PhD Studentship: Biochar Production From Waste Materials, UK

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June 14, 2010

Job Description: Applications are invited for a three year PhD studentship within the UK Biochar Research Centre (UKBRC) at the University of Edinburgh. UKBRC is a key research centre with unparalleled capacities in the exciting and fast growing area of biochar. The successful applicant will join a dynamic team of experts in a number of areas of science and technology, working on research and deployment of biochar as a means for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The position is available to start between July and September 2010

Financial Support

Support will be provided at the standard EPSRC rate, currently £13,290 per year with the corresponding standard EPSRC increases in subsequent years. Tuition fees will also be paid by the research project. This funding is available to both UK and EU students.

Background of the Project

The project is part of the core activities at the UKBRC and will focus on production of biochar from residues and waste streams. Biochar as a means of drawing down carbon from atmosphere and its permanent (or at least long term) sequestration holds a great potential for widespread near-term future deployment. However, the potential is limited by the availability of suitable feedstock for its production and its cost. It is therefore important to look for alternative feedstock suitable for biochar production. The virgin biomass available for biochar production in the UK has been recently estimated to be between 9-12 mil. t/year (dry), while the available non-virgin biomass (i.e., construction and demolition waste (CDW), municipal solid waste (MSW), refuse-derived fuels (RDF), slurries, bedding matter, manures, sewage and paper sludge) has been estimated to be between 5.5-8 mil. t/year (dry). As a result, the use of non-virgin biomass (wastes) for biochar production, where possible, could significantly increase its potential, while reducing problems with waste disposal and greenhouse gas emissions from biomass decomposition. However, wastes as a feedstock pose a number of challenges that need to be appropriately addressed before biochar produced from such feedstock could be deployed. The proposed project will draw from knowledge and experience gained in previous and parallel research projects at the UK Biochar Research Centre (UKBRC) and its partners.

Person Specification

Due to the nature of the funding, this position is open to suitably qualified engineers or scientists from the UK or EU. The successful applicant should have a first class or upper second class honours degree, or an equivalent qualification.

Application Deadline: 14 july 2010

For informal enquiries about this position contact Dr. Ond?ej Mašek by email at: ondrej.masek@ed.ac.uk

For more information on the UK Biochar Research Centre, visit: www.biochar.org.uk

Further Scholarship Information

Scholarship Tags: biochar, PhD studentship, UK