Lattice-Boltzmann, hydrodynamics/biochemistry coupled models for anaerobic digestion in wastewater treatment

Anaerobic digestion is a well-established biotechnology in wastewater treatment to treat sludge and produce green energy through methane harvesting. However, the successful digestion process requires energy-consuming mixing.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has provided several solutions for mixing efficiency improvement, but has fallen short of reproducing the complex set of biochemical reactions constituting the digestion process, inside digesters.

The successful candidate will have the unique opportunity of pioneering a novel approach, based on coupling hydrodynamics to biochemistry, in the context of real industry designs provided by partners in water companies and the researcher will engage in cutting-edge parallel/GPU programming techniques, using the Lattice- Boltzmann modelling approach, an innovative CFD method for massive parallel computing.

Students will have the opportunity to collaborate with partners at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany) and contribute advancing OpenLB, the reference open-source software for Lattice-Boltzmann modelling.

Successful candidates will need to have a Master’s degree or equivalent in a scientific subject. Upon

completion of the PhD, they will have acquired expertise in:

- Anaerobic digestion and wastewater treatment;

- Lattice-Boltzmann CFD modelling;

- Programming (modern C++, Python, Unix);

- Massive parallel/GPU computing.

Start Date: 1st October 2023

Further Details:

This PhD project is funded by The Faculty of Science & Engineering at The University of Liverpool and will start on 1st October 2023.

Successful candidates who meet the University of Liverpool eligibility criteria will be awarded a Faculty of Science & Engineering studentship for 3.5 years, covering UK tuition fees and an annual tax-free stipend (e.g. £17,688 p.a. for 2022-23).

Faculty of Science & Engineering students benefit from bespoke graduate training and £5,000 for training, travel and conferences.

The Faculty of Science & Engineering is committed to equality, diversity, widening participation and inclusion. Academic qualifications are considered alongside non-academic experience. Our recruitment process considers potential with the same weighting as past experience. Students must complete a personal statement profoma and ensure this is included in their online application.

How to Apply:

All applicants must complete the personal statement proforma. This is instead of a normal personal/supporting statement/cover letter. The proforma is designed to standardise this part of the application to minimise the difference between those who are given support and those who are not. The proforma can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/ym2ycne4. More information on the application process can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/mwn5952t. When applying online, students should ensure they include the department name in the ‘Programme Applied For’ section of the online form, as well as the Faculty of Science & Engineering as the ‘studentship type’ in the finance section.