PhD student position in Catalytic upgrading of waste plastic oil

We are using a huge amount of plastics in the world and only about 12% of the plastics used in Europe are being recycled into new products. The waste plastics could be used to produce oils through different techniques. The goal with this project is to develop a heterogeneous catalyst for catalytic upgrading of waste plastic oils.

Project description
This PhD student position is within the Competence Centre for Catalysis (KCK), a national research centre focused on catalysis at Chalmers. The goal of the centre is the development of catalytic technology for sustainable transport, energy, and environmental systems. The centre is integrated with the research and teaching activities at the departments of Physics, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, and Mechanics and Maritime Science at Chalmers. KCK strives to provide an excellent environment for carrying out catalysis research with opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration with researchers in related projects or with industry partners.

Information about the division and the department
The position will be located at the division of Chemical Engineering at the department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering. At the division we have a wide range of experience and work both experimentally and with modeling. We have a long tradition of working with both fundamental scientific questions and applied problems together with industry.

Major responsibilities
We are using a huge amount of plastics in the world and only 12% of the plastics used in Europe are being recycled into new products. The waste plastics could be used to produce oils through different techniques, for example pyrolysis. The goal with this project is to develop a heterogeneous catalyst for catalytic upgrading of waste plastic oils.

The waste plastic oils will be upgraded in reactors and the gas and liquid will be analysed with GC, GCxGC/MS and NMR. The solids will be characterized with elemental analysis, NMR, GPC etc. The developed catalysts will be throughly characterized using for example XRD, BET, SEM, TEM, TPR, TPD, DRIFT and XPS.

The position will involve reporting current research results in both written and oral form as well as authoring scientific research publications.     

Also teaching in Chemical Engineering courses up to 20% of the time is included.   

Qualifications
To qualify as a PhD student, you must have a master's level degree corresponding to at least 240 higher education credits in Chemical Engineering or similar. The position requires sound verbal and written communication skills in English. If Swedish is not your native language, Chalmers offers Swedish courses.

Contract terms
Full-time temporary employment. The position is limited to a maximum of five years.

We offer
Chalmers offers a cultivating and inspiring working environment in the coastal city of Gothenburg. 
Read more about working at Chalmers and our benefits for employees.

Chalmers aims to actively improve our gender balance. We work broadly with equality projects, for example the GENIE Initiative on gender equality for excellence. Equality and diversity are substantial foundations in all activities at Chalmers.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20220688 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as PDF-files, as below. Maximum size for each file is 40 MB. Please note that the system does not support Zip files.

CV: (Please name the document: CV, Family name, Ref. number)
• CV
• Other, for example previous employments or leadership qualifications and positions of trust.
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous experience of relevance for the position (e.g. education, thesis work and, if applicable, any other research activities)
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Copies of bachelor and/or master’s thesis.
• Attested copies and transcripts of completed education, grades and other certificates, e.g. TOEFL test results.

Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. 

Application deadline: 20-01-2023

For questions, please contact:
Professor Louise Olsson
E-mail: louise.olsson@chalmers.se

Professpr Derek Creaser
E-mail: derek.creaser@chalmers.se

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. *** 
   



Chalmers University of Technology conducts research and education in engineering sciences, architecture, technology-related mathematical sciences, natural and nautical sciences, working in close collaboration with industry and society. The strategy for scientific excellence focuses on our six Areas of Advance; Energy, Health Engineering, Information and Communication Technology, Materials Science, Production and Transport. The aim is to make an active contribution to a sustainable future using the basic sciences as a foundation and innovation and entrepreneurship as the central driving forces. Chalmers has around 11,000 students and 3,000 employees. New knowledge and improved technology have characterised Chalmers since its foundation in 1829, completely in accordance with the will of William Chalmers and his motto: Avancez!