Research Fellow, Engineering and Physical Sciences

Job Purpose

To create and contribute to the creation of knowledge by undertaking a specified range of activities within an established research programme and/or specific research project.

The disposal of plastic packaging represents a significant environmental problem. Polylactide has emerged as one of the most promising biorenewable and biodegradable polymers. However the lack of a reliable method for recycling polylactide could limit its widespread application and market growth. A significant opportunity therefore exists to develop a process to depolymerise/degrade commodity PLA to produce value-added small molecules, such as lactate esters. Such molecules could be recycled to make new PLA or other value added chemicals, including solvents, fragrances and plasticizers.

We propose to address the above problems by developing a catalytic process for degradation/depolymerisation of PLA, integrated with a membrane separation, to selectively isolate small molecule products within a specified molecular weight cut off range, as valuable products. New catalysts, and membranes for separating the depolymerisation products are being developed by our collaborator, University of Bath. The objective of this post will be to scale-up the reaction and membrane reactor to develop and optimise a kinetic and mass transport model to predict reactor performance, scale up parameters and economic costings for industrial application.

The proposed technologies are expected to deliver a number of potential benefits including reduced reliance on fossil derived plastics, potential to increase the market for bio-derived polymers, the production of value added chemicals

Person Specification

Main Responsibilities (as appropriate to the specific role and purpose)
The responsibilities may include some but not all of the responsibilities outlined below.

• • Develop research objectives and proposals for own or joint research, with assistance of a mentor if required
• • Contribute to writing bids for research funding
• • Analyse and interpret data
• • Apply knowledge in a way which develops new intellectual understanding
• • Disseminate research findings for publication, research seminars etc
• • Supervise students on research related work and provide guidance to PhD students where appropriate to the discipline
• • Contribute to developing new models, techniques and methods
• • Undertake management/administration arising from research
• • Contribute to Departmental/School research-related activities and research-related administration
• • Contribute to enterprise, business development and/or public engagement activities of manifest benefit to the College and the University, often under supervision of a project leader
• • Collect research data; this may be through a variety of research methods, such as scientific experimentation, literature reviews, and research interviews *
• • Present research outputs, including drafting academic publications or parts thereof, for example at seminars and as posters *
• • Provide guidance, as required, to support staff and any students who may be assisting with the research *
• • Deal with problems that may affect the achievement of research objectives and deadlines*

* These indicative responsibilities may also be included in a research role at grade 6.

• Specific Responsibilities of the Research Fellow will be to:

- Build a rig based on a batch reactor and cross-flow membrane separation unit to study the reaction-separation of polylactic acid polymer degradation.
- Assist with the procurement of rig components, rig design and documentation such as risk assessment.
- Commission and operate the rig in order to collect data regarding reactant conversion, product characterisation, molecular weight cut-off of the membrane.
- Carry out reaction-separation trials of the above to optimise process conditions and screen different membranes.
- Use unsteady state process modelling packages such as gProms to create a bespoke model of the process.
- Develop parameter estimation and data fitting methods to fit the developed model to the experimental data.
- Work with project team members at University of Bath on the catalyst and membrane development using feedback from reaction-separation tests.
- Contribute to writing presentations, publications and further bids on the above.

Scope of the Role (as appropriate to the specific role and purpose)

• • Work within specified research grants and projects and contribute to writing bids
• • Operate within area of specialism
• • Analyse and interpret research findings and results
• • Contribute to generating funding
• • Contribute to licensing or spin out deals with demonstrated commercial success (such as revenues, asset or company sales, IP generated) and/or public understanding of the discipline or similar

Skills and Experience (as appropriate to the specific role and purpose)

• • First degree in area of specialism and normally, a higher degree relevant to research area or equivalent qualifications (e.g: Chemical Engineering, please enquire if other disciplines offerred).
• • High level analytical capability
• • Ability to communicate complex information clearly
• • Fluency in relevant models, techniques or methods and ability to contribute to developing new ones
• • Ability to assess resource requirements and use resources effectively
• • Understanding of and ability to contribute to broader management/administration processes

Planning and Organising (as appropriate to the specific role and purpose)

• • Contribute to the planning and organising of the research programme and/or specific research project
• • Co-ordinate own work with others to avoid conflict or duplication of effort

Decision Making (as appropriate to the specific role and purpose)

• • Decide in consultation with the principal investigator as appropriate, on the most appropriate way of undertaking the specified research activities
• • Decide in consultation with the principal investigator as appropriate how to analyse and interpret the data from the specified research activities
• • Decide in consultation with the principal investigator as appropriate what knowledge to draw on and how to apply it to develop new intellectual understanding
• • Contribute to deciding what information to include in a bid for research funding and how to present the bid to maximise the likelihood of securing the funding
• • Decide in collaboration with co-authors which aspects of the research findings to include in a presentation or a publication and how to convey the findings
• • Give guidance, support and advice to students on research related work including PhD students and decide the most appropriate method of providing this supervision.

Internal/External Relationships (as appropriate to the specific role and purpose)

• • Liaise with research staff and support staff on research-related matters
• • Liaise with external collaborators on the research, where appropriate
• • Give presentations and/or contribute to presentations at national and/or international conferences
• • Referee articles for peer-reviewed academic journals
• • Maintain contact with (including membership of) appropriate professional bodies
• • Liaise with the relevant external research community via seminars and conferences
• • Participate in internal networks for the exchange of information and to form relationships for future collaboration
• • Liaise with external clients of the University or members of the public