NSSN projects help protect koala populations and reduce microplastics in water
NSSN collaborative projects to monitor koala population and reduce microplastics and waste in hospitals have received NSW Government funding. Photo: Pexels.
Two NSSN industry partner projects, focussing on the detection of koala populations and the reduction of microplastics and contaminants in hospital wastewater have been awarded $1.8 million in funding from the NSW Small Business Innovation & Research (SBIR) program.
The SBIR program is a $24 million initiative of the NSW Government that provides competitive grants to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to collaborate and develop solutions to complex problems in new and innovative ways.
The NSSN worked closely with the companies in 2021 to secure Phase 1 seed funding, with both projects successfully graduating to Phase 2 proof of concept stage.
Biodiversity Monitoring Services (BMS) will receive approximately $900,000 in funding for the Koala Count Challenge project that will detect and assess koala populations in NSW for the benefit of koala preservation.
BMS will develop a bio-inspired acoustic sensing technology that will be used to create a more targeted and efficient monitoring device for koala calls.
NSSN Environment & AgTech Theme Leader Theme Leader and project partner Dr Tomonori Hu said the novel bio-inspired approach to sensing koalas uses a Silicon Cochlear device developed by Western Sydney University.
“The Silicon Cochlear device is designed to be similar to how human ears work. There are functions human ears do remarkably well, like hearing people in a noisy room, that traditional microphones cannot do as well – and the point here is to mimic this functionality to hear koalas in the wild,” Dr Hu said.
“Traditional microphones can achieve ranges of 150m, but human hearing is double that, so it’s anticipated the sensing technology will provide better detection in noisy environments, over longer ranges.
“This device is also designed to be event-based, meaning it only registers a detection when it senses a change in the environment, reducing overall power consumption and achieving more targeted data generation.”
PEGRAS will receive $900,000 in funding for the Water Purification Challenge project to reduce microplastics and other contamination in the wastewater stream coming from hospital laundry services.
NSSN Industrial Futures Theme Leader and project partner, Dr Don McCallum said synthetic textiles are one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution, matched only by car tyres.
“Hospitals are a major source of waste, including from textiles. They are also large, well-managed facilities, so it makes sense to treat the waste at the source, where it can be efficiently processed, rather than combining it with a city’s waste and treatment, which becomes more difficult,” Dr McCallum said.
“Special coagulating chemicals have been developed by the University of Sydney and the consultancy PEGRAS, that when added to the water bring the suspended microparticles together that are easier to remove, sending far more pure water back into the water network or reused in the hospital.
“The technology has the potential to be designed into small-scale facilities at each hospital. The process is non-toxic, efficient and has significant benefits in removing microplastics from the environment.”
NSSN Co-Director Professor Benjamin Eggleton congratulated the NSSN project partners on facilitating these funding opportunities.
“It’s pleasing to see our Theme Leaders develop strong relationships with industry that translate research into innovative smart sensing solutions that have practical outcomes from koala population monitoring to the treatment of microplastics,” Prof. Eggleton said.
“These NSSN projects showcase the collaboration of our researchers with partners to tackle complex challenges facing society.”
NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte said the successful businesses had already completed feasibility studies under Phase 1 of the SBIR and will now use the funding to develop a Phase 2 proof of concept over the next 15 months.
“The devices and systems being developed by these NSW businesses are cutting-edge and this stage is key to ensuring they can commercialise and realise their potential,” said Professor Durrant-Whyte said.
The NSW Smart Sensing Network (NSSN), a consortium of nine leading universities across NSW and the ACT, is a not-for-profit innovation network that brings together universities, industry and government to translate world-class research into innovative smart sensing solutions that create value for NSW and beyond.