The University of New England recently hosted Professor Yuta Nishina from Okayama University, Japan, who travelled to Australia to help set up the unique graphene production facility at UNE’s Armidale campus.
The facility will use the patented Nishina method, to produce graphene and graphene oxide for use in new water technologies that will provide sustainable water solutions for regional and rural Australia.
Dr Nishina has a strong technical background in nanotechnology and has spent the last decade working with leading researchers to develop innovative technologies with global impact. He believes the method implemented at UNE will address the current challenges to the commercialisation of graphene, including efficient manufacturing techniques.
The Australian-first pilot facility is a direct outcome of the UNE and Vesi Group partnership that was announced last year.
Labelled the ‘rubber of the 21st century’, graphene was rediscovered in 2004 and consists of a single layer of carbon atoms with exceptional physical properties. Scientifically it straddles both chemistry and physics with the former focused on synthesis and application and the latter on understanding the properties.
It is graphene’s versatility and untapped potential that sparked the attention of UNE SMART Region Incubator (SRI) founder and Vesi Group CEO, Llewellyn Owens.
“Graphene is a gamechanger as it has so many real-world applications in electronics, optics, chemistry, energy storage, and biology,” Mr Owens said.
“It will enable us to solve problems we haven’t been able to solve before such as sustainable provision of drinking water.”
Vesi Group has successfully proved their concept by producing a graphene-based material capable of absorbing huge amounts of water from the air, up to 300% of its weight, and releasing it at a very low temperature to provide clean, drinkable water.
“Once the pilot facility is fully operational, we aim to produce sufficient graphene and graphene oxide to create air-to-water generators capable of harvesting 200-10,000 litres of clean water per day from airborne humidity.”
“With the recent drought and severe water shortages still fresh in peoples’ minds our technology is the missing link to developing scalable, cost-competitive air-to-water generation systems,” Mr Owens said.
“Unlike traditional sorbents, our air sponge desiccant captures and releases moisture in minutes not hours, has a low energy footprint, can complete many cycles in a day, and is not dependent on traditional water infrastructure – all attributes that increase the water yield and make for favourable economics.”
Vesi Group expects to launch their first flagship product capable of producing 200 litres of clean water at 50% humidity per day in the second quarter of this year.
UNE will work with Vesi Group and Professor Nishina to develop, automate and optimise the pilot facility, so that it is a cost-effective means of producing graphene.
The pilot facility will also provide research, education and training opportunities for researchers and students and is an exemplar of the kind of regional partnerships, based on STEM activities, that the University is keen to embrace under its STEM Q initiative.
“Our aim is to scale the pilot facility to produce 1700kg of graphene per year by late 2023. This bigger facility will be based in the New England region, contributing to job creation and economic growth,” Mr Owens said.
While on campus Professor Nishina also delivered a Special Lecture explaining the complex electrochemical processes associated with his patented method of graphene production and the challenges he faced in developing a safe and sustainable way of producing graphene.
