PART 1 - STUDENT PROJECT PROPOSAL

1. Type of Project (e.g. PhD / Masters by Research, / Masters by Coursework / Honours)

PhD

2. Short Project Title

Understanding water-energy-nutrient-GHG nexus in the urban wastewater management for sustainable
development

3. Long Form Project Title

Developing a framework for optimum recovery and recycling of water, energy and nutrients from urban
wastewater for sustainable agricultural production: A water-energy-nutrient nexus approach

4. Keywords
Water, Energy, Phosphorus, Nitrogen, GHG emission, Urban, Wastewater management, Recycling

5. Abstract (Project teaser for use on WaterRA website) (Max 200 words)
Understanding the water-energy-nutrient-GHG nexus at the urban wastewater management system
is essential for making an appropriate decision towards socio-economic and environmental
sustainability. Based on the substance flow analysis and life cycle assessment methods, this study
will perform a comprehensive assessment of the nexus of water-energy-nutrient-GHG at the urban
wastewater management systems of the Melbourne city to identify the potential for enhanced
resource (e.g., water, energy, nutrient) recovery and reducing environmental footprint. Based on
the preliminary assessment and a review of the existing literature on sustainable urban wastewater
management technologies around the world, this study aims to develop a framework of sustainable
wastewater management system for Melbourne that ensures optimum water, energy and nutrient
recovery with minimum GHG emissions. These recovered resources can be utilized for
minimizing the inputs of fossil-based resources in the agricultural system. This framework could
be widely utilized for sustainable wastewater management in other cities having similar socio-
economic and environmental conditions.

EDU FOR 02B2018 Student Project Proposal Part 1 Page | 1

6. Project Background and Scope (Identify the specific problem the project will solve, the current state of
industry knowledge or practice, and how the project advances knowledge or practice) (Max 400 words)
Water, energy, and nutrient are three critical environmental resources, where understanding the
nexus of these key resources is essential for providing holistic solutions towards environmental
sustainability and food security. An extensive review of available literature indicates that there is a
limited understanding of the nexus of water-energy-nutrient-GHG in the context of urban wastewater
management system. However, assessing this nexus is important for several reasons i.e. ‘a certain
amount of water and nutrient recovery from wastewater is achieved with a certain amount of energy
use and associated GHG emissions’, ‘the amount of nutrient recovery depends on the quality
and quantity of wastewater treated, hence the amount of water recycled’ and ‘amount of energy
(i.e. CH4) produced from the anaerobic digestion of certain amount of wastewater/sludge’. It is
essential to know these trade-offs to ensure optimum recovery of water, nutrient and energy from
wastewater with minimum GHG emissions. This present review has identified the following
knowledge gaps:

 Lack of a comprehensive understanding of the ‘water-energy-nutrient-GHG’ nexus at the

urban wastewater management system.
 Lack of a framework to offer appropriate methods of wastewater management to ensure
optimum recovery of water, energy and nutrient with minimum GHG emissions.
 Limited understanding of the potential for utilizing the recovered water, energy and nutrients
from wastewater for sustaining crop production.

7. Project Aims (Specific, high level. No more than 5 dot points)

 To present a comparative assessment of the advantages and limitations of existing urban
wastewater treatment methods/techniques in terms of water, energy and nutrient recovery
and GHG emissions.

 To gain a comprehensive understanding of the water-energy-nutrient-GHG nexus at the

urban wastewater management system.

 To assess the current status of urban wastewater management system of Melbourne in terms
of water, energy, nutrient recovery and GHG emission to identify potential areas for
improvement.

 To develop a framework of sustainable urban wastewater management system for Melbourne

to ensure optimum water recycling with optimum energy and nutrient recovery with
minimum GHG emissions.

 To assess the potential for utilizing the recovered water, energy and nutrient for replacing the
use of fossil based resources at the agricultural production system.

EDU FOR 02B2018 Student Project Proposal Part 1 Page | 2

8. Proposed Methodology (Specific, high level. No more than 5 dot points)
 A systematic and in-depth review of all relevant literature to identify necessary data and
information for the proposed analysis.
 Collection of necessary water, energy, nutrient and GHG emissions data relating to two
major wastewater treatment plants of Melbourne Water (i.e., ETP and WTP).
 Systematic quantitative analysis of the collected water, energy, nutrient and GHG emissions
data relating to the ETP and WTP of Melbourne Water using ‘material flow analysis’
method that applies the mass balance principle for the quantitative analysis of material flow
in a system defined in space and time.
 A lifecycle assessment of the existing wastewater treatment technologies of the treatment
plants of Melbourne Water using LCA software such as SimaPro.
 Development and analysis of sustainable urban wastewater management framework in
MATLAB/Simulink® software platform.

9. Project Outcomes (Specific, high level. No more than 5 dot points)

 An understanding of the existing knowledge base and knowledge gap relating to the water-
energy-nutrient-GHG nexus in the wastewater management system.
 Identification of the key areas for improving wastewater management system of Melbourne
city for better resource recovery with low environmental footprint.
 A framework tool of sustainable wastewater management system that would allow achieving
optimum recovery of water, energy and nutrients from the wastewater with minimum GHG
emissions.
 An understanding of the potential for utilizing the recovered water, energy and nutrient from
urban wastewater in the agricultural production system.

10. Industry Benefits (Briefly indicate the benefits that the project will deliver to the water industry and
how the knowledge outcomes will be transferred/applied) (Max 400 words)
This project will identify the shortcomings of existing wastewater management system of
Melbourne Water and recommend the potential areas for improvement in terms of better water,
energy and nutrient recovery with reduced GHG emissions. This project will also develop a
framework of sustainable wastewater management system for Melbourne that could be utilized by
Melbourne Water for achieving optimum water, energy and nutrient recovery with minimal GHG
emission in its two major wastewater treatment plants. This study will also recommend the best
possible ways of utilizing the recovered resources in the agricultural production system. The
knowledge developed in this project could be transferred for improving urban wastewater
management systems of cities having similar socio-economic and environmental condition.

EDU FOR 02B2018 Student Project Proposal Part 1 Page | 3

11. Communication Activities/Knowledge Transfer (Briefly indicate the key strategies for communicating
project outcomes with project collaborators and WaterRA members) (Max 400 words)
This project aims at producing at least four key scientific papers that will be published in renowned
international journals in the field of water research. On a regular basis the findings of this project
willbe communicated and presented in seminars, workshops and conferences on water research
at home and abroad. Any relevant findings will be communicated to collaborators from Melbourne
Water and WaterRA for publishing in their newsletters or websites. Moreover, all professional and
social research networking medias i.e. ResearchGate, Academia, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and
other medias will be utilized for disseminating the findings of this research project.

12. Identify support for project (Identify any “additional” support you may have secured for the project,
including expert staff, access to specific equipment/data, financial support or other contributions. No more
than 5 dot points). This is to demonstrate suitable resources and support is available for the student and
project
 A PhD student with strong academic and research background in environmental science,
and a co-supervisor (Prof Jega Jegatheesan of RMIT) with huge expertise in the wastewater
field are selected to carry out the project.
 Student secured RTP stipend at the rate of AUD 35,000.00 per annum for 3 years.
 We already got necessary data from Melbourne Water and signed an agreement between
RMIT and Melbourne Water regarding data sharing and acknowledgement.
 Student gained unlimited access to key life cycle assessment software called SimaPro
(worth AUD 15,000) and MATLAB software necessary for the project.
 Student already started collaboration with academic and industrial researchers working in
the similar field.

EDU FOR 02B2018 Student Project Proposal Part 1 Page | 4

13. Comments (Include any other information which is relevant to the project e.g. supervision experience or
number of publications in relation to this research by supervisors or specific logistics e.g. student currently
overseas awaiting visa)
Student already made substantial progress in revising the project proposal, collecting necessary data
and performing the processing and preliminary analysis of the data. Student is planning to write a
scientific article based on the preliminary analysis of Melbourne Water data. Student also taking
necessary software training and research skill courses necessary for the project. Student frequently
meets the supervisors to discuss and receive feedback on research findings.

Publications
Jegatheesan, V. Dockko, S. Lee, S. Shu, L. Roddick, F. and Akbarzadeh, A. 2017, 'Transforming
membrane technologies as appropriate technologies through cost-effective enhancements', in
Desalination and Water Treatment, Taylor and Francis, United Kingdom, vol. 73, pp. 256-261
ISSN: 1944-3994
Navaratna, D. Shu, L. and Jegatheesan, V. 2017, 'Estimating design parameters for sustainable
operation of a membrane bioreactor treating s-triazine herbicide', in International Biodeterioration
and Biodegradation, Elsevier, United Kingdom, vol. 119, pp. 4-15 ISSN: 0964-8305
Pramanik, B. Shu, L. and Jegatheesan, V. 2017, 'A review of the management and treatment of brine
solutions', in Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology, Royal Society Chemistry,
United Kingdom, vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 625-658 ISSN: 2053-1400
Wang, H. Tan, W. Li, G. Peng, J. Jegatheesan, V. Shu, L. Yang, M. and Ning, P. 2017, 'Optimizing
the preparation of activated carbon from lugi pressurized gasifier (LPG) slag by microwave-assisted
potassium hydroxide activation', in Desalination and Water Treatment, Taylor and Francis, United
Kingdom, vol. 61, pp. 82-87 ISSN: 1944-3994
Nazari, M. Mohaddes, F. Pramanik, B. Othman, M. Muster, T. and Bhuiyan, M. 2017, '(In Press)
Application of Victorian brown coal for removal of ammonium and organics from wastewater', in
Environmental Technology (United Kingdom), Taylor and Francis, United Kingdom, pp. 1-11 ISSN:
0959-3330
Islam, H. Zhang, G. Setunge, S. and Bhuiyan, M. 2016, 'Life cycle assessment of shipping container
home: a sustainable construction', in Energy and Buildings, Elsevier, Netherlands, vol. 128, pp. 673-
685 ISSN: 0378-7788
Islam, H. Jollands, M. Setunge, S. and Bhuiyan, M. 2015, 'Optimization approach of balancing life
cycle cost and environmental impacts on residential building design', in Energy and Buildings,
Elsevier Ltd, Netherlands, vol. 87, pp. 282-292 ISSN: 0378-7788

Islam, H. Jollands, M. Setunge, S. Haque, N. and Bhuiyan, M. 2015, 'Life cycle assessment and life
cycle cost implications for roofing and floor designs in residential buildings', in Energy and
Buildings, Netherlands, vol. 104, pp. 250-263 ISSN: 0378-7788

EDU FOR 02B2018 Student Project Proposal Part 1 Page | 5

14. As per the Members Agreement, the Company and members have access for non-exclusive, royalty-
free license for purposes of the project. Are there potential concerns or any restrictions to publication of
this project?
(List existing background IP and potential new IP that the project may generate if relevant. If this is a
sponsored project, include the percentage of IP ownership as agreed between sponsor and university)
No
If yes, how does your organisation plan to capture this new IP?

15. Project Plan (insert lines as required) Insert basic/preliminary project outline including conference
attendance
Date Task
Year 1 Literature review, methodology development, and refining research proposal (4 month)
Data collection, processing and analysis to gain a preliminary assessment of the
current situation of wastewater management system in Melbourne (4 month)
Submitting one review paper, and one paper based on preliminary analysis (4 month)
Year 2 Further collection of data and refine the analysis for better understanding (3 month)
Revision of submitted paper, attend a conference (3 month)
Identify information and perform analysis for framework development (3 month)
An assessment of the developed framework in terms of its efficiency in sustainable
management of urban wastewater system in Melbourne (3 month)
Year 3 Submit a paper based on the framework developed and attend conference (3 month)
Perform necessary analysis to assess the potential utilizing the recovered resources for
sustaining agricultural practice (3 month)
Submit a paper on the potential for utilizing the recovered resource from wastewater
management system to agriculture (3 month)
Revised the submitted papers , attend conference, preparing thesis (3 month)
Year 3 Submission of thesis
TBA Final presentation as determined between WaterRA, the supervisors and the student
Month/year Thesis to WaterRA
PhD and Masters by Research students – must provide to WaterRA upon notification of
conferral, one bound hard copy of thesis and electronic version for WaterRA website
Masters by Coursework and Honours students – must provide final electronic copy of
thesis for WaterRA website

EDU FOR 02B2018 Student Project Proposal Part 1 Page | 6