Professor Pritam Singh

Room: PhSc/3.017

Research

Hydrometallurgy, General Electrochemistry, Corrosion, Electrometallurgy, Zinc-bromine Battery, Lead-acid and Lithium Batteries.

Projects

Removal and Stabilisation of Arsenic from Aqueous Process Effluents

The removal and stabilisation of arsenic from aqueous effluents continue to be a significant problem in the mineral processing industry.  This project aims at investigating the background mechanisms of the various chemical routes which could selectively remove arsenic from the aqueous effluents for subsequent safe disposal.

Removal of Arsenic from Drinking Water (with Dr David Muir, CSIRO, Division of Minerals, Bentley)

The presence of naturally occurring arsenic in ground water is a serious health problem in India and Bangladesh.  According to the UNDP/Word Bank Office in Dhaka, 42 of the total 64 districts in Bangladesh are recognised as having serious problems as a result of arsenic contamination of ground water.  Various projects relating to the removal of arsenic from drinking water as a part of a broader Australian assistance programme of alleviating the arsenic contamination problem are available.  The programme involves extensive collaboration with CSIR in India.

Effect of Additives on Metal Electrowinning

The hydrometallurgy of metals invariably involves electrowinning of the metal from aqueous solutions. The purity and quality of the electrodeposited metal depend very strongly on the presence of various organic and inorganic impurities which are either present naturally in the hydrometallurgical leach liquors or are added deliberately to improve metal recovery. This project involves a systematic study of the effect on impurities on metal electrodeposition particularly on the power consumption, electrode kinetics and deposit morphology. Zinc, copper, nickel and cobalt are targeted in this project.

Lead Acid Battery State of Charge Indicator (with Dr. Murray Baker, Chemistry Dept, University of Western Australia)

The state-of-charge of a lead-acid battery is usually determined by measuring the specific gravity of its electrolyte. However, this method is messy, labour intensive and impractical where large banks of batteries are used. We are developing certain surface modified electrodes whose electrochemical potentials can be related to the battery state-of-charge. In particular, ferrocene/ferrocenium and quinone/hydroquinone polymers immobilised on inert carbon electrodes are being investigated. The project aims at synthesising appropriate organic polymers, identifying methods of preparing surface modified electrodes, and investigating their response to the battery acid media.

Corrosion of Lead-Alloys in Lead-Acid Battery Electrolytes

Since lead is a soft metal, various lead-alloys are used for making the lead-acid battery grids. However, the composition of these alloys influence the battery performance in several ways. For example, the grid corrosion in the battery electrolyte, the rate of hydrogen evolution and the battery active material retention on the grid are strongly dependent on the alloy used. Thus the battery cycle life and the electrolyte maintenance are related to the alloy composition. For example, while substitution of the traditional lead-antimony alloy with lead-calcium alloy eliminates the need for electrolyte maintenance, the battery cycle life is reduced. One of the aims of the project is to carry out a fundamental study of the mechanism of corrosion of various lead-alloys in the battery electrolyte. A second aim is to relate the electrochemical behaviour of the alloys to the active material retention and hydrogen evolution with a view to identifying improved grids for deep cycle maintenance free lead-acid batteries.

Zinc-bromine Battery

Murdoch chemists and ZBB Energy Corporation (USA) are co-developing zinc-bromine battery technology. Although the technology is at pre-commercial stage, several areas need further development. Some of these are as follows:

• Optimisation of the bromine electrolyte electrochemistry. This requires a systematic study of the bromine oxidation/reduction on various inert substrates especially carbon plastics with a view to improving the kinetics of the reaction.
• Optimisation of the zinc deposition process. This requires a systematic study of the electrogrowth of zinc on various carbon plastic electrodes as a function of electrolyte composition.
• Recombination of hydrogen and bromine in relation to the maintenance of the battery electrolyte pH. This requires a systematic study of the kinetics of the recombination reaction and identification of suitable catalysts.
• Development of low cost separators for the battery.

Lithium Battery

The project involves a systematic study of the electrochemistry of various cathode materials which could be used in high energy rechargeable lithium batteries.

Various research projects relating to the above topics are available.

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