Curtin University

About: Curtin University is a education organization based out in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Zircon. The organization has 14257 authors who have published 48997 publications receiving 1336531 citations. The organization is also known as: WAIT & Western Australian Institute of Technology.

Industrial Symbiosis in the Australian Minerals Industry: The Cases of Kwinana and Gladstone

Abstract: The realization of regional synergies in industrial areas with intensive minerals processing provides a significant avenue toward sustainable resource processing. This article provides an overview of past and current synergy developments in two of Australia's major heavy industrial regions, Kwinana (Western Australia) and Gladstone (Queensland), and includes a comparative review and assessment of the drivers, barriers, and trigger events for regional synergies initiatives in both areas. Kwinana and Gladstone compare favorably with well-known international examples in terms of the current level and maturity of industry involvement and collaboration and the commitment to further explore regional resource synergies. Kwinana stands out with regard to the number, diversity, complexity, and maturity of existing synergies. Gladstone is remarkable with regard to unusually large geographic boundaries and high dominance of one industry sector Many diverse regional synergy opportunities still appear to exist in both industrial regions (particularly in Kwinana), mostly in three broad areas: water, energy and inorganic by-product reuse. To enhance the further development of new regional synergies, the Centre for Sustainable Resource Processing (CSRP), a joint initiative of Australian minerals processing companies, research providers, and government agencies, has undertaken several collaborative projects. These include research to facilitate the process of identifying and evaluating potential synergy opportunities and assistance for the industries with feasibility studies and implementation of selected synergy projects in both regions. The article also reports on the progress to date from this CSRP research.

Origin of overpressure and pore-pressure prediction in the Baram province, Brunei

Abstract: Accurate pore-pressure prediction is critical in hydrocarbon exploration and is especially important in the rapidly deposited Tertiary Baram Delta province where all economic fields exhibit overpressures, commonly of high magnitude and with narrow transition zones. A pore-pressure database was compiled using wireline formation interval tests, drillstem tests, and mud weights from 157 wells in 61 fields throughout Brunei. Overpressures are observed in 54 fields both in the inner-shelf deltaic sequences and in the underlying prodelta shales. Porosity vs. vertical effective stress plots from 31 fields reveal that overpressures are primarily generated by disequilibrium compaction in the prodelta shales but have been generated by fluid expansion in the inner-shelf deltaic sequences. However, the geology of Brunei precludes overpressures in the inner-shelf deltaics being generated by any conventional fluid expansion mechanism (e.g., kerogen-to-gas maturation), and we propose that these overpressures have been vertically transferred into reservoir units, via faults, from the prodelta shales. Sediments overpressured by disequilibrium compaction exhibit different physical properties to those overpressured by vertical transfer, and hence, different pore-pressure prediction strategies need to be applied in the prodelta shales and inner-shelf deltaic sequences. Sonic and density log data detect overpressures generated by disequilibrium compaction, and pore pressures are accurately predicted using an Eaton exponent of 3.0. Sonic log data detect vertically transferred overpressures even in the absence of a porosity anomaly, and pore pressures are reasonably predicted using an Eaton exponent of 6.5.

Climate change and dengue: a critical and systematic review of quantitative modelling approaches

Abstract: Many studies have found associations between climatic conditions and dengue transmission. However, there is a debate about the future impacts of climate change on dengue transmission. This paper reviewed epidemiological evidence on the relationship between climate and dengue with a focus on quantitative methods for assessing the potential impacts of climate change on global dengue transmission. A literature search was conducted in October 2012, using the electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and Web of Science. The search focused on peer-reviewed journal articles published in English from January 1991 through October 2012. Sixteen studies met the inclusion criteria and most studies showed that the transmission of dengue is highly sensitive to climatic conditions, especially temperature, rainfall and relative humidity. Studies on the potential impacts of climate change on dengue indicate increased climatic suitability for transmission and an expansion of the geographic regions at risk during this century. A variety of quantitative modelling approaches were used in the studies. Several key methodological issues and current knowledge gaps were identified through this review. It is important to assemble spatio-temporal patterns of dengue transmission compatible with long-term data on climate and other socio-ecological changes and this would advance projections of dengue risks associated with climate change.