Author: Nina

Project context:

Vietnam is one of Asia’s five worst polluters of ocean plastic waste.  With 13 million tons of waste released to the ocean every year, the country ranks 17th in the world for ocean plastic waste pollution.

Hue is located in central Vietnam and is currently facing plastic waste management problems with rapidly increasing amounts of waste contributing to immense environmental degradation. In Hue, 275 tons of solid waste are collected every day and the escalating amounts of solid waste reflect the poor regulation and behavioral norms of a rapidly urbanized city. It also produces nearly 20 tons of plastic waste every day, but waste separation at source only accounts for 30% of domestic waste at present. A master plan for waste management until 2030 (Master Plan 2030) has been developed with a target of 100% waste separation by 2050.

Community awareness about plastic pollution is low and recycling of waste is limited. The municipal SWM system comprises a formal sector with privately owned processing and landfill facilities, alongside a traditional and informal sector that remains prominent within the city. This unregulated yet organized informal system operates through waste collected by independent ‘collectors’ and ‘pickers’, who then sell it to privately owned junk shops. This informal waste management sector is comprised of vulnerable communities, predominantly women of lower socioeconomic status, who need the work to support their families financially.  The importance of their roles is rarely acknowledged by the formal waste sector, which prevents these women from developing their working lives or their incomes.  This project can make an important contribution to supporting the Master Plan’s objectives.

Project aim:

• Identify solutions for source separation at home
• Develop a business model for informal sector led by women working on collecting and selling recyclables

Expected outputs/outcomes:

• Design a pilot collection route for recyclables in 01 ward of Hue city
• Provide a pilot initiative for collecting floating litter on the river/canal
• An overview report on plastic/recyclable market in Vietnam
• Suggest/set up an apps for local women-led business models in informal sector

 Project deliverables:

Funding:

• Students will receive a semester grant from New Colombo Plan funding to cover data collection costs.
• Only undergraduate Australian citizens are eligible for project funding.

Applications:

Students submit CVs and latest academic transcripts to Nina Nguyen at: nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au

Project context and aim:

Like many other regions in South-East-Asia, Thua Thien Hue province in central Vietnam has been repeatedly affected by severe flooding in recent decades. Thua Thien Hue is a coastal province facing flood risk from the sea, rivers and heavy rainfall, which often occur in combination. The most important river in the province is the Huong (Perfume) River that flows into the Tam Giang Lagoon, which is the largest lagoon in South-East Asia, and eventually drains into the Pacific. The Tam Giang Lagoon and adjacent coastal areas are the basis for the livelihoods for many poor and vulnerable people, who directly depend on their natural resources, such as fishermen and farmers. Of the 1.31 million people currently inhabiting the province of Hue, 491,000 reside in 32 communes along the lagoon and the coast. Between 1975 and 2005, 40 flood events occurred in the province that especially impacted the low-lying coastal plains. In addition to the chronic stress and major shocks caused by flood hazards and resulting coastal erosion, a range of societal factors undermine the resilience of already vulnerable groups of society such as poor and women. These groups have little social and financial capital to resist (or: absorb) external shocks, to quickly recover (or: bounce back) in case absorption capacity is exceeded, and to learn from these events for enhancing their future resilience. A significant proportion of Hue’s coastal population has unstable livelihoods and lack financial savings to handle shocks or disruptions. Additional factors include the fast disappearance of coastal ecosystems due to economic activities such as shrimp farming, increasing pressure on natural resources due to population growth. In the future, resilience of coastal communities is expected to be further deteriorated due to the projected effects of climate change on the frequency and intensity of storms and floods as well as sea-level rise,3if no additional and more sustainable disaster risk management and adaptation approaches are adopted.

The 2020 Central Vietnam floods were a collection of floods in Central Vietnam which also affected some areas in Cambodia and Laos in October and early November 2020. The floods focus heavily in several provinces including Thừa Thiên Huế, Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, and Quảng Ngãi. The floods were mainly caused by the seasonal monsoon, though enhanced by numerous tropical cyclones. Beginning in 7 October during a seasonal monsoon and tropical depressions over the Khánh Hòa province, several multitude of tropical cyclones during the 2020 Pacific typhoon season, such as Linfa, Nangka, Ofel, Saudel, and Molave, struck the northern and central regions of Vietnam, especially in areas of Laos and Cambodia, bringing high winds and excessive rainfall in these affected provinces, with accumulations peaked at 3,245 mm (127.75 in) in Hướng Linh, Hướng Hóa District, Quảng Trị around 20 October. This subsequent flooding was the first time Vietnam issued IV category disaster alert for heavy rainfall, as III category is the highest alert level.[9] On 5 November, weakening Typhoon Goni entered the South China Sea and made landfall in Central Vietnam two days later as a tropical depression. Etau made landfall in Central Vietnam as a tropical storm three days later. On 12 November, Typhoon Vamco approached Vietnam as it gradually strengthened into Category 4-equivalent status after exiting the Philippine Area of Responsibility. As of 15 November 2020, the floods has resulted in over 233 fatalities, 66 people missing and a damage of properties equivalent to VND35.2 trillion (US$1.52 billion).

Project aim:

To develop a flood resilient building code guidelines for coastal area in Thua Thien Hue province.

Expected outcomes:

• A report on current status of housing in coastal area of Hue with analysis of flood resilient capacity;
• A recommended flood resilient building code for coastal areas.

 Project deliverables:

Funding:

• Students will receive a semester grant from New Colombo Plan funding to cover data collection costs.
• Only undergraduate Australian citizens are eligible for project funding.

Applications:

• Students submit CVs and latest academic transcripts to Nina Nguyen at: nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au

BACKGROUND:

Operation from recycling factories in Hung Yen province (north of Vietnam) is having negative impacts on the environment:

• During the smelting process of plastic waste recycling, factories are discharging lots of black smoke directly into the environment, causing air pollution.
• Hazardous wastewater generating from the plastic recycling process is not collected and treated, but discharged directly to the nearby river, causing congestion and serious pollution of the water environment.

In addition, although plastic wastes are all inflammable and explosive materials, the fire protection work is completely ignored and not safe.

This project aims to review the recycling process at these factories and propose solutions to minimize the negative environmental impacts as well as potential risks.

As it is impossible to travel overseas at this moment, students will conduct the research from Australia. However, they will be collaborating with local staff from Hung Yen Plastic Recycling Factory and National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) in collecting data and organizing project activities.

POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES:

• Investigate waste flows in a waste recycling factory.
• Review current practices (safe handling and pollution control) at the plastic waste recycling factory.
• Propose practical options for minimizing the air and water pollution from the plastic waste recycling factory.
• Present the results and a report to the factory, RMIT and NUCE

DELIVERABLES:

* ideally, the theses would provide scope for one or more peer-review publications

WORK METHOD:

• Students enroll in a relevant course and will be supervised and assessed by an academic at RMIT.
• Students will work remotely to implement this project. Local staff at Hung Yen Plastic Recycling Factory and NUCE staff will be remote co-supervisor during the project.
• Students will have remote check-ins with RMIT and partners on a bi-weekly basis.
• Data collection will be assisted by Bac Ninh WWTP and NUCE’s staff and students. This include surveys, interviews, and consultation workshop/seminar.

FUNDING:

The project is fully funded by the New Colombo Plan, which will cover all project-related costs.

Only Australian undergraduate students are eligible for this project.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

• Students submit EOI together with their latest CVs and academic records to Dr. Nina Nguyen at nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au
• Students are selected subject to approval from partners.

BACKGROUND:

Hai Duong Water Treatment Plant (WTP) has a capacity of 4,500 m3/d using ground water, providing clean water for 45,000 people. This kind of water has high concentration of Mn, e.g.7 mg/L. The accepted value for Mn after treatment is only 0.1 mg/L (QCVN 01-1/2018/BYT issued by Ministry of Health). To reduce the Mn concentration to the acceptable level, they have used NaOH, polymer and Clorine gas. The most expenditure at present is for NaOH solution.

The company would like to engage RMIT students in a study to optimize the use of chemicals and propose different solutions (not using chemicals) to reduce the Mn level.

As it is impossible to travel overseas at this moment, students will conduct the research from Australia. However, they will be collaborating with Hai Duong WTP staff and National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) staff and students in collecting data and organizing project activities.

POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES:

• Investigation of Mn treatment process in the plant
• Review the potential solutions for Mn treatment in Vietnam and internationally
• Proposal of most practical options for Hai Duong WTP case
• Present the results to WTP, RMIT and NUCE
• Write a paper for a specialized journal

DELIVERABLES:

* ideally, the theses would provide scope for one or more peer-review publications

WORK METHOD:

• Students enroll in a relevant course and will be supervised and assessed by an academic at RMIT.
• Students will work remotely to implement this project. Bac Ninh WWTP and NUCE staff will be remote co-supervisor during the project.
• Students will have remote check-ins with RMIT and partners on a bi-weekly basis.
• Data collection will be assisted by Bac Ninh WWTP and NUCE’s staff and students. This include surveys, interviews, and consultation workshop/seminar.

FUNDING:

The project is fully funded by the New Colombo Plan, which will cover all project-related costs.

Only Australian undergraduate students are eligible for this project.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

• Students submit EOI together with their latest CVs and academic records to Dr. Nina Nguyen at nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au
• Shortlisted students will be invited for an interview.
• Students are selected subject to approval from partners.

BACKGROUND:

Electricity is the main energy source required in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), accounting for around 25–50% of the operating costs of traditional activated sludge plants. It was reported by recent research that most impacting elements in the energy consumption of a conventional WWTP are the aeration of mixed liquor (55–70%), primary and secondary settling with sludge pumping (15.6%) and sludge dewatering (7%).

Bac Ninh WWTP is located in Bac Ninh province – 40 km from Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. The company wishes to engage RMIT students in a research project aiming to evaluate current energy use and propose solutions for energy saving.

As it is impossible to travel overseas at this moment, students will conduct the research from Australia. However, they will be collaborating with Bac Ninh’s WWTP staff and National University of Civil Engineering (NUCE) students in collecting data and organizing project activities.

POTENTIAL ACTIVITIES:
–         Investigation of energy used in the plant

–         Review the potential process optimization solutions for energy saving and reuse in the plant

–         Proposal of most practical options for Bac Ninh WWTP case

–         Present the results to WWTP, RMIT and NUCE

–         Write a paper for a specialized journal

DELIVERABLES:

* ideally, the theses would provide scope for one or more peer-review publications

WORK METHOD:

• Students enroll in a relevant course and will be supervised and assessed by an academic at RMIT.
• Students will work remotely to implement this project. Bac Ninh WWTP and NUCE staff will be remote co-supervisor during the project.
• Students will have remote check-ins with RMIT and partners on a bi-weekly basis.
• Data collection will be assisted by Bac Ninh WWTP and NUCE’s staff and students. This include surveys, interviews, and consultation workshop/seminar.

FUNDING:

The project is fully funded by the New Colombo Plan, which will cover all project-related costs.
Only Australian undergraduate students are eligible for this project.

APPLICATION PROCESS:

• Students submit EOI together with their latest CVs and academic records to Dr. Nina Nguyen at nina.nguyen@rmit.edu.au
• Students are selected subject to approval from partners.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: 

Essential Services Commission (ESC) is an independent regulator that promotes the long- term interests of Victorian consumers with respect to the price, quality and reliability of essential services.

ESC is administering the Victorian Energy Upgrades Program (VEU) which awards energy efficiency certificates for proving energy savings under lighting upgrade activities, including the replacement of old and inefficient lights by efficient LED lights.

There are a variety of criteria and test standards that efficient LED lamps need to meet before they become eligible for the upgrade activities under VEU programs. One of these requirements is IES LM-80 standard test.

IES LM-80 is a standardized testing method for measuring the lumen depreciation of LED modules or chips over a period of time and under certain set conditions. The latest version of IES LM-80 test is IES LM-80-15. 

IES LM-80 is used to estimate the photometric and colorimetric performance of LED lamps over time. The LEDs are tested at a specific drive current and ambient temperature.

The test is run at three different ambient temperatures: 55°C, 85°C and a temperature chosen by the LED manufacturer (usually 105°C). The LED samples are operated at these temperatures and at a specific drive current for a period of minimum 6000 hrs.

Once the IES LM80 test has concluded, the measurements are used to determine a depreciation curve for the luminous flux at each temperature. The data is extrapolated using the IES TM-21 method to determine and predict the lifetime of the LED lamps. The end point of the extrapolation is typically 70% of the initial light output (L70).

IES LM-80 is not helpful on its own and does not of itself define how to extrapolate lab-measured LED lifetime test data to enable future lifetime prediction. That’s why IES TM-21 comes in. IES TM-21 details how to extrapolate short-term LED component test data to predict future performance.

US EPA has a spreadsheet calculator based on IES TM-21-11 method (previous standard method) which is attached and is available at the www.energystar.gov website to perform the calculations for IES TM-21.

The problem is that the current calculator is based on the previous standard IES TM-20-11 method and a calculator has not been developed yet for IES TM-21-19 new standard method. But this tool can be used as an example for developing a calculator for new IES TM-21-19 method.

ESC wishes to engage RMIT students in a project aiming to develop a IES TM-21-19 calculator which could be used for calculating the predicted lifetime of the LED lamps.

 DELIVERABLES:

WORK METHOD:

• Students work under the supervision of RMIT academic supervisor.

ESC appoints a contact person to help students access to data and info. There should be regular (fortnightly/monthly) meetings between students and ESC to discuss the project progress.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: AIMS & BACKGROUND

Yarra Valley Water (YVW) is Melbourne’s largest retail water utility, providing essential water and sanitation services to more than 1.9 million people and more than 50,000 businesses across a 4,000-kilometre area, from Wallan in the north to Warburton in the east. YVW owns and operates approximately a combined 20,000km of sewer and water infrastructure, as well as wastewater treatment facilities.

Yarra Valley Water owns and maintains over 60,000 water valves in the supply network. In two areas of the network where Yarra Valley Water has taken ownership from a water trust or local authority, water valves with opposite thread to standard water valves were used, meaning that they open in an anti-clockwise direction instead of a clockwise direction.  In some cases, new standard water valves have been added to the non-standard network as replacements, creating confusion for civil water crews attempting shutdowns and sometimes causing water supply issues when valves have been unintentionally left shut. A device that could categorically determine the position status of all water valves would create invaluable work method and network efficiencies, resulting in reduced maintenance costs and improved customers service outcomes.

The section drawing below shows a sluice valve similar to those used in the YVW network. The main point of difference is that YVW valves are buried and do not have a handwheel. To operate the valve, a valve key is to be fitted to the spindle (top part of the stem) which allows the stem to be rotated either clockwise or anti-clockwise, thereby raising or lowering the disc (opening or closing the valve).

The thread on the stem can be machined to determine whether the valve will open with a clockwise rotation or an anti-clockwise rotation. With the valve disc enclosed there is no way to determine (see) if the valve is in the open or closed position without performing a shutdown. Where the valve open/closing direction is unknown, and where there are multiple valves in a shutdown, this may mean many combinations of opening and shutting valves are required to achieve the shutdown.

PROJECT DELIVERABLES

Develop a mechanical/electrical device that can determine the position status of a water valve.

The deliverables of this project are specified below:

• Project Plan/Scoping document
• Data/information collection
• Industry and literature research
• Develop proposed solution/s
• Document all findings in a Project Report
• Presentation on the Project Report

TECHNICAL/PROFESSIONAL SKILLS REQUIRED

• Mechanical
• Electrical