Associate Professor Steven Pratt

Associate Professor

School of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
s.pratt@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 54943

Overview

Biography:

Associate Professor Steven Pratt is currently the Acting Head of School for the School of Chemical Engineering, known internationally for his work on the development of polyhdroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics, and their associated wood-fibre composites, and nationally for his delivery of training courses to environmental professionals.

He has authored over 150 scientific publications, with his major contribution to the field of environmental biotechnology being the invention of the TOGA® Sensor for examination and control of biotech/bioprocess systems.

He leads the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites at UQ, and has won awards for his outstanding contribution to supervision and enhancing the research supervision culture.

Research:

Assocaite Professor Pratt is a research and education leader in environmental engineering, known internationally for his work on the development of polyhdroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics, and their associated wood-fibre composites, and nationally for his delivery of training courses to environmental professionals. His research is industrially relevant; he has published on models for effective industry-education partnerships.

He is now Director of the new ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites. ARC Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites

Plastics are now ubiquitous in our lives, and the systems within our modern society could not function without these light weight, easily formable, strong, cheap, durable, and readily available materials. However, our success at engineering such useful materials has created a systemic problem, with more than 10 million tonnes of plastic leaking into the global environment annually. Urgent change is needed to address this ‘plastic crisis’, and biodegradable bioplastics, along with their natural fibre composites, will play a pivotal role in this transition to a more sustainable plastics economy. Already, we are witnessing unprecedented growth in the global bioplastics industry – the projected annual growth to 2030 is 16-30%, leading to an estimated global market value of US$40B. As the world transitions towards the integration of bioplastics into a more sustainable plastics economy, there is a real opportunity for Australia to transform our existing plastics industry. Australia is uniquely positioned to become a global leader in the emerging bioplastic and biocomposite industry this decade, supported by our abundance of the raw natural materials needed for their manufacture. The ARC Training Centre for Bioplastics and Biocomposites will capitalise on Australia’s abundant natural bioresources to drive advances in technology for the development of bioplastic and biocomposite products for the new bioeconomy.

Teaching and Learning:

Dr Pratt has taught a variety of courses in process engineering, including Environmental Systems Engineering, Wastewater Treatment, Clean Technology and Environmental Biotechnology.

Additionally, he has run the IWES Principles of Wastewater Treatment course, which has an intake of about 100 professionals each year.

Projects:

ARC ITTC for Bioplastics and Biocomposties.

Research Impacts

Steven has authored over 50 scientific papers on related topics, with his major contribution to the field of environmental biotechnology being the invention of the TOGA® Sensor for examination and control of biotech/bioprocess systems. Widespread interest in TOGA® led to an agreement between Massey University and Scion for the commercialisation of the technology.

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Engineering, The University of Queensland

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Scholarships available, up to $45,000 p.a. tax free

    12-month industry placements

    There is unprecedented growth in demand for bioderived and biodegradable materials. The new ARC Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites will capitalise on Australia’s abundant natural bioresources to drive advances in technology for the development of bioplastic and biocomposite products for the new bioeconomy. We are a collaboration between industry, The University of Queensland (UQ) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Our vision is to perform leading edge research and to develop industry-ready specialists to underpin Australia’s transition to a globally significant bioplastics and biocomposites industry.

    Up to 3 scholarships are available for outstanding PhD candidates to work in a multidisciplinary research team, embedded in industry. PhD projects are available in each of the following themes: Bioresource transformation, Bioplastic manufacture, Bioplastics applications, Effecting change and sustainability assessment.

    We have a critical focus on providing an exceptional PhD experience. We will deliver targeted training and development opportunities including: leadership, innovation, emotional intelligence, critical thinking and project management.

    As a Centre student you will receive mentoring from academic and industry leaders, access internal funding opportunities, and gain real world experience through extensive industry placements.

  • ITTC for Bioplastics and Biocomposites - Fully funded PhD Scholarship of $35,000 pa (with potential for a top up of $10,000 pa for outstanding students). Applicants with skills/experience in chemistry, chemical engineering, material science or material processing are encouraged to apply.

    There is booming demand for eco-materials, based on biodegradation polymers. But commercially relevant bioplastics are much more than the biopolymers upon which they are based.

    This project considers the impact of additives and fillers on degradation rates of bioplastics (and the mobilisation of those additives and fillers to the environment) – with the aim of developing alternative ‘green’ fillers and additives.

    This project is developed in partnership with the Minderoo Foundation, with the view to facilitating the transition to a ‘greener’ plastics future.

  • ITTC for Bioplastics and Biocomposites - Fully funded PhD Scholarship of $35,000 pa (with potential for a top up of $10,000 pa for outstanding students). Applicants with skills/experience in chemistry, chemical engineering, material science or material processing are encouraged to apply.

    Bioplastics are forecast to play an increasingly important role in addressing the plastic pollution problem. However, not all bioplastics are necessarily benign – even biodegradable bioplastics.

    The aims of this project are to develop commercially relevant bioplastic products from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and to understand the (bio)degradation and potential impacts of those bioplastics in various environments.

    The project is developed in partnership with the Minderoo Foundation, with the view to facilitating production of environmentally benign alternatives to conventional packaging materials.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book Chapter

  • Candry, Pieter, Carvajal-Arroyo, José Maria, Pratt, Steven, Sousa, João, Akyol, Çağri, Fatone, Francesco and Ganigué, Ramon (2022). Anaerobic fermentation technologies for the production of chemical building blocks and bio-based products from wastewater. Resource Recovery from Water: Principles and Application. (pp. 159-196) IWA Publishing.

  • Chan, Clement Matthew, Pratt, Steven and Laycock, Bronwyn (2022). Effects of natural weathering on aesthetics, thermal and mechanical properties of completely biodegradable composites. Aging effects on natural fiber-reinforced polymer composites: durability and life prediction. (pp. 173-188) edited by Chandrasekar Muthukumar, Senthilkumar Krishnasamy, Senthil Muthu Kumar Thiagamani and Suchart Siengchin. Singapore: Springer Singapore. doi: 10.1007/978-981-16-8360-2_10

  • Pratt, Steven, Vandi, Luigi-Jules, Gapes, Daniel, Werker, Alan, Oehmen, Adrian and Laycock, Bronwyn (2019). Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastics from organic waste. Biorefinery: integrated sustainable processes for biomass conversion to biomaterials, biofuels, and fertilizers. (pp. 615-638) edited by Juan-Rodrigo Bastidas-Oyanedel and Jens Ejbye Schmidt. Springer International Publishing: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-10961-5_26

  • Dilkes-Hoffman, L.S., Pratt, S., Lant, P.A. and Laycock, B. (2019). The role of biodegradable plastic in solving plastic solid waste accumulation. Plastics to Energy. (pp. 469-505) edited by S.M. Al-Salem. Kidlington, Oxford, United Kingdom: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/b978-0-12-813140-4.00019-4

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Scholarships available, up to $45,000 p.a. tax free

    12-month industry placements

    There is unprecedented growth in demand for bioderived and biodegradable materials. The new ARC Training Centre in Bioplastics and Biocomposites will capitalise on Australia’s abundant natural bioresources to drive advances in technology for the development of bioplastic and biocomposite products for the new bioeconomy. We are a collaboration between industry, The University of Queensland (UQ) and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Our vision is to perform leading edge research and to develop industry-ready specialists to underpin Australia’s transition to a globally significant bioplastics and biocomposites industry.

    Up to 3 scholarships are available for outstanding PhD candidates to work in a multidisciplinary research team, embedded in industry. PhD projects are available in each of the following themes: Bioresource transformation, Bioplastic manufacture, Bioplastics applications, Effecting change and sustainability assessment.

    We have a critical focus on providing an exceptional PhD experience. We will deliver targeted training and development opportunities including: leadership, innovation, emotional intelligence, critical thinking and project management.

    As a Centre student you will receive mentoring from academic and industry leaders, access internal funding opportunities, and gain real world experience through extensive industry placements.

  • ITTC for Bioplastics and Biocomposites - Fully funded PhD Scholarship of $35,000 pa (with potential for a top up of $10,000 pa for outstanding students). Applicants with skills/experience in chemistry, chemical engineering, material science or material processing are encouraged to apply.

    There is booming demand for eco-materials, based on biodegradation polymers. But commercially relevant bioplastics are much more than the biopolymers upon which they are based.

    This project considers the impact of additives and fillers on degradation rates of bioplastics (and the mobilisation of those additives and fillers to the environment) – with the aim of developing alternative ‘green’ fillers and additives.

    This project is developed in partnership with the Minderoo Foundation, with the view to facilitating the transition to a ‘greener’ plastics future.

  • ITTC for Bioplastics and Biocomposites - Fully funded PhD Scholarship of $35,000 pa (with potential for a top up of $10,000 pa for outstanding students). Applicants with skills/experience in chemistry, chemical engineering, material science or material processing are encouraged to apply.

    Bioplastics are forecast to play an increasingly important role in addressing the plastic pollution problem. However, not all bioplastics are necessarily benign – even biodegradable bioplastics.

    The aims of this project are to develop commercially relevant bioplastic products from polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) and to understand the (bio)degradation and potential impacts of those bioplastics in various environments.

    The project is developed in partnership with the Minderoo Foundation, with the view to facilitating production of environmentally benign alternatives to conventional packaging materials.