A radical flotation technology has earned Australia over $4 billion in mineral exports each year by improving mineral particle recovery from wastewater.
Chemical engineer Graeme Jameson, AO, of the University of Newcastle, developed the technology, which was first used in mineral processing plants and is now being applied to other industrial practices.
He was named 2013 NSW Scientist of the Year for his innovation.
The technology, developed in the late 1980s, is used in over 300 plants across 25 countries. It’s also being used in the extraction of oil from tar sands in Canada and the removal of blue-green algae from waterways in Central Australia.
Graeme is director of the University of Newcastle’s Centre for Multiphase Processes.