Life Cycle Assessment of Alkaline Waste Treatment Pathways for Sustainable Cementitious Materials

About the Project

The cement and concrete industry accounts for approximately 7% of global CO₂ emissions, driven by limestone calcination and energy-intensive clinker production. At the same time, millions of tonnes of alkaline industrial wastes, including steel slags, incinerator bottom ash (IBA), and construction and demolition waste (CDW) fines, are landfilled or underutilised each year. These residues contain calcium- and aluminosilicate-rich phases that could be transformed into supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs), replacing a portion of Portland cement and reducing the sector’s carbon footprint.

This project will develop a life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to evaluate the environmental and technical performance of emerging waste treatment pathways (i.e. carbonation, thermal, mechanochemical, and hybrid activation) for converting alkaline residues into reactive SCMs. While carbonation can permanently sequester CO₂, and mechanical or thermal treatments can enhance reactivity, each approach has distinct trade-offs in energy use, emissions, and process efficiency. Beyond process-level impacts, their effects on cement performance (hydration, strength, durability, and service life) are equally crucial, as these determine the true carbon savings achievable in real applications.

The project will integrate experimental data, literature datasets, and modelling to link process parameters (energy demand, CO₂ uptake) with downstream concrete properties. By embedding durability and service-life considerations into LCA models, the research will identify optimal treatment-to-application pathways that maximise CO₂ reduction and resource efficiency.

Through this approach, the work will generate structured datasets, quantify trade-offs among activation methods, and create decision-support tools for selecting environmentally and technically optimal routes for waste valorisation. Outcomes will support industry efforts toward circular and low-carbon construction by combining materials characterisation, life-cycle modelling, and data-driven sustainability analysis.

Interested candidates must have a good understanding of alternative cement binder systems, concrete sample preparation and testing, and analyses involving reaction mechanisms, mechanical performance and microstructural development.

The successful candidate will join the Manchester CREATES (Concrete Materials, Resource Efficiency and Advanced TEchnology for Sustainability) team. For more details on research team activities, please visit www.manchestercreates.com

Eligibility

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

Funding

This 3.5-year PhD is for self-funded students. Exceptional candidates will be considered for Faculty funding (this will include an annual tax-free stipend of £20,780 and tuition fees will be paid. We expect the stipend to increase each year).

At The University of Manchester, we offer a range of scholarships, studentships and awards at university, faculty and department level, to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers.

The start date is October 2026.

We recommend that you apply early as the advert will be removed once the position has been filled.

Before you apply

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisor for this project before you apply. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

How to apply

Apply online through our website: https://uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

When applying, you’ll need to specify the full name of this project, the name of your supervisor, if you already having funding or if you wish to be considered for available funding through the university, details of your previous study, and names and contact details of two referees.

Your application will not be processed without all of the required documents submitted at the time of application, and we cannot accept responsibility for late or missed deadlines. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

After you have applied you will be asked to upload the following supporting documents:

• Final Transcript and certificates of all awarded university level qualifications
• Interim Transcript of any university level qualifications in progress
• CV
• Supporting statement: A one or two page statement outlining your motivation to pursue postgraduate research and why you want to undertake postgraduate research at Manchester, any relevant research or work experience, the key findings of your previous research experience, and techniques and skills you’ve developed. (This is mandatory for all applicants and the application will be put on hold without it).
• Contact details for two referees (please make sure that the contact email you provide is an official university/work email address as we may need to verify the reference)
• English Language certificate (if applicable)

If you have any questions about making an application, please contact our admissions team by emailing FSE.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk.