Chemical surface functionalisation of waste biomass ash for sustainable dematerialisation of cementitious systems (RENU+24/HLS/APP/RAILTON)

The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Renewable Energy Northeast Universities Plus (ReNU+) is a collaborative doctoral training programme run by the Universities of Northumbria, Newcastle and Durham. In addition to undertaking an individual scientific research project at one of the three partner Universities, doctoral candidates will engage with added value training opportunities, for example in business, innovation and internationalisation through a 4-year training programme that has been designed to maximise the benefits of a cohort approach to doctoral training. The start date is 1st October 2025.

Introduction

The cement industry accounts for 7% of all global CO2 emissions, whilst as a society we are facing challenges in how we approach by-products and waste products from industrial manufacturing processes to ensure circular economy. Typically, if waste products cannot be reused or recycled, they are incinerated for energy recovery, but this process subsequently generates ash.

This project seeks to tackle both i) CO2 emissions - by reducing the use of virgin material in the cement industry and ii) Reducing landfill through utilization of ash generated from the bioenergy industries. This will be achieved by dematerialising cementitious systems through replacement of cement and/or aggregate with ash obtained from the timber industry’s energy recovery systems.

Biomass ash has been previously incorporated within cementitious systems, however, due to its hygroscopic properties it causes ‘bleed’ during hardening and thus is not appropriate for application.

Therefore, instead, we propose novel chemical modification of the surface of the waste ash would allow for improved surface properties for material more appropriate for cementitious systems mix development.

The project

The project will be supervised by Dr. James Railton within the Applied Sciences Department at Northumbria University, with support from colleagues in the Mechanical and Construction Engineering Department.

The aim of the project is to develop dematerialised cementitious systems with chemically functionalised waste ash as a replacement for cement and/ or aggregate which can match or exceed the material properties of that of conventional building materials and demonstrate quantitatively the improved green credentials of the resulting material.

The project will take a cross-faculty multidisciplinary approach primarily centred around mix design and subsequent analysis of hardened cementitious systems within the civil engineering department but will also feature chemical functionalisation of waste ash within the chemistry department whilst also exploring life cycle analysis (LCA) within geography and environmental sciences, all within Northumbria University.

The Candidate:

Due to the multidisciplinary theme of this project, we are seeking applications from chemists, chemical engineers, civil engineers and any other related disciplines (including analytical based subjects such as forensics). You should expect to achieve the equivalent of at least a UK upper second-class degree in one of these subjects.

Academic Enquiries

This project is supervised by Dr. James Railton. For informal queries, please contact james.railton@northumbria.ac.uk. For all other enquiries relating to eligibility or application process please email pgr.admissions@northumbria.ac.uk.

Eligibility Requirements: 

• Academic excellence i.e. 2:1 (or equivalent GPA from non-UK universities with preference for 1st class honours); or a Masters (preference for Merit or above); or APEL evidence of substantial practitioner achievement. However, a 3 or 2:2 may be considered with relevant work experience, skills and/or expertise, please contact the Institution Director, vincent.barrioz@northumbria.ac.uk for further info. 
• Appropriate IELTS score, if required. 
• Applicants cannot apply if they are currently engaged in Doctoral study at Northumbria or elsewhere. 
• Must be able to commit to campus-based full-time or part-time study.

To be classed as a Home student, candidates must: 

• Be a UK National (meeting residency requirements), or 
• have settled status, or 
• have pre-settled status (meeting residency requirements), or 
• have indefinite leave to remain or enter. 

If a candidate does not meet the criteria above, they would be classed as an International student.   

Applicants will need to be in the UK and fully enrolled before stipend payments can commence. Note the following are not covered by the studentship. 

• Immigration Health Surcharge https://www.gov.uk/healthcare-immigration-application  
• Student Visa to enter the UK, please refer to https://www.gov.uk/student-visa.
• Costs associated with English Language requirements.  

International applicants (including EU) must have valid immigration permissions to live and study in UK if they wish to study on a part-time basis. Northumbria University does not sponsor part-time student visas.

For further details on how to apply see https://www.northumbria.ac.uk/research/postgraduate-research-degrees/how-to-apply/    

Please complete the PhD application form in full, include the advert reference (e.g. ReNU+24/…) and also:

1. Upload degree certificates, transcripts and English qualifications (if applicable).
2. Upload your CV under the ‘Experience section’. This is MANDATORY.
3. In the personal statement section, select ‘no’ and type ‘no personal statement required’ in the box.
4. Research proposal is NOT required. Upload a blank document to progress your application. Choose 'Yes' to the question ‘Are you applying for a UKRI studentship?’ and then choose ‘EPSRC ReNU Plus’.
5. Choose ‘Scholarship’ under source of funding.
6. Post submission, you need to login to the applicant portal to complete a competency assessment form.

We have limited number of International awards available. Note that up to 5 offers will be made for the ReNU+ CDT projects advertised by Northumbria University.

Deadline for applications: 3 February 2025 

Start date of course: 1 October 2025 

Northumbria University is committed to creating an inclusive culture where we take pride in, and value, the diversity of our postgraduate research students. We encourage and welcome applications from all members of the community. The University holds a bronze Athena Swan award in recognition of our commitment to advancing gender equality, we are a Disability Confident Leader, a member of the Race Equality Charter and are participating in the Stonewall Diversity Champion Programme. We also hold the HR Excellence in Research award for implementing the concordat supporting the career Development of Researchers and are members of the Euraxess initiative to deliver information and support to professional researchers.