Post-doc | Thermochemical modelling of radioactive contaminants partitioning in remelted steels

29 Apr 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre

Department

SCK•CEN Academy for Nuclear Science and Technology

Research Field

Other

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Belgium

Application Deadline

31 May 2024 - 11:55 (Europe/Brussels)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

40

Offer Starting Date

1 Jul 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

When it comes to dismantling nuclear power plants, metals fall into 3 main parts:

•    A great deal of the metal is free of any residual radioactivity. It will therefore go through a conventional recycling process.
•    Another portion is too contaminated or activated to be processed or recycled. It will be categorized as radioactive waste and sent to a radioactive waste disposal facility
•    The third and final part – which represents significant volumes – has a limited level of remaining radioactivity from activation and fission products, allowing it to be recycled by melting the steel. This process can reduce or remove radionuclides allowing the steel to be reused or recycled and therefore reduce the quantity of radioactive waste and its associated cost. Within this context, SCK CEN has launched, together with CRM, a new project, called SMELD for “State of the art Metal Melting Limiting waste during D&D”. Using a laboratory melting furnace, one of the objective of SMELD is to get a better understanding of the movements of certain radioisotopes during the melting process that will help determining parameters/methods during melting to optimize the process, i.e. to reduce the radioactive waste quantity and improve the circular economy.

Within this context, applicants are invited for a full-time Postdoctoral Research Position to work on the new dynamic SMELD project.  

This Post-doc study aims to apply the state-of-the-art thermochemical modelling tools such as FactSage, Thermo-Calc, and HSC etc. to investigate metal melting process in order to extract valuable metal. Although the pyrometallurgy in traditional steel industry is well known and largely studied, the information on the behavior of the radionuclides in remelted steels is limited. The objective is to model the partitioning of phases in metal melting according to the particular process parameter and to identify and model phase relations at the boundaries of thermodynamical equilibria . The modelling results will be used to guide remelting processes at various stages in order to optimize pyrometallurgy conditions facilitating re-partitioning and/or concentrating identified radionuclides towards preferred phases. As the optimized conditions must be eventually applicable to a semi- or an industrial scale remelting facility kinetic conditions must also be accounted for.

Requirements

Research Field

Other

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

The candidate needs to have a background in Materials sciences - Pyrometallurgy

Specific Requirements

The candidate needs to have a background in Materials sciences - Pyrometallurgy

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Research Field

Other

Additional Information
Benefits
Why would you choose to perform your PhD research at SCK CEN?

Academic & research-oriented: SCK CEN ensures a close cooperation with the academic sector, combined with the unique character of our international research environment. You will work together with supportive experienced experts and use innovative facilities, specifically designed for nuclear experiments.
 

Multidisciplinary research: Your post-doctoral research is inextricably linked with other areas of expertise, either because of the versatile character of your own topic, or indirectly thanks to knowledge exchanges with colleagues.
 

Excellent training centre: SCK CEN is proud of its own SCK CEN Academy, which organises our own internal training courses. Obviously, you can also benefit from these opportunities and the Academy’s excellent reputation.

Eligibility criteria

See https://www.sckcen.be/en/sck-cen-academy/phds-postdocs/phd-theses/how-s…

Selection process

See https://www.sckcen.be/en/sck-cen-academy/phds-postdocs/phd-theses/how-s…

Website for additional job details

https://www.sckcen.be/en/thesis-and-internship-topics/thermochemical-modelling-…

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

SCK CEN

Country

Belgium

State/Province

Antwerp

City

Mol

Postal Code

2400

Street

Boeretang 200

Where to apply

Website

https://www.sckcen.be/en/thesis-and-internship-topics/thermochemical-modelling-…

Contact

City

Mol

Website

https://www.sckcen.be/en/academy

Street

Boeretang 200

Postal Code

2400

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED