Research Blog

Research Blog

Mid-year Industry Event

With discussions covering everything from artificial intelligence and robotics to the costs associated with using recycled glass as an alternate to sand, yesterday’s TREMS industry event held at the University of Southern Queensland brought together industry, government and academia to tackle how we can redefine our waste as valuable resources and reduce landfill. Opened by Professor John […]

How do you manage waste in your apartment?

Minimising kerbside waste in apartments Researchers at RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia are keen to speak with householders in London, UK in apartments and multi-unit developments with shared waste infrastructure. Participation involves a 60-90-minute interview including taking a researcher on a tour of your kitchen and apartment building and having a chat about waste-management practices in […]

TREMS Launch Event November 2022

Mid November, RMIT marked the launch of the TREMS Hub, a #research hub focused on tackling the #global waste #crisis. This is a timely initiative and is made possible by funding and #collaboration from the Australian Research Council and state, industry and international #partners. Lead by RMIT and University of Melbourne, the hub has been working for the […]
ARC Future Fellowship success for world first recycled concrete project

ARC Future Fellowship success for world first recycled concrete project

Western Sydney University’s Distinguished Professor Vivian Tam has been awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship, attracting more than one million dollars for the development of Het-Crete, the world’s first building material for high grade construction that uses mixed construction and demolition waste, combined with environmentally friendly chemicals. Distinguished Professor Tam, from the School […]
Novel Geopolymer Coarse Aggregate Concrete

Novel Geopolymer Coarse Aggregate Concrete

With the production of more than 16 billion metric tonnes per year, concrete has become the most widely used material on earth. Thus, the aggregates, which occupy three-quarter of the volume of concrete is also subjected to high demand. The production of aggregates to match the demand increment of concrete has become a challenging task. […]
Sustainable biochar based functional concrete materials

Sustainable biochar based functional concrete materials

Urban runoff contains significant amount of heavy metals, nutrients, suspended and colloidal particulate matters, and other aqueous and non-aqueous phase pollutants. Therefore, urban runoff has been identified as a major source of non-point source pollutants. Further, the pollution of water resources due to heavy metals has been an increasing worldwide concern for the last few […]
Nano-Engineered High-volume Fly Ash composite

Nano-Engineered High-volume Fly Ash composite

Achieving sustainability has become one of the key aspects of the construction industry in recent years. Thus, developing green construction material has a key role to play especially to minimize the carbon footprint. Concrete is the most commonly used construction material with a rapidly increasing demand over the years. Unfortunately, the main compound of concrete, […]
Recycled Textile Reinforced Concrete

Recycled Textile Reinforced Concrete

Textile waste is currently becoming serious issues due to the consequences of fast fashion and throw-away culture. Australia is ranked as the world’s second-largest nation for textile consumption, with each individual purchasing average of 27 kilograms of textile-based products per annum, being twice the global consumption average. Estimated dispose of textile-related items per Australian is […]
Fly ash Geopolymer concrete in Harsh Environment

Fly ash Geopolymer concrete in Harsh Environment

Development and environment nowadays are considered as two interconnected sectors. However, the sustainability of both sectors has to be considered to ensure human progress does not exhaust the resources of future generations. Increasing in development sector inevitably boost demand in the industrial sector that ultimately impact the environment. The building industry is responsible as one […]
Alakli Activated Rice Husk Ash Concrete

Alakli Activated Rice Husk Ash Concrete

Manufacturing Portland cement (PC) releases significant quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as it is responsible for about 5-8 % global CO2 emissions accounting for around 2.2 billion tonnes of CO2 emission per year. It has been reported that 0.73-0.85 tonnes of CO2 is released from the production of every single tonne of PC […]
Landfill leachate treatment using enhanced membrane bioreactor

Landfill leachate treatment using enhanced membrane bioreactor

Landfill leachate management is one of the major concerns when it comes to solid waste management through landfilling or open dumping. Leachate is generated due to percolation of rainwater through degrading waste and moisture content of waste matter. This liquid consists of dissolved organic matter, inorganic macro compounds, heavy metals and xenobiotic organic compounds. In […]
Cost effective pavement stabilization with enzymes

Cost effective pavement stabilization with enzymes

The Australian road network is a multibillion-dollar asset covering about 800,000 km of which two-thirds are unsealed. Annually $6 billion is spent on construction and maintenance of roads, of this $1.5 billion is spent on unsealed roads. Unsealed roads are faced with significant issues including; dust control, road washouts, safety concerns, vehicle damage and moisture […]
Geopolymers – What are they and how can they help us save the environment

Geopolymers – What are they and how can they help us save the environment

Concrete is the most widely used construction material in the world. It is primarily produced using Portland cement as a binder in the ratio of about 10-15% by mass of the resulting concrete. Portland cement production raises environmental concerns over the emission of carbon dioxide. It has been estimated that cement production contributes to approximately […]
Green Concrete produced with Industrial Waste

Green Concrete produced with Industrial Waste

In recent years as society has embraced environmental sustainability and moved towards a carbon neutral footprint, there has been increased attention on the adaption of renewable resources within the construction industry. The production of Portland Cement has a significant impact on the CO2 emissions as it has been reported that for every 1 tonne of […]
Recycling biosolids to make sustainable bricks

Recycling biosolids to make sustainable bricks

Biosolids are a by-product of the wastewater treatment process that can be used as fertiliser, in land rehabilitation or as a construction material. Around 30% of the world’s biosolids are stockpiled or sent to landfill, using up valuable land and potentially emitting greenhouse gases, creating an environmental challenge. Now a team at RMIT University in […]
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