Carbon nanospheres can lead to very high capacity...

Carbon nanospheres can lead to very high capacity batteriesChemical engineers at Curtin University have developed an innovative procedure to produce high surface area carbon nanospheres which could be used to produce very high capacity rechargeable batteries.

The research, A facile soft-template synthesis of mesoporous polymeric and carbonaceous nanospheres, was published in Nature Communications, and was led by Dr Jian Liu of Curtin’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

A potential application of the nanospheres is as an electrode material for lithium sulphur batteries. As the material has a high surface area and porosity, it is able to improve the diffusion and transportation of lithium ions in a battery which improves their performance, capacity and life.

“For a long time, there has been significant interest in manufacturing such carbon spheres, because of their tremendous potential in energy

conversion and storage,” Liu said. “We’ve been able to make a novel, efficient and general method for synthesising carbon spheres that are excellent electrode material for potential application in supercapacitors for energy storage or rechargeable batteries.”

Liu said the nanospheres could also be used in other applications such as absorbents for water treatment or as drug or gene delivery vehicles. He told Chemical Engineering in Australia that they would also potentially be of interest to the petroleum industry as a catalyst.

In the paper, the authors explained that there are two methods of producing carbon nanospheres;

Inside: Concept battery stores protons

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2 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING IN AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2013

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING in AUSTRALIA | news

COLLEGE OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS BOARD

Prof Robert Burford (Chair, Sydney)Dr Leon Prentice (Deputy Chair, Vic)Georgie Wright (Immediate past Chair, Vic)Prof Dong-ke Zhang (WA)James Fox (Tas)Ian McGuffog (Qld)Daniel Edge (ACT)

Peter Mauger (SA)Zvonko Pregelj (NCO&G Chair)Prof Mike Dureau (NCF&E chair)Renee Ellis (YEA)Niki Robinson (Women in Engineering)

College contact: Gayle White 11 National Circuit, Barton ACT 2600

phone 02 6270 6198 email [email protected]

BOARDMoses Tadé (Chair)John McGagh (Deputy Chair)Paul Taranto (Honorary treasurer)Leon Prentice (Vic)Merv Jones (NSW)Allyson Black (Qld)Peter Ashman (SA)

Ming Ang (WA)Lindsay Mallen (Chair Professional Formation Forum)Ainslie Just (Deputy Professional Formation Forum)Gareth Forde (Technical policy director)

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Published by Engineers Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Engineers Australia, Level 4, 2 Ernest Place, Crows Nest NSW 2065, PO Box 588 Crows Nest 1585, 02 9438 1533, for the IChemE in Australia and the Chemical College of Engineers Australia. The statements made or opinions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of Engineers Australia or the Institution of Chemical Engineers in Australia. MANAGING EDITOR: Tim Kannegieter. DEPUTY EDITOR: Desi Corbett. EDITOR: Conrad Bem – [email protected]

the hard template and soft template methods. The hard template method uses a silica template with an organic chemical precursor but it is complicated, expensive and hard to use, especially for industrial scale production. Another issue is that the mesostructure and morphologies of any resulting nanospheres is limited by the parent template used during synthesis.

The researchers said the alternative soft template method is, by contrast, simpler to use and more efficient. However, until Liu’s research, the nanospheres were relatively very large at over 1µm; the hard template method can produce results 1000 times smaller. Most attempts at implementing the soft template method have been unsuitable for industrial scale.

Liu’s work overcame these difficulties by extending the already established Stöber

method, which produces silica nanospheres. The method used by the researchers involved a cationic fluorocarbon surfactant and a triblock copolymer as templates for the nanosphere, with resorcinol and formaldehyde as carbon precursors.

Polymer nanospheres formed from the mixture, and after calcination at 800°C in a nitrogen atmosphere, the researchers obtained nanospheres suitable as a cathode material in lithium sulphur batteries. An additional benefit was that the morphology of the nanoparticles could be designed and synthesised, without the limits imposed by the hard template method.

Liu collaborated with Prof Max Lu from the University of Queensland, Prof Dongyuan Zhao from Fudan University in China and Prof Shi Zhang Qiao from the University of Adelaide.

The paper is available to purchase at <http://bit.ly/1eObPNk>.



Human factors awards presented for first Australian series IChemE’s inaugural Australian Human Factors in Health and Safety professional development course has wrapped up the final module of its four part Australian program in Perth – a milestone that was marked by an award presentation to two delegates who best demonstrated the application of human factors learning from the course.

Led by course directors, Ronny Lardner and Emily Novatsis from the Keil Centre, the program was delivered over a 12 month period via four two-day training modules by accredited human factors professionals with experience in the process industries. Lardner reported that the course attracted an average of 42 delegates in each module and saw 26 completing the full program in Australia.

“The attractiveness of this particular course is that it is designed to provide people with practical knowledge, tools and techniques so that human factors application can be achieved,” he said.

Due to the high standard of submissions received for the human factors award, two

were chosen as joint winners and presented to Raj Sreenevasan from Proteus Group and Mark Leigh from ConocoPhillips Australia for their efforts in applying human factors learning in the workplace.

Sreenevasan was recognised for his work in conducting an exploratory study on process safety awareness in the workplace. This led to the development of the initial version of the Proteus Safety in Design procedure that included training sessions for company engineers and designers. He has also shared his human factors knowledge via technical papers at several conferences and seminars over the past six months.

“The human factors training program was quite interesting due to its interactive nature that was different from attending conference sessions. Spacing out the modules provided the opportunity to practice learned knowledge which is normally absent in the conference experience,” Sreenevasan said.

Leigh was recognised for improving his workplace reporting procedures for process

(L-R) ISC director Trish Kerin, Raj Sreenevasan, Mark Leigh and IChemE Australasia director Peter Slane.



safety incidents, the development of a monthly newsletter, conference presentations, and for providing overviews for contractor health, safety and environment forums, and project team meetings. Leigh also built a company ‘wiki’ site for easy access to human factors information, with plans in place this year to improve the workplace incident investigation system.

“It’s been exciting to see the change in human factors understanding across senior levels of management and indeed the broader ConocoPhillips organisation over the last 12 months,” Leigh said. “You can sense the increased realisation of the importance of the topic, coupled with a desire to understand more and figure out ways we can improve.”

IChemE and the Keil Centre joined to present this program in Australia and Europe following an urgent need to address the human failures that often threaten the complex and potentially hazardous systems within the chemical and process industries.

Following the success of the Perth program, Human Factors in Health and Safety is now being run in Brisbane, with its second module taking place from 26-28 May. Perth will be commencing its second series, with Module 1 taking place from 9-10 July.

“The course is already popular in Europe and the program has been well received in Australia, with positive feedback

indicating enthusiasm from delegates who were particularly engaged by the practical way the course was delivered,” course director Ronny Lardner said.

“All reported that they enjoyed the style of delivery and the mix of practical applications, along with the invaluable opportunities for networking

with peers from across Australia’s major hazards industries.”

For more information and to register for the Australian program contact April Hinde at <[email protected]> or visit the course website at <http://bit.ly/1grG6FV>.

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New IChemE Safety Centre directorThe IChemE has welcomed the appointment of Trish Kerin as director of the new IChemE Safety Centre (ISC) that will initially operate out of Melbourne.

The ISC provides industry partners access to a wide range of products and services, that includes training and learning opportunities, publications and resources, professional development opportunities and priority assessment for the new process safety practitioner registration, Professional Process Safety Engineer.

After graduating from the Royal

Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) as an honours graduate in mechanical engineering, Kerin worked for Mobil Oil where she project-managed aviation fuels, installation and design. This was followed by operational roles at the Mobile Altona Refinery where she supervised shipping and offsite areas.

Kerin went on to work in

various national safety and operational roles before moving on to Australian Vinyls as risk manager, and prior to joining IChemE, was the national health and safety manager for Wesfarmers Kleenheat Gas.

Outside of these roles, Kerin’s passion for process safety saw her take on roles as a representative of the Plastics and Chemicals Industries Association (PACIA) on the WorkSafe Victoria Major Hazards Advisory Committee and as an invited speaker on safety and environment matters at various local and international conferences.

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Kerin also represented PACIA on drafting the 2007 OHS for major hazards in Victoria – Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2007 – and represented the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on the Safe Work Australia temporary advisory area for drafting the major hazards section of the Harmonised Model Law.

Kerin is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and is director and vice president for a not for profit community radio station.

IChemE CEO David Brown said Kerin’s appointment marked

a significant milestone for IChemE’s international process safety program.

“Having a dedicated ISC leader in place will help to present a coordinated approach for influencing government and policy on improving process safety in industry and assist in delivering on objectives outlined in IChemE’s technical strategy document, Chemical Engineering Matters,” Brown said.

Kerin said she welcomed the opportunity to lead the ISC and has received feedback indicating a high level of support for the centre following

meetings with several industry partners and regulators to help understand their priorities and challenges in process safety.

“One of the greatest benefits of industry partnership is the opportunity to exchange knowledge and learning across differing industries providing a rare and candid opportunity for this to occur,” she said.

For more information on the benefits of subscribing to the ISC, contact Trish Kerin at <[email protected]> or visit the IChemE website at <http://www.icheme.org/>.

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Concept battery stores protons

RMIT University researchers have developed a concept battery based on storing protons produced by splitting

water, advancing the potential for hydrogen to replace lithium as an energy source in battery powered devices.

The proton flow battery concept eliminates the need for the production, storage and recovery of hydrogen gas, which currently limits the efficiency of conventional hydrogen based electrical energy storage systems.

Lead researcher Associate Prof John Andrews said the concept combined the best aspects of hydrogen fuel cells and battery based electrical power.

“As only an inflow of water is needed in charge mode, and air in discharge mode, we have called our new system the ‘proton flow battery’,” Andrews said.

“Powering batteries with protons has the potential to be a much more economical device than using lithium ions, which have to be produced from relatively scarce mineral, brine or clay resources. Hydrogen has great potential as a clean power source and this research advances the possibilities for its widespread use in a range

of applications – from consumer electronic devices to large electricity grid storage and electric vehicles.”

The concept integrates a metal hydride storage electrode into a reversible proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. During charging, protons produced from splitting water are directly combined with electrons and metal particles in one electrode of a fuel cell, forming a solid state metal hydride as the energy storage. To resupply electricity, this process is reversed.

The research, published in the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy (January 2014), found that, in principle, the energy efficiency of the proton flow battery could be as high as that of a lithium ion battery, while storing more energy per unit mass and volume.

The paper is the first to articulate and name the proton flow battery concept, and the first to include an experimental preliminary proof of concept.

“Our initial experimental results are an exciting indicator of the promise of the concept, but a lot more research and development will be necessary to take it through to practical commercial application,” Andrews said.

Call for EA members inputThe Engineers Australia Chemical College’s National Committee on Oil and Gas (NCOG) is seeking member participation to develop a policy paper to assist Engineers Australia and the federal government in positioning the oil and gas industry to meet its role in the future energy mix from a competency perspective.

Key activities of the NCOG include determining the current position and future trends of oil and gas in Australia, and current and future competency requirements. NCOG will also carry out a gap analysis and formulate the

engineering implications for future government policy. The approach is in the form of a desktop study using questionnaires to obtain information from the Australian oil and gas industry as well as educational participants. This project will be completed by the end of this year.

Interested EA members should contact NCOG chair Zvonko Pregelj on 0418 782 677 or at <[email protected]> or Chemical College executive officer Gayle White at <[email protected]>.

mailto:[email protected]

IChemE training calendar 2014MarchFundamentals of Process Safety31 March - 4 April, Perth, WA

AprilLayer of Protection Analysis (LOPA)

8–9 April, New Plymouth, NZ

MayIntroduction to Process Safety

13–14 May, Melbourne, VIC

Human Factors (Module 3)

28–29 May, Brisbane, QLD

JuneHAZOP Study for Team Leaders and Team Members

17–19 June, Melbourne, VIC

Fundamentals of Process Safety

23–27 June, Brisbane, QLD

JulyHuman Factors (Module 1)

9–10 July, Perth, WA

Layer of Protection Analysis (LOPA)

14–15 July, Sydney, NSW

17–18 July, Brisbane, QLD

Powder Handling and Processing

15–17 July, Melbourne, VIC

AugustProject Engineering

19–21 August, Perth, WA

Fundamentals of Process Safety

25–29 August, New Plymouth, NZ

SeptemberHuman Factors (Module 4)

3-4 September, Brisbane, QLD

Human Factors (Module 2)

24-25 September, Perth, QLD

OctoberFundamentals of Process Safety

13-17 October, Melbourne, VIC

HAZOP Study for Team Leaders and Team Members

21-23 October, Perth, WA

Human Factors Analysis Tools

28-29 October, Melbourne, VIC

NovemberChemical Enginnering for Non-Chemical Engineers 18-20 November, Melbourne, VIC

In-company trainingCould several of your colleagues benefit from the same course? Did you know IChemE offers in-house training as a cost effective solution? Choose a date and location that suits you, with the benefit of a tailor-made program to address the specific needs of your organisation. For further information:

www.icheme.org/courses

Tel: +61 (0)3 9642 4494

Fax: +61 (0)3 9642 4495

Email: [email protected]

http://www.icheme.org/courses



Call for abstracts for Chemeca 2014Abstract submissions for Chemeca 2014 are now invited for consideration, with papers due no later than 10 March. Chemeca is the annual conference for the Australian and New Zealand community of chemical and process engineers as well as industrial chemists and will be held from 28 Sep to 1 Oct at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. For abstract themes, see the box below.

This year’s theme ‘Processing Excellence; Powering Our Future’ is the premise for topics and discussions to be covered by a host of international and local speakers from industry, government and academia who will share lessons learned, and information on the latest challenges, innovations and developments. The event will also focus on celebrating and recognising outstanding achievements through the Awards of Excellence in Chemical Engineering, with the most prestigious being the Chemeca Medal.

Chemeca 2014 is hosted by the Australian and New Zealand Federation of Chemical Engineers, comprising the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) in Australia, SCENZ (Society of Chemical Engineers New Zealand) – IChemE in New Zealand, Engineers Australia and the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand.

For abstract submission guidelines or expressions of interest, visit the website at <http://www.chemeca2014.com/>.

And for enquiries on sponsorship, product and services promotion at the event, contact April Hinde at <[email protected]>.

Abstract themesAbstracts of no more than 250 words are invited under the following themes:

• catalysis and reaction engineering• engineering education• environmental science and technology• fluid mechanics and heat transfer• food, pharmaceuticals and bioengineering• fuels and energy• material science and engineering• modelling, simulations and control• molecular modelling in chemical

engineering• nanotechnology• oil and gas processing• particle technology and mineral

processing• process safety• rheology• separation technologies• water science and engineering• zeolite and ordered porous materials.

IChemE salary surveyIChemE Australian members are invited to participate in an online salary and member satisfaction survey. All replies are anonymous and treated as strictly confidential.

A summary of the Australian results will be reported in the April edition of Chemical Engineering in Australia. If you have not received your link to the survey, contact IChemE communications officer, Trish Dwyer at <[email protected]>.

EventsThe RISK 2014 conference will be held from 28-30 May at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. It is organised by Engineers Australia’s Executive Committee of Risk Engineering Society, a technical society providing national leadership and active contributions to the management of risk in the workplace and community. Focus will be placed on risk issues associated with construction, design, safe plant operation and management. For more information, go to <http://bit.ly/1bNPT52>.


CHEMICAL ENGINEERING in AUSTRALIA | products/people

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of engineering projects. Engineers Australia supports the publication of this book, aimed at children aged 3 to 8.

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Peoplen Chemical engineer Andrew Liveris, CEO of the Dow Chemical Company and IChemE Fellow, has been made an Officer in the General Division of the Order of Australia. He was presented the medal as part of the Australia Day Honours for “distinguished service to international business through senior roles with multinational organisations,

as a supporter of Australia-US educational and cultural relations, and to the community”.

n Engineers Australia’s Sydney Division has welcomed chartered chemical engineer Alexandra Meldrum as division president. She is an independent consultant and instructor at the Australian Graduate School of Management.

ProductsOpaque electronics polymerThe Eastman Chemical Company has released the Tritan copolyester MXF121, a tough and chemically resistant product suitable for use in medical device housings. It meets flame resistance safety ratings established by Underwriters Laboratories. It received a UL 94 V2 rating at 1.5mm thickness, which means that after ignition it self-extinguished in 30 seconds.

The Tritan is made without bisphenol A, halogens or ortho-phthalate plasticisers. In addition, its flame-retardant additives don’t contain antimony, bromine or chlorine. The company said many thermoplastics suitable for electronics device housings are chemically incompatible with the cleaners and disinfectants used in hospital environments.

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Gas chromatograph valveAgilent Technologies has announced the availability of the Agilent Large Valve Oven for its 7890B gas chromatograph (GC) system. This high capacity external oven can be configured to support complex, multi-valve ASTM International and EN GC applications. The oven provides a homogeneous isothermal environment for up to six positions for columns and valves.

When maintenance is required, the oven’s vertical orientation allows for complete access to valves and connections without the removal of actuators, which the company said results in significantly less downtime. Minimal reconnections in the new design also reduce troubleshooting required after maintenance.

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