PhD Membrane Distillation

Note: To apply for this job, please follow the instructions given on the webpage www.icra.cat, under job opportunities. Also, further detail on the position can be found there

JOB PURPOSE / PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Do you want to conduct a PhD in close contact with industry? Within a large European Commission project that gives you frequent international exposure? Excited about membrane processes and the green transformation of industry and society?

The Ph.D. position is open in the framework of an EU funded H2020 project: iWAYS (Innovative WAter recoverY Solutions through recycling of heat, materials and water across multiple sectors). iWAYS project started in December 2020, will last four years and involves a dynamic consortium of 20 EU partners (10 research center or university; 4 industries; 6 SMEs). Details about the project can be found in the EU platform and the project website

The project ambition is to develop and promote water closed loop implementation practices in industrial processes by recycling industrial waters in combination with heat and/or substances in energy and resource intensive industries. Within this project, ICRA is transversally involved in tasks related to water treatment and recovery and will be leading implementation of a pilot distillation membrane-based system adapted to industrial wastewater characteristics. The research technician/Ph.D candidate will be conducting the core work in that regard at within ICRA Technology and Evaluation area team.

Objectives of the position:

- Develop and test a novel membrane distillation system that is suited to robust operation in industrial conditions, operating on feedwater with high fouling propensity.

- Conduct lab-scale experiments with the objective to design a pilot-scale membrane distillation plant and supporting its operation.

- Develop Innovative optimization approaches to tackle optimization of quantitative and qualitative transmembrane flux while limiting the fouling, scaling and eventually wetting of the membranes.

The successful candidate is expected to enter a plan for the progress of the work towards a Ph. D. degree during the first months of the appointment. The candidate will directly collaborate with the PI and Ph.D supervisor (Pr. Wolfgang Gernjak) and another research engineer (Dr. Morgan Abily) with a view to completing a doctorate within the contract period at UdG and with Ph.D. activities in line with the project milestones and deliverables including scientific publications.