First grant awarded under Rio Tinto Australia-Japan Collaboration Program

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The Foundation for Australia-Japan Studies (FAJS) has announced the first grant awarded under the Rio Tinto Australia-Japan Collaborative Program, to a project focused on addressing global warming by building new technologies to pull two of the most problematic greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere and convert them into useful fuels.

The grant, in the amount of AU$150,000, is awarded to Associate Professor Toru Wakihara, Department of Chemical Systems Engineering, University of Tokyo and Professor Yusuke Yamauchi, School of Chemical Engineering and Senior Group Leader, Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland.

Their collaborative project, “Nanoarchitectured Functional Porous Materials as Adsorbents of Greenhouse Gases and Catalysts: Converting Them into Valuable Chemicals,” aims to address global warming through the reduction of greenhouse gases.

This Japan-Australia joint team will design and fabricate nanostructured adsorbent raw materials, including single layers of carbon atoms (graphene) and a material resembling volcanic mineral called zeolite, and construct them on the nanoscale to add special pores. The nanopores will make the materials even more capable for adsorption and provide space for efficient chemical conversion of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide into hydrocarbons, the building blocks of petroleum and natural gas fuels. The academic-industry partnership spanning Japan and Australia will push the boundaries of chemical engineering and materials science and find solutions for global climate change and energy sustainability.

The Rio Tinto Australia-Japan Collaborative Program, the first program established under the FAJS and funded by the Rio Tinto Group, aims to support activities to raise the mutual profile and understanding between Australia and Japan by promoting bilateral research and other collaborative programs involving academic institutions and industry in the areas of science, technology and innovation.

Applications for 2019 grants under the Rio Tinto Australia-Japan Collaborative Program are now open through Jan 31. Details are available at www.fajs.org.