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Industrially transformative

November 2015 - Another two of the seven ARC co-funded new research hubs announced in June last year have officially opened:

• the ARC Research Hub for Transforming Waste Directly in Cost-effective Green Manufacturing; and
• the ARC Research Hub for Advanced Technologies for Australian Iron Ore.

It follows the launch of two Research Hubs addressing mining and drought resistant crops in September (see 'Hubs for the future').

plastic and glass waste will be the core business of the $8.8 million 'Green Manufacturing" research hub, which is led by Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla from the University of New South Wales and also involves researchers from the University of Sydney, Monash University and University of Wollongong.

Professor Shajwalla is renown for an invention that uses car tyres as a replacement of traditional coke in the manufacturing of steel in electric arc steel furnaces.

Her polymer injection technology is now licensed to Australian manufacturer OneSteel (now Arrium Limited), which was collaborating in the project.

Building on this, the UNSW-based hub will target transformational technologies that can convert complex automotive waste into metal alloys, integrate agricultural waste into ferrous processing and use waste plastic to make green ceramics. The research will also aim for on cost effective solutions for e-waste.

The ARC has funded the hub with $2.1 million over four years. A further $6.7 million in cash and in-kind support will be from its industry partners Brickworks Building Products Pty Ltd, Arrium Mining Consumables, Jaylon Industries Pty Ltd, and Tersum Energy Pty Ltd.

Galvin at the University of Newcastle, the 'Iron ore' research hub aims to develop innovative technologies, and to unlock future value and growth markets for the sector.

Its research will target the entire supply chain - from mines to markets - to ensure that the mining products have the properties required by the market.

One element of the hub's research program is so called iron ore beneficiation, which maximises the recovery and reduces the content of ultrafine slimes.

Professor Galvin is an expert in the field of fine particle beneficiation.

Together with commercial partner Ludowici he invented the Reflux Classifier, which separates fine particles on the basis of either density or size, improving the efficiency of the process. And his latest invention, the Graviton, is poised to radically transform the recovery and concentration of fine particle resources across the mining industry.

Other elements of the hub's research program are:

• the handling of iron ore material, which will address challenges arising when high moisture, sticky ores are transported though bins and chutes and onto ships; and
• the properties and end-use functionality of iron ore, which targets the relationship between fundamental ore properties and performance during sintering and in the blast furnace;