爱尔兰科克大学MaREI环境研究所招聘"CO2微生物电合成"方向全奖博士

职位1：基于农业原料厌氧消化残渣的高值化路径优化（生物炭与水热炭生产）

职位2：基于微生物电化学系统的CO₂资源化利用（微生物电解池、新型电极材料开发与优化）

职位3：厌氧消化副产物商业生态系统的经济可行性评估与市场开发研究

本项目将由爱尔兰MaREI研究中心Prof Jerry Murphy CEEES研究课题组主导，在科克大学土木学院和商学院完成。研究团队拥有先进的实验设备和良好的学术氛围，课题组与国内外多个知名实验室保持密切合作，为博士生提供高水平的研究支持和职业发展机会。

申请要求：

1. 雅思成绩总分6.5及以上，单项分数不低于6.0分

2. 硕士学历（或同等学力），研究方向为电化学、化学工程、生物技术、环境工程或相关领域；

3. 职位2要求对微生物电化学系统、CO₂转化或合成生物学有一定了解；有实验室工作经验，尤其是电化学或微生物相关实验者优先；以第一作者发表过高水平SCI论文优先。

4. 具备团队合作能力和较强的学术沟通能力。

请通过电子邮件提交以下材料：

1. 个人简历；

2. 感兴趣的博士职位（PhD1, PhD2 或 PhD3）；

3. 一页纸观点陈述：Valorising digestate and CO2 through a circular bioeconomy approach

如需进一步了解，可联系宁雪博士：Tel: + 353 (0) 87 1151422; Email: xning@ucc.ie; Wechat: shirleyxxnn

PhD Studentships in MaREI’s Circular Economy Energy and Environmental Systems Research Group Closing Date for Applications:  24th January 2025

Research Centre: Energy, Climate and Marine Centre (MaREI)

School: School of Engineering and Architecture

College: College of Science, Engineering and Food Science; Cork University Business School

University: University College Cork, Ireland

Salary: €25,000 stipend per annum. Fees are covered by the grant.

Duration and Start Date: 3 years duration, starting March 1st, 2025

Positions

3 x PhD Studentships on Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) funded Exploring Economic Viability and Market Development of Products from Anaerobic Digestion (EXPAND)

PhD 1: Optimal pathways for valorisation of digestate derived from agricultural feedstocks – specifically through biochar and hydrochar production.

PhD 2: Optimal pathways for biogenic CO2 conversion to biochemicals or biofuels – specifically through bioelectrochemical systems (BES) such as microbial electrolysis cell (MEC) and microbial electrosynthesis (MES). The key responsibilities include: conduct experimental and theoretical studies on CO₂ valorisation in BES systems; develop and test electrode materials, catalysts, and configurations for MEC and MES reactors; perform data analysis and modelling to optimise system performance.

PhD 3: Assessing the economic viability and market development of a business ecosystem for anaerobic digestion by-products including for stakeholder engagement.

Criteria (for all positions)

• First-class honours degree (or equivalent) in civil, environmental, energy, mechanical, and/or chemical engineering; candidates from other disciplines such as mathematics, social science and business may also be considered if it can be shown is relevant to the topic (such as PhD3) 

• Capability of working within a project team to achieve results.

• Good communication, organisation, and interpersonal skills.

• Applicants whose first language is not English must show evidence of English proficiency (e.g. IELTS minimum 6.5, individual sections 6.0), please check the requirements at: https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/comparison/english/postgraduate/

To Apply 

• Please email (1) your C.V. and (2) your preferred PhD vacancy (PhD1, PhD2 or PhD3) and (3) one-page perspective on “valorising digestate and CO2 through a circular bioeconomy approach”  

• For an information package including full details of the post, selection criteria and application process see https://ore.ucc.ie/. Applications must be submitted online via the University College Cork vacancy portal (https://ore.ucc.ie/).   

• Informal enquiries can be made in confidence to Dr Xue Ning, Tel: + 353 (0) 87 1151422; Email: xning@ucc.ie; Wechat: shirleyxxnn 

The MaREI Centre for energy, climate, and marine

The successful PhDs will be based in the MaREI Centre for energy, climate and marine headquartered in the Environmental Research Institute in University College Cork.  MaREI is a key research centre within UCC’s Environmental Research Institute (ERI), which is an internationally recognised Institute for environmental research dedicated to the understanding and protection of our natural environment and to developing innovative technologies, tools and services to facilitate a transformation to a zero carbon and resource efficient society. The MaREI Centre includes 13 other Universities and Third Level Institutes from across Ireland, has 50 industrial partners and has accumulated research funding of over €60m. 

MaREI’s Circular Economy Energy and Environmental Systems (CEEES) Research Group focus on renewable advanced fuel production in circular economy systems consists of approximately 20 researchers. The breadth of the work includes for analysis of systems from ocean (offshore wind and seaweed) to conversion (hydrogen, electro-fuels, gaseous and liquid biofuels) to end use (industry, transport fuel). The research facilitates the development of roadmaps, which describe how Ireland can initiate a green gas industry and contribute to mandatory renewable energy targets for renewable heat and transport fuels. The CEEES research group is led by Dr Archishman Bose (Eli Lilly Lecturer at Process and Chemical Engineering), Dr Richard O’Shea (Lecturer in Sustainability in Enterprise), Dr David Wall (Senior Lecturer in Transportation) and Prof Jerry D Murphy (Director of the SFI MaREI Centre and Chair of Civil Engineering). 

Research Project information 

Exploring Economic Viability and Market Development of Products from Anaerobic Digestion (EXPAND) is funded by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM) under the National Energy Research Development and Demonstration (RD&D) Funding Programme. 

The anaerobic digestion (AD) industry in Ireland is nascent. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) has set a target of 5.7 TWh of biomethane to be delivered by 2030. To meet this target, up to 200 AD plants will be built nationally. The industry will be based on the digestion of agricultural biomass, primarily grass and slurry feedstocks. It is now recognised that the value of AD goes far beyond the energy in biomethane; such systems are now considered a multi-product platform that encompasses the wider bioeconomy. For example, AD generates a nutrient-rich biofertiliser in the form of digestate which can offset the requirement for synthetic chemical fertiliser. Scrutiny on digestate management and nutrient application will become an important feature in future AD system development. AD also generates a source of biogenic CO2 which can have various applications such as in the food and beverage sector or can be sequestered for climate mitigation. However, significant research is required to advance the economic viability and market development of these by-products to give a clearer picture of future AD deployment in Ireland. The EXPAND project aims to advance the knowledge of such by-product utilisation and their role in the wider bioeconomy by 1) determining technically feasible AD value chains and the market demand of AD products; 2) exploring innovative pathways for digestate valorisation; 3) assessing optimal utilisation or valorisation of biogenic CO2 from AD; and 4) assessing the economic viability and market development of a business ecosystem for by-products of AD in Ireland.