1348039
Associate Professor
Thomas Rainey
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Mech., Medical & Process Engineering
Biography
Tom conducts experimental and financial modelling research relating to the process engineering of decarbonisation, biomass, energy production and filtration problems. He is Course Coordinator for engineering and a recipient of The Caltex Award for excellence in chemical engineering education.Key research areas:
Decarbonisation of process industries
Cellulose/nanofiber materials
Technoeconomic evaluation
Process modelling
Pulp and paper- all areas
Thermochemical biofuels and their diesel engine performance
PhD opportunities: There are opportunities to work in Tom’s process engineering group. Applicants are welcome to contact him to discuss potential projects. He leads a program investigating decarbonisation, nanocellulose, filtration problems and refinement of biofuels.
Publications http://eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Rainey,_Thomas.html
Personal details
Positions
- Associate Professor
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Mech., Medical & Process Engineering
Keywords
decarbonisation, technoeconomics, biomass, bagasse, energy, pulp, process modelling, engineering education, paper, chemical engineering
Research field
Chemical engineering
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- PhD (Queensland University of Technology)
- GradCertAcadPrac (Queensland University of Technology)
- BEng(Chem)Hons (University of Adelaide)
Professional memberships and associations
Queensland Joint Chemical Engineering Committee, MIChemE, Chartered Chemical Engineer, RPEQ, Senior Fellow Higher Education Academy
Experience
Professional Experience:
- Present Associate Professor, School of Mechanical, Medical and Process Engineering, QUT
- 2013 to 2021 Senior Lecturer/Lecturer, Science and Engineering Faculty, School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, QUT
- 2005 to 2012 Research Fellow, Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, QUT
- 2003 to 2005 Research Engineer, Sugar Research Institute (SRI), Mackay, Queensland
- 2000 to 2003 Process Technologist, Kimberly – Clark, Millicent Paper Mill and Tantanoola Pulp Mill, South Australia
Grants: in such fields as:
- Decarbonisation education
- Industrial decarbonisation
- Alumina
- Biomass supply chains
- Bagasse paper formation and filtration
- Process modelling and technoeconomics
External collaborations (academic)
- Monash University- Australian Pulp and Paper Institute, Melbourne, Australia
- Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, India
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Germany
- University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
Publications
- Rakhmetova, O., Taghipour, A., Will, G., Brown, R. & Rainey, T. (2023). Correlation and Prediction of Isobaric Vapor-Liquid Equilibria of Binary and Ternary Systems Containing Oxygenated Biofuel Compounds (Butan-2-one + 2-Methylpropan-1-ol + Cyclopentanone) at Atmospheric Pressure. Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 68(6), 1367–1375. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/239711
- Rakhmetova, O., Taghipour, A., Will, G., Brown, R. & Rainey, T. (2023). Isobaric Vapor-Liquid Equilibria of Binary Systems Containing Oxygenated Biofuel Compounds (Ethanol + Cyclopentanone, Propyl Butanoate + 4-Methylphenol, Cyclopentanone + Propane-1,2-diol) at Atmospheric Pressure. Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data, 68(2), 366–374. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/237890
- Doshi, A., Pascoe, S., Coglan, L. & Rainey, T. (2023). The value of externalities for biofuels and implications for policy-led development: A discrete choice experiment with Australian consumers. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 35, 592–604. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/237023
- Onigbajumo, A., Taghipour, A., Will, G., Chu Van, T., Couperthwaite, S., Steinberg, T. & Rainey, T. (2022). Effects of process-thermal configuration on energy, exergy, and thermo-economic performance of solar driven supercritical water gasification. Energy Conversion and Management, 251. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/226746
- Obeid, F., Chu Van, T., Horchler, J., Guo, Y., Verma, P., Miljevic, B., Brown, R., Ristovski, Z., Bodisco, T. & Rainey, T. (2022). Engine Performance and Emissions from Fuels Containing Nitrogen and Sulphur. Energy Conversion and Management: X, 14. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/227362
- Taghipour, A., Hornung, U., Ramirez, J., Brown, R. & Rainey, T. (2021). Aqueous phase recycling in catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction for algal biomass and the effect on elemental accumulation and energy efficiency. Journal of Cleaner Production, 289. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207171
- Taghipour, A., Hornung, U., Ramirez, J., Brown, R. & Rainey, T. (2021). Fractional distillation of algae based hydrothermal liquefaction biocrude for co-processing: changes in the properties, storage stability, and miscibility with diesel. Energy Conversion and Management, 236. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/209322
- Onigbajumo, A., Taghipour, A., Ramirez, J., Will, G., Ong, T., Couperthwaite, S., Steinberg, T. & Rainey, T. (2021). Techno-economic assessment of solar thermal and alternative energy integration in supercritical water gasification of microalgae. Energy Conversion and Management, 230. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/207914
- Musa, M., Wolf, J., Stephens, E., Hankamer, B., Brown, R. & Rainey, T. (2020). Cationic polyacrylamide induced flocculation and turbulent dewatering of microalgae on a Britt Dynamic Drainage Jar. Separation and Purification Technology, 233. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/132466
- Agarwal, R., Rainey, T., Steinberg, T., Rahman, A., Perrons, R. & Brown, R. (2020). LNG regasification - Effects of project stage decisions on capital expenditure and implications for gas pricing. Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering, 78. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/199868
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Thomas, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Committee Role/Editor or Chair of an Academic Conference
- Reference year
- 2021
- Details
- Member of the organising committee for the 2020 & 2021 Chemeca conference which is the regional chemical engineering conference. Also member of the technical program sub-committee.
- Type
- Committee Role/Editor or Chair of an Academic Conference
- Reference year
- 2021
- Details
- Chair of the Institution of Chemical Engineers, Queensland members branch. Also, Chair of the Queensland Joint Chemical Engineering Committee (IChemE and Engineers Australia) 2019-2021.
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- The Caltex Award for excellence in Chemical Engineering education
- Type
- Membership of Learned Societies
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- Type
- Membership of Learned Societies
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- RPEQ in chemical engineering.
- Type
- Membership of Learned Societies
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Chartered Engineer, Member IChemE
Selected research projects
- Title
- Making Australia Resilient to Airborne Infection Transmission
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP200301123
- Start year
- 2023
- Keywords
- Title
- The Integrated Bio-Economy Project and the Controlled Biosphere
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP180100269
- Start year
- 2019
- Keywords
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Control of oxalate morphology and its impact on alumina hydrate precipitation
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Ted Steinberg, Dr Steven Psaltis - High Efficiency Nanocomposite Filters for Air Pollution Reduction
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Richard Brown, Dr Thuy Chu - The role of aluminium hydroxide crystal morphology in predictive size control
PhD, Principal Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Ted Steinberg, Dr Steven Psaltis - Alumina concentration estimation in aluminium reduction cells
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Ted Steinberg, Adjunct Professor Geoffrey Will, Dr Steven Psaltis - Dynamic Simulation to Control the Particle Size Distribution of Aluminium Hydroxide During Precipitation
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Professor Ted Steinberg, Dr Steven Psaltis
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- Thermodynamic Methods in the Process Modelling of Biocrude (2024)
- Status & optimisation of LNG regasification value chain (2023)
- Integration of concentrated solar thermal energy for industrial hydrogen production (2022)
- Fractional Distillation of Hydrothermal Liquefaction Biocrude (2021)
- Dewatering of Microalgae from Dilute Suspensions for Biofuels Production: A Single Stage Approach (2020)
- Nitrogen in HTL Microalgae Biocrude: Production, Engine Performance and Emissions (2019)
- Experimental Investigation of Thermochemically-Derived Fuels in a Diesel Engine (2018)
- Economic Analyses of Microalgae Biofuels and Policy Implications in Australia (2017)