Victorian universities RMIT and Deakin joined forces on an initiative to create agricultural and manufacturing products from common waste streams.
Partnering with Geelong utility company Barwon Water, the project aims to transform tens of thousands of tonnes of biosolids from wastewater treatment and household waste into products for commercial use each year.
The project will be undertaken at Barwon Water’s Black Rock and Colac water reclamation plants and will involve producing biochar, a charcoal-like material made from controlled heating of organic matter.
Biochar increases soil nutrients and moisture available to boost plant growth, as well as supports the microorganisms living in the soil around plant roots.
Research teams from the universities will explore optimal biochar formulations specific to the Geelong region’s soil conditions to help produce high-value cereal and legume crops.
Using a combination of lab, greenhouse and farm trials at Deakin University’s Waurn Ponds Campus, different biochar formulations will be researched.
Assessments of the costs, benefits and potential impacts of its use in agriculture will also be explored.
“Through our Regional Renewable Organics Network projects, we’re supporting building a circular economy in the Geelong region, revolutionising waste management to turn organic waste into sustainable products like biochar, which enriches soils and captures carbon, benefiting local farmers and households,” Barwon Water managing director Shaun Cumming says.
The utility company’s Regional Renewable Organics Network projects aim to process approximately 60,000 tonnes of biosolids from its 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.
It comes as landfills in the country are nearing capacity, with organic waste being the second biggest contributor to that waste accumulation.
Biochar in energy management
Apart from agriculture, the research teams are also investigating the use of biochar as a sustainable source within Australia’s battery supply chain.
“We’re exploring if biochar can be used as the anode active material within sodium-ion batteries,” Deakin associate professor Nolene Byrne says.
If the use of biochar proves to be a successful and commercially viable initiative, sodium-ion batteries could become a safer, cheaper alternative to the lithium-ion batteries used to store solar energy in the grid and home batteries.
“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,” Byrne says.
Backed by a $50 million grant from the Australian Government’s Trailblazer Universities Program, Deakin’s Recycling and Clean Energy Commercialisation Hub (REACH) is focused on developing greener supply chains.
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