General information
Reference : UMR7515-JULBER-025
Workplace : STRASBOURG
Date of publication : Friday, July 29, 2022
Scientific Responsible name : Anne Cécile ROGER
Type of Contract : PhD Student contract / Thesis offer
Contract Period : 36 months
Start date of the thesis : 15 October 2022
Proportion of work : Full time
Remuneration : 2 135,00 € gross monthly
Description of the thesis topic
The work deals with the Power-To-Methanol processes. It aims to displace the thermodynamic limitation of methanol production from CO2 and renewable H2 by combining a water sorption function and a catalytic function within the same bed. It aims to develop catalytic sorbent beds of increasing technicality. Sorbent/catalyst bed geometries will be studied to optimise methanol yield.
the thesis will take place in several steps:
- The first step will consist in the preparation and characterisation of zeolite materials, the reference sorbent.
- The second step will consist in the synthesis of catalysts for methanol synthesis.
- The prepared materials will be characterised using classical techniques for the study of heterogeneous catalysts (XRD, nitrogen physisorption, TPR, surface oxidation by N2O, microscopy, XPS).
- The catalytic properties of the materials will be evaluated by classical heterogeneous catalysis. The gas phase catalytic reactions will be carried out in continuous flow, the products formed will be analysed on-line by gas chromatography.
- The effect of the presence of sorbent on methanol productivity will be evaluated.
Work Context
The Institute of Chemistry and Processes for Energy, Environment and Health (ICPEES) is a joint research unit under the cotutelle of the CNRS and the University of Strasbourg (UMR7515). Its staff is composed of about 50 permanent employees and about 80 PhD students, post-doctoral fellows, and other fixed-term contracts. The institute has a worldwide recognized know-how in the field of materials elaboration and their evaluation in various catalytic or other processes, as well as strong industrial collaborations.
This thesis will be done within the team "Energy and Fuel for a Sustainable Environment (ECED), directed by Pr Anne Cécile ROGER. The ECED team is located in the premises of the Strasbourg School of Chemistry (ECPM) of the University of Strasbourg (Unistra, University of Excellence), within the Catalysis and Materials department of the ICPEES.
The general objective of this collaborative work is the improved production of methanol through the development of catalytic sorbents that will ultimately be implemented in a cyclic reactor. This work is part of a project funded by the French National Research Agency, it involves three other French academic partners.
Constraints and risks
No specific constraints
Additional Information
Expected skills are:
Fundamental theoretical and practical knowledge:
The candidate must have a solid background in material science, synthesis and characterization of solid oxides as well as in heterogeneous catalysis.
Knowledge of the work environment:
The candidate must be experienced in lab work and collaborative projects.
Knowledge on the main activities to be developed within the project:
The candidate must possess:
- A very good level of English (indicate TOEIC level or equivalent)
- Very good oral and written communication skills in French and English
- The desire to work in a team
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