Description du sujet de thèse

The project BioMCat, which focuses on the valorization of lignin-rich co-products, namely Brewers' Spent Grain (BSG) from breweries and lignin extracted from black liquor or wood bark from paper industries. The objective of BioMCat is to develop a novel process for the transformation of lignin rich biomass to aromatic aldehydes as value-added chemicals.
The objective of this PhD project is the development of heterogenous catalysts for the selective oxidation of cinnamic derivatives in liquid phase. In the first part of the project, we will focus on the catalytic oxidation of ferulic acid to vanillin. We want to investigate the influence of synthesis procedure and composition of the catalysts on the structural characteristics, hence catalytic properties. From the gained knowledge, we will be able to control and tailor the critical properties in order to enhance activity, selectivity and stability. Then, in a second part, we will conduct the catalytic reactions with real solutions obtained from lignin, which contain mixture of acids and impurities.

The reactions will be conducted in batch reactor, with water as solvent and under air pressure. The solutions will be analysed by GC or HPLC. Catalysts optimisation can only be achieved through a coupling of characterisation with the observed catalytic response. By varying the synthesis and composition of the catalyst, some of its bulk and surface properties can be altered. A wide range of characterization are available at IRCELYON including, XRD, ICP, TGA, TPR, Raman spectroscopy, RMN, microscopy, XPS. Synthesis of the catalysts will be conducted at IRCELYON and IFPEN.
At the end of the three years, the student will be able to carry out a research project and write a thesis.

Contexte de travail

The Institute of Research on Catalysis and Environment of LYON (IRCELYON) is located in Villeurbanne (France). It is one of the largest European laboratories dedicated to heterogeneous catalysis. Structured in 5 teams supported by an analytical platform, IRCELYON's activities focus on sustainable development with major concerns for energy, environment and green chemistry. The PhD student will work in the C'Durable team: https://www.ircelyon.univ-lyon1.fr/team/cdurable/.
The project will be in collaboration with IFPEN.
This PhD is within the project BioMCat: https://www.pepr-bioproductions.fr/eng/funded-projects/new-biomass-transformation-pathways/biomcat

This position will be supervised by N. Perret and co-supervised by L. Djakovitch. N. Perret is specialized in the development of supported metal catalysts for hydrogenation and oxidation reactions.

Le poste se situe dans un secteur relevant de la protection du potentiel scientifique et technique (PPST), et nécessite donc, conformément à la réglementation, que votre arrivée soit autorisée par l'autorité compétente du MESR.

Contraintes et risques

The candidate must have a master or engineering degree in chemistry or materials science.
The candidate should be able to present the project and the results obtained at the end of the three years. The candidate (M/F) must be enthusiastic, organized and speak French or English. The start date is to be discussed, between February and May 2026.