Research Assistant (PDRA) in Chemical Engineering

Are you an ambitious and experienced Chemical Engineering researcher looking for your next biomass/waste- bioenergy challenge? Do you want to further your research career in the UK’s Energy Estuary of Hull and Humberside and specifically in Hull University?

The School of Engineering and Computer Science (SoECS) at the University of Hull is a large size academic unit with a focus on Chemical Engineering, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Medical Engineering and Computer Science. The School has a long history of delivering MEng, BEng, BSc programmes accredited by IET, IMEchE and BCS. Chemical Engineering was launched 5 years ago and has established a strong student population gaining accreditation in 2017. This post is aimed at supporting the School to expand our research profile within Chemical Engineering. The post holder would be expected to have publications track record, have proven research expertise supported by internationally recognised publications and experience of building successful research teams.

Applicants of outstanding experience are sought for the post of the Research Assistant in Chemical Engineering, to be employed in Chemical Engineering subject at the School of Engineering and Computer Science at Hull University, UK. The successful candidate will carry out high-quality experimental work to assess, evaluate, integrate, develop and improve the solid fuels pre-treatment method of leaching with the novel microwave extraction technique(s) in order to optimise the lignocellulosic biomass/waste behaviour when those solid waste are to be used as alternative fuels in thermochemical treatment reactors (pyrolysers, gasifiers).The post is funded by the EPSRC First Grant-2009 Revised Scheme entitled “Microwave assisted pre-treatment of lignocellulosic residues for better performance as solid fuels in fluidized bed (FB) energy production technologies”, lead by the PI Dr V.K. Skoulou, Lecturer in Chemical Engineering. By combining Chemical Engineering/Chemistry experimental methods, the project will obtain an understanding of the relationship between the alternative solid fuels pre-treatment processes and impact to bioenergy production from alternative solid fuels via the thermochemical route (pyrolysis, gasification).

The successful applicant will be responsible for the realization of this a novel combination of alternative solid fuels traditional pre-treatments and upgrading techniques and for conducting experimental work in lab scale facilities and analytical equipment to develop suitable methodologies, aiming not only to optimize the specifications of the alternative solid fuels (biomass residues/waste), but also to characterize and evaluate their thermochemical break down behavior under pyrolysis/gasification environments and to address the challenges for future development of a sustainable, practical and affordable pre-treatment method for exploitation of such fuels at industrial scale.

You will have an awarded PhD and BSc, MEng or MSc in Chemical Engineering or Chemistry with a proven track record of publications and presentations in prestigious international journals and conferences in UK/ abroad in the field, and a proven track record of a post-doctoral-level experience at least  three of these areas: lignocellulosic biomass /waste pre-treatment, solid fuels, microwave chemistry and thermochemical treatments (gasification and/ or pyrolysis) of solids.  

This is a challenging and exciting Chemical Engineering laboratory based research project for a highly motivated and experienced candidate in: lignocellulosic biomass waste thermochemical treatments,  microwave chemistry, alternative solid fuels pre-treatment, and bioenergy with experience who is aiming to work at the interface of solid fuels pre-treatment and  energy generation engineering via the thermochemical route and will also have extensive experience in the characterization of biomass/ waste, solid fuels and thermochemical  treatment by -products  by means of various analytical techniques, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and other analytical lab techniques (i.e. GC, GC-MS, FTIR, etc.)

You will have excellent and proven chemical engineerin/chemistry laboratory and team working skills as well as verbal and written communication skills and maintain links with other professional institutions and/or with our industrial partners to fulfil the requirements of this role. Communication skills, particularly a demonstrated ability to publish in prestigious international scientific journals is essential. An ability to conduct original experimental research independently and within a team, and to carry out sound judgement of research tasks are also essential. You will also have the ability to plan ahead and monitor  the work under this project, manage and conduct laboratory research independently, work with colleagues on joint projects as required and contribute to the B³ Challenge Group lead by Dr V.Skoulou  and team members supervision of research projects, as well as assess the research students’ knowledge,  supervise and guide final year students' research works  in the field and participate in Health and Safety Training and other relevant training for optimizing your research skills development  for supporting these activities at the University of Hull. Candidates who have experience of working in a multidisciplinary projects and worked with industry will be particularly welcome.

For informal enquiries please contact:  Dr Vasiliki K Skoulou (v.skoulou@hull.ac.uk)  Lecturer in Chemical Engineering, Principal Investigator of the  B³ Challenge Group: Biomass-Bioenergy- Biomaterials.

If you have ambition to build your own reputation through research in the biomass- waste/bioenergy field a good publications record and participation in conferences, then we would like to hear from you.

Please note the latest start date for this role is 1 May 2018

Interviews are anticipated to be held on second and/or third week of March 2018

Further details:

• Job Description

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