Horizon-MSCA-2023-Doctoral Network-01 “CRITERIA”: Water Mining: a New Paradigm for Aquifers Con[...]

Engineering » Chemical engineering

Environmental science » Natural resources management

Engineering » Process engineering

Organisation/Company: UNIVERSITÀ DELLA CALABRIA

Department: Department of Environmental Engineering

Research Field: Engineering » Water resources engineering, Engineering » Chemical engineering, Environmental science » Natural resources management, Engineering » Process engineering

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1), PhD Positions

Country: Italy

Application Deadline: 31 Jan 2025 - 12:00 (Europe/Rome)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Offer Starting Date: 1 Mar 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Horizon Europe (other)

Reference Number: 101169238

Offer Description

The doctoral position is offered by the Environmental Engineering Department of Università della Calabria. The research focuses on investigating the use of adsorption methods to recover critical raw materials from aquifers contaminated by mining tailings leachate.

The research will focus on the development of new materials capable of selectively adsorbing CRMs from mining tailing leachate. This research could also contribute to the development of a more circular economy by promoting the recovery and reuse of valuable critical raw materials and the remediation of old mining sites for land and soil reuse.

The research will start by collecting reactive materials suitable for the adsorption of CRMs from the literature. Among the collected materials, the potential reactive materials will be selected through batch test analysis. Subsequently, column tests will be carried out to identify the optimal material capable of selectively adsorbing the CRMs. For the aquifer under the abandoned tailings, a pilot site will be identified and characterized by slug and tracer tests necessary for flow and transport modeling. Finally, reactive drains will be designed to recover CRMs and/or remediate contaminated aquifers.

Expected results are the recovery and reuse of valuable critical raw materials and remediation of old mining sites for land and soil reuse.

During the PhD, diverse secondments are planned: 2 months at Atalaya for an applied case, 3 months at Minerali Industriali for the selection of the pilot site and execution of slug and tracer tests, and 4 months at IST LISBONA for the identification of the aquifer and monitoring of the contaminated plume using geophysical techniques (i.e., SP, PI, ERT, etc.).

Research Field: Engineering » Water resources engineering

Education Level: Master Degree or equivalent

Skills/Qualifications

The applicant must hold a 2nd Level Master’s Degree MSc (120 ECTS + 180 ECTS in a Bachelor’s Degree BSc) or a Single-Cycle Degree combining BSc/MSc programmes (minimum 300 ECTS) or an equivalent university degree (Second Cycle qualification). Preference for: Chemical Engineering, Materials Engineering, Chemistry, Environmental Engineering or pertinent fields.

Very good written and oral communication skills in English are necessary.

Languages: ENGLISH Level Good

Eligibility Criteria

• The applicant should not have resided or performed their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host institution for more than 12 months in the 3 year period immediately prior to the start date of the PhD research;
• The applicant should be in their early research careers and not yet have been awarded a doctorate.

Ineligible candidates will not be considered for the selection procedure.

Selection Process

In addition to completing the application form required by the Call for Application, the applicant must provide the following documents:

• Copy of the first two and last two pages of the Passport or – for EU citizens - of the Identity Card;
• Copy of academic qualification(s)/parchment(s) – in original language and translated in English (or in the national language of the recruiting Higher Education Institution) – clearly stating the name of the University issuing the degree, the date of graduation, the final score; copies of official transcripts (mark sheets) of academic courses attended to obtain each degree (BSc, MSc or equivalent) - in original language and translated in English (or in the national language of the recruiting Higher Education Institution) – and corresponding Grade Point Average;
• Signed Curriculum Vitae, in English, detailing academic studies, professional career, publications and other relevant achievements;
• Signed Letter of Motivation, in English, covering the following aspects: reasons for applying to the PhD position, skills and abilities that make the applicant a good candidate, motivations to carry out research abroad, professional interests and expectations. Maximum one page.
• Max two Reference Letters, in English, printed on letterhead and duly signed;
• Concise recognition on the state-of-the-art (3,000-4,000 characters), in English, on the topic addressed by the Individual Research Project;
• Any additional qualification or documentation, in English, deemed useful for the selection procedure.