CDT PhD Studentship: Production of Hydrogen and Liquid Fuels from Wastewater

About the Project

An exciting opportunity is available for a talented and motivated PhD candidate to pursue research on production of hydrogen from wastewater and conversion of hydrogen and CO₂ into liquid fuels.

Annually the United Kingdom produces a flow of municipal wastewater equivalent to the flow rate of all the water flowing through the river Thames. The UK expends 1-3% of our energy and carbon budget treating this waste. The project aims to turn this cost into a benefit by converting the organic matter in the waste stream into hydrogen to be used as fuel. Specifically, a novel microbial electrolysis cell will be developed to treat water and produce a net energy gain from the overall process, instead of the loss associated with existing wastewater treatment technology. As transportation and infrastructure costs for collecting, compressing, and storing hydrogen make competition with existing liquid fuels challenging, another focus of the project is to convert hydrogen and CO₂ into useful products, deriving all the energy for the liquid fuels from waste.

The project is mainly funded by the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Negative Emissions Technologies for Net Zero (NET2Zero) with additional support from Wastewater Fuels Ltd. As part of the CDT programme, you will also benefit from a comprehensive, interdisciplinary training programme and skills development.

The duration of the PhD is 4 years, and the start date is 1^st October 2024.

Supervisory Team: Professor Hao Liu, Dr Ming Li (both from the University of Nottingham), Dr James Stratford (Wastewater Fuels Ltd).

Funding 

The studentship covers Home/UK tuition fees and provides a tax-free stipend (£19,237 per annum for 2024/25), as well as additional budget allowances for research, travel, and CDT centre activities. 

Eligibility and Academic criteria

Due to funding restrictions, applicants need to meet the eligibility requirement for UK/home tuition fees status. Ideal candidates should hold or expect to gain a first-class or a high 2.1 honour degree and/or a master’s degree (or their equivalent) in materials sciences, chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemistry, microbiology, or a related subject.

How to apply

For informal enquires and to submit an expression of interest (EOI), please contact Professor Hao Liu (liu.hao@nottingham.ac.uk) and Dr Ming Li (ming.li@nottingham.ac.uk).  Please include your CV, a cover letter and your academic transcripts and include the project title in your EOI email. 

Deadline for applications

The deadline for applications is 30^th August 2024. This studentship is open until filled. Early application is strongly encouraged.

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