About the Project

The overall objective is to better understand the chemical composition of biocrude product from the hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) of waste cellulosic biomass.

The key aim is to improve our understanding of the composition of biocrude and how changes to the HTL processing parameters influence the chemical composition of the biocrude product.

This PhD project will be conducted in conjunction with a second PhD project in which process parameters and catalysis will be used to direct the reaction cascades that operate during the HTL process.

Feedback between two concurrent PhD projects is envisaged such that: this Analytical PhD’s results and protocols will inform another Catalytic PhD’s understanding of the catalysis;and the Catalytic PhD’s results will assay and benchmark the analyses and protocols developed in this Analytic PhD project

In particular, the initial focus of this Analytical PhD will be to understand and develop the best analysis methods for characterising the parameters that are important for our Industry Partner, Licella, to understand its processes and chemical makeup of its HTL products. This includes whole biocrude and fractions of biocrudes that contain mixtures of target compounds & chemical properties, including: flow characteristics, viscosity, oxygen content, chemical make-up & identification of interesting targets (classes of molecules or properties).

This aim requires an access to a variety of real samples, run under relevant conditions, and how the HTL process can be tailored to promote or suppress various chemical species.

The desired outcome is a better understanding of fundamental reaction processes and improved biocrude analysis.

References:

https://www.mmy-group.com.au/publications.html

Funding Notes:

CRC SPW

Enquiries:

https://www.mmy-group.com.au/projects.html

Application Web Page:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedKWurtM6x0PITa2lj10hSdUD-0R9fYmyTCLBclM46pApBVg/viewform