General information
Reference : UMR5623-JEAGAR-001
Nombre de Postes : 1
Workplace : TOULOUSE
Date of publication : Wednesday, January 11, 2023
Type of Contract : FTC Scientist
Contract Period : 12 months
Expected date of employment : 6 March 2023
Proportion of work : Full time
Remuneration : €2,805 gross monthly
Desired level of education : PhD
Experience required : 1 to 4 years
Missions
As part of the development of an innovative research axis, in the field of recycling and green chemistry, a 12-month post-doctoral position in purification, depolymerisation, characterisation and recycling of used polyester fabrics is available.
Textile pollution is an environmental disaster. In Europe, of nearly 2 million tons of textiles discarded every year, only 1% are reused for fabrics. Synthetic textiles are complex mixtures of fibres of different types (mixed fabrics), and additives, making it very difficult to recycle them. In addition, the depolymerisation reactions at the industrial level are very energy-intensive and pose the problem of high acidic or basic discharges.
To address these issues, the post-doc will develop environmentally sound and energy-efficient extraction (removal of additives, separation of fibres) and depolymerisation processes, with a focus on the use of green solvents and organised molecular systems. The resulting fractions will then be re-used to design recoverable products (e.g. new textiles or other materials useful for cleaning or recycling). To guide the different steps of this approach, the person recruited will implement analytical techniques (chromatography, spectroscopy, ...) and physicochemical (microscopy, scattering of radiation, ...).
Activities
Main Tasks
・ Extraction and fractionation of components : solid-liquid extractions (ASE, Soxhlet), liquid-liquid or supercritical (SFE) on used, sorted and defiberized polyester fabrics. A good knowledge of green solvents and organised molecular systems will be required.
・ Organic synthesis : environmentally friendly depolymerisation reactions (in green solvents and complex fluids), functionalisation of the fractions obtained, manufacture of new materials (polymers, hybrid materials, ...).
・ Chemical analyses (NMR., mass spectrometry, chromatography, U-HPLC-HRMS, GC-HRMS), sample preparation and data interpretation.
・ Physicochemical analyses (DLS, SAXS, electron microscopy, ...)
・ Writing of analytical sheets and reports
・ Dissemination of results (publications, communications)
・ Implementation of QSPR and chemometric studies to define samples before reaction and during the different processes
Skills
・ Organic synthesis, green chemistry, physico-chemistry of complex fluids
・ Chemical analysis techniques (NMR., MS, HPLC, U-HPLC, SEC)
・ Current English (oral and written)
・ Technical and scientific rigour, strong motivation, scientific curiosity, autonomy
・ Ability to work in a research team
Work Context
The work will be carried out in the IMRCP laboratory (UMR 5623; web: http://imrcp.ups-tlse.fr/), a joint research unit of University Toulouse III-CNRS whose research axes are mainly centred on the chemistry and physicochemistry of organised molecular systems. Specifically, the project will be developed within the SMODD ("Organised Molecular Systems and Sustainable Development") team led by Muriel Blanzat and Emile Perez, involving all the researchers and teacher-researchers in the group.
Constraints and risks
Professional risks to the activity of a research laboratory in chemistry.
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