It’s no secret that food and garden waste make great compost, but now researchers at Deakin University, Barwon Water and RMIT are working together to explore how it can be used for agriculture and battery production.
The project will transform biosolids from wastewater treatment and household wastes into a biochar product for commercial use.
With many of Australia’s landfills nearing capacity, and organic waste being the second biggest contributor, there’s lots of ways that we can ‘waste not, want not’.
A recent study by Deakin University’s Faculty of Science, Engineering, Building and Environment (SEBE) is demonstrating benefits to soil health that could live on for hundreds of years and help to reduce greenhouse gases.
‘This Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub (REACH) trailblazing project will build on Deakin’s international research exploring what the optimal formulations for biochar are for the Geelong region’s soil conditions to produce high-value cereal and legume crops,’ said Deputy Dean, Deakin’s Faculty of SEBE, Professor Lambert Brau.
The REACH research project is an important step in Barwon Water’s plans to develop Regional Renewable Organics Network facilities at its Black Rock (Connewarre) and Colac Water Reclamation Plants to produce biochar – a carbon-rich charcoal-like material made from controlled heating of organic matter.
‘The many superpowers of biochar can be demonstrated by monitoring increased nutrients and moisture available to boost plant growth and also the microorganisms that live in the soil surrounding plant roots,’ said Professor of Environmental Engineering, Wendy Timms.
Using a combination of lab, greenhouse and farm trials at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds Campus, different biochar formulations will be developed to support soil fertility and crop yields. Detailed assessments of the costs, benefits and potential impacts of its use in agriculture will also be explored.
‘We’re accelerating our research to unlock high-value commercial applications for biochar, at our Black Rock Water Reclamation Plant in Connewarre,’ Barwon Water Managing Director Shaun Cumming said.
‘Through our Regional Renewable Organics Network project, we’re supporting building a circular economy in the Geelong region, revolutionising waste management to turn organic waste into sustainable products like biochar, which enrich soils and capture carbon, benefiting local farmers and households,’ he said.
The root of biochar’s superpowers doesn’t just end in the soil. Barwon Water’s REACH project will also explore how biochar could be introduced as a new sustainable source for Australia’s battery supply chain through Deakin’s Institute for Frontier Materials.
‘We’re exploring if biochar can be used as the anode active material within sodium-ion batteries,’ Associate Professor Nolene Byrne said.
‘If we are successful, sodium-ion batteries could become a safer, cheaper alternative for the lithium-ion batteries we use to store solar energy in our grid storage and home batteries,’ she said.
‘Biochar is looking promising as a next generation battery material, and through this project we’ll continue to explore what biochar composition will enhance battery performance.’
Barwon Water’s Regional Renewable Organics Network project aims to process approximately 60,000 tonnes of biosolids from Barwon Water’s Water Reclamation Plants, 40,000 tonnes of organic food and garden waste, 14,000 tonnes of municipal green waste and commercial and industrial organic waste annually.
Professor Kalpit Shah from RMIT University, said: ‘We are delighted to be working with Barwon Water and Deakin to transform biosolid waste into biochar suitable for use in the energy and agriculture sectors and contribute to the development of Australia’s circular economy.’
Barwon Water Managing Director Shaun Cumming said it is exciting to have leading thinkers from the water industry, Deakin and RMIT working together to explore how waste can be used to make our communities more sustainable.
‘We’re delighted that through this collaboration we’ll be leading the charge to establish Victoria as a hub for the development of sustainable technologies, underscoring the vital role that the water sector can play in recycling resources for the circular and new energy economy.’
Backed by a $50 million grant from the Australian Government’s Trailblazer Universities Program, with industry and university support, REACH is facilitating the development of greener supply chains and the move to a circular economy.
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