Professor Goen Ho

Room: EnvSc/2.049

Research

Waste management; pollution control; environmental technologies, particularly those which achieve sustainable development.

Projects

Sustainability science

Emerging projects include

1. Defining sustainability science: Just as environmental science developed into its own discipline in the 1970s, research is required into terms, definitions, ideas and concepts describing the science and technology in this emerging discipline. Research will assist the state government sustainability round table.

2. Cities as sustainable ecosystems: A theoretical framework has been developed to characterise sustainable cities and their bioregions using a set of indicators, indices and overall descriptive 'story'. Research will use case study cities to test the theoretical framework as part of the larger research effort involving world cities in both the developed and developing nations.

Water supply

Suitable projects include
1. Management of risks from water catchment to tap: Management of risks from contamination of water supply by pollutants requires the development of criteria and benchmarks so that water managers can determine risks and take appropriate management measures in catchment land uses, water storage and water treatment. Case studies can be selected from Western Australia Water Corporation catchments or catchments in Sarawak (for 2005).

2. Rainwater harvesting (e.g. roof + storage tank) can provide a significant supply to householders. Water quantity and quality should ensure that the water is fit for the intended purposes, and the project will research how these can be ensured in the context of Perth, rural Western Australia, or in a developing country situation (in conjunction with the International Water Association Rainwater Harvesting Taskforce).

Waste and wastewater

Possible projects
1. Struvite recovery from wastewater: Struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate) is a problem in Water Corporation's wastewater treatment anaerobic digesters clogging pipes and centrifuges. It is also a valuable slow release fertiliser. Research into harvesting struvite in a technically and economically feasible way is part of on-going research effort.

2. Anaerobic digestion converts organic wastes to methane gas (a source of clean energy). Research is on-going in the treatment of oily wastes, which contain a high energy content but are difficult to treat.

Back to Honours Projects