PhD Studentship - Process Industries: Net Zero - Decarbonising Industrial Cellophane Production

Award summary

100% fees (UK home only), a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £21,805 (2026/27 UKRI rate), and a research training support grant of £20,000.

Overview

Are you motivated to tackle climate change through engineering?

This fully-funded PhD offers a unique opportunity to work directly with industry to decarbonise a real manufacturing plant — delivering solutions with immediate, tangible impact. This project focuses on the Futamura cellulose-to-cellophane production site in Cumbria, where you will develop strategies to reduce energy use and transition towards Net Zero operation.

You will be focussed on a live industrial plant, not a hypothetical system, involving direct collaboration with Futamura Ltd, a global leader in sustainable packaging, and you will deliver solutions with sector-wide relevance.

This is an opportunity to be part of a Leading Research Environment, the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ), hosted by the Process Intensification Group at Newcastle University.

Project Overview

Cellophane is a relatively sustainable material, derived from renewable cellulose. However, its production remains energy-intensive.

In this project, you will:

• Analyse energy use across a real industrial process
• Identify opportunities for heat integration and efficiency improvements
• Evaluate emerging technologies for process decarbonisation
• Explore solutions from unit operations to whole-system redesign
• Conduct techno-economic and life cycle analysis
• Translate findings to both the Futamura site and the wider chemicals sector

Through the PINZ CDT, you will gain data analysis, modelling, and technoeconomic assessment skills; professional development in communication, leadership, and industrial collaboration; access to a strong network of industrial partners and alumni.