Toward a safe and sustainable future

The state of the planet is on everyone’s agenda. And rightly so. Natural resources are becoming scarce, and the fragility of the environment, including the earth’s climate, is rapidly becoming apparent. That is why there has been an increasing emphasis on renewable technologies, and on industries and processes that produce less waste – waste that is not only treated appropriately but also re-used. It is also why the discipline of materials science and engineering at Monash has taken up the biggest challenge we face today. In this brochure we outline some of the ways that green materials science and engineering can offer us a safer and more sustainable future.

At Monash, our commitment to green science and engineering is reflected in the Department of Materials Engineering – in its undergraduate curriculum, and in its research projects and postgraduate study.
Undergraduate coursework equips students with skills in all classes of materials properties – processing, modelling and characterisation – to enable them to work in environmental and sustainability-based industries.  A fourth-year materials engineering subject draws together many of these areas, and looks at ways, including recycling, of managing waste of all classes of materials. The course also introduces lifecycle analysis and the economics and politics of materials and the environment.
When a degree in materials engineering is taken with a degree such as commerce, science or law, an even wider range of possibilities opens up.  As you will see, many research projects in the Monash Department of Materials Engineering deal with the all-important issue of sustainability. The following examples have been drawn from current and recent departmental research, and many involve extensive cooperation with industry.

New methods of hydrogen storage

Hydrogen is one of the cleanest sources of renewable energy—the development of advanced materials for the generation and storage of hydrogen is a key to achieving low greenhouse gas emissions.  Extensive research is being conducted into these materials, particularly into novel niobium-based hydrogen permeation membranes and nanostructured magnesium-based hydrogen storage alloys.  We have recently discovered that by using nonequilibrium material processing, the microstructure of niobium-based hydrogen permeation alloys can be reduced to as small as 10 nanometres.  Since both the solubility and the diffusivity of hydrogen in alloys are enhanced by nanoscale grain refinement, this nonequilibrium processing is expected to lead to novel nanostructured membrane alloys with exceptional hydrogen purification capability.

New types of high-efficiency batteries

Departmental researchers are examining the use of new ion and electron-conducting materials to improve electrolytes and electrodes in solar cells, fuel cells, capacitors and lightweight batteries.  When looking at ways of powering everything from cars to miniature devices that may be used to help power biomedical devices, the ability to store more energy in smaller or lighter devices is not only advantageous but also crucial. The materials development plays a crucial role in achieving the higher efficiencies and greater reliability required in such devices to help them reach the market.

Environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors

Research in the Department of Materials Engineering has led to recent advances in corrosion prevention technologies for metals using rare earth-based inhibitor compounds and novel ionic liquids, such as liquid salts.  New corrosion-preventing treatments are needed to allow the elimination, for personal and environmental safety, of the more commonly used toxic hexavalent chromium compounds from current protection technologies, especially in defence and aerospace applications.

Cheaper, simpler solar cells using nanotechnology

Solar energy remains an important alternative to fossil fuels, but most current solar cells are made of silicon and are expensive and complex to produce.  At Monash Materials Engineering we are conducting research into an alternative solar cell that uses nanostructured titanium particles and a dye that mimics the behaviour of chlorophyll in plants to convert light to electricity. The cells are easy to make, cheap to produce, and can be made on flexible substrates in a much more modular fashion.

Biomimetic materials engineering: materials that imitate nature

A related area of modern materials engineering draws its inspiration from nature to produce new materials. One example is the ‘lotus-leaf effect’, where fine nano-sized bumps on a lotus leaf provide dirt and water repellency – that is, the leaf is self-cleaning. Our researchers are looking at a range of such biomimetic materials, including selfcleaning clothing. Projects being undertaken include new types of universal self-adhesives based on the gecko’s foot, and aligned nanotubes as possible replacements for fluorescent lights, which are energy-hungry and contain several undesirable components when discarded.

Lightweight alloys for energy conservation

Alloys that contain aluminum, magnesium and titanium – the so-called light metals – are much lighter than those made from other metals. Their weight is particularly important in the aerospace and automotive industries, where lighter vehicles mean reduced use of nonrenewable fuels and less problematic emissions.  Researchers in light alloys at Monash Engineering are developing magnesium alloys for use in power trains and structural components that could reduce the weight of an average car by up to 20 per cent, delivering greater fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions. Using magnesium alloys could result in saving 2500 litres of fuel (or 15 per cent) and could result in greenhouse gas savings equivalent to seven tonnes of CO₂ over the life of the car, or the equivalent of removing 1.5 million cars from Australian roads.

Plastics that replace PVC cables and ceramify when they burn

Polyvinyl chloride, better known as PVC, has long been used in many applications, like electrical power cable coatings, not only because it is cheap but also because it is flame resistant. The continued use of PVC, however, is being discouraged for a range of health and environmental reasons, for example when it burns it can give off noxious fumes. A team, including researchers in the Department of Materials Engineering, has developed a flexible polymeric material that functions as a normal cable sheath, with an important difference: when it burns, it turns into a ceramic. The sheath maintains a solid, protective insulating layer that allows it to maintain electricity flow, a valuable asset when a building needs to be cleared during a fire. The material was developed in collaboration with a major Australian cable manufacturer, which now sells it internationally. Another spin-off company using this technology is now working on other opportunities in firerelated areas.

Biodegradable starch-based plastics

Most plastics are derived from nonrenewable resources, such as oil and gas. But new research shows that plastics can now be made from renewable materials, like starch, plants and farmed crops. Recent breakthroughs mean that conventional plastics-processing equipment can process such materials into a variety of shapes and objects. Materials Engineering researchers are working with collaborators and a spin-off company on these new methods to improve the range of applications for similar materials from renewable resources. Importantly, these plastics are also biodegradable.

Improved recyclability of commodity plastics

It is vital that we find appropriate uses for waste plastic. Society is quickly running out of areas suitable for landfill, and new locations are usually expensive and remote, which means higher transport costs and increased car emissions. Over recent years the Department of Materials Engineering has been investigating ways of improving the properties of common materials, such as polyethylene milk bottles, to ensure that they can be used in other markets and in products required in large volumes. To this end, we have looked at blending recycled materials with other strategic plastics. Similarly, we have looked at new technologies that change the chemical structure of waste materials to promote processing and produce the desired beneficial properties.

	An air-electrode, where a fine layer – just 0.4 of a micron thick, or about 100 tmes thinner than a human hair – of highly conductive plastic is deposited on breathable fabric.	An experimental cast of an alloy engine block

Relevant jobs in materials engineering: the good, and green, news

Increasing numbers of jobs are being created in areas connected with the environment and sustainable engineering, ranging from recycling and alternative energy sources, to water instrumentalities and pollution reduction.
The great news is that materials engineers are well qualified to take up these opportunities. Often the skills of materials engineers are needed in more broadly based companies seeking materials and processes to reduce the use of materials, energy consumption, environmental footprints and so on. This can involve better processing of existing materials, often with more environmentally friendly materials, solvents and additives, materials replacement, development of new materials and composites, and improved ways of reducing or reusing waste. As well as industry, graduates in materials engineering also find work in research, such as in the CSIRO, and as consultants, patent attorneys and business development managers.
Now, meet three materials scientists and engineers, two of them Monash graduates, who are working in important industries dealing with the environment.

Ed Kosior

Change is the only thing that doesn’t change, says Monash graduate Ed Kosior. And he should know. After graduating with a Master of Engineering Science in Polymer Engineering at Monash in 1985, Edward has worked as director of the RMITPolymer Technology Centre, and as national manager of research and technology at Visy Plastics, where he designed and supervised the construction of the state-of-the-art recycling centre for post-consumer plastics at Reservoir, Victoria and is also currently an Adjunct Professor at Swinburne University of Technology. Today Edward is managing director of Nextek Pty Ltd, a company he set up to provide solutions to the environmental and recycling challenges facing the polymer industry. He is also technical director of Closed Loop London, which is establishing London’s firstplastics recycling plant.
For many years, Edward was disappointed in the lack of producer responsibility shown by companies making plastics, especially those in the packaging sector. ‘My response was to focus my research and work into recycling these materials,’ Edward says.
‘This led to expanding my focus on separation science and the commercialisation of sustainable technologies. ‘Recent changes to the cost of petrohydrocarbons has meant that the development of sustainable materials from plants will potentially yield a whole new generation of materials, so that developed and developing communities can enjoy a positive hope for a sustainable planet. ‘The development of solutions from laboratory to market place that minimise the impact of polymers and packaging is immensely satisfying, because real-world factors always leap out to hinder progress and teach us to be resourceful and innovative and to accept that we will always continue tolearn new things every day.’

Kenneth Cheah

Dr Kenneth Cheah is project leader of materials R&D at Solar Systems Pty Ltd, which designs and builds ultra-high-efficiency concentrated solar-power stations. He did both a Materials Engineering undergraduate as well as a postgraduate degree.
‘My work includes a range of projects on solar reflectors, photovoltaic cells, new materials development, optics and corrosion monitoring,’ Ken says. ‘It involves identifying new technologies and research partners, managing relationships to achieve the best outcome for the company, and problem solving materials-related issues.’ Ken’s work gives him the opportunity to contribute to a world-leading renewable technology. ‘We recently reported a world-record 35-per-cent-efficient concentrated photovoltaic receiver that we had developed, and work is under way to improve on that to ensure that we can compete with traditional power generating technologies in terms of cost,’ he says.

Nick McAffrey

After Nick McAffrey graduated in applied science at Melbourne University in 1983, he worked for several years in the plastics industry. Today Nick is senior project manager at Plantic (Altona), where he is responsible for a research and development project to commercialise biodegradable resins. Based in Australia, Plantic Technologies is a leading innovator in bioplastics.
 ‘Plantic is in the process of commercialising biodegradable polymers based on renewable resources,’ Nick says. ‘Plantic’s biopolymers come from renewable, GM-free Australian grown corn, and can replace conventional resins based on fossil fuels. Plantic has commercialised sheet used for thermoformable, rigid packaging and injection moldable resins.
‘My role as research and development manager is to ensure that development projects remain on track, as well as to coordinate the external research we undertake with partners such as Monash University.
‘Projects are currently in progress to develop thin, flexible films used for plastic wrapping, and to exploit the excellent gas barrier properties of starch films.’ Materials Engineering is one of the collaborators with Plantic in a project to further broaden the use of starch-based plastics.

Enquiries

Professor George Simon
Department of Materials Engineering,
Monash University, Victoria 3800
Tel: +61 3 9905 4936
Fax: +61 3 9905 4940
Email: george.simon@eng.monash.edu.au
www.eng.monash.edu.au/materials/