About the Project

These projects are open to students worldwide, but have no funding attached. Therefore, the successful applicant will be expected to fund tuition fees at the relevant level (home or international) and any applicable additional research costs. Please consider this before applying.

This experimental project will focus on facing the global challenge of reducing plastic waste landfilling by transforming plastic wastes into added-value materials/chemicals to facilitate energy transition and tackle greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions (i.e. CO2).

Microwave-intensified catalytic upcycling of plastics into hydrogen and carbon-based materials will be the main focus of this project. The research candidate will investigate the sustainable conversion of plastic wastes mainly into porous sorbents (of different nature and composition) and gases (namely hydrogen). Formed products in the solid, gaseous, and liquid streams will then be fully characterised.

The experimental work will pay special attention to the characterisation of the solid and gaseous fractions produced using the microwave-assisted catalytic transformation, to understand the mechanisms involved in the process, and the conditions which may favour the obtention of specific products. Various parameters of the reaction will be explored to determine their influence and to identify the best conditions for the system. Carbonaceous materials obtained will be fully characterised and tested for CO2 capture applications by means of adsorption. Hydrogen production will be quantitatively determined and conditions that promote higher H2 production and purity identified.

Also, the heterogeneous catalysts selected for the process will be characterised and investigated to understand their role in the process and their behaviour (interaction of catalysts with microwaves, reaction mechanisms, kinetics…). Based on the results, catalysts will be optimised to achieve high conversion and selectivity of the target products, desirably at relatively low temperatures and short reaction times under microwave radiation.

Additionally, applicants who would like to explore other specific innovative ideas within the scope of this project are welcomed and encouraged. For the later, a brief and concise description of the idea (maximum 2 pages) should be submitted as part of the application.

Further information:

This project requires knowledge of some of the following: thermochemical conversion treatments of materials, materials surface modification, materials characterisation: namely N2 sorption to determine textural properties (BET, micropore volume, total pore volume, average pore diameter…), gas chromatography (product analysis and quantification), FTIR, XRD, TGA, porosimeter. Organic chemistry, physical chemistry, reactor design and kinetics/reactor dynamics, thermodynamics and heat transfer, gas separation processes, adsorption principles, kinetics of adsorption and desorption, etc.

Microsoft Office package (specially Excel, Word, Power Point).

The knowledge of any other software such as Matlab, Aspen Hysys (Adsorption) will be valuable.

Decisions will be based on academic merit. The successful applicant should have, or expect to obtain, a UK Honours Degree at 2.1 (or equivalent) in Engineering. Essential knowledge: materials and energy balances, and thermochemical conversion treatments; Microsoft Office package (especially Excel).

Desirable knowledge: microwave heating, and materials science (synthesis and characterisation (namely N2 physisorption, TGA, FTIR, XRD, gas chromatography, gas spectrometry, etc)). Good foundations on Chemistry, Physical Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Renewable Energy Engineering, Microwave Heating, Gas Separation Processes, Adsorption, reactor design and kinetics.

Application Procedure:

Formal applications can be completed online: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/pgap/login.php.

You should apply for PhD in Engineering to ensure your application is passed to the correct team for processing.

Please clearly note the name of the lead supervisor and project titleon the application form. If you do not include these details, it may not be considered for the studentship.

Your application must include: A personal statement, an up-to-date copy of your academic CV, and clear copies of your educational certificates and transcripts.

Please note: you do not need to provide a research proposal with this application.

Informal enquiries can be made by contacting Dr C Fernandez-Martin at cfmartin@abdn.ac.uk. If you require any additional assistance in submitting your application or have any queries about the application process, please don't hesitate to contact us at researchadmissions@abdn.ac.uk

Funding Notes

This is a self-funding project open to students worldwide. Our typical start dates for this programme are February or October.

Fees for this programme can be found here Finance and Funding | Study Here | The University of Aberdeen

Additional research costs / bench fees of £2,000 per annum will be required in addition to tuition fees and living expenses.

References

[1] Jun Z., Jianye G., Duanda W., Yong C., Lei Z., Wangjing M., Sui Z. ‘Microwave-intensified catalytic upcycling of plastic waste into hydrogen and carbon nanotubes over self-dispersing bimetallic catalysts’. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024 Vol. 483, 149270.
[2] Jie, X., Gonzalez-Cortes, S., Xiao, T.,Wang, J., Yao, B., Slocombe,D.R., Al-Megren, H.A., Dilworth, J.R., Thomas, J.M., Edwards, P.P. ‘Rapid Production of High-Purity Hydrogen Fuel through Microwave-Promoted Deep Catalytic Dehydrogenation of Liquid Alkanes with Abundant Metals’. Angewandte.Chemie, 2017, vol. 129, no 34, pp. 10304–10307.
[3] Dan, E., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Martín, C.F. ‘The role of the activation heating source on the carbon capture performance of two new adsorbents produced from household-mixed-plastic waste’. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 2024, vol. 89, 102950.
[4] Biti, S., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Graca, I., Fernandez Martin, C. Sustainable microcrystalline cellulose-based activated carbons for a greener carbon capture at post-combustion conditions.
[5] Rouse, N. V., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I. ‘Paving the way to transfer hydrogenation of CO2 with bio-derived glycerol over Ni supported zeolite catalysts’. Applied Catalysis A: General, 2024, vol. 687, 119971.