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  Encapsulated sorbents for adsorption cooling applications


   School of Chemical Engineering

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  Dr Y Li, Prof Z Zhang  Applications accepted all year round  Self-Funded PhD Students Only

About the Project

Applications are invited for a postgraduate research position leading to a PhD degree in School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Birmingham.

Cooling energy is a vital foundation of modern society for refrigeration and air conditioning processes of various kinds. Currently cooling consumes up to 14% of the UK’s electricity, with an annual cost of more than £5 billion. There is an urgent need to make the cooling energy production more sustainable. In order to deal with the radical growth in demand, new approaches are required to replace the conventional vapor compression refrigeration machine which consumes a lot of electrical energy and also uses refrigerants (i.e. chloro-fluoro-carbon, hydro-chloro-fluoro-carbon) that cause depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. A potential alternative is the use of solar thermal energy or low-grade waste heat instead of electricity to drive the refrigeration cycle, which is achievable by either an absorption process (liquid sorption) or an adsorption process (solid sorption).

This project aims to develop novel chemical sorbents based composite adsorbents using microencapsulation techniques to enable the adsorption unit more efficient (higher coefficient of performance) and compact (higher specific cooling power) for domestic application. A promising approach to achieve the goals is the use of composite adsorbents. This is because generally at the same operating conditions the chemical sorbents have a much higher sorption quantity than the conventional adsorbents. In this project the PhD student need to carry out mainly experimental investigation using our proven routes to investigate: (1) Formulation and structure characterization of encapsulated sorbents, (2) mechanical and thermal properties and (3) mass transfer and heat transfer behaviours of the sorption beds. The experimental work will be processed within the brand new well-founded cryogenic lab (Birmingham Centre for Energy Storage: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/energy/research/centre-energy-storage/cryogenic-energy-storage/index.aspx) and Micromanipulation and Microencapsulation Research Lab (https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/chemical-engineering/speciality-products/micromanipulation/index.aspx).

Eligibility requirements:
To undertake this research, we are seeking a motivated candidate with a first class degree or upper second (or equivalent for non-UK students) or a combination of qualification and professional experience equivalent to that level, with strong understanding of general chemistry and materials science and characterisation. Excellent knowledge and equivalent experience in organic chemistry, physical chemistry especially in surface and interface science, and materials characterisation is highly desirable. Independent work, self-motivation, good team spirit and excellent communication skills are important assets of the successful candidate. The candidate has to demonstrate proof of proficiency in English if applicable. Candidate with some knowledge and experience in organic synthesis, surface and interface science will be particularly considered.

Funding Notes

Self-funded or home country funded students are welcome to apply this post. UK/EU rate funding is also possible depending on the quality of the applicant. For further details on the project and informal enquiry please contact Dr Yongliang Li at [Email Address Removed] or Prof Zhibing Zhang at [Email Address Removed]. Applications will be evaluated on an on-going basis until the position is filled.

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