Back to search results

PhD Studentship: Environmentally Strategic Decommissioning of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors Led by Life Cycle Assessment

The University of Manchester - Chemical Engineering

Qualification Type: PhD
Location: Manchester
Funding for: UK Students, EU Students, International Students
Funding amount: £19,237 per annum
Hours: Full Time
Placed On: 2nd September 2024
Expires: 1st December 2024

The PhD is 3.5 years long and is fully funded by Nuclear Decommissioning Authority in direct collaboration with Magnox Ltd and National Nuclear Laboratory (annual stipend set at the UKRI rate, which is £19,237 for 2024/25 and will be slightly higher for 2025/26). The PhD start date is October 2025. This funding is for UK students only

This project will apply environmental life cycle assessment (LCA) and economic life cycle costing (LCC) to some of the key problems presented by decommissioning activities. The overall aim is to identify major sustainability hotspots, key opportunities for improvements, and ultimately to form a strategic research roadmap to minimise environmental impacts in the most efficient way possible. The work will focus on the UK’s AGR reactors, beginning by identifying the timelines of all key activities within the decommissioning process and producing LCA models of each step to generate a full cradle-to-grave assessment. The results will include not only carbon footprint, but a broad range of other impacts – such as acidification, eutrophication, and ecotoxicity – to ensure a holistic perspective. Once this baseline life cycle is established, hotspots will be analysed and impact reduction opportunities explored via LCA and LCC. These opportunities will be determined in collaboration with project partners; some anticipated options include the use of local resources, novel graphite compaction concepts, waste treatment media such as geopolymers, and alternative materials for the construction of infrastructure. The latter may include ‘low-carbon’ concretes (e.g. geopolymer recipes, carbon capture) and scoping opportunities for materials with the potential to be carbon-negative (e.g. cross-laminated timber). The project will involve close collaboration with Magnox Ltd, National Nuclear Laboratory, and other industry groups such as the Magnox-EDF-NDA working group on AGR decommissioning. On-site visits and two placement periods are anticipated with Magnox Ltd.

Applicants should have, or expect to achieve, at least a 2.1 honours degree or a master’s (or international equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering related discipline.

Please contact Dr Laurence Stamford (laurence.stamford@manchester.ac.uk) with a CV before you apply.

We value your feedback on the quality of our adverts. If you have a comment to make about the overall quality of this advert, or its categorisation then please send us your feedback
Advert information

Type / Role:

Subject Area(s):

Location(s):

PhD tools
 

PhD Alert Created

Job Alert Created

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Ok Ok

PhD Alert Created

Job Alert Created

Your PhD alert has been successfully created for this search.

Your job alert has been successfully created for this search.

Manage your job alerts Manage your job alerts

Account Verification Missing

In order to create multiple job alerts, you must first verify your email address to complete your account creation

Request verification email Request verification email

jobs.ac.uk Account Required

In order to create multiple alerts, you must create a jobs.ac.uk jobseeker account

Create Account Create Account

Alert Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your account is currently blocked. Please login to unblock your account.

Email Address Blocked

We received a delivery failure message when attempting to send you an email and therefore your email address has been blocked. You will not receive job alerts until your email address is unblocked. To do so, please choose from one of the two options below.

Max Alerts Reached

A maximum of 5 Job Alerts can be created against your account. Please remove an existing alert in order to create this new Job Alert

Manage your job alerts Manage your job alerts

Creation Failed

Unfortunately, your alert was not created at this time. Please try again.

Ok Ok

Create PhD Alert

Create Job Alert

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria.When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

Create PhD Alert

Create Job Alert

When you create this PhD alert we will email you a selection of PhDs matching your criteria.When you create this job alert we will email you a selection of jobs matching your criteria. Our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy apply to this service. Any personal data you provide in setting up this alert is processed in accordance with our Privacy Notice

 
 
 
More PhDs from The University of Manchester

Show all PhDs for this organisation …

More PhDs like this
Join in and follow us

Browser Upgrade Recommended

jobs.ac.uk has been optimised for the latest browsers.

For the best user experience, we recommend viewing jobs.ac.uk on one of the following:

Google Chrome Firefox Microsoft Edge