Horizon-MSCA-2023-Doctoral Network-01 “CRITERIA”: Integrated membrane processes for critical ra[...]

Environmental science » Natural resources management

Organisation/Company: UNIVERSITÀ DELLA CALABRIA
Department: Department of Environmental Engineering
Research Field: Engineering » Chemical engineering, Environmental science » Natural resources management, Engineering » Materials engineering, Engineering » Industrial engineering
Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)
Positions: 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
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

This doctoral position is offered by the Department of Environmental Engineering of the University of Calabria (Italy).

Critical raw materials (CRMs) are elements categorized by the EU commission as crucial for technological development, often in industries like electronics and renewable energy, that are limited in supply. Many of these can be found in significant amounts in mining tailings or landfills, due to challenges in their recovery.

The PhD position focuses on the development of a hybrid membrane-based technological platform for the valorization of liquid mining tailings exploiting synergies from the hybridization of pressure-driven membrane systems, thermal-membrane dehydration processes, and electrically-driven membrane processes. Moving from selected case studies, the PhD candidate will sequentially face:

1. Pre-treatment stage for Ca removal (to limit scaling)
2. Nanofiltration as fractionation stage between mono- and multi-valent ions
3. Photothermal Membrane Distillation to dehydrate liquid tailings under solar irradiation (including preparation and characterization of carbon-based photothermal membranes for efficient light-to-heat conversion)
4. Enrichment stage based on Electrodialysis operated with monovalent-selective ion exchange membranes
5. Reactive absorption/precipitation

The experimental investigation will be complemented by the analysis of chemical speciation (PHREEQC, OLI software) and modelling of mass/energy transfer in Membrane Distillation/Crystallization and Electrodialysis.

Three academic secondments will be required: 2 months at CWT (Sweden); 4 months at KTH (Sweden), and 3 months at UPC (Spain).

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: Environmental Engineering; Chemical 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.