Associate Professor
Geoff Kent
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Mech., Medical & Process Engineering
Biography
Biography: Geoff Kent has over 35 years experience in raw sugar factory research, consulting and training, specialising in cane transport and milling. He is recognised internationally as a leading expert in milling technology.Geoff is Deputy Director of the Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy at Queensland University of Technology and works within the Centre's Bioprocessing Program. The Bioprocessing Program covers the physical and chemical processing of biological materials. He is responsible for much of QUT´s research, consulting and training activities in sugarcane supply, transport and milling.
He has recently conducted consulting and training projects in Australia, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Guatemala, Switzerland, Mexico, and Reunion Island.
Personal details
Positions
- Principal Research Fellow
Faculty of Engineering,
School of Mech., Medical & Process Engineering
Keywords
Sugar, Transport, Preparation, Milling
Research field
Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Other Mathematical Sciences
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2008
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (James Cook Uni. of North Qld)
Professional memberships and associations
MIEAust CPEng NER APEC Engineer IntPE(Aus) Life member, Past President and Publications Committee Member, Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Member and Past Chairman, Engineering Section Committee, Factory Commission, International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists
Experience
Professional Experience:
- 2020 to current Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy Queensland University of Technology
- 2009 to 2019 Principal Research Fellow, Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, Queensland University of Technology
- 2005 to 2009 Senior Research Fellow, Sugar Research & Innovation, Centre for Tropical Crops and Biocommodities, Queensland University of Technology
- 2005 Principal Engineer, Sugar Research Institute, Mackay, Queensland
- 1996 to 2005 Senior Engineer, Sugar Research Institute, Mackay, Queensland
- 1986 to 1996 Engineer, Sugar Research Institute, Mackay, Queensland
Publications
- Truong-Ba, H., Cholette, M., Borghesani, P., Ma, L. & Kent, G. (2021). Condition-based inspection policies for boiler heat exchangers. European Journal of Operational Research, 291(1), 232–243. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/205177
- Jayarathna, L., Kent, G. & O'Hara, I. (2021). Spatial optimization of multiple biomass utilization for large-scale bioelectricity generation. Journal of Cleaner Production, 319. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/212782
- Bakir, H., Drury, T. & Kent, G. (2021). A factory experiment to assess different shredder-hammer configurations. Proceedings of the 42nd Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Conference, 132–142. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/201463
- Ginns, S., Kent, G., Johnston, W., Panitz, J. & Robotham, B. (2021). Economic evaluation of post-harvest cane cleaning. Proceedings of the 42nd Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Conference, 87–93. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/201462
- Kent, G., Ginns, S., Panitz, J. & Robotham, B. (2021). Effect of post-harvest cleaning on cane yield. Proceedings of the 42nd Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Conference, 79–86. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/201461
- Jayarathna, K., Kent, G., O'Hara, I. & Hobson, P. (2020). A Geographical Information System based framework to identify optimal location and size of biomass energy plants using single or multiple biomass types. Applied Energy, 275. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/202152
- Truong-Ba, H., Cholette, M., Ma, L. & Kent, G. (2019). A case study on the replacement policy for a pan system of sugar industry. Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), 1188–1192.
- Cholette, M., Kent, G., Yu, H., Wang, N., Borghesani, P. & Ma, L. (2019). A systematic approach to prioritising capital replacements. Proceedings of the 41st Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Conference, 29–39. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/132662
- Kent, G. & McNamara, S. (2019). Addressing constraints in the factory rate-control system. Proceedings of the 41st Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists Conference, 442–451. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/201456
- Kent, G., (2019). Understanding milling tandem control. Proceedings of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists (ISSCT) Congress 2019, 30, 1936–1943. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/201459
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Geoff, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).
Awards
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2020
- Details
- Invited Speaker, 2nd International Conference on Sustainability - Innovation & Diversification in Sugar and Allied Industry, Vasantdada Sugar Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, India, 31 January to 2 February 2020
- Type
- Academic Honours, Prestigious Awards or Prizes
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- Emile Hugot Award for best paper, Factory Commission, International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, XXX Congress, Tucuman, Argentina 2-5 September 2019
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2019
- Details
- Invited speaker, IV Simpósio Internacional, Sociedade Dos Técnicos Açucareiros E Alcooleiros Do Brasil, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil, 26 to 27 February 2019
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2018
- Details
- Invited Speaker, Thai Sugar Expo, Amari Hua Hin, Thailand, 13 to 14 September 2018
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- Invited Speaker, 14º SILA ¿ Seminário Internacional em Logística Agroindustrial, ESALQ-LOG, University of Sao Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil, 10 April 2017
- Type
- Keynote Speaker/Expert Panel Member/Invited Speaker for a Conference
- Reference year
- 2017
- Details
- SN Gundurao Memorial Lecture, 75th Annual Convention and International Sugar Expo 2017, Sugar Technologists' Association of India, Kochi, Kerala, India, 3 to 5 August 2017
- Type
- Committee Role/Editor or Chair of an Academic Conference
- Reference year
- 2014
- Details
- President, Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, 36th Conference, Gold Coast 28 to 31 April 2014
Selected research projects
- Title
- Eliminating Roll Arcing (4399)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2019/007
- Start year
- 2020
- Keywords
- Title
- Strategies to Minimise Impacts of Processing Existing Soft Cane Varieties, and Industry Cost/Benefit Analysis (4397)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2019/005
- Start year
- 2019
- Keywords
- Fibre Quality Tests; Shredder Gridbar Setting; Shredder Speed; Soft Cane Variety; Throughput
- Title
- Reviewing and Extending Knowledge of Fibre Quality Assessment and Effects of Cane Varieties (4304)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2017/001
- Start year
- 2017
- Keywords
- Factory; Fibre; Quality; Soft; Sugarcane
- Title
- Assessment of New Soft Cane Varieties(4258)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2015/081
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Factory; Fibre; Quality; Soft; Sugarcane
- Title
- Condition-based Maintenance Optimisation for Australian Sugar Industry
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- LP150100545
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Title
- Value Chain Program Main Record 'Enhancing the sugar industry value chain' (RnD4Profit 15-02-020)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 15-02-020
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Title
- Value Chain Program Sub-Project 'Commercial scale economic evaluation of post-harvest cane cleaning to maximise the returns to the supply chain (RnD4Profit 15-02-020) (4273)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2016/953
- Start year
- 2016
- Keywords
- Title
- Increasing Capacity to Undertake Cane Preparation Research Through Modelling and Experimentation (4218)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2015/018-GK006
- Start year
- 2015
- Keywords
- Grid; Hammer; Hammer Mill; Shredder; Windage
- Title
- Real Time Harvest and Transport System (4147)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- 2014/037-GK001
- Start year
- 2014
- Keywords
- Decision; Railway; Real-time; Scheduling; Sugarcane
- Title
- A retrofit to a mill to reduce its operational and maintenance costs (4075)
- Primary fund type
- CAT 1 - Australian Competitive Grant
- Project ID
- QUT059
- Start year
- 2013
- Keywords
- Delivery; Energy; Mill; Reabsorption; Sugar
Projects listed above are funded by Australian Competitive Grants. Projects funded from other sources are not listed due to confidentiality agreements.
Supervision
Current supervisions
- Degradation Modelling and Condition-Based Maintenance for Pressure Equipment in Sugar Mills
PhD, Associate Supervisor
Other supervisors: Associate Professor Michael Cholette, Dr Huy Truong-Ba
Completed supervisions (Doctorate)
- A GIS-Based Integrated Modelling Framework for Optimal Positioning of Biomass Energy Plants (2021)
- Development of Bioenergy Systems and Models for Optimised Recovery and Delivery of Biomass to Biorefinery Operations (2019)
- Investigating the Effect of Tube Dimensions and Operating Conditions on Heat Transfer Performance in Rising Film Vertical Tube Evaporator (2019)
- Scheduling Techniques to Optimise Rail Operations (2012)
- Cellulosic ethanol from sugarcane bagasse in Australia: Exploring industry feasibility through systems analysis, techno-economic assessment and pilot plant development (2011)
Completed supervisions (Masters by Research)
- Utilising Human Computer Interaction Evaluation Techniques to Improve Sugar Cane Transportation (2020)
- Tracking Locomotive Position to Evaluate Sugarcane Railway Schedules and Predict Arrival Time (2015)
- Design of an experimental apparatus to analyse Bagasse behaviour in a chute (2013)
- Modelling the flow of cane constituents through the milling process of a raw sugar factory (2013)