PhD Studentship - Lithium Isotope Separation - A Theoretical Approach for Material Design

Application deadline: All year round

Research theme: Multi-scale modelling

How to apply: uom.link/pgr-apply-2425

No. of positions: 1

This 3.5 year PhD project is fully funded for home students; tuition fees will be paid and the successful candidate will receive an annual tax free stipend set at the UKRI rate (£19,237 for 2024/25). We expect this to increase each year.

There is a global race to construct the first fusion power plant, which would deliver carbon-free energy and help fight climate change. The UK Government has committed to building STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production), a prototype fusion power plant, by 2040.

Proposed fusion power plants will use deuterium-tritium fusion, generating tritium in situ via the bombardment of lithium-6 with neutrons. Natural lithium is comprised of 92.5% lithium-7 and only 7.5% lithium-6. As the tritium breeder blanket requires 30 to 90% lithium-6 enrichment, an isotope enrichment process is required. More than 100 tonnes of isotopically pure lithium-6 will be required for the operation of STEP, yet there is no large-scale lithium isotope enrichment plant in the Western world. One promising avenue is liquid-liquid separation, using crown ethers as ligands.

The fundamental science behind the selective enrichment of lithium-6 by solvent extraction is poorly understood. This project will combine molecular quantum mechanics and molecular dynamics simulations to model this process and, in conjunction with ongoing experimental studies, obtain design rules for the optimum crown ether, lithium counter-ion, and solvent, which will lead to enhancements in the experimental process. Time permitting, flow sheet modelling will convert the theoretical and bench-scale chemistry research into a practical liquid-liquid extraction set-up.

This PhD project will run alongside experimental work in this area. The combination of experimental and computational expertise will illuminate the fundamental chemistry occurring at a molecular level, inform extractant design, and yield improvements on a process scale.

The anticipated impacts of this PhD include:

• Improved efficiencies in a process essential to successfully delivering fusion power
• Elucidation of a poorly understood chemical phenomenon
• Development of a technique applicable to other separation processes

The anticipated benefits for the student include:

• Mastering two important theoretical methodologies (quantum mechanics and molecular simulation) and the skills involved in using high-performance computing
• Continual interaction with an ongoing experimental program
• Introduction to chemical engineering design principles via flow sheet modelling

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.

To apply please contact the supervisors; Dr Kathryn George - kathryn.george-2@manchester.ac.uk and Prof Andrew Masters - andrew.masters@manchester.ac.uk. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

Advert information