Fixed term for 3 years
Applications are invited for a three year PhD position, supported by the Scottish Energy Research Academy and Nextek to be undertaken within Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University. The project will address an area related to the environment and sustainability, i.e., waste recovery by pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is a process increasingly employed for thermochemical conversion of wastes and recovery of lower molecular weight hydrocarbon products to be used as fuel or chemical feedstock. The optimisation of the process demands knowledge and control of the kinetics of pyrolysis for accurate predictions of the products' distribution. The work presents a number of scientific challenges: firstly, the kinetics of plastics pyrolysis must be elucidated; additionally, the fractionation of the bio-oil would present an "apparent" kinetics of the multi-component mixture which is not simply explicable through the kinetics of each single reaction. The research will consist in developing a model for the lumping kinetics approach (e.g., Astarita, G and R Ocone, AIChE Journal, 34, 129, 1988) for the pyrolysis of selected waste recovery residues and successive fractionation of the liquid products. The project will combine desk-based modelling work with experimental work to achieve its objectives. Download more information.

Closing date: 9 March 2012

Informal enquiries and application to be sent to Prof Raffaella Ocone (r.ocone@hw.ac.uk, Tel: +44 (0) 131 451 3777