Towards sustainable desalination by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions

Climate change and population growth pose a threat to water security worldwide. Sea water desalination is traditionally a promising technology to provide fresh water. There are numerous existing technologies for seawater desalination, with extensive research focusing on optimizing process and operating conditions to save energy, cost and enhance performance metrics like the Gain Output Ratio (GoR), etc. However, comparatively less attention has been paid to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from these technologies towards combating climate change.  It is well known that desalination is a highly energy-intensive process and a significant contributor to atmospheric CO₂. To achieve Net Zero target by 2050 and the ambitious goal of phasing out fossil fuels in long term (outlined in CoP 2024), the project is focused on identifying the carbon footprint across desalination technologies and conducting a comprehensive comparative analysis. This work primarily involves modelling, simulation, and techno-economic analysis of desalination processes to support a sustainable approach. The involved software’s are gPROMS and Aspen among others. The project aims to quantify CO₂ release per unit of produced fresh water, establish a new metric for sustainable desalination, and recommend strategies for enhancing performance while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Suitability

Applications and expressions of interest are invited from prospective researchers with a good background of chemical or mechanical engineering or a closely related field.

How to apply

Formal applications can be submitted via the University of Bradford web site; applicants will need to register an account and select 'Full-time PhD in Chemical & Process Engineering' as the course, and then specify the project title in the 'Research Proposal' section.

About the University of Bradford

Bradford is a research-active University supporting the highest-quality research. We excel in applying our research to benefit our stakeholders by working with employers and organisations world-wide across the private, public, voluntary and community sectors and actively encourage and support our postgraduate researchers to engage in research and business development activities.

Positive Action Statement

At the University of Bradford our vision is a world of inclusion and equality of opportunity, where people want to, and can, make a difference. We place equality and diversity, inclusion, and a commitment to social mobility at the centre of our mission and ethos. In working to make a difference we are committed to addressing systemic inequality and disadvantages experienced by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic staff and students.

Under sections 158-159 of the Equality Act 2010, positive action can be taken where protected group members are under-represented. At Bradford, our data show that people from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic groups who are UK nationals are significantly under-represented at the postgraduate researcher level. 

These are lawful measures designed to address systemic and structural issues which result in the under-representation of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic students in PGR studies.