Wastewater research

Facilities at ISI

Project team at Newport Power Station

Research at Victoria University's Institute for Sustainability has shown how heat generated by industry can be used to desalinate wastewater.

The three-month trial used membrane distillation technology to turn industrial wastewater into potable water which can then be reused around the plant. 

Associate Professor Mikel Duke, who is leading the project, says that many factories and industrial settings produced enough unused waste heat for the process to be used effectively.

"We have seen several industrial case s where there is far more waste heat available than what is  needed to treat the entire site's wastewater currently going into the sewer."

Desalination research at VU

The trail at the Newport Power Station in Melbourne's west was led by VU's Institute for Sustainability and Innovation and Water Quality Australia, with support from City West Water, GWM Water and Integrated Elements. It was funded by the state government, Water Quality Research Australia and City West Water.

“Membrane distillation technology is just emerging globally, so our demonstration on an industry site puts us at the forefront of its international progress.”

Associate Professor Mikel Duke is involved in the development and implementation of innovative membrane technologies for water, foods and energy applications.

News: Industrial waste powers desalination (March 2012)

Associate Professor Mikel Duke
Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Sustainability and Innovation
Phone: +61 3 9919 7682
Email: mikel.duke@vu.edu.au 

Saving Victoria's Wetlands

Saltmarsh in Western Port

Mangroves in Western Port

Saltmarshes in Victoria

A four-year study by Professor Paul Boon, from VU’s Institute for Sustainability and Innovation, has shown that human impacts and development have destroyed up to 20 per cent of the state’s coastal marshes and better management is needed.

The study included the first fine-scale mapping of all mangroves and saltmarshes in Victoria, as well as an analysis of the likely coverage before European colonization of Victoria.

Recommendations include:

• reservation or purchase of environmental land to support the inland retreat of mangroves and saltmarshes
• new buffer zones to coastal development
• creation of a single body to co-ordinate management of the state’s mangroves and saltmarshes .

News: Mangroves, saltmarshes under threat (September 2011)

Project summary: Mangroves and coastal saltmarsh of Victoria (Distribution, condition, threats and management)

“Mangroves and saltmarshes are an important breeding ground for birds, fish and other marine and estuarine species. They protect against erosion and provide filtration of water runoff from the land.”

Professor Paul Boon has been working on aquatic systems for the past 25 years. He has particular expertise in the ecology and management of inland floodplain rivers and wetlands, estuaries and coastal wetlands, including seagrasses , mangroves, saltmarshes and coastal lagoons.

Professor Paul Boon
Institute for Sustainability and Innovation
Phone: +61 3 9919 5954
Email: paul.boon@ vu.edu.au