major hospital that treats patients.

We found that for 28 of 30 quantifi able compounds, more than 85% of the residue loads did not originate from the hospital. Seventeen substances registered below 5%, 11 were between 5% and 15%, and only two substances (antibiotics) — trimethoprim (18%) and roxithromycin (56%) — exceeded the 15% level. The remainder of substances did not register above their limit of quantifi cation.

These results obtained in measurement campaigns matched well with predictions based on statistical consumption data showing that on the basis of sound audit data we are able to predict loads in the effl uent even of non-measurable compounds.

Based on this approach we will be able to identify if the best strategy for managing problematic pharmaceuticals is treatment at the source, treatment in a centralised facility, alternative method of disposal or other measures such as a ban of certain substances.

SUCCESSFUL STUDENT PROJECTS

During 2009 the group had several very successful master student projects producing excellent outcomes.

Arseto Bagastyo (The University of • Queensland): Treatment of Reverse Osmosis Concentrates from Recycled Water Christiane Espendiller (FH Köln, • Germany): Advanced treatment of wastewaters by biological activated carbon fi ltration Maxime Rattier (University of Nantes, • France): Infl uence of reverse osmosis membrane ageing on membrane properties and rejection of minerals and organic micropollutants Katrin Doederer (FH Augsburg, • Germany): Kinetic studies on N-nitrosodimethylamine formation during the production of high quality recycled water David Guimera (University of • Barcelona, Spain): Gadolinium - a novel tracer for assessing indirect potable reuse wastewater in downstream communities Christian Germer (FH Köln, • Germany): Determination of the optimal catalyst concentration and optical path length in the presence of competitive light absorption of wastewater and TiO2 photocatalyst in a heterogeneous photocatalytic process

Every one of these talented young water professionals excelled in the research projects and we are pleased that Arseto, Maxime and Katrin decided to continue their studies at the AWMC within the scope of a PhD from 2010.

IWA REUSE09 CONFERENCE IN BRISBANE

In September 2009 an event, truly exciting for water professionals and researchers working on water reuse, took place in Brisbane. The “7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse” was organised by the AWMC in collaboration with the International Water Association and the Australian Water Association. In the fi eld of research on water recycling this was one of the top events worldwide during 2009.

Jurg Keller and John Anderson chaired the Local Organising Committee and Scientifi c Program Committee and all members of the Water Recycling Research Program participated on these committees and in the organisation prior to the event.

At the event almost 390 conference delegates from all over the world engaged in platform and poster presentations, and later on in discussions in a productive and relaxed atmosphere. Multiple networking opportunities arose and it was exciting to make contact, and exchange ideas, with experts from all over the world.

The event itself was a massive success, which would not have been possible without the excellent organisation and the tireless efforts of Dr. Sandra Hall, AWMC’s communication manager and Hayley Galbraith from the Australian Water Association.

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

19


FUNDAMENTAL AND APPLIEDMICROBIALECOLOGY

Microorganisms are ubiquitous, occurring in every habitat on earth, and are responsible for many of the steps in global nutrient cycles. However, only a small fraction have been characterised and to a large extent they remain a biochemical “black box”. At the AWMC, we attempt to understand microorganisms at every level, from genes through to ecosystems, in a wide range of natural and engineered environments. We use cutting-edge molecular tools, as well as more traditional classic microbiological techniques, to gain fundamental knowledge. We collaborate with people in many different fi elds, from engineers and chemists to mathematicians and computer scientists, both within the awmc and internationally.

DETERMINING THE AGGREGATE FORMATION MECHANISM OF AEROBIC GRANULES

Aerobic granular activated sludge is an innovative technology we are adapting for treatment of domestic wastewater. This research is optimising the start-up period of aerobic granular reactors using mixtures of granules and fl occular biomass. Currently there is a poor understanding of the formation of the mature granules. A large washout of fl oc material occurs during the initial selection for aerobic granules as the reactor settling time is decreased. Part of this exciting research is using fl uorescent beads to label the fl ocs and the seed granules, which are then used to seed the laboratory reactor. The fl uorescent bead pattern is monitored to understand the contribution of the seed fl ocs and granules to the formation of the mature granules.

This work has been funded through the Environmental Biotechnology CRC and is a part of a much larger project on aerobic granulation reported on page 14.

UNDERSTANDING THE MICROBIAL DRIVERS OF DENITRIFYING ANAEROBIC METHANE OXIDATION PROCESSDenitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) is a microbially-mediated process with potential applications for wastewater treatment and signifi cant environmental importance as this process infl uences both the carbon and nitrogen cycles on Earth. A relatively simple community of bacteria and archaea have been implicated in DAMO, but recent studies have only focused on the role of the bacterial members of this community. However, several reactors designed and operated at the AWMC to carry out the DAMO process are dominated by the DAMO archaea. We have developed a method to separate single archaea cells from the fl anking microbial community with the ultimate goal of obtaining a genome of this microorganism. This will profoundly increase our understanding of key genes and metabolic pathways involved in DAMO.


Fluorescence in situ hybridisation micrograph of microbial consortia involved in denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation. The large yellow clusters are representatives of a novel archaea phylum and blue cells represent all bacteria.

20


Electron microscopy images of activated sludge showing healthy bacterial cells (a), lysed bacterial cells after virus attack (b) and possible virus particles (c).

VIRUSES IN ACTIVATED SLUDGEViruses are the most numerous biological entities on the planet. We know that bacteria in activated sludge have viruses and these might number 1 × 109 per mL. However, little is known about their interactions with host bacteria and the downstream effects on nutrient removal performance. We demonstrated that viruses can cause a complete collapse in laboratory-scale phosphorus removal. We also saw differences between different sludge types, with granular sludges less able to recover than fl occular sludges following virus attack. Further work to characterise the evolutionary arms race between viruses and their host bacteria is underway.

THE MANY FACES OF THE KEY PHOSPHORUS-ACCUMULATING ORGANISM, Candidatus “Accumulibacter phosphatis”Since its discovery as a phosphorus-accumulating organism a decade ago, we have gathered a wealth of information about Accumulibacter, including many of its metabolic traits, its environmental distribution and its genome sequence. Accumulibacter has been classifi ed into a number of different clades according to variations in the sequence of one of its genes, ppk1. We have demonstrated that different clades of Accumulibacter dominate in well-performing and poorly-performing phosphorus-removal systems. A better knowledge of the physiological differences between different clades will help to achieve more effi cient and reliable phosphorus removal.

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

AWMC’S NEWEST MICROBIOLOGY ACADEMIC – DR GENE TYSONThe AWMC bolstered its academic team in 2009 with the appointment of Senior Research Fellow, Dr Gene Tyson. Gene’s research is centred on an emerging fi eld known as metagenomics. Gene said the metagenomic approach was providing insight into uncultivated microorganisms and helping to discover previously undetected microorganisms. “Microbiology has traditionally been based on pure cultures grown in the laboratory, but most microorganisms cannot be grown in this way,” he said. “Metagenomics allows us to study microbes in their natural environments and provides a relatively unbiased view of the community structure and also of the functional potential of the microorganisms in that community.”

A UQ Science graduate, Gene joins the AWMC having completed his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley and conducting postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Since joining the AWMC Dr Tyson has played a part in securing more thanAUD$ 2 Million in funding including a prestigious QEII Fellowship for himself.

21


THE AWMCTEAM

AWMC ADVISORY BOARD

Prof Graham Schaffer, ChairExecutive Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology, The University of Queensland

Adjunct Prof Shaun CoxManaging Director, South East Water

Dr David GarmanExecutive Director, Environmental Biotechnology CRC and President of the International Water Association

Prof Peter GrayDirector, Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland

Dr Hung NguyenManaging Director, MCQ Management

Mr Mark PascoeChief Executive, International Water Centre

ADJUNCT APPOINTMENTS

Adjunct Professor Jon BlackCEO of Moreton Bay Regional Council Water Business (known as Unity Water from 2010)

Adjunct Professor G. Bill CapatiManager - Infrastructure Planning, Gold Coast Water (known as Allconnex Water from 2010)

Adjunct Professor Shaun CoxManaging Director, South East Water

Adjunct Senior Lecturer Ben FawcettVisiting Lecturer for the International Water Centre

Adjunct Professor Ken HartleyPrincipal, Ken Hartley Pty Ltd

Adjunct Professor Ian LawOwner and Director of IBL Solutions

Honorary Professor Willy VerstraeteHead of the Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology, Ghent University, Belgium

Adjunct Professor Richard Went Director, Gold Coast Water (known as Allconnex Water from 2010)

Honorary Professor Peter WildererDirector, Institute for Advanced Studies on Sustainability, Germany


22


AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

DIRECTORProf Jurg Keller

Biochemical and environmental • engineeringEnvironmental biotechnology•

Dr Phil BondWastewater and environmental • microbiologyMicrobial community function analyses•

DEPUTY DIRECTORProf Zhiguo Yuan

Biological nutrient removal• Process modelling and control• Sewer management• GHG Mitigation•

Dr Wolfgang GernjakWater recycling• Membrane fouling • Advanced oxidation processes• Solar energy for water mining•

Prof Paul LantBiological wastewater treatment• Wastewater and greenhouse gas • interactionsSustainable urban water systems•

Dr Korneel RabaeyMicrobial ecology• Microbial fuel cells• (Bio)electrochemical systems•

A/Prof Damien BatstoneAnaerobic digestion• Instrumentation, modelling, and control• Industrial wastewater treatment•

Dr Gene TysonMicrobial ecology• Metagenomic and transcriptomic • approaches for microbial community characterisationDiversity and evolution•

ACADEMIC STAFF

ACADEMIC SUPPORT AND ADMINISTRATION

Dr Bronwyn LaycockChief Operating Offi cer

Mr Ampon ChumpiaIT and Technical Support

Dr Sandra HallCommunications and Training Manager

Mr Ray RootseySCORe Project Manager

Mrs Wendy MahonCentre Administrator

Mrs Vivienne ClaytonAdministration assistant

Miss Ana EsposoPersonnel and Finance offi cer - Sep 09

Ms Michaela LacknerAdministration assistantOn leave from Aug 09

Mrs Hong LeeAdministration assistant- Sep 09

23



ANALYTICAL RESEARCH AND SERVICES

Dr Beatrice Keller-LehmannAWMC Lab ManagerEnvironmental and water analysis techniques

Ms Kar Man LeungLaboratory AssistantMolecular biology analysis

Ms Jianguang LiLaboratory Assistant

RESEARCH TEAM

Dr Victor AriasResearch Offi cerBioelectrochemical systems

Dr Shelley BrownPostdoctoral Research FellowElectrochemistry

Dr Andrew CookResearch FellowMolecular biology

Dr Maria José FarréPostdoctoral Research FellowPurifi ed recycled water

Ms Shoshana FogelmanResearch Offi cerIntelligent sensors

Dr Oriol GutierrezResearch FellowOdour control in sewer systems

Ms Dang HoResearch AssistantAnaerobic technologies

Dr Paul JensenPostdoctoral Research FellowAnaerobic technologies

Dr Anthony JosephPostdoctoral Research FellowCorrosion control in sewer systems

Mr Joe LaneResearch ScientistLife Cycle Assessment

Dr Michael LawrencePostdoctoral Research FellowPurifi ed recycled water

Dr Yang MuPostdoctoral Research FellowBioelectrochemical Systems

24


AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

Dr Christoph OrtResearch FellowPurifi ed recycled water

Dr Maite PijuanResearch FellowAerobic granular systems

Dr Steven PrattResearch FellowEnvironmental biotechnology

Dr Jelena RadjenovicPostdoctoral Research FellowPurifi ed recycled water

Dr Julien ReungoatPostdoctoral Research FellowWater reuse technologies

Dr René RozendalResearch FellowBioelectrochemical systems

Dr Keshab SharmaResearch FellowProcess modelling

Dr Fran SlaterPostdoctoral Research FellowMicrobial ecology

Dr Gatut SudarjantoPostdoctoral Research FellowOdour control in sewer systems

Dr A. Evren TugtasPostdoctoral Research FellowSewer modelling

Mr Shane WattsSenior Research Offi cerAerobic granular systems

Dr Ursula WernerPostdoctoral Research FellowMicrobial biotransformations

Dr Raymond ZengResearch FellowBiological nutrient removal

Mr Chris CarneyLab Assistant, Feb – Sep 09

Ms Mu ChengResearch Offi cer, Jan – Nov 09

Mr David De HaasProject Researcher, Apr – Sep 09

Mr Shi Hu Hu Research Assistant, Jul – Oct 09

Mr Guangming JiangResearch Assistant, Oct 09 – Mar 10

Mr Phillip KeymerResearch Assistant, May – Jul 09

Mr Hui Jie LimLab Assistant, Dec 09

Mr Yang LuLab Assistant, Jun – Dec 09

Mr Ilje PikaarResearch Offi cer, Mar – Aug 09

Ms Suzanne ReadLab Assistant, Jan – May 09

Ms Ee Hoi TehLab Assistant, Mar – Jun 09

Mr Lishan ZhangResearch Assistant, Jan – Apr 09

CASUAL RESEARCH STAFF

25



POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS

Monica Arcos Hernandez, PhD Student

Production of polyhydroxyalkanoates

Advisors: Prof Paul Lant and Dr Steven Pratt

Chrystelle Ayache, Cotutelle PhD Student

Assessment of the impact of biological pre-treatment on UF and RO fouling and micropollutants rejection

Advisors: Dr Wolfgang Gernjak and Prof Jurg Keller

Arseto Bagastyo, PhD Student

Electro-oxidative treatment of reverse osmosis concentrates

Advisors: Dr Korneel Rabaey, Dr Rene Rozendal, and A/Prof Damien Batstone

Jeremy Barr, PhD Student - EBCRC

Fundamental microbial investigations into extracellular polymeric substances from aerobic granular sludge

Advisors: Dr Phil Bond and Dr Gene Tyson

Barry Cayford, PhD Student

Investigation of microbial biofi lms responsible for sewer corrosion

Advisors: Dr Phil Bond, Prof Jurg Keller and Dr Gene Tyson

Paritam Kumar Dutta, PhD(Completed Dec 09)

Bio-electrochemical removal of aqueous sulfi de

Advisors: Prof Jurg Keller, Prof Zhiguo Yuan and Dr Korneel Rabaey

Jeff Foley, PhD (Completed Dec 09)

Life cycle assessment of biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment systems

Advisors: Prof Paul Lant, Adjunct Prof Ken Hartley and Dr David de Haas

Huoqing Ge, PhD Student - EBCRC

Small-medium scale organic solids stabilisation

Advisors: A/Prof Damien Batstone, Dr Paul Jensen and Dr Phil Bond

Preethi Gopalan, PhD Student

Least cost applications of anaerobic digestion to livestock wastes

Advisor: A/Prof Damien Batstone and Janine Price (Australian Pork Limited)

Shi Hu Hu, PhD Student

Enrichment and understanding of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (DAMO) organisms

Advisors: Prof Zhiguo Yuan, Prof Paul Lant, and Dr Raymond Zeng

Guangming Jiang, PhD Student

Metabolisms of sulfate-reducing bacteria and methanogens in sewers under oxic and anoxic conditions

Advisors: Prof Zhiguo Yuan, Prof Jurg Keller and Dr Keshab Sharma

Angela Johnstone, PhD Student

Extracellular electron transfer in engineered environments - a genomic and proteomic approach

Advisors: Dr Korneel Rabaey and Dr Phil Bond

Natacha Juste-Poinapen, PhD Student

Microbiology and genetics of interspecies electron transfer

Advisors: A/Prof Damien Batstone, Dr Korneel Rabaey and Dr Phil Bond

Steven Kenway, PhD Student

Urban metabolism and the water energy nexus

Advisors: Prof Paul Lant and Prof Tony Priestley (CSIRO)

26


AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

Philip Keymer, PhD Student

Understanding nutrient transformations for algal biodiesel production in wastewater fed systems

Advisors: Prof Paul Lant and Dr Steven Pratt

Ying Yu Law, PhD Student

Understanding fugitive greenhouse gas emission from wastewater systems for reliable accounting and effective mitigation

Advisors: Prof Zhiguo Yuan, Dr Katie DeJong (SKM) and Prof Paul Lant

Yeting Niu, PhD Student

Improvement of the modelling of sulfi de formation in rising main

Advisors: Dr Keshab Sharma and Prof Zhiguo Yuan

Yuting Pan, PhD Student

Understanding and mitigating nitrous oxide emission from wastewater treatment plants

Advisors: Prof Zhiguo Yuan and Dr Maite Pijuan

Hasina Pervin, PhD Student - EBCRC

Microbial community and function analysis during optimisation of small to medium scale organic solid stabilisation

Advisors: Dr Phil Bond and A/Prof Damien Batstone

Ilje Pikaar, PhD Student

Electrochemical abatement of sulfi de

Advisors: Dr Korneel Rabaey, Dr René Rozendal and Prof Jurg Keller

Suzanne Read, PhD Student

Microbial ecology of extracellular electron transfer (EET)

Advisors: Dr Korneel Rabaey, Dr Philip Bond and Prof Jurg Keller

Thomas Seviour, PhD Student - EBCRC

Macromolecular associations in aerobic granular sludge derived EPS

Advisors: Prof Zhiguo Yuan, Dr Maite Pijuan and Prof Jurg Keller

Hoai Tran, PhD Student

Optimal management of corrosion and odour problems in sewer systems

Advisors: Prof Jurg Keller, Dr Phil Bond and Dr Anthony Joseph

Marieska Verawaty, PhD Student - EBCRC

A novel aerobic granular sludge for domestic wastewater treatment system

Advisors: Dr Phil Bond, Prof Zhiguo Yuan and Dr Maite Pijuan

Bernardino Virdis, PhD Student

Nitrogen removal in bioelectrochemical systems

Advisors: Prof Jurg Keller, Dr Korneel Rabaey, Prof Zhiguo Yuan and Dr René Rozendal

Zuhaida Mohd Zaki, PhD Student

Regulation of mixed culture fermentation

Advisors: A/Prof Damien Batstone and Dr Steven Pratt

Lishan Zhang, PhD Student

Understanding the biotransformation processes in a sewer system to achieve optimal management

Advisors: Prof Jurg Keller and Prof Zhiguo Yuan

27



UNDERGRADUATE AND COURSE WORK STUDENTS

Keith ChuaSummer Vacation Project 09/10Characterisation of microbial communities involved in denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation Advisor: Dr Gene Tyson

Christy Grobbler – Completed Jun 09Bachelor of Science (Hon)The identifi cation of the microorganisms responsible for the unique process of anaerobic methane driven denitrifi cation and AnammoxAdvisors: Dr Phil Bond and Dr Andrew Cook

Mohamed (Fauzi) HaroonBachelor of Biotechnology (Hon)Molecular characterisation of microbial communities performing anaerobic methane driven denitrifi cationAdvisor: Dr Gene Tyson

Belinda Hill – Completed Nov 09Bachelor of Science (Hon) Effect of free nitrous acid on nitrous oxide production in denitrifying wastewater sludgeAdvisors: Dr Ursula Werner, Dr Maite Pijuan, Prof Zhiguo Yuan and Dr Phil Bond

Hui Jie LimBachelor of Science (Hon)Dynamics of microbial communities during anaerobic digestion of waste activated sludgeAdvisor: Dr Phil Bond

Yang (Kenn) Lu – Completed Nov 09Bachelor of Biotechnology (Hon)Glucose fermentation for hydrogen productionAdvisors: A/Prof Damien Batstone, Dr Phil Bond, Dr Raymond Zeng and Dr Fran Slater

Lopson Kebapetswe – CompletedNov 09Bachelor of Biotechnology (Hon) Microbiology and matrix composition of brewery biofi lmsAdvisors: Dr Korneel Rabaey and Dr Phil Bond

Andrew Smith – Completed Nov 09Bachelor of Science (Hon) Microbial ecology and EPS analysis of granulationAdvisors: Dr Phil Bond and Dr Maite Pijuan

Jean Moselen – Completed Nov 09Bachelor of Science (Hon)Cathodic behaviour of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in microbial fuel cells: A proteomic investigationAdvisors: Dr Korneel Rabaey and Dr Phil Bond

Guo RenSummer Vacation Project 09/10Usage of new bioproducts in controlling sulfi de production from a sewer laboratory scale systemAdvisor: Dr Oriol Gutierrez

Allan Wong – Completed Nov 09Bachelor of Biotechnology (Hon) Determining the infl uence of microbial community structure within enhanced biological phosphorous removal (EBPR) reactorsAdvisors: Dr Fran Slater and Dr Phil Bond

28


INTERNATIONAL VISITING ACADEMICS

Dr Ricardo Bello-MendozaEl Colegio de la Frontera Sur, MexicoMar 09 – Feb 10

Dr Susan TurnerUniversity of Auckland, New ZealandJul – Nov 09

Dr Peili LuChongqing University, PR ChinaJun 09 – Jun 10

Dr Markus RöhrichtUniversity of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg, GermanyOct 09 – Feb 10

Dr August Bonmati BlasiGIRO CT, Institute of research and food industry, SpainNov 09 – Apr 10

INTERNATIONAL VISITORS

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

Juan Bastidas-Oyanedel, Jun 08 – Jun 09INRA, Universite Montpellier, France

Nicolas Brodu, Apr – Aug 09INSA Lyon, France

Katrin Döderer, May – Nov 09University of Applied Science Augsberg, Germany

Christiane Espendiller, Oct 08 – Mar 09Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany

Christian Germer, Jun 09 – Nov 09University of Applied Science Cologne, Germany

David Guimera, Apr 09 – Nov 09University of Barcelona, Spain

Aurelien Hervo, Apr – Aug 09INSA Lyon, France

Emilie Leone, Apr – Aug 09INSA Lyon, France

Maxime Noyon, Jun 09 – Dec 09Polytechnique Institute of Grenoble, France

Laura Porcu, Apr - Sep 09University of Nottingham, UK

Maxime Rattier, Mar 09 – Nov 09University Institute of Technology of Nates, France

Jinyou Shen, Sep 09 – Feb 10Nanjing University of Science and Technology, PR China

Maria del Mar Vargas, Feb – Jul 09University of Barcelona, Spain

Liu Ye, Sep 08 – Sep 09Beijing University of Technology, China

INTERNATIONAL VISITING STUDENTS

“The AWMC offers a lot of possibilities and interesting topics in water and wastewater research in a small team of specialists. I really like to work here and I will miss the people when I have to leave.” - Christian Germer

“I came to the AWMC because it is internationally recognised as a focal point of leading edge research in the water and wastewater sector.” - Susan Turner

29


FINANCIAL REPORT


INCOME FOR 2009University Income University Allocation (Postgraduate Supervision plus Research Quantum) $ 237,290 Postgraduate Tuition Fee Income $ 40,635 Major Equipment and Infrastructure Grant $ 185,000 UQ Research Start Up Fund $ 65,890 UQ Early Career Research Grants $ 55,800 UQ External Support Enabling Grants $ 63,890 Other internal income and transfers $ 5,161 $ 653,667

Salary Support UQ Salary Support and Teaching Income $ 456,796 Water Recycling Research Program (UQ Strategic Support) $ 150,000 EBCRC Project Staff $ 154,093 ARC Project and Smart State Fellowships $ 420,719 Industry Partner Fellowship Support $ 45,000 $ 1,226,608 Scholarship Support UQ Scholarships Support $ 63,872 Commonwealth Scholarships - APA/APAI/ARC $ 297,975 Environmental Biotechnology CRC Scholarships $ 48,518 Smart State Scholarships $ 9,990 External Scholarships $ 94,078 $ 514,432 Grants and Collaborative Research (excluding Salaries & Scholarships) ARC Discovery Grants $ 934,523 ARC Linkage Grants $ 1,388,550 ARC Linkage - Industry Partner Contributions $ 1,070,000 SEQ Urban Water Security Research Alliance $ 483,999 DIISR ISL Grants $ 450,000 QLD Government Smart State Program $ 487,216 Veolia Water - Water Recycling Research Program $ 225,000 Grains R&D Corporation Funding $ 144,492 EBCRC research projects $ 68,608 Consultancy Income $ 682,338 $ 5,934,726 Total income $ 8,329,433

EXPENDITURE Expenses 2007 2008 2009Consumables $ 1,133,446 $ 2,236,232 $ 1,416,665Travel $ 232,266 $ 273,370 $ 419,339Academic and Research Salaries $ 1,779,285 $ 2,821,922 $ 3,258,602General Salaries $ 315,782 $ 393,016 $ 493,345Scholarships $ 243,746 $ 218,343 $ 614,043Equipment $ 147,671 $ 288,250 $ 549,472Appointment Expenses $ 18,313 $ 47,127 $ 62,987Payments to collaborative partners $ 671,785Total Expenditure $ 3,870,509 $ 6,278,260 $ 7,486,238

OPERATING RESULT $ 843,195(including existing commitments to ongoing research projects)

30


2009 ACTIVE RESEARCH GRANTS

GRANT TITLE DURATION CHIEF INVESTIGATORS FUNDING

Novel concept for wastewater treatment with integrated power production based on microbial fuel cells

2006-2010 Jurg Keller, Zhiguo Yuan and Willy Verstraete (Uni Ghent, Belgium)

ARC DiscoveryAustralian Professorial Fellowship (Keller)

Anaerobic digestion process scientifi c support 2006 - 2010 Damien Batstone Gold Coast WaterBrisbane Water

Metagenomics and the genetic basis of ecology and evolution of communities-complex microbial communities in industrial processes as excellent paradigms

2007 - 2009 Phil Bond and Craig Johnson (U. Tasmania)

ARC Discovery

Advanced stability sensor for anaerobic digestion processes 2007 - 2009 Damien Batstone and Jurg Keller

ARC Linkage: Brisbane Water and Gold Coast City Council

NEPTUNE - Novel technology to produce biodegradable polymer and electrical energy from sewage treatment biosolids

2007-2010 Paul Lant, Jurg Keller and Damien Batstone

DEST International Science Linkages/ EU Project Neptune

SEQ Urban Water Security Research Alliance - Purifi ed recycled water 2007-2010 Jurg Keller Queensland Government

SEQ Urban Water Security Research Alliance - Life cycle analysis and integrated modelling

2007-2010 Jurg Keller and Paul Lant Queensland Government

SEQ Urban Water Security Research Alliance - Enhanced treatment 2007-2010 Jurg Keller Queensland Government

Advanced aerobic granulation - Project 4.22 2007-2010 Maite Pijuan, Zhiguo Yuan and Jurg Keller

Environmental Biotechnology CRC

INNOWATECH - Novel microbial technologies for improved treatment of industrial wastewater

2007-2011 Jurg Keller and Phil Bond DEST International Science Linkages/EU Project Innowatech

Hydrogen production from wastewater beyond the fermentation barrier 2008 - 2009 René Rozendal UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund

Fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater systems 2008 - 2009 Paul Lant and Jeff Foley Water Services Association of Australia Limited

Development and sensitivity testing of anaerobic biodegradability, activity and inhibition

2008 - 2009 Paul Jensen UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund

Development of a molecular fi ngerprinting tool for diagnosing wastewa-ter-treatment system health

2008 - 2009 Frances Slater UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund

Metabolic regulation of mixed-culture fermentation 2008 - 2009 Damien Batstone UQ External Support Enabling Grant

SEQ Urban Water Security Research Alliance - NDMA formation potential

2008-2010 Jurg Keller Queensland Government

Novel aerobic granular sludge process for optimal wastewater treatment 2009 - 2012 Phil Bond Queensland Government Smart State Fellowships (Bond)

Least cost applications of anaerobic digestion in agriculture - Methane to markets scheme

2008 - 2011 Damien Batstone Australian Pork Limited, Meat and Livestock Australia, Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

Extracellular electron transfer in bio-electrochemical systems 2008 - 2011 Korneel Rabaey, Phil Bond, Kenneth Nealson (J. Craig Venter Institute), and Nico Boon (Univ. Ghent, Belgium)

ARC DiscoveryAustralian Postdoctoral Fellowship (Rabaey)

Next generation solids stabilisation 2008 - 2011 Damien Batstone and Phil Bond Queensland Government Smart State Research Industry Partnerships Program

Water recycling research program 2008 - 2012 Jurg Keller Veolia Water AustraliaWaterSecure The University of Queensland

Optimal management of corrosion and odour problems in sewer systems

2008-2012 Zhiguo Yuan, Jurg Keller, Phil Bond, and others from Partner Organisations

ARC Linkage: 16 Partners

The competition between polyphosphate accumulating organisms and glycogen accumulating organisms in the enhanced biological phosphorus removal process; effect of nitrite and starvation conditions

2009 Maite Pijuan UQ Early Career Research Grant Scheme

31


AIBN - Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology; ARC - Australian Research Council; CRC - Cooperative Research Centre; DEST - Department of Education Science and Training which is now referred to as DIISR - Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research; EnTox - National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology; GRDC - Grains Research and Development Corporation; NDMA - N-Nitrosodimethylamine; QHFSS - Queensland Health Forensic and Scientifi c Services; SEQ - South East Queensland; UQ - The University of Queensland

GRANT TITLE DURATION CHIEF INVESTIGATORS FUNDING

Novel cathode system for the bioelectrochemical production of value-added chemicals from wastewater

2009 Rene Rozendal UQ Early Career Research Grant Scheme

A novel laboratory-scale bioelectrochemical system for current and pH distribution measurements - First step towards validating a 2D physics-based model

2009 Shelley Brown UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund

Iron catalysis of N-Nitrosodimethylamine formation in purifi ed recycled water

2009 Maria Jose Farre UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund

Solar photocatalytic treatment of hospital wastewater 2009 Wolfgang Gernjak UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund

Water quality and environmental analysis facility 2009 Jurg Keller UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure funds

Control of a bioelectrochemical system using pulse width modulation 2009 Rene Rozendal Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute Industry Internship Program

Review of waste to energy processes for the chicken industry 2009 - 2010 Damien Batstone FSA Consulting

Fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater collection, treatment and receiving systems

2009 - 2010 Zhiguo Yuan and Jurg Keller UQ First Link Fund

A novel method for sulfur recovery from paper industry wastewater 2009 - 2010 Korneel Rabaey, Rene Rozendal and Jurg Keller

UQ First Link Fund

Characterising phage-host dynamics in wastewater communities 2009 - 2010 Gene Tyson UQ New Staff Research Start-Up Fund

Coupling of biological activated carbon fi ltration and membrane processes to generate high quality recycled water with low energy consumption

2009 - 2010 Wolfgang Gernjak and Julien Reungoat

UQ First Link Fund

Production of algal biofuel: a multi-benefi t solution for managing coal seam gas water

2009 - 2010 Steve Pratt, Damien Batstone and Paul Lant

UQ First Link Fund

Understanding and control of methane formation and emission from wastewater collection systems

2009 - 2010 Zhiguo Yuan, Keshab Sharma and Jurg Keller

UQ First Link Fund

Recovery of phosphate and iron from chemical precipitation sludge in water recycling processes

2009 - 2010 Zhiguo Yuan and Jurg Keller UQ First Link Fund

Understanding fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater systems

2009 - 2011 Zhiguo Yuan and Paul Lant ARC Discovery

Biotransformation and biodegradation of organic nitrogen compounds from wastewater in bio-electrochemical systems

2009 - 2011 Yang Mu and Jurg Keller ARC DiscoveryAustralian Postdoctoral Fellowship (Mu)

Fertiliser from waste, Phase 1 2009 - 2011 Damien Batstone and FSA Consulting

GRDC

ANAMIX: A two year exchange programme on anaerobic mixed cultures to study and improve biological generation of chemicals and energy carriers from organic residues generated by agro-industrial activity

2009 - 2011 Damien Batstone Australian Academy of Science

Electrochemical treatment of problematic water recycle waste streams 2009 - 2012 Korneel Rabaey, Yang Mu, Rene Rozendal, Damien Batstone, Jurg Keller, Jochen Mueller (EnTox), Wolfgang Gernjak, Yvan Poussade (Veolia) and Benjamin Tan (QHFSS)

ARC Linkage: Veolia Water Australia, Magneto Special Anodes, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientifi c Services

Production of PHA bioplastics from organic waste 2009 - 2012 Paul Lant, Steven Pratt, Alan Werker (Anox Kaldnes) and Peter Halley (AIBN, UQ)

ARC Linkage: AnoxKaldnes Biopolymer, Veolia

Understanding and mitigating nitrous oxide emission from wastewater treatment plants

2009 - 2012 Zhiguo Yuan ARC Linkage: Water Corp

Interspecies electron transfer in biotechnology 2009 - 2013 Damien Batstone, Korneel Rabaey, Cristian Picioreanu (TU Delft, The Netherlands) and Alfons Stams (Wageningen Uni., The Netherlands)

ARC DiscoveryAustralian Research Fellowship (Batstone)

32


ARC Discovery The only constant is change: ecology and evolution of phage-host interactions in a model ecosystem, Gene Tyson and Phil Hugenholtz (Joint Genome Institute), includes a QEII Fellowship (Tyson), 2010 - 2014.

UQ Foundation Research Excellence Awards – Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) FundingBioelectrochemical systems for the production of butanol from waste organics for renewable power, Korneel Rabaey, 2010.

ARC Linkage Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from South East Queensland waterways and infl uence of wastewater discharges, Zhiguo Yuan and Jurg Keller with SEQ Water and SEQ Healthy Waterways Partnership, 2010 – 2012.

UQ Early Career Research Grant Scheme

Algae derived biodiesel using • wastewater as the growth media, Steven Pratt, 2010Understanding the competition • between sulfate reducing bacteria and methane producing archae in aerobic sewer biofi lms, Keshab Sharma, 2010

Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering GrantTransformation and distribution of fossil carbon in wastewater treatment pathway, from input to discharge (administered through Chemical Engineering), Paul Lant, 2010.

CSIRO Flagships CollaborationBiotechnological solutions to Australia’s transport energy and greenhouse gas challenges (UQ node), Korneel Rabaey and Gene Tyson, 2010 - 2013.

UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure Grant 2010A facility to characterise disinfection byproducts and dissolved organic matter in potable water and potable water sources, Jurg Keller, 2010.

DIISR - ISL French-Australian Science and Technology ProgramOptimisation of biological pretreatment to limit microfi ltration/ultrafi ltration and reverse osmosis fouling and maximise retention of organic contaminants, Jurg Keller and Wolfgang Gernjak, 2010 - 2011.

Cities as Water Catchments Research ProgramFunded by National Water Commission, Victoria Smart Water Fund and Industry Partners. Risk and health aspects of stormwater, Wolfgang Gernjak with Monash University.

Australian Water Recycling Centre of ExcellenceBeginning in 2010 the AWMC, through The University of Queensland, is a major partner in this $20 Million centre funded by the Australian Government’s Water for the Future initiative.

UQ Postdoctoral FellowshipsDr Rene Rozendal and Dr Florent Angly (previously of San Diego State University) were awarded highly competitive UQ Postdoctoral Fellowships, 2010 - 2012.

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

2010 RESEARCH AND INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING SUCCESS

33


2009 PUBLICATIONS


Theses

The following theses of AWMC enrolled students were conferred in 2009. Submission year is bracketed.

Bagastyo, A. (2008) Treatment of Reverse Osmosis Concentrates from Recycled Water, MSc

Dutta, P. (2009) Bioelectrochemical Removal of Aqueous Sulfi de, PhD

Foley, J. (2009) Life Cycle Assessment of Wastewater Treatment Systems, PhD

Peer Reviewed Publications

Babalola, O.O., Kirby, B.M., Le Roes-Hill,M., Cook, A.E., Cary, C., Burton, S.G., and Cowan D.A. (2009) Phylogenetic analysis of actinobacterial populations associated with Antarctic Dry Valley mineral soils, Environmental Microbiology, 11(3): 566-576

Batstone, D.J. (2009) Towards a generalised physicochemical modelling framework, Environmental Science and Biotechnology, 8: 113-114

Batstone, D.J., Tait, S., and Starrenburg, D. (2009) Estimation of hydrolysis parameters in full-scale anaerobic digesters, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 102(5): 1513-1520

Blanco, J., Malato, S., Fernández-Ibañez, P., Alarcón, D., Gernjak, W., and Maldonado, M.I. (2009) Review of feasible solar energy applications to water processes, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 13: 1437-1445

Dutta, P. K., Keller, J., Yuan, Z., Rozendal, R.A., and Rabaey, K. (2009) The role of sulfur during acetate oxidation in biological anodes, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(10): 3838-3845

Dutta, P.K., Rozendal, R.A., Yuan. Z., Rabaey, K., and Keller, J. (2009) Electrochemical regeneration of sulfur loaded electrodes, Electrochemistry Communications, 11(7): 1437-1440

Escher, B.I., Bramaz, N., and Ort, C. (2009) Monitoring the treatment effi ciency of a full scale ozonation on a sewage treatment plant with a mode-of-action based test battery, Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 11(10): 1836-1846

Foley, J., and Lant, P. (2009) Regional normalisation fi gures for Australia 2005/06 – inventory and characterisation data from a production perspective, International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 14(3): 215-224

Foley, J., Yuan, Z., and Lant, P. (2009) Dissolved methane in rising main sewer systems: fi eld measurements and simple model development for estimating greenhouse gas emissions, Water Science and Technology, 60(11): 2963-2971

Freguia, S., Teh, E.H., Boon, N., Leung, K.M., Keller, J., and Rabaey, K. (2009) Microbial fuel cells operating on mixed fatty acids, Bioresource Technology, 101(3): 1233-1238

Gapes, D., and Keller, J. (2009) Impact of oxygen mass transfer on nitrifi cation reactions in suspended carrier reactor biofi lms, Process Biochemistry, 44(1): 43-53

Ginige, M.P., Bowyer, J.C., Foley, L., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) A comparative study of methanol as a supplementary carbon source for enhancing denitrifi cation in primary and secondary anoxic zones, Biodegradation, 20(2): 221-234

Guisasola, A., Sharma, K. R., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Development of a model for assessing methane formation in rising main sewers, Water Research, 43(11): 2874-2884

Gutierrez, O., Park, D., Sharma, K.R., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Effects of long-term pH elevation on the sulfate-reducing and methanogenic activities of anaerobic sewer biofi lms, Water Research, 43(9): 2549-2557

Hollender, J., Zimmermann, S.G., Koepke, S., Krauss, M., McArdell, C.S., Ort, C., Singer, H., von Gunten, U., and Siegrist, H.R. (2009) Elimination of organic micropollutants in a municipal wastewater treatment plant upgraded with a full-scale post-ozonation followed by sand fi ltration, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(20): 7862-7869

Hou, H., Wang, S., Peng, Y., Yuan, Z., Yin, F., and Gan, W. (2009) Anoxic phosphorus removal in a pilot scale anaerobic-anoxic oxidation ditch process, Frontiers of Environmental Science and Engineering in China, 3(1): 106-111

Hu, S., Zeng, R.J., Burow, L.C., Lant, P., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Enrichment of denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidizing microorganisms, Environmental Microbiology Reports, 1(5): 377-384

Jensen, P.D., Hardin, M.T., and Clarke, W.P. (2009) Effect of initial biomass on cellulose hydrolysis by leachate communities, International Journal Environment and Waste Management, 3(3): 205-213

Jensen, P.D., Hardin, M.T., and Clarke, W.P. (2009) Effect of biomass concentration and inoculum source on the rate of anaerobic cellulose solubilization, Bioresource Technology, 100(21): 5219-5225

Jiang, G., Sharma, K. R., Guisasola, A., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Sulfur transformation in rising main sewers receiving nitrate dosage, Water Research, 43(17): 4430-4440

Kenway, S.J., Maheepala, S., Howe, C., Kelly, T., and Davis, C. (2009) Triple bottom line reporting and management for improving utility performance, Water Utility Management International, 4(2): 21-22

Kenway, S.J., McCafferty, P., and Pamminger, F. (2009) How can the Triple Bottom Line deliver greater value to water utilities, Water Utility Management International, 4(2): 23-24

Kenway, S.J., Priestley, A.J., Cook, S., Seo, S., Inman, M., Gregory, A., and Hall, M. (2009) Reducing emissions in the water industry, Water Engineering Australia, July 2009: 33

Klamerth, N., Gernjak, W., Malato, S., Agüera, A., and Lendl, B. (2009) Photo-fenton decomposition of chlorfenvinphos. Determination of reaction pathway, Water Research, 43(2): 441-449

Krauss, M., Longrée, P., Dorusch, F., Ort, C., and Hollender, J. (2009) Occurrence and removal of N-nitrosamines in wastewater treatment plants, Water Research, 43(17): 4381-4391

Lavallée, B., Frigon, D, Lessard, P., Vanrolleghem, P.A., Yuan, Z., and van Loosdrecht, M. C. M. (2009) Modelling using rRNA-structured biomass models, Water Science and Technology, 59(4): 661-671

Lawrence, M.G., and Ort, C. (2009) Speciation analysis of gadolinium chelates in hospital effl uents and wastewater treatment plant sewage by a Novel HILIC/ICP-MS Method, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(14): 5547-5548

Lawrence, M.G., Ort, C., and Keller, J. (2009) Detection of gadolinium in treated wastewater in South East Queensland, Australia, Water Research, 43(14): 3534-3540

Lemaire, R., Yuan, Z., Bernet, N., Marcelino M., Yilmaz, G., and Keller, J. (2009) A sequencing batch reactor system for biological nitrogen and phosphorus removal from abattoir wastewater, Biodegradation, 20(3): 339-350

Lopez-Vazquez, C. M., Oehmen, A., Hooijmans, C. M., Bradjanovic, D., Gijzen, H. J. Yuan, Z., and van Loosdrecht, M. C. M. (2009) Modeling the PAO-GAO competition: effects of carbon source, pH and temperature, Water Research, 43(2): 450-462

Ma, Y., Peng, Y., Wang, Y., Yuan, Z., and Wang, X. (2009) Achieving nitrogen removal via nitrite in a pilot-scale continuous pre-denitrifi cation plant, Water Research, 43(3): 563-572

Macova, M., Escher, B., Reungoat, J., Carswell, S., Chue, K.L., Keller, J., and Mueller, J.F. (2009) Monitoring the biological activity of micropollutants during advanced wastewater treatment with ozonation and activated carbon fi ltration, Water Research, Online Sept 09

Malato, S., Fernández-Ibáñez, P., Maldonado, M.I., Blanco, J., and Gernjak, W. (2009) Decontamination and disinfection of water by solar photocatalysis. Recent overview and trends, Catalysis Today, 147(1): 1-59

34


AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

Martinez, A., Tyson, G.W., and DeLong, E. (2009) Widespread known and novel phosphonate utilization pathways in marine bacteria revealed by functional screening and metagenomic analyses, Environmental Microbiology, E.pub

Mohanakrishnan, J., Gutierrez, O., Sharma, K.R., Guisasola, A., Werner, U., Meyer, R.L., Keller, J., and Yuan Z. (2009) Impact of nitrate addition on biofi lm properties and activities in rising main sewers, Water Research, 43(17): 4225-4237

Mohanakrishnan, J., Sharma, K. R., Meyer, R. L., Hamilton, G., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Variation in biofi lm structure and activity along the length of a rising main sewer, Water Environment Research, 81(8): 800-808

Mu, Y., Rabaey, K., Rozendal, R.A., Yuan, Z., and Keller, J. (2009) Decolorization of azo dyes in bioelectrochemical systems, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(13): 5137-5143

Mu, Y., Rozendal, R.A., Rabaey, K., and Keller, J. (2009) Nitrobenzene removal in bioelectrochemical systems, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(22): 8690-8695

Nopens, I., Batstone, D.J., Copp, J., Jeppsson, U., Volke, E., Alex, J., and Vanrolleghem, P.A. (2009) An ASM/ADM model interface for dynamic plant-wide simulation, Water Research, 43(7): 1913-1923

Ort, C., and Siegrist, H.R. (2009) Assessing wastewater dilution in small rivers with high resolution conductivity probes, Water Science and Technology, 59(8): 1593-1601

Ort, C., Hollender, J., Schaerer, M., and Siegrist, H.R. (2009) Model-based evaluation of reduction strategies for micropollutants from wastewater treatment plants in complex river networks, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(9): 3214-3220

Ort, C., Lawrence, M.G., Reungoat, J., Eaglesham, G., Carter, S. and Keller, J. (2010) Determining the fraction of pharmaceutical residues in wastewater originating from a hospital. Water Research 44(2), 605-615.

Pijuan, M., Casas, C., and Baeza, J.A. (2009) Polyhydroxyalkanoate synthesis using different carbon sources by two enhanced biological phosphorus removal microbial communities, Process Biochemistry, 44(1): 97-105

Pijuan, M., Werner, U., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Effect of long term anaerobic an intermittent anaerobic/aerobic starvation on aerobic granules, Water Research, 43(14): 3622-3632

Powell, N., Shilton, A., Chisti, Y., and Pratt, S. (2009) Towards a luxury uptake process via microalgae - Defi ning the polyphosphate dynamics, Water Research, 43(17): 4207-4213

Reungoat, J., Macova, M., Escher, B., Carswell, S., Mueller, J.F., and Keller, J. (2009) Removal of micropollutants and reduction of biological activity in a full scale reclamation plant using ozonation and activated carbon fi ltration, Water Research, Online Oct

Rozendal, R. A., Leone, E., Keller, J., and Rabaey, K. (2009) Effi cient hydrogen peroxide generation from organic matter in a bioelectrochemical system, Electrochemistry Communications, 11(9): 1752-1755

Seviour, T., Pijuan, M., Nicholson, T., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Gel-forming exopolysaccharides explain basic differences between structures of aerobic sludge granules and fl occular sludges, Water Research, 43(18): 4469-4478

Seviour, T., Pijuan, M., Nicholson, T., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Understanding the properties of aerobic sludge granules as hydrogels, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, 102(5): 1483-1493

Shi, Y., Tyson, G.W., and DeLong, E. (2009) Microbial community transcriptomes provide new perspective on naturally occurring small RNAs, Nature, 459: 266-269

Sirtori, C., Zapata, A., Malato, S., Gernjak, W., Fernández-Alba, A.R., and Agüera, A. (2009) Solar photocatalytic treatment of quinolones: intermediates and toxicity evaluation, Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences, 8(5): 644-651

Sirtori, C., Zapata, A., Oller, I., Gernjak, W., Agüera, A., and Malato, S. (2009) Decontamination industrial pharmaceutical wastewater by combining solar photo-fenton and biological treatment, Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences, 43(3): 661-668

Sirtori, C., Zapata, A., Oller, I., Gernjak, W., Agüera, A., and Malato, S. (2009) Solar photo-fenton as fi nishing step for biological treatment of a pharmaceutical wastewater, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(4): 1185-1191

Sleutels, T.H.J.A., Hamelers, H.V.M., Rozendal, R.A., and Buisman, C.J.N. (2009) Ion transport resistance in microbial electrolysis cells with anion and cation exchange membranes, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 34(9): 3612-3620

Tait, S., Clarke, W.P., Keller, J., and Batstone, D.J. (2009) Removal of sulfate from high-strength wastewater by crystallisation, Water Research, 43(3): 762-772

Tait, S., Tamis, J., Edgerton, B., and Batstone, D.J. (2009) Anaerobic digestion of spent bedding from deep litter piggery housing, Bioresource Technology, 100(7): 2210-2218

van Loosdrecht, M. C. M., Oehmen, A., Hooijmans, C. M., Brdjanovic, D., Gijzen, H. J. Yuan, Z., and Lopez-Vazquez, C. M. (2009) Response to the Comment on “Modelling the PAO-GAO competition: Effects of carbon source, pH and temperature” by Dwight Houweling et al., Water Research, 43(11): 2950-2951

Virdis, B., Rabaey, K., Yuan, Z., Rozendal, R.A., and J, Keller. (2009) Electron fl uxes in a microbial fuel cell performing carbon and nitrogen removal, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(13): 5144-5149

Weissbrodt, D., Kovalova, L., Pazhepurackel, V., Ort, C., Moser, R., Hollender, J., Siegrist, H.R., and McArdell, C.S. (2009) Mass fl ows of pharmaceuticals in hospital wastewater, Environmental Science and Technology, 43(13): 4810-4817

Wexler, M., Richardson, D.J., and Bond, P.L. (2009) Radiolabelled proteomics to determine differential functioning of Accumulibacter during the anaerobic and aerobic phases of a bioreactor operating for enhanced biological phosphorus removal, Environmental Microbiology, 11(12): 3029-3044

Wilmes, P., and Bond, P.L. (2009) Microbial community proteomics: elucidating the catalysts and metabolic mechanisms that drive the Earth’s biogeochemical cycles, Current Opinion in Microbiology, 12(3): 310-317

Ye, L., Tang, B., Zhao, K., Pijuan, M., and Peng, Y.Z. (2009) Nitrogen removal via nitrite in domestic wastewater treatment using combined salt inhibition and on-line process control, Water Science and Technology, 60(6): 1633-1639

Zhang, L., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Inhibition of sulfate-reducing and methanogenic activities of anaerobic sewer biofi lms by ferric iron dosing, Water Research, 43(17): 4123-4132

Zhou, Y., Pijuan, M., Zeng, R., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Involvement of the TCA cycle in the anaerobic metabolism of poly-phosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs), Water Research, 43(5): 1330-1340

Non-refereed Articles

Foley, J., and Lant, P. (2009) Direct methane and nitrous oxide emissions from full-scale wastewater treatment systems, Water Services Association of Australia Occasional Report, 24

Lawrence, M.G., Bagastyo, A,. Farre, M.J., Gernjak, W., Ort, C., and Reungoat, J. (2009) The recycled water research programme at UQ’s AWMC, Water Talk - Queensland Branch Newsletter, March 2009

Gälli, R., Schmid-Kleikemper, J., Ort, C., and Schärer, M. (2009) Micropollutants in surface waters - assessment and reduction of the pollution from urban drainage (in German), BAFU Umwelt-Wissen, 17

35



Abegglen, C., Rosenstiel, R., Ort, C., and Schaerer, M. (2009) Advanced treatment for the elimination of organic micropollutants in municipal wastewater treatment plants - Options and costs (in German), Korrespondenz Abwasser, Abfall, 56 (6)

Rabaey, K. (2009) From wastewater treatment to biorefi ning, Microbiology Australia, May 2009: 87-89

Lawrence, M.G., Reungoat, J., Farré Olalla, M.J., Ort, C., Gernjak, W., Mueller, J.F., and Keller, J. (2009) Do organic micropollutants pose a real risk in recycled water in South East Queensland?, International Water Association - Water Reclamation and Reuse Specialist Group Newsletter

Conference papers

Bagastyo, A.Y., Keller, J., and Batstone, D.J. (2009) Ultrafi ltration fractionation method to characterise removed organics of treated reverse osmosis concentrates by ferric chloride, 6th IWA Leading Edge Technology Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies Proceedings, June 23-25, Singapore

Barr, J.J., Slater, F., Cook, A.E., Fukushima,T., and Bond, P.L. (2009) Accumulibacter Specifi c Bacteriophage Attack on Floccular and Granular Sludges, 5th IWA Specialised Conference on Microbial Population Dynamics in Biological Wastewater Treatment, May 24-27, Aalborg, Denmark

Barr, J.J., Slater, F., Cook, A.E., Fukushima,T., and Bond, P.L. (2009) Accumulibacter Specifi c Bacteriophage Attack on Floccular and Granular Sludges, Annual Scientifi c Meeting and Exhibition of the Australian Society of Microbiology, July 6-10, Perth, Australia

Barr, J.J., Slater, F., Cook, A.E., Fukushima,T., and Bond, P.L. (2009) Accumulibacter Specifi c Bacteriophage Attack on Floccular and Granular Sludges, Microbiology in the Mountains Annual ASM-Q Conference, November 21, Maleny, Australia

Bond, P.L., Wilmes, P., and Wexler, M. (2009) Proteomics provides detailed insight into microbial function in mixed culture activated sludge performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal, 5th IWA Specialised Conference on Microbial Population Dynamics in Biological Wastewater Treatment, May 24-27, Aalborg, Denmark

Cook, A.E., Barr, J.J., Fukushima, T., McMahon, T., and Bond, P.L. (2009) A transcriptomic and proteomic investigation: the changes in gene expression between a fl occular and granular EBPR sludge system, 5th IWA Specialised Conference on Microbial Population Dynamics in Biological Wastewater Treatment, May 24-27, Aalborg, Denmark

Corrie, S., Johnson, I., Neethling, A., Dexter, R., O’Halloran, K., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Assessment of Gold Coast Water sulfi de control strategies using continuous online monitoring, 10th IWA Conference on Instrumentation, Control and Automation, June 14-17, Cairns, Australia

Daniells, P., Kenway, S.J., and McBean, K. (2009) Why good water accounting is critical to economic decisions, modelling and sustainable management of water, Urban Water Security Research Alliance Forum, August 17-18, Brisbane, Australia

de Haas, D., Foley, J., and Lant, P. (2009) Energy and greenhouse footprints of wastewater treatment plants in south-east Queensland, Australian Water Association Ozwater Convention and Exhibition, March 16-18, Melbourne, Australia

Farre Olalla, M., Keller, J., Holling, N., and Gernjak, W. (2009) Evaluation of the NDMA potential of water sources for purifi ed recycled water in South East Queensland, 7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse, September 20-25, Brisbane, Australia

Farre Olalla, M., Keller, J., Holling, N., Poussade, Y., and Gernjak, W. (2009) NDMA formation potential along the purifi ed recycled water process, Gordon Research Conference on Drinking Water Disinfection By-Products, August 9-14, South Hadley, USA

Foley, J., de Haas, D., Fuller, B., Lovell, A., and Lant, P. (2009) Direct methane and nitrous oxide emissions from full-scale wastewater treatment systems, 6th IWA Leading Edge Technology Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies, June 23-25, Singapore

Gapes, D., McGrouther, K., Lei, R., Strong, J., Anderson, S., Pratt, S., and Brian, K. (2009) TOGA MIMS - a unique tool for bio/chemical reaction analysis, IWA Conference on Water and Industry, November 30-December 2, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Gopalan,P., Jensen, P.D., and Batstone, D.J. (2009) Variation in the methane potential of waste from different production stages of swine, Bioenergy Australia 2009 Conference, December 8-10, Gold Coast, Australia

Gutierrez, O., Park, D., Sharma, K. R., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Iron salts dosage for sulfi de control in sewers enhances phosphorus removal in treatment plants, 2nd IWA Specialized Conference Nutrient Management in Wastewater Treatment Processes, September 6-9, Krakow, Poland

Gutierrez, O., Sutherland-Stacey, L., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Simultaneous online measurement of sulfi de and nitrate in sewers for nitrate dosage optimisation, 10th IWA Conference on Instrumentation, Control and Automation, June 15-17, Cairns, Australia

Hall S.J. (2009) Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) - At the cutting edge of water, Department of Environment and Resource Management, Water Educators Workshop, 27-28 April 2009, Brisbane, Australia

Keller, J., and Kenway, S.J. (2009) Energy use for water recycling in the context of the urban water cycle, 7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse, September 20-25, Brisbane, Australia

Kenway, S.J. (2009) Learnings from two recent water-energy nexus modelling analysis in Australia, AMSI/MASCOS/UNESCO Water Energy Futures Modelling Conference, July 21, Brisbane, Australia

Kenway, S.J. (2009) Indirect energy impacts of urban water choices, 12th International Riversymposium, water-energy nexus workshop, September 21, Brisbane, Australia

Kenway, S.J. (2009) Energy use in urban water provision and use - opportunities to move beyond carbon neutrality, Australian Water Summit, April 3, Sydney, Australia

Kenway, S.J. (2009) The Triple Bottom Line. A tool for sustainable utility performance, Cincinnati Metropolitan Water Sewer District Management Team Workshop, April 8, Cincinatti, USA

Kenway, S.J. (2009) The interconnection between water and energy in Australian Cities, California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, Water Utilities Board, California EPA and California Water Association, April 6, Sacramento, USA

Kenway, S.J. (2009) Urban water sustainability in South East Queensland, AISEC Water Solutions Forum, March 7, Brisbane, Australia

Kenway, S.J. (2009) The Water-Energy Nexus: what is it and how do we break it in Australian Cities?, Institute of Engineers, May 26, Sydney, Australia

Kenway, S.J., Lant, P., and Priestley, A . (2009) Infl uence of urban water choices on energy use - who’s responsibility is it? Water and Energy 2009, October 29-31, Copenhagen, Denmark

Kenway, S.J., Priestley, A., and Lant, P. (2009) Energy use in urban water in Australia - opportunity to move beyond carbon neutrality, Water and Energy 2009, October 29-31, Copenhagen, Denmark

Kenway, S.J., Priestley, A.J., Cook, S., Inman, M., Hall, M., and Gregory, A. (2009) Energy use in urban water provision and use - opportunities to move beyond carbon neutrality, Australian Water Association Ozwater Convention and Exhibition, March 16-18, Melbourne, Australia

36


AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

Lawrence, M.G. (2009) Anthropogenic Gd as a tracer of the environmental dispersion of wastewater (or reverse osmosis concentrate) in Moreton Bay, 7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse, September 20-25, Brisbane, Australia

Lawrence, M.G., Keller, J., and Poussade, Y. (2009) Rejection of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents by reverse osmosis membranes - A new tool for assessing membrane integrity, IWA Specialist Conference on Micropollutants and Ecohazards, June 7-10, Berkeley, USA

Lawrence, M.G., Poussade, Y., and Keller, J. (2009) Quantifying the rejection of gadolinium contrast agents by reverse osmosis membranes in full-scale operation, 6th IWA Leading Edge Technology Conference on Water and Wastewater, June 23-25, Singapore

Lawrence, M.G., Poussade, Y., and Keller, J. (2009) Quantifi cation of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry – a geochemical perspective of micropollutant occurrence, IWA Specialist Conference on Micropollutants and Ecohazards, June 8-10, San Francisco, USA

Ma, Y., Peng, Y., Wang, S., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Achieving nitrogen removal via nitrite in a continuous pre-denitrifi cation plant using DO control, 10th IWA Conference on Instrumentation, Control and Automation, June 14-17, Cairns, Australia

Macova, M., Escher, B.I., Reungoat, J., Carswell, S., Lee, C.K., Keller, J., and Mueller, J.F. (2009) Monitoring the biological activity of micropollutants during enhanced wastewater treatment with ozonation and activated carbon fi ltration, 7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse, September 20-25, Brisbane, Australia

Marcelino M., Lemaire, R., Guisasola A., Baeza J. A., and Yuan Z. (2009) Modelling and simulation revealing mechanisms likely responsible for achieving the nitrite pathway through aeration control, 5th IWA Specialised Conference on Microbial Population Dynamics in Biological Wastewater Treatment, May 24-27, Aalborg, Denmark

Mu, Y., Rozendal, R.A., Rabaey, K., and Keller, J. (2009) Decolourization of azo dyes in bio-electrochemical Systems, 2nd Microbial Fuel Cell Conference, June 10-12, Gwangju, Korea

Ort, C., Lawrence, M.G., Reungoat, J., and Keller, J. (2009) Are hospitals a major point source of pharmaceuticals in wastewater, 7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse, September 20-25, Brisbane, Australia

Pijuan, M. (2009) Aerobic granulation for nutrient removal: Breaking the sludge barrier, Ecoforum, April 28, Sydney, Australia

Pijuan, M., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Development and optimization of a sequencing batch reactor for nitrogen and phosphorus removal from abattoir wastewater to meet irrigation standards, 2nd IWA Specialized Conference in Nutrient Management in Wastewater Treatment Processes, September 6-9, Krakow, Poland

Pijuan, M., Werner, U., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Effect of long term starvation on aerobic granules, 5th IWA Specialised Conference on Microbial Population Dynamics in Biological Wastewater Treatment, May 24-27, Aalborg, Denmark

Pratt, S., Brian, K., and Gapes, D. (2009) Application of membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) for studying biological wastewater treatment processes: tracking the rate of denitrifi cation, 10th IWA Conference on Instrumentation, Control and Automation, June 14-17, Cairns, Australia

Pratt, S., Keymer, P., Lant, P., and Keller, J. (2009) The potential for generating algae derived biofuels using coal seam gas water as the growth media, IWA Conference on Water and Industry, November 30-December 2, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Rabaey, K. (2009) Bioelectrochemical Systems – real wastewater, real conditions, 2nd Microbial Fuel Cell Conference, June 10-12, Gwangju, Korea

Rabaey, K. (2009) Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Bioprocessing Network Conference, October 1, Brisbane, Australia

Rabaey, K., Keller, J., and Rozendal, R. (2009) Microbial ecology and interaction in anodic and cathodic biofi lms, 2nd Microbial Fuel Cell Conference, June 10-12, Gwangju, Korea

Read, S., Lau, K., Pichler, F., Myers, S., Blackall, L., Turner, S., Keller, J. and Rabaey, K. (2009) Transcriptome analysis and development of microbial fuel cell (MFC) biofi lm anodes, Gorodon conference on Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Jully 12-17, South Hadley, USA

Reungoat, J., Macova, M., Carswell, S., Escher, B., Müller, J.F., Gernjak, W., and Keller, J. (2009) Effective removal of pathogens and micropollutants without reverse osmosis processes, 7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse, September 20-25, Brisbane, Australia

Reungoat, J., Macova, M., Escher, B.I., Mueller, J.F., Gernjak, W., and Keller, J. (2009) Removal of micropollutants in a non membrane based reclamation plant and assessment of water quality with bioassays, Recycling and Reuse Technology 2009, June 25-26, Melbourne, Australia

Reungoat, J., Pipe-Martin, C., Macova, M., Carswell, S., Müller, J. F., Gernjak, W., and Keller, J. (2009) Comparison of activated carbon adsorption and biological fi ltration for the removal of micropollutants and reduction of biological adverse effects from treated wastewater, IWA Specialist Conference on Micropollutants and Ecohazards, June 8-10, San Francisco, USA

Reungoat, J., Pipe-Martin, C., Macova, M., Carswell, S., Müller, J. F., Gernjak, W., and Keller, J. (2009) Removal of micropollutants and reduction of biological adverse effects from treated wastewater by slow biological activated carbon fi ltration, 6th IWA Leading-Edge Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies, June 23-25, Singapore

Rozendal, R., Keller, J., and Rabaey, K. (2009) Industrial integration of bioelectrochemical systems, 2nd Microbial Fuel Cell Conference, June 10-12, Gwangju, Korea

Rozendal, R.A. (2009) Bioelectrochemical wastewater treatment: lab curiosity or viable industrial technology? Wetsus Congress 2009, October 5-6, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Seviour, T., Pijuan, M., Nicholson, T., Keller, J., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Could EPS characteristics explain differences between aerobic sludge granules and sludge fl ocs?, IWA Specialist conference on Processes in Biofi lms - Fundamentals to Applications Conference, September 13-16 , California, USA

Sharma, K. R., and Yuan, Z. (2009) A model based investigation of chemical dosing control for sulfi de management in sewers, 10th IWA Conference on Instrumentation, Control and Automation, June 14-17, Cairns, Australia

Sharma, K. R., Gutierrez, O., Corrie, S., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Integrated modeling of sewer systems and wastewater treatment plants for the investigation of the effects of chemical dosing in sewers, Asia Pacifi c Water and Sewer Systems Modelling Seminar, April 27-28, Gold Coast, Australia

Sirtori, C., Gernjak, W., Malato, S., and Agüera, A. (2009) Effect of the water composition in the kinetic and photodegradation pathway of trimethoprim by various solar processes, 2nd European Conference on Environmental Applications of Advanced Oxidation Processes, September 9-11, Chania, Greece

Sirtori, C., Zapata, A., Gernjak, W., Malato, S., and Agüera, A. (2009) Analytical assessment and fate of nalidixic acid and its main transformation products during the treatment of an industrial effl uent by coupling solar photo-Fenton and biooxidation, 2nd European Conference on Environmental Applications of Advanced Oxidation Processes, September 9-11, Chania, Greece

37



Slater, F., Johnson, C.R., Blackall, L.L., and Bond, P.L. (2009) Assessment of bacterial community structure and dynamics in enhanced biological phosphate removal sequencing batch reactors using Terminal-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism analysis, 5th IWA International Specialised Conference on Microbial Population Dynamics in Biological Wastewater Treatment, May 24-27, Aalborg, Denmark

Thompson, J., Eaglesham, G., Lawrence, M.G., Poussade, Y., Keller, J. and Mueller, J.F. (2009) Fate of perfl uorochemicals (PFCs) in an advanced water treatment plant (AWTP). 7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse. Brisbane, Australia. 20-25 September 2009.

Wells, P.A., Melchers, R.E., and Bond, P.L. (2009) Factors involved in the long term corrosion of concrete sewers, Australasian Corrosion Association Conference, November 15-18, Coffs Harbour, Australia

Ye, L., Tang, B., Zhao, K., Pijuan, M., and Peng, Y.Z. (2009) Nitrogen removal via nitrite in domestic wastewater treatment using combined salt inhibition and on-line process control, 10th IWA conference on Instrumentation, Control and Automation, June 14-17, Cairns, Australia

Yuan, Z., and Pijuan, M. (2009) Inhibitory effects of free nitrous acid on nitrifi cation, denitrifi cation and enhanced biological phosphorus removal, 2nd IWA Specialised Conference in Nutrient Management, September 6-9, Krakow, Poland

Yuan, Z., Sharma, K. R., Keller, J., Bond, P., Melchers, R., Stuetz, R., Valix, M., Witherspoon, J., Bustamante, H., and Vitanage, D. (2009) Corrosion and odour management in sewers: the state of the art and key challenges, Australian Water Association Ozwater Convention and Exhibition, March 16-18, Melbourne, Australia

Zeng, R.J., Hu, S., Keller, J., Lant, P., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Potential interactions between anammox and anaerobic methane utilizing denitrifi cation (AnMUD) processes in nitrogen and carbon cycles, 6th IWA Leading-Edge Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies, June 23-25, Singapore

Zhou, Y., Pijuan, M., Oehmen, A., and Yuan, Z. (2009) The source of reducing power in the anaerobic metabolism of polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs)-A mini-review, 2nd IWA Specialised Conference in Nutrient Management, September 6-9, Krakow, Poland

Zhou, Y., Pijuan, M., Zeng, R., and Yuan, Z. (2009) Free nitrous acid (FNA) inhibition on nitrous oxide (N2O) reduction by a denitrifying EBPR sludge, 6th IWA Conference on Leading-Edge Water and Wastewater Technologies, June 23-25, Singapore

Book Chapters

Dutta, P. K., Keller, J., Yuan, Y., Rozendal, R.A., and Rabaey K. (2009) Conversion of sulfur species in bioelectrochemical systems In: Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Rabaey, K., Angenent, L.T., Schroder, U., and Keller, J (eds). IWA Publishing, London

Euverink, G.J.W., Temmink, H., Rozendal, R.A., and Buisman, C.J.N. (2009) Policies to encourage the development of water sanitation technology, In: Water Policy in the Netherlands: integral management in a densely populated delta, Reinhard, S., and Folmer, H. (eds), RFF Press

Hamelers, H.V.M., Sleutels, T.H.J.A., Jeremiasse, A.W., Post, J.W., Strik, D.P.B.T.B., and Rozendal, R.A. (2009) Outlook - Directions of research and applications for BES In: Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Rabaey, K., Angenent, L.T., Schroder, U., and Keller, J (eds). IWA Publishing, London

Keller, J., Rozendal, R. A., Angenent, L. T., Schroder, U., Lens, P., Rabaey, K. (2009) Research directions and new applications for BES In: Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Rabaey, K., Angenent, L.T., Schroder, U., and Keller, J (eds). IWA Publishing, London

Keller, J., Rozendal, R.A., Angenent, L.T., Schršder, U., Lens, P., and Rabaey, K. (2009) Outlook - Directions of research and applications for BES In: Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Rabaey, K., Angenent, L.T., Schroder, U., and Keller, J (eds). IWA Publishing, London

Keller, J., Rozendal, R.A., Schröder, U., and Rabaey, K. (2009) Outlook - Directions of research and applications for BES In: Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Rabaey, K., Angenent, L.T., Schroder, U., and Keller, J (eds). IWA Publishing, London

Kenway, S.J., and Begbie, D. (2009) Urban water security research alliance, science forum and stakeholder engagement In: Building Linkages, Collaboration and Science Quality Forum Proceedings

Kenway, S.J., and Tjandraatmadja, G. (2009) Technological Innovation in the Provision of Sustainable Urban Water Services In: Technology, Design and Process Innovation in the Built Environment, Newton, P., Hampson, K., and Drogemuller, R. (eds) Spon Press - Taylor Francis, Oxon, United Kingdom

Kenway, S.J., Priestley, A., Cook, S., Gregory, A., Lovell, A., and Smith, N. (2009) Energy use in urban water, In: Climate Change and Water. International Perspectives on Mitigation and Adaptation, International Water Association and American Water Works Association

Rabaey, K. (2009) Bio-Electrochemical Systems: a new approach towards environmental and industrial biotechnology, In: Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Rabaey, K., Angenent, L.T., Schroder, U., and Keller, J (eds). IWA Publishing, London

Rozendal, R.A., Harnisch, F., Jeremiasse, A.W., and Schröder, U. (2009) Chemically catalyzed cathodes in bio-electrochemical systems In: Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Rabaey, K., Angenent, L.T., Schroder, U., and Keller, J (eds). IWA Publishing, London

Editorials

Catalysis Today 144(10)-(2) (2009) 5th European Conference on Solar Chemistry and Photocatalysis: Environmental Applications (SPEA 5) October 4-8 (2008), Augugliaro, V., Palmisano, L., Malato, S., and Gernjak,W (eds)

Bioelectrochemical systems: from extracellular electron transfer to biotechnological application, Rabaey, K., Angenent, L.T., Schroder, U., and Keller, J (eds). IWA Publishing, London

Reports

Abegglen, C., Escher, B., Hollender, J., Koepke, S., Ort, C., Peter, A., Siegrist, H.R., von Gunten, U., and Zimmermann, S. (2009) Ozonation of treated wastewater - Final Report Pilot Study Regensdorf (in German) Ozonation of Treated Wastewater - Final Report Pilot Study Regensdorf (in German)

Barrett, D., Pratt, S., and Keller, J. (2009) Case Study 4: “Joined up” regional thinking on the environment: Water-carbon-energy synergies Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism White Paper on Energy

Patents

Keller, J., Rabaey, K., Freguia, S., and Virdis, B. (2009) Microbial fuel cell, WO2008109962-A1

Rozendal, R.A., Vellinga, S.H.J., and Van Zessen, E. (2009) Process for removing sulfi de from alkaline washing liquids, WO2009082205

Rozendal, R.A., Hamelers, H.V.M., and Buisman, C.J.N. (2009) Method for producing a cathodophilic, hydrogen producing microbial culture, microbial culture obtained with this method and use of this microbial culture, WO2009008709

Rozendal, R.A., and Buisman, C.J.N. (2009) Process for producing hydrogen, WO2005005981

Media Reports

3 July 2009, “Reducing emissions in the water industry”, Water Engineering Australia - Pg 33

29 September 2009, “Solar hot water could offset energy needed to top up dams”, Highfi elds Herald - Pg 5

30 September 2009, “A greener alternative”, Gatton Lockyer Brisbane Valley Star, Real Estate - Pg 35

38


AISEC Water Solutions Forum, March 7, Brisbane, Australia

Australian Water Association Ozwater Convention and Exhibition, March 16-18, Melbourne, Australia

Australian Water Summit, April 3, Sydney, Australia

Cincinnati Metropolitan Water Sewer District Management Team Workshop, April 8, Cincinatti, USA

California Air Resources Board, California Energy Commission, Water Utilities Board, California EPA and California Water Association, April 6, Sacramento, USA

Asia Pacifi c Water and Sewer Systems Modelling Seminar, April 27-28, Gold Coast, Australia

Ecoforum, April 28, Sydney, Australia

5th IWA Specialised Conference on Microbial Population Dynamics in Biological Wastewater Treatment, May 24-27, Aalborg, Denmark

IWA Specialist Conference on Micropollutants and Ecohazards, June 8-10, San Francisco, USA

2nd Microbial Fuel Cell Conference “Waste to Energy”, June 10-12, Gwanju, Korea

10th IWA Conference on Instrumentation, Control and Automation, June 14-17, Cairns, Australia

2009 CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION

6th IWA Leading Edge Technology Conference on Water and Wastewater Technologies, June 23-25, Singapore

Recycling and Reuse technology 2009, June 25-26, Melbourne, Australia

Annual Scientifi c Meeting and Exhibition of the Australian Society of Microbiology, July 6-10, Perth, Australia

Gorodon conference on Applied & Environmental Microbiology, Jully 12-17, South Hadley, USA

AMSI/MASCOS/UNESCO Water Energy Futures Modelling Conference, July 21, Brisbane, Australia

Gordon Research Conference on Drinking Water Disinfection By-Products, August 9-14, South Hadley, USA

SEQ Urban Water Security Research Alliance Forum, August 17-18, Brisbane, Australia

2nd IWA Specialized Conference in Nutrient Management in Wastewater Treatment Processes, September 6-9, Krakow, Poland

2nd European Conference on Environmental Applications of Advanced Oxidation Processes (EEAOP-2), September 9-11, Chania, Greece

IWA Specialist conference on Processes in Biofi lms - Fundamentals to Applications conference, September 13-16 , California, USA

7th IWA World Congress on Water Reclamation and Reuse, September 20-25, Brisbane, Australia

12th International Riversymposium, water-energy nexus workshop, September 21, Brisbane, Australia

Bioprocessing Network Conference, October 1, Brisbane, Australia

Wetsus Congress 2009, October 5-6, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

Treatment Plant Planning and Design: Sustainability Considerations, October 11-14, Florida, USA

Water and Energy 2009, October 29-31, Copenhagen, Denmark

The Second Microbial Fuel Cell symposium in China, November 15-16, Beijing, China

Australasian Corrosion Association Conference, November 15-18, Coffs Harbour, Australia

Microbiology in the Mountains, Australian Society for Microbiology Queensland Annual Conference, November 21, Maleny, Australia

Australasian Pig Science Association (Inc), 12th Biennial Conference, November 22-25, Cairns, Australia

IWA Conference on Water and Industry, November 30 - December 2, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Bioenergy Australia 2009 Conference, December 8-10, Gold Coast, Australia

AWMCANNUALREPORT

2009

39


2009SEMINARS

Dr. Wolfgang Gernjak, AWMC, Solar AOPs – state-of-the-art of current solar collectors and applications, 14-Jan-09

Dr. Maria José Farré, AWMC, Benefi ts of combining chemical and biological wastewater treatment, 14-Jan-09

Dr. Lianzhou Wang, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, The University of Queensland, Functional Nanomaterial design for photocatalytic solar energy conversion, 14-Jan-09

Prof. David L. Sedlak, University of California at Berkeley, USA, Iron and its use in advanced oxidation processes, 14-Jan-09

Dr Oskar Modin, University of Tokyo, Japan, Development of a membrane biofi lm reactor for denitrifi cation with methane, 15-Jan-09

Prof. Urs von Gunten, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (EAWAG), Switzerland, Oxidation processes in water treatment: Options and limitations for micropollutant elimination, 11-Mar-09

Prof Emile Cornelissen, Kiwa Water Research (KWR), Netherlands, Introduction to the activities of Kiwa Water Research, 3-Apr-09

Dr Arne Verliefde, Kiwa Water Research (KWR), Netherlands, Removal of organic micropollutants by NF/RO membranes, and implications of membrane fouling, 3-Apr-09

Dr Gene Tyson, AWMC, Using metagenomic and metatranscriptomic approaches to understand microbial communities in the environment, 17-Apr-09

Dr Christoph Ort, AWMC, Identifying persistent tracers of wastewater - pharmaceuticals in Swiss rivers, 17-Apr-09

Dr Raymond Zeng, AWMC, Interactions between denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidation (Denamox) and anammox processes, 24-Apr-09

Mr Thomas Seviour, AWMC, Could EPS explain basic differences between granules and fl ocs?, 24-Apr-09

Dr Maite Pijuan, AWMC, Effects of alternating anaerobic/aerobic starvation conditions on structure and microbial activity of aerobic granules, 8-May-09

Mr Jeremy Barr, AWMC, Accumulibacter-specifi c bacteriophage attack on fl occular and granular sludges, 8-May-09

Mr Paritam Dutta, AWMC, Electrochemical removal and recovery of aqueous sulfi de by regular switching between anode and cathode, 15-May-09

Mr Juan Bastidas, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Universite Montpellier, France, In-process calibration method for MIMs on fermentation processes, 15-May-09

Prof Paul Lant, School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Why am I doing a PhD?, 22-May-09

Dr Julien Reungoat, AWMC, Comparison of activated carbon adsorption and biological fi ltration for the removal of micropollutants and reduction of biological adverse effects from treated wastewater, 29-May-09

Dr Michael Lawrence, AWMC, Quantifi cation of MRI Contrast agents in wastewater: A geochemical interpretation of micropollutant occurrence, 29-May-09

Dr. Bas Heijman, Technical University of Delft and KWR, Netherlands, Research for high quality water, 1-Jun-09

Prof. Jean Philippe Croué, University of Poitiers, France, Isolation, characterisation and reactivity of natural and effl uent organic matter: implications for drinking water treatment and wastewater reclamation/reuse processes, 1-Jun-09

Ms Preethi Gopalan, AWMC, Least cost applications of anaerobic digestion to livestock wastes, 5-Jun-09

Dr Shoshana Fogelman, AWMC, A new analytical approach for continuous on-line water/wastewater quality monitoring, 12-Jun-09

Dr Oriol Gutierrez, AWMC, Simultaneous online measurement of sulfi de and nitrate in sewers for nitrate dosage optimisation, 12-Jun-09

A/Prof Juan Antonio Baeza, Labat, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain, Monitoring, control and modelling of nutrient removal processes, 12-Jun-09

Dr Markus Gresch, Eawag/ETH, Switzerland, Identifying the fl ow pattern in aeration tanks, 19-Jun-09

Dr. Alejandro Vargas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Instrumentation, control and automation for wastewater treatment: experiences at UNAM, Mexico, 19-Jun-09

Dr Frances Slater, AWMC, Microbial ecology of enhanced biological phosphorus removal: linking bacterial community structure and function, 26-Jun-09

Dr Rene Rozendal, AWMC, Industrial integration of bioelectrochemical systems, 26-Jun-09

Dr Kelly C. Wrighton, University of California, Berkeley, USA, Following electron fl ow: from gram-positive communities to mechanisms of electron transfer, 3-Jul-09

Dr Damien Batstone, AWMC, Imaging and Modelling of Anaerobic Granules, 3-Jul-09

Dr Shelley Brown, AWMC, Power-Assist, Plug-in and Full Electric Vehicles - what is impeding their introduction into the market place?, 17-Jul-09

Prof Jurg Keller, AWMC, Coal Seam Gas Water - Opportunities for AWMC, 17-Jul-09

Mr Shihu Hu, AWMC, Effects of temperature, nitrate and nitrite on denitrifying anaerobic methane oxidising microorganisms, 24-Jul-09

Dr Steven Pratt, AWMC, EBPR removal... but by algae, 24-Jul-09

Ms Emilie Leone, INSA Lyon, France, Bioelectrochemical system for the production of hydrogen peroxide, 7-Aug-09

Ms Aurelien Hervo, INSA Lyon, France, Treatment of Hydrolysed Biosolids through Fermentation and Microbial Fuel Cells, 7-Aug-09

Mr Nicolas Brodu, INSA Lyon, France, Development of a titration-based anaerobic stability sensor, 14-Aug-09

Mr Steven Kenway, AWMC, The water-energy nexus: indirect impacts of urban water choices, 14-Aug-09


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AN INTERNATIONAL CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN INNOVATIVE WATER TECHNOLOGIES AND MANAGEMENT

We wish to acknowledge and thank the following Association, Industry and Research Partners for their continued support in 2009

AnoxKaldnes Biopolymer (Sweden)Australian Government

Australian Research Council• National Water Commision• Department of Innovation, • Industry, Science and Research

Australian Institute of Marine Sciences

Australian Meat Processors Corporation

Australian Pork LimitedAustralian Water AssociationBarwon WaterBrisbane City CouncilCH2M HillCSIROCurtin UniversityDCMEcowise EnvironmentalEnvironmental Biotechnology CRCFoster’s BreweryGHDGhent University, BelgiumGold Coast WaterGrains Research and Development

Corporation

Hunter Water CorporationINRA - French National Institute for

Agricultural Research, FranceInternational Water CentreInternational Society for Microbial

EcologyInternational Water AssociationIRSA, ItalyIWESJ. Craig Venter InstituteJoint Genome InstituteMeat and Livestock AustraliaMelbourne WaterMonash UniversityMoreton Bay Regional CouncilNational Research Centre for

Environmental ToxicologyQueensland Environmental

Protection AgencyQueensland GovernmentQueensland Health Forensic and

Scientifi c ServicesQueensland Water CommissionRural Industries Research and

Development CorporationSA WaterSEQ Urban Water Security Research

AllianceSeqwaterSouth East Water LimitedSunshine Coast Regional CouncilSydney Water Corporation

Technical University Delft, Netherlands

Trisco FoodsUniQuestUnited Water InternationalUniversity of Aalborg, DenmarkUniversity of Arizona, USAUniversity of California in Los

Angeles (UCLA), USAUniversité Laval, CanadaUniversity of Auckland, New ZealandUniversity of New South WalesUniversity of NewcastleUniversity of SydneyUniversity of TasmaniaUniversity of Technology, SydneyVeolia Environmental ServicesVeolia WaterVisy Pulp and PaperWageningen University, The

NetherlandsWA Water CorporationWaste Technologies of AustraliaWater Quality Research AustraliaWater Services Association of

AustraliaWaterSecureWSN Environmental Solutions

Australia


Advanced Water Management CentreLevel 4 Gehrmann Building (60)

Research Road, St. Lucia CampusThe University of QueenslandBrisbane QLD 4072, Australia

Telephone: +61 7 3365 4730 Facsimile: +61 7 3365 4726Website: www.awmc.uq.edu.auEmail: [email protected]


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