University Spotlight - Curtin University

• A ‘smart’ molecule that changes colour in a matter of milliseconds when exposed to UV light • Easily synthesised optically-active nanoparticles, which are free of cadmium and other toxic heavy metals • An algorithm that continually monitors power transformers for internal mechanical and electrical faults

The Legacy Living Lab

The university has been the home of numerous break throughs in technology over the past decades, leading the world in environmentally-conscious research and innovation. The Legacy Living Lab (L3) project is an example of this commitment; a modular building, designed using principles of the circular economy, and aiming to design out waste by including as much recycling and re-use of materials as possible.

Constructed as part of their thesis, Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute PhD candidates Timothy O’Grady and Roberto Minunno, together with Curtin Professor Greg Morrison, worked alongside many industry partners to create L3 as a resource to support and inform the building industry on different construction methodologies, test new products, and review the performance of materials, including their energy consumption, automation, and effects on building wellness. “In Australia, the construction industry is responsible for about 30 per cent or 20.4 million tonnes of annual waste. Although it’s a significant and largely ignored issue, this is also an opportunity,” O’Grady said. “The circular economy concept sits at the heart of the L3’s design and construction and reduces waste by incorporating many fortuitous finds and generous donations, giving real meaning to the phrase ‘one person’s trash is another’s treasure’.”

Curtin researchers Timothy O'Grady, Professor Greg Morrison and Roberto Minunno outside the Legacy Living Lab (L3). Image courtesy of Curtin University.

Project Spotlight: Gold Extraction Process

Researchers at Curtin University have developed glycine leaching technology to enhance the leaching rates for gold ore. This is achieved by using a low concentration of a strong oxidising agent known as potassium permanganate. The lead researchers have published a paper on their findings, titled Gold leaching from oxide ores in alkaline glycine solutions in the presence of permanganate. The project was led by Professor Jacques Eksteen and Dr Elsayed Oraby from the WA School of Mines: Minerals, Energy and Chemical Engineering. Curtin has been working in this space for eight years, including with minerals industry partner, Mining and Process Solutions Pty Ltd (MPS), to commercialise the new process. “Traditionally, leaching or separating gold and other precious metals from an ore deposit or e-waste materials requires the use of cyanide – a highly toxic chemical compound that is known to have detrimental effects to the environment and to the human body,” Professor Eksteen said. “Industrially, it is very expensive to detoxify cyanide, but it still does not eliminate the risks associated with transporting, handling and processing the chemical.” Glycine is naturally produced by the human body and is essential for life. On the other hand, cyanide destroys life and is dangerous for humans. “Permanganate and glycine partially decompose to form insoluble manganese dioxide, insoluble calcium oxalate, and nitrogen all of which are naturally occurring, low-toxicity chemical compounds. Whereas cyanide retains its toxicity, even in the waste solution of the extraction process,” Professor Eksteen said. “With low concentrations of potassium permanganate being added to the alkaline glycine system, we were able to leach 85.1 per cent of gold from the ore deposit (similar to the extraction by cyanidation) at ambient temperature and using a substance known as a benign reagent, which in industry standards is quite an achievement.” “Researchers at Curtin University have spent years developing a new leaching process and our work broadens the use of this patented technology, making it more suitable for extracting gold deposits,” Dr Oraby said.

“We believe this new process will bring many benefits to gold extraction industries, which from an environmental point of view, is a much friendlier extraction method.”