Water

Water

CAPABILITY STATEMENT

Effective water management shapes our ability to survive and thrive in response to challenges such as urban expansion and climate change. Monash University is committed to water research and the development of scientific resources that protect and enhance sustainable environments at the local, national and global level.

Focus areas

Wastewater treatment and recycling
Energy and nutrient recovery from wastewater
Drinking water supply and quality control
Pathogens monitoring and control
Water Sensitive Urban Design
Flood protection
Integrated water modelling
Water pipe asset management

Monash Infrastructure water theme coordinator

Professor Xiwang Zhang

Research capabilities

Monash University is one of leading global research institutes with a strong reputation of technology innovation for water, which is demonstrated by Monash water researchers' track record in technology development, publication, international patents, and commercialisation. We have expertise in passive green technologies which use natural, renewable energy, low maintenance techniques to remove pollutants from wastewater, greywater and stormwater for water recycling/harvesting.

These multifunctional green systems not only reduce the negative impact to environment and eliminate water shortage, but also provide amenity and cooling benefits in our urban environment.

Our researchers have expertise in membrane technology innovation for drinking water production, wastewater recycling, seawater desalination and new methods for recovering resources such as nutrients from wastewater and lithium from brine. Additionally, they have rich experiences in electrochemical and photocatalytic oxidation processes to further polish a wide range of urban water sources.

Monash has developed multiple techniques to enumerate pathogens and to track sources of faecal contamination in water systems, enabling our industry partners to better estimate pathogen risks posed to end-users and to help identify where to focus their mitigation efforts.

We also have expertise in city-scale modelling which is enabling city planners to harness all available water resources in an integrated manner to deliver multiple benefits to the community.

An interdisciplinary approach to delivering sustainable urban water infrastructure

MI works across Monash University, integrating research from the Faculties of Business and Economics, Art Design and Architecture, Arts, Engineering, Science, Information Technology and Monash Sustainability Development Institute.

Case study

Green technologies for water treatment

Monash University engineers, led by Associate Professor David McCarthy, are helping cities around the world adopt a more sustainable system of water management. Monash engineers have designed biofilters, wetlands and green walls to treat stormwater, greywater and groundwater.

These low-energy and low maintenance treatment technologies enable the removal of critical pollutants and pathogens. The Monash team has worked closely with councils, governments, the community and the water industry over the past decade to install green water technologies across Australia and deliver detailed guidelines and training for their design and use. The technologies have also been exported to some of the most advanced water management regions in the world, including Israel and Singapore.

Membrane technologies for resource recovery from wastewater

The research team led by Professor Huanting Wang and Professor Xiwang Zhang have developed a number of innovative membrane technologies which can achieve energy-efficient recovery of soluble substances from water at molecular level. These patented technologies have promising potential application for resource recovery from wastewater. For instance, the highflux ultra-filtration membrane achieves excellent acid recovery from mining wastewater; the integrated forward osmosis technology can efficiently recover nutrients from municipal and food wastewater; and the solar steam membrane achieves 100% salt recovery from saline water.