RESEARCHER IN TECHNOLOGIES FOR CO2 PURIFICATION AND/OR CAPTURE - PHD SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME VICENTE LÓPEZ

Eurecat Water, Air and Soil Unit develops and optimises technologies and processes to improve the management of water, soil and air and associated resources.
We conduct research, development and innovation projects with businesses across all industries to enhance economic, environmental and social sustainability.
We use advanced modelling and experimental tools at various scales (laboratory, pilot plant and real scale) to develop and validate new technologies and their applications.
We work with a wide range of technologies for treating pollutants to mitigate their release into the natural environment and also for resource recovery and to support the transition to a circular economy.
https://eurecat.
rg/en/field-of-knowledge/water-air-soil/ The RMIT research group involved in the PhD thesis have expertise in technology for the environment.
Water (Treatment, Distribution, modelling), Wastewater (MBR, Membranes in Agriculture, Aquaculture), Salt Water Intrusion, Resource Recovery (Mine Tailing Ponds, Dye and Salt from Textile Effluent), Novel Technologies (FO, MD) and specifically in modelling environmental technology performance.
Eurecat and RMIT are offering a PhD position t o develop research in biogas upgrading using various purification membrane-based technologies (i.
., dry hollow fibres, membrane contactors) under the supervision of Dr.
Jorge Cored https://www.
inkedin.
om/in/jcored/?originalSubdomain=es and Dr.
Jega Jegatheesan https://www.
mit.
du.
u/profiles/j/jega-jegatheesan The objective is to demonstrate that these technologies are suitable for obtaining purified biomethane (bioCH4) of vehicular quality at bench scale.
The main impurities to be separated are CO2 (major compound, ≈ %vol) and other minor compounds such as N2, O2, H2S, H2O, VOCs, or siloxanes).
CCU technologies (CO2 capture and use processes).
In particular, the tasks to be performed would be related to CO2 capture in industrial-like streams such as flue gases using solid sorbents as active materials (e.
., zeolites, biochars, and other innovative nano-materials).
A PSA (pressure swing adsorption) unit will be developed to this purpose.
Functions and Responsibilities Conceptualization and construction of laboratory/bench scale gas purification systems.
Design of experimental sets, implementation of experiments and in-depth interpretation of the results obtained.
Writing of technical reports and scientific publications.
Identification of novel technologies compatible with the upgrading of biogas and CO2 capture in industrial streams.
Studies and Knowledge.
Master’s degree in chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, environmental engineering, material science or similar.
Soft Skills.
Collaborative person able to work in a team of researchers.
Also, able to work in an autonomous way.
Critical thinking and problem solving.
Skills to communicate/document the results in a comprehensible and professional way.
High motivation for the research topic and strong compromise for work.
A certain degree of mobility is expected due to PhD requirements such as conferences and institutional visits.
Languages.
High oral and written communication skills in English Knowledge of Catalan or Spanish is desirable.
Submission of Applications.
To formalize their application, applicants must.
Complete the registration forms, making sure they provide all the information requested.
Provide the following documentation.
A photocopy of their valid NIF, NIE or passport.
A CV and covering letter explaining their reasons for applying to the program.
A photocopy of the official academic certificate (or payment receipt for it) that grants them access to the doctoral program.
The academic transcript of their master’s degree studies.
Applicants who have not yet completed their master’s degree studies must submit their most recent academic transcript.
Accreditation of any other relevant achievements.
Before September 8th, Selection Process The selection process will be led by a committee that includes Scientific Management department, a specialist from People and Organization department, and the person who will be responsible for supervising the thesis connected to the vacancy.
Once the applicants' compliance with the requirements has been verified, the Commission will evaluate the merits of each application based on the curriculum, academic transcript, previous research activity, previous experience in the field of the thesis in the industrial/company sector and their fluency in English.
The evaluation process will include selection interviews.
Curriculum.
Up to 20 points Motivation Letter.
Up to 10 points Academic Transcript.
Up to 20 points Previous research activity.
Up to 10 points Previous experience in the field of the thesis in the industrial sector or company.
Up to 10 points Fluency in English.
Up to 10 points Fluency in Spanish.
Up to 10 points Fluency in Catalan.
Up to 10 points The committee will then create a prioritized list of applications that received positive evaluations.
If no application reaches the minimum score of 60 points based on the criteria outlined in the previous section, the committee may void the call.
In this scenario, Eurecat may restart the selection process, establishing new deadlines for application submissions and the selection procedure.
Every applicant will be informed about the status of their application in the program.
By applying, the applicant agrees to these terms.
Non-compliance with these terms, incomplete documentation, or any other formal defects will result in the exclusion of the application from the selection process.
Decisions will be communicated to applicants via the email address provided during registration.