PhD: Renewables Landbank: Assessing the potential of Scottish brownfield land for sustainable biomass production.

The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering is seeking high-quality candidates for a fully funded PhD scholarship to work on an exciting applied research project to investigate the distribution and potential suitability of previously developed land in Scotland for biomass production. It also offers the opportunity to work closely with our industrial partner, Parsons Brinckerhoff.

The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets for renewable energy, including 11% of heat demand from renewables by 2020, a four-fold increase on current levels. Biomass heat offers one of the lowest cost options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and biomass can readily substitute for fossil fuels in co-firing using existing power generation and distribution infrastructure. However, the widespread introduction of biomass and biofuels has been hampered by concerns over the sustainability of imported sources, the potential impacts on global food supply, and the overall energy balance when transportation is considered. In Scotland an additional c.1.3 million oven dry tonnes of woody biomass will be required by 2020 to meet the 11% renewable heat target. Using
non-agricultural landbanks could help address this need from local production without impacting on food production. Reusing vacant and derelict land or capped landfills for biomass production also offers added value from temporary greening, lower cost restoration, environmental improvements and a variety of eco-system services.

This project will seek to identify the area and distribution of non-agricultural land in Scotland, compare competing potential uses and designations, to arrive at an estimate of capacity for energy production from a range of crops and conversion technologies. This will require interaction with a variety of stakeholders, including the industrial partner, local authorities and the Scottish Government, followed by integration of information from a range of disciplines, and use of geographical information systems. The second stage of the study is then envisaged to be to assess sites in one or more areas to assess the suitability of sites for biomass planting and the factors affecting this.

The successful candidate will be based at the University of Strathclyde, which boasts one of the oldest civil engineering degree courses in Scotland and has a track record of study and research in applied geoscience, geo-environmental engineering and environmental studies. The Department has recently moved into new state of the art laboratories with integrated facilities for advanced microbiology, analytical chemistry and geomechanics research, with staff and postgraduate students moving into new premises towards the end of 2013. The student will also benefit from cosupervision at the University of the West Of Scotland, becoming an associate member of the IBEHR graduate School at UWS giving access to a broad graduate school community.

The studentship will also provide the opportunity to work closely with our industrial partner, Parsons Brinckerhoff, who will co-supervise the project. There will be opportunities to spend time working alongside staff in Parsons Brinckerhoff’s Glasgow office.

Candidates should hold a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree from a UK institution (or EU equivalent) in the area of: Geology, Geoscience, Geography, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Science, Civil or Environmental Engineering, Biosciences, Forestry or Crop Sciences. An interest in renewable energy issues, an interest in working with an industrial partner on an interdisciplinary applied project and relevant experience of using GIS, desk studies, site investigation or bioenergy production would be a significant advantage.