PhD Studentship: BEST N2: Managing the Nitrogen Cycle and Tackling Fixed Nitrogen Pollution Using BEST ANAMMOX for Enhanced N2 Production

The nitrogen (N) cycle is one of the most important and intricate biogeochemical cycles that controls key nutrient supplies for all life forms on Earth. Anthropogenic activities have impacted the N-cycle to such an extent that its proper management has been described as one of the grand engineering challenges of the 21st century by the US National Academy of Engineering.

Despite being abundant in the atmosphere, nitrogen is not readily available to living systems due to its inert nature. Living systems, in which nitrogen is the backbone of DNA and amino acids, obtain this vital element from foods, where atmospheric nitrogen gas is fixed as a nutrient by plants. Subsequently, the cycle is closed by the return of fixed nitrogen compounds to the atmosphere as nitrogen gas (N2) through microbial activities. 

The imbalance in the N-cycle has been created by human activities such as excessive nitrogen fixation through industrial production of nitrogen-rich fertilisers, which far exceed the return of N2 gas to the atmosphere by microbial activities.

Moreover, the accumulation of fixed nitrogen compounds in the environment, resulting from the excessive use and runoff of nitrogen-rich fertiliser from agricultural land, contributes to nutrient pollution of waterbodies in the form of algal blooms, red tides, and deep-water anoxic dead zones. Thus, enhancing microbial activities to convert fixed nitrogen compounds into N2 can provide a sustainable solution to both the management of the N-cycle and fixed nitrogen pollution.

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation (ANAMMOX), mediated by a group of strictly anaerobic and electroactive bacteria, is a novel microbial metabolic process that converts fixed nitrogen compounds into inert N2 gas. However, slow growth of these bacteria is a major impediment for scaling up and industrial implementation of the ANAMMOX process. 

This multidisciplinary project aims to develop a bioelectrochemical system (BEST)-based ANAMMOX reactor for the rapid production of N2 gases by oxidising fixed nitrogen compounds with renewable electricity; thereby, simultaneously balancing the N-cycle and mitigating anthropogenic nitrogen pollution, and thus has great and exciting potential as part of the solution to one of our most pressing environmental problems.

Supervisors

Primary supervisor: Dr Ahsan Islam

Secondary supervisor: Dr Diganta Das and Professor David Ryves

Entry requirements

Applicants will normally need to hold, or expect to gain, at least a 2:1 undergraduate degree (or UK equivalent) in Chemical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Bioengineering, Biotechnology, Microbiology, or Environmental Science, or an appropriate Master’s degree.

Fees and funding

This studentship, which is partially funded by NERC, provides a tax-free stipend of £19,237 per annum (in 2024/25) and tuition fees at the UK rate for 3.5 years. It also provides a Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £8,000. Due to UKRI funding rules, no more than 30% of the studentships funded by this grant can be awarded to International candidates, but successful International candidates will have the difference between the UK and International tuition fees provided by the University.

To apply:

• Complete a CENTA studentship application form in Word format format.
• All applications should be made online via the above ‘Apply’ button. Under programme name, select “AACME/ Chemical Engineering”. During the online application process, upload the CENTA studentship application form as a supporting document. Please quote CENTA2025-LU5 when completing your online application.
• Application closing date is midnight, 8 January 2025. Interviews are expected to be held from 3 February – 14 February 2025.

Advert information