About the Project
It is essential to decarbonise carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels to achieve the carbon neutrality of the Paris Climate Change agreement. One key application of Carbon Capture and Storage technologies is the removal of carbon dioxide from industrial and combustion gases before they enter the atmosphere.
The project aims to design and optimise a novel concept for contacting combustion gases with amine solvents used for CO2 capture in combined cycle gas turbines. It uses a first of a kind prototype system to obtain experimental data and combines the data with process modelling to obtain the first optimised configuration.
The project has three objectives:
1. Generate data on the pressure drop, hydrodynamics and mass transfer of novel packing geometries used for contacting industrial gases with CO2 capture solvents.
2. Characterise the operation of the prototype contactor for a range of CO2 capture solvent physical properties, such as density, viscosity and surface tension.
3. Develop engineering guidelines for process optimisation and scale-up with an open-access solvent supported by new packing data from this project.
The output of the project will inform commercial decisions by the industrial partner to decarbonise offshore platforms. It will also explore configurations for other applications related to CO2 capture.
Supervisors: Prof Mathieu Lucquiaud, Dr Abby Samson, Prof Jon Gibbins, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield
Industrial supervisors: Alexandre Pactat, Veronique Pugnet, Total Energies Research & Development
The research environment
The research work will be based in the Energy Research Group within the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC) at Sheffield which is a brand new, high profile, innovation focused national research facility. You will be working within an exciting and dynamic group with approximately over 60 researchers undertaking a broad area of energy research with approximately three years' extensive research time in industry, preparing for high-level careers in the energy sector.
The project will be part of the EPSRC-supported Centre for Doctoral Training in Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems. The student who undertakes it will be one of a cohort of over 50 students in a broad range of disciplines across the Universities of Sheffield, Nottingham and Cardiff.
Funding
The studentship will cover full university fees and a tax-free, enhanced annual stipend for four years. The stipend rate for the academic year 2023/24 from the EPSRC is £18,622. This stipend will rise with inflation each academic year. In addition, students receive a stipend enhancement of £3,750 per year.
Start date
We are seeking applicants to start in September 2023 but could accept a starting date no later than February 2024 for the right applicant.
The applicant
Applications are welcome from graduates with a mechanical or chemical engineering background. Other relevant STEM or engineering background will be considered.
The studentship is open to UK candidates only, due to restrictions from the EPSRC.
Please apply to the University of Sheffield.
Informal enquiries may be sent to Prof Mathieu Lucquiaud ([Email Address Removed]). Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.
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