A revolutionary machine that can unboil an egg is being used to develop graphene purification technology.
Researchers from Flinders University in South Australia along with Western Australian company First Graphite Ltd will use the dynamic Vortex Fluidic Device (VFD) to produce high-quality graphene for industrial use.
Graphene is the building block of graphite and is one of the most sought after materials in the world because of its robust nature.
More than a million metric tons of graphite is mined globally each year.
It is 200 times stronger than steel but remains flexible and impermeable, making it ideal for the development of a range of modern technology such as lithium-ion batteries, sensors and transparent-conducting electrodes for flexible solar cells.
Based on previous graphite research involving the VFD, First Graphite plan to scale up the process to a commercial level with the potential of delivering high-value carbon materials to global markets.
First Graphite Managing Director Craig McGuckin said graphene uses were applicable to a vast range of industries and he believed the material would eventually be used in most modern technology.
"What is required is creating high quality graphene from graphite, doing so quickly and efficiently and that is what we are trying to take up now," he said.
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