PhD Stipend in recovery of phosphorous by capacitive deionization (18-21100)

PhD Stipend in recovery of phosphorous by capacitive deionization (18-21100)

At the Faculty of Engineering and Science, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, a PhD Stipend is available within the study programme of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering. The stipend is open for appointment from February 1, 2022 or as soon as possible hereafter. The position is for 3 years. The Department consists of two sections with research and teaching in Biotechnology, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Technology and Biology. Place of employment of the position is Section of Chemical Science and Engineering in Esbjerg. In the workplace, we strive for diversity in nationality, culture, and gender, growth as a team effort, maintaining an inspiring physical work environment, and ensuring a good work-life balance.

Job description

The Department of Chemistry and Bioscience advances regional, national, and global knowledge build-up, while contributing to the solution of societal challenges through innovative research, problem-based education and knowledge-based collaborations. We produce excellent research in engineering and natural science and Aalborg University constantly ranks top of the World within engineering research and education. The Section of Chemical Science and Engineering has a clear goal of being the go-to partner for regional, national and international industries in need of research based knowledge and support for transition of classic chemical production to sustainable and more bio-based production processes and promote the green transition of society.

The PhD stipend is announced as part of the Circular Lake Restoration - rePair project funded by the Poul Due Jensen Foundation and the research of this PhD project will primarily focus on recovery of phosphorous from aqueous streams (lake water, reject water and concentrates) using capacitive deionization (CDI). The rePair project is managed by a consortium of multiple partners and close collaboration with other partners will be an integrated part of the project as well as participating in project status meetings and outreach activities.

CDI is an emerging technology for the facile removal of charged ionic species from aqueous solutions. The technology is based on ion electrosorption at the surface of a pair of electrically charged electrodes, commonly composed of highly porous carbon materials. The main attractive feature of CDI towards lake restoration applications is the enhanced mass transport at low concentration facilitated by the electrostatic attraction that improves the adsorption efficiency compared to pollutant capture and removal by traditional adsorbents. Selective electrostatic adsorption of P is a major challenge as the process will be in competition with the adsorption of chloride and other naturally present anions. A major factor is the adsorption affinity of the specific electrode material used and most likely introduction of selective anion exchange membranes (MCDI). A main scientific contribution of this research is to generate increased fundamental knowledge on how electrode material characteristics and properties influence adsorption mechanisms and affinities and to demonstrate the feasibility of CDI on the different water streams of the rePair lake restoration concepts.

For further information about scientific aspects of the stipend, please contact Head of Section, Associate Professor Jens Muff by e-mail: [email protected]

Qualification requirements:

Applicants must have Master of Science (MSc.) degree in Electrochemistry, Electrochemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, or similar from an internationally recognized University with a master thesis in one of the following areas: chemical engineering, applied chemistry or electrochemistry.

We are looking for top candidates and expect the candidate to have the following qualifications:

• Practical experience with experimental research within chemistry and chemical engineering
• Practical experience with electrochemistry (preferred)
• Knowledge on stability and toxicity testing of chemical species (preferred)
• Good collaboration skills, team spirit and the ability to work independently
• An excellent level of both spoken and written English to accommodate scientific communication and dissemination

The application must contain the following documents:

• Current CV
• Motivation letter for the application-1 page.
• Certificates for achieved academic degrees

We offer the possibility to be part of a strong, dynamic and internationally recognized multi-disciplinary research environment under the headline of chemical engineering. This includes access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, a chance to see your research be brought into practice and freedom to develop your research project within the stated framework. The candidate will be provided a team of supervisors from AAU from both campus Esbjerg and Aalborg and co-supervision from partners at DTU that will facilitate the collaboration between the rePair partners and widen the research horizon of the candidate. The candidate can expect small research stays in other universities within Denmark

PhD stipends are normally for a period of 3 years. It is a prerequisite for allocation of the stipend that the candidate will be enrolled as a PhD student at the Doctoral School of Engineering and Science in accordance with the regulations of Ministerial Order No. 1039 of August 27, 2013 on the PhD Programme at the Universities and Certain Higher Artistic Educational Institutions. According to the Ministerial Order, the progress of the PhD student shall be assessed at regular points in time.
Shortlisting will be applied. This means that subsequent to the deadline for applications the head of department supported by the chair of the assessment committee will select candidates for assessment. All applicants will be informed whether they will be assessed or not.
For further information about stipends and salary as well as practical issues concerning the application procedure contact Ms. Vigdis Skomager-Bohnfeldt, The Doctoral School Engineering and Science, email: [email protected]   phone: +45 9940 7408.
For more information of The Doctoral School of Engineering and Science: www.phd.engineering.aau.dk  

The application is only to be submitted online by using the "Apply online" button below.
AAU wishes to reflect the diversity of society and welcomes applications from all qualified candidates regardless of personal background or belief.

Agreement

Appointment and salary as a PhD fellow are according to the Ministry of Finance Circular of 28 June 2019 on the Collective Agreement for Academics in Denmark, Appendix 5, regarding PhD fellows, and with the current Circular of 11 December 2019 on the employment structure at Danish universities.

Vacancy number

18-21100

Deadline

19/12/2021

Apply online
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn

Online application - some good advice

Aalborg University uses an electronic recruitment system for receiving applications. Towards the bottom in the respective job advertisement you will find a link, which you need to use when applying for the position. Before uploading your application it is important that you have all relevant documentation ready in a Word or PDF format, as you need to upload all material at the same time. You cannot leave the application and return to it a couple of hours later without having to start over.

The system does not support ZIP or images files. Filenames can only contain numbers and letters, and each document must take up no more than 20 MB.
If you experience technical problems, we encourage you to try again. If the technical problems, contrary to expectation, cannot be solved, please contact the member of staff listed as the contact person in the job advertisement.