The functional groups of coal resemble many of these model compounds and our studies have shown that coal can act as a suitable substrate for methane production. A systematic study will be carried out to look at various stages in developing microporosity in Victorian Brown Coal via alkaline digestion route followed by calcination at high temperature. C. The Application of Image-processing and Fractal Analytical Concepts to Fungal Colony Morphogenesis and their utility in Biotechnological Research. This project involves the application of computerised image-processing for the characterization of fungal morphology and how 'structure' impacts on biodegradation of organic pollutants. Selected mathematical scaling laws are also used to quantify and optimize inoculum composition for bioreactor seeding.
Related studies examine packing growth in bioreactor immobilization supports.
Adsorbing colloid flotation provides an efficient method of collecting and concentrating toxic organic contaminants from industrial wastewater. Here we study the interfacial chemistry of the surfactants in the presence of industrial dyes and pigments. The formulation of colloidal particulate dispersions will be achieved through surface reaction of kaolinite, a low cost mineral clay with a chosen polymer. This enables tailoring of the dispersion properties as well as achieving optimum flow rheology, wetting and penetration characteristics and settling stability. Part of this project involves isolation and purification of the ligninolytic enzymes.