UNSW's New Technology for Re-using Wastewater

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) was the winner of the 2022 NSW Sustainability Awards in the Net Zero Action Category.

In 2019, UNSW embarked on a journey to navigate through the challenges of the global pandemic, in addition to the inherent uncertainties of research and development.

Through close collaboration and shared core values, they successfully developed unique products that are successfully used to capture nutrients in surface water and industrial waste for reuse and recycling.

The manufacturing method has low water and energy consumption and zero discharge.

After careful laboratory testing, the method has been scaled up successfully and the required workforce is trained. Further field tests are in progress to identify other applications such as managing mass fish die-offs in waterways and new markets.

UNSW has the insight, expertise, and passion to continue to develop this technology. It has the potential to be a world-leading environmental solution to multiple problems, for instance, loss of biodiversity caused by the destabilisation of waterway and estuary ecosystems via excess nutrient leaching from agricultural land.

The next step is manufacturing on a large scale in Australia, which will be received by attracting investment from the government and companies with shared values.

This initiative is an example of what can be achieved through collaboration between Industry and academia and will encourage Australian industries to be innovative and think globally. Great market potential and healthy revenue can be achieved by developing products that help to improve the environment.