PhD on Electro-osmotic drying of diluted biomass streams (# of pos: 2)

In our research group Membrane Materials and Processes we have the following position available:

PhD on Electro-osmotic drying of diluted biomass streams

This project is part of a large Dutch academic-industrial research program entitled ELECTRIFIED. Its aims is to develop key enabling technologies and consists of multiple PhD and PD research projects. The main objective of this ELECTRIFIED research program is to develop and explore electrically driven dewatering technologies for the food and biobased industry.

Drying alone represents almost 25% of all energy used in the processing industry. Sustainable food and biobased processing can only be realized by replacing our current evaporative dewatering processes by processes using more effective driving forces such as electricity. ELECTRIFIED uses such electric driving forces to extract water from biomaterials. This is done by making use of a combination of molecularly designed electroresponsive hydrogels, well-controlled electro-osmosis and electrohydrodynamic drying in diluted, semi solid and solid regimes.

Details of the PhD-project (4-years)
The research of the PhD that will be enrolled at the TU/e is dedicated to the development of hydrogel membranes and systems for drying in the diluted and semi solid regime. For this, electroresponsive hydrogel materials developed by one of the other partners will be applied in electro-osmotic flow conditions to permeate liquid water from the target stream. In the diluted regime the focus will be on material characterization and in the semi solid regime the focus shifts more to acquiring process performance data using small lab-scale systems. Obtained data will be used by the PD for bench-scale system design.

Membrane Materials and Processes at Eindhoven University of Technology
The research will be conducted at research group Membrane Materials and Processes (MM/P) part of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry at the TU/e (The Netherlands).

The research group MM/P focuses on the design, development, characterization and application of polymer membranes and porous electrodes to control mass transport in sustainable processes. The research combines and integrates materials chemistry, materials engineering and process technology. Application areas are water and energy, with a strong focus on the recovery and reuse of resources, the valorization of waste streams and energy efficiency. 'Closing cycles' and 'value from waste' are leading themes in the research program. Next to fundamental academic research, application-oriented research in close collaboration with the industry is stimulated.

The TU/e offers academic education that is driven by fundamental and applied research. We combine scientific curiosity with a hands-on mentality. Our educational philosophy is based on personal attention and room for individual ambitions and talents. Our research meets the highest international standards of quality. We push the limits of science, which puts us at the forefront of rapidly emerging areas of research.