This is an exciting PhD opportunity assessing the mechanisms of plastic degradation in landfill environments and understanding how the degradation products influence metal mobility. This project combines waste and resource management, landfill science and organometallic chemistry. The project will investigate the interactions of metals with micro/nano plastics along with other products of plastic degradation, designing experimental work to test the absorption and mobility of metals, understanding both the environmental risks and recovery opportunities. It is a fully funded NERC - CENTA PhD Studentship for 3.5 years. Successful home-fees-eligible candidates will receive an annual stipend, stipend, set at £17,668, plus full university fees and a research training support grant (RTSG) of £8,000.
There is a significant legacy of landfills in the UK, with an estimated 24,000 sites of varying sizes, most of which are now closed; 4,000 of these sites operated with a permit, thus those pre-dating the 1974 Control of Pollution Act are termed ‘historic’ sites. More modern landfill sites (post 1994) were largely engineered with the use of impervious lining material, such as plastic or clay, and will manage the leachate produced.
Previous work has demonstrated the degradation of plastics in landfill conditions (Canopoli et al, 2020). This research aimed to understand the recycling opportunities for plastics extracted from closed landfills under the enhanced landfill mining approach. The formation of microplastics during the degradation of plastics within a landfill site, either through physical, chemical or biological degradation, is inevitable with emerging research developing methods to detect microplastics in landfill soils (Siva Naga Sai Goli and Narain Singh, 2022). Metal sorption to microplastics has been observed, however in wetland environments (Jian et al, 2022). Therefore, it is known that plastics degrade in a landfill site, that microplastics can absorb metals and that no work to date has assessed the formation of microplastics and the contribution to metal mobility in a landfill environment. This will present opportunities for the recovery of metals through landfill leachate treatment systems should the metal to microplastic mechanisms be further understood. It will also a more complete understanding of the human and environmental risks posed by landfill leachate and its mitigation.
This PhD project will develop new understanding in the mechanisms of plastic degradation within a landfill site, the products of degradation and how these products contribute to metal mobility within a landfill site. The products of degradation will go beyond micro and nano plastics, developing new chemical understanding compounds present in leachate which could inform site operators of the status of contained plastics and how to control/limit/enhance metal mobility.
Partners and collaboration
The supervisory team will include Dr Stuart Wagland, Professor Frederic Coulon (Cranfield University) and Dr Darren Beriro (BGS). The supervisory team have a long-standing track record in landfill chemistry and mobility of pollutants, and have expertise in enhanced landfill mining, waste degradation and metal recovery opportunities.
Entry requirements
Applicants should have at least a 2:1 at UK BSc level or at least a pass at UK MSc level or equivalent in a related discipline.
Supervisors 1st Supervisor: Dr Stuart Wagland 2nd Supervisor: Professor Frederic Coulon 3rd Supervisor: Dr Darren Beriro
How to apply
If you are eligible to apply for the Phd, please complete the online application form stating the reference No. SWEE0197 and attach the completed CENTA candidate form to your application.
For further information please contact:
Dr Stuart Wagland E: [Email Address Removed]
Admissions T: +44 (0)1234 758082 E: [Email Address Removed]
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