Introducing the Wastes to Profits Project
The Wastes to Profits project aims to capture a potential market opportunity for the livestock sector in excess of AUD$100 million per year by converting wastes into valuable products.
We welcome your interest, involvement and feedback throughout this 4 year project. Please make sure to visit the website, sign up to the newsletter and encourage your colleagues to do the same. If you need more information or want to become actively involved in the project, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Project Overview
The Wastes to Profits project brings together stakeholders from across Australia’s animal industries and technology, research and development providers to deliver advanced technologies to convert wastes from livestock production and municipal water treatment into fertilisers, feeds, chemicals, and energy products for use in agriculture. The overall aim of the project is to improve productivity and enhance profitability for primary producers.
The project focuses on the following 4 areas;
- Area 1: Assessing waste streams from the livestock sector, developing business models and pathways to adoption to promote commercial application of project outcomes;
- Area 2: Developing technologies for improved management of wastes with a key focus on anaerobic digestion as a platform for energy production from waste – featured in this newsletter;
- Area 3: Developing technologies for the production of nutritionally-advanced feeds; and
- Area 4: Developing technologies for production of fertilisers, chemicals, plastics, and energy products.
Area 2 is featured in more detail in this newsletter below, for more information on each area please visit the website or contact us. We will provide more detail on the other project areas in future newsletters.
Project Research
Each newsletter we will feature different parts of the Wastes to Profits Project research.
Picture: Covered Anaerobic Lagoon from recent industry site visit in Australia. |
Area 2: Development of technologies for improved waste management
Area 2 is led by the University of Queensland researcher Dr Paul Jensen.
Waste management costs for the Australian red meat industry sectors is estimated to cost above $100-200M per year. To manage these costs and improve industry sustainability, the Australian Red meat industry aims to reduce waste by 25% by the year 2020, with a long term goal of zero waste discharge. The “zero waste” concept revolves around redirecting material towards recycling, beneficial re-use or new value-add by-product streams.
Many technologies contribute towards the “zero waste” goal, in particular anaerobic digestion (AD) converts “wastes” into renewable energy (biogas) and nutrient-rich fertiliser (digestate). AD is a mature and successful commercial technology in many industries and regions, however process performance and technology costs must be improved to enable widespread uptake in the Australian Ag Sector.
Area 2 focuses on improving the economics of Anaerobic Digestion by targeting improvements in process rates (reduced capital), biogas yields (energy revenue), digestate quality (fertilizer revenue) and using smart process integration strategies to maximise plant wide benefits. Gains will be achieved using:
- pre-treatment technologies that transform the waste prior to Anaerobic Digestion, while also enabling direct recovery of high-value compounds;
- next generation reactor technologies and process designs with improved efficiency;
- performance enhancing additives; and
- co-treatment strategies that leverage infrastructure to increase process output and promote industry cooperation.
Anaerobic Digestion is a strong platform for technology integration and value-chain innovation. The modern waste-to-value opportunities go far beyond traditional AD products such as biogas and digestate. Intermediates can be captured and used as precursors in a range of commodity chemicals, anti-microbials, anti-fungals, novel fuels and bioplastics. A range of these products, such as production nutritionally enhanced animal feeds, organomineral fertilisers, chemicals and fuel, which is being further explored in the Wastes to Profits project Areas 3 and 4.
Please contact us if you want to be more actively involved. |
Our People
Each newsletter we will feature part of the Wastes to Profits Project team, which could be any individual or team from the 17 Project Partners. |
Picture: Members of UQ’s Advanced Water Management Centre |
| The Advanced Water Management Centre (AWMC) at the University of Queensland is an internationally recognised centre of excellence in innovative water, waste and resource recovery technology. The AWMC brings specific expertise in agri-industrial waste management to the Waste to Profits Program, developed through more than 30 successful projects over the past 10 years in the red meat, pork, dairy, poultry and grain industries. This work has included extensive work on waste characterisation, optimisation of existing infrastructure and development of a range of novel technology solutions that fit within the broad and variable needs of these industries (i.e. ranging from low-cost lagoon-based technologies to next-generation membrane processes).
The waste-to-profits concept is a core focus of the AWMC, driving a paradigm shift from waste treatment to resource recovery through a combination of advanced engineering, modelling and the latest biotechnology to inform process design. At AWMC, extensive expertise, the drive to innovate and the latest research tools are being used to enable development of the next generation of wastewater treatment for full resource recovery, including existing and emerging value-add products such as bioenergy, microbial protein, biopolymers, biofertilizers and commodity chemicals.
The AWMC Waste-to-Profits Team, led by Dr Paul Jensen is a multi-discipline group of over 12 academics, researchers, engineering professionals and higher degree research students. Paul leads agri-industrial work at the AWMC. With a background in anaerobic biotechnology and resource recovery, Paul is recognised as one of Australia’s leading experts on methanogenic biodegradability and activity testing and actively contributes to over 12 research and consulting projects per year with applications across the product development cycle. Importantly, Paul and his team are having real world impact, and have contributed to a range of major wastewater infrastructure projects in the municipal and agricultural sectors in the past 10 years. |
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Engagement and Collaboration
If there are specific meetings, events or sites that you would like to see the team present or attend – please contact us.
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Wastes to Profits Meet and Greet
First kick off meeting of 2019 was held at QUT with over 40 researchers and industry representatives. Special thank you to Prof Parisa Bahri and Dr Navid Moheimani for travelling all the way from Murdoch University in Western Australia. |
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| Collaboration across the Country
Area 3 lead, Associate Professor Robert Speight whilst in Western Australia visited Prof Parisa Bahri and Dr Navid Moheimani at Murdoch University Algae R&D Centre. Murdoch University is part of Area 3 focusing on microalgae cultivation for treatment of waste streams in the meat processing industry, and use of algae biomass in animal feed. |
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Bio2AN travelling conference visits Queensland
German Ministry for Education and Research supported a travelling conference to Australia and New Zealand to foster the development of long-term collaboration in Bioplastics and Biocomposites. Wastes to Profits project team attended and presented at the event from UQ, USQ and QUT. |
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The green machine: commercializing microalgae products
In February 2021, the AOCS INFORM magazine featured an article on commercialising microalgae products here. Featuring Wastes to Profits activity co-lead Associate Professor Navid Moheimani director of Murdoch University, Algae Research and Development Center in Perth, Australia. |
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Biosolids National Conference 2019
The biannual Australian Water Association and the Australian & New Zealand Biosolids Partnerships Biosolid National Conference was held in Brisbane. It was a very informative conference, which was well attended by utilities, service companies and waste processing companies. |
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Upcoming Events
Each newsletter we will feature upcoming events that are relevant to the project. If there are events that you would like to see the team present or attend – please contact us. |
Wastes to Profits Annual Workshop – (for Project Partners):
Date: Friday 29th March 2019
Time: 9am to 3.30pm
Venue: SOJW, QUT Gardens Point Campus, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLDNational Sustainability Conference
Date: 1st – 2nd April 2019
Venue: Hotel Grand Chancellor Brisbane, QLD
41st ASSCT Conference 2019 – Broadening our Horizons
30th April – 3rd May 2019, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD
waste2019
14th – 16th May 2019, Opal Cove Resort, Coffs Harbour, NSW
44th Queensland Water Industry Operations Conference & Exhibition
5th – 6th June 2019, Bundaberg Multiplex (MSCC), Bundaberg, QLD
Australian Renderers Association, 15th International Symposium (Bi-Annual)
23rd – 26th July 2019, Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart, Tasmania
2019 National Fodder Conference
29th – 31st July 2019, Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley, NSW
Northern Beef Research Update Conference
19th – 22nd August 2019, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, QLD
Waste Expo Australia
23rd – 24th Oct 2019, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre, VIC
Australasian Waste and Recycling Expo 2019
30th – 31st Oct 2019, International Convention Centre, Sydney, NSW
TropAg: Shapting the science of Tomorrow
11th -13th Nov 2019, Brisbane, QLD
APSA Australasian Pig Science Association Conference
17th – 20th Nov, Hilton Adelaide, SA
Red Meat 2019 & MLA AGM
18th – 21st Nov 2019, Tamworth, NSW
WEC – World Engineers Convention Australia 2019
20th – 22nd Nov 2019, Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre, VIC |
Chair, Wastes to Profits Steering Committee
Doug McNicholl
Program Manager, Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA)
e: dmcnicholl@mla.com.au
p: 0439 275 794 |
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Chief Investigator, Wastes to Profits
Prof Ian O’Hara
Principal Research Fellow, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
e: i.ohara@qut.edu.au
p: (07) 3138 1551 |
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Project Manager, Wastes to Profits
Lisa van den Berg
Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
e: lisa.vandenberg@qut.edu.au
p: (07) 3138 1415 |
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