Centre for Climate Repair Studentship - Direct Air Capture - Process modelling and scaling up material production
University of Cambridge, Newtown, Cambridge
Centre for Climate Repair Studentship - Direct Air Capture - Process modelling and scaling up material production
Salary Not Specified
University of Cambridge, Newtown, Cambridge
- Full time
- Permanent
- Onsite working
Posted 1 week ago, 14 Dec | Get your application in now before you're too late!
Closing date: Closing date not specified
job Ref: e0f0d2482dea417ebd9e5e4b1fa2ef10
Full Job Description
To tackle these issues, Professor Scott's group in the Department of Engineering have been working on various novel carbon capture processes, from the material through to the process scale. The power required by a DAC depends on the both the "sponge" and how it is integrated into a process, e.g. low capacity can be compensated for by a shorter cycle, high energy requirements can be offset by energy recovery strategies. Therefore, the process and material must be evaluated simultaneously. DAC is limited by the energy input needed to regenerate the sponge. Using heat forces the process to use much more energy than is needed. The sponges developed offer unique opportunities to electrify the DAC process either through joule heating, or via electromediated desorption. However, the route to large scale utilisation still needs to be fully explored. To understand how best to deploy new carbon sponges in a real-world direct-air capture process, process modelling and optimisation work is
required. A process modelling PhD studentship, jointly supervised between the Engineering and Chemistry Departments will seek to answer the following questions:
(i) How much energy and cost can be saved with new carbon sponges, compared to existing approaches? (ii) Is it possible to operate a direct air capture process efficiently using waste heat or electricity for sponge regeneration? (iii) How sensitive is the cost of direct air capture to the sponge properties, including capacity and water competition? (iv) How sensitive is the cost of direct air capture to the environmental conditions, and in particular humidity?
The process modelling work will inform the carbon sponge development work by another PhD student.
This studentship is 4 years in length and includes fees and maintenance for students eligible for Home fees.
Applicants should have (or expect to obtain by the start date) at least a good 2.1 degree in an Engineering, Material Science or related subject.