Engineering Doctorate (EngD): A Novel Gas/Liquid contactor for CO2 capture technologies

About the Project

It is essential to decarbonise carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels to achieve the carbon neutrality of the Paris Climate Change agreement. One key application of Carbon Capture and Storage technologies is the removal of carbon dioxide from industrial and combustion gases before they enter the atmosphere.

The project aims to design and optimise a novel concept for contacting combustion gases with amine solvents used for CO2 capture in combined cycle gas turbines. It uses a first of a kind prototype system to obtain experimental data and combines the data with process modelling to obtain the first optimised configuration.

The project has three objectives:

1. Generate data on the pressure drop, hydrodynamics and mass transfer of novel packing geometries used for contacting industrial gases with CO2 capture solvents.

2. Characterise the operation of the prototype contactor for a range of CO2 capture solvent physical properties, such as density, viscosity and surface tension.

3. Develop engineering guidelines for process optimisation and scale-up with an open-access solvent supported by new packing data from this project.

The output of the project will inform commercial decisions by the industrial partner to decarbonise offshore platforms. It will also explore configurations for other applications related to CO2 capture and for Direct Air Capture.

Supervisors: Prof Mathieu Lucquiaud, Prof Jon Gibbins, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield

Industrial supervisors: Alexandre Pactat, Veronique Pugnet, Total Energies Research & Development

The research environment

The research work will be based in the Energy Research Group within the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Translational Energy Research Centre (TERC) at Sheffield which is a brand new, high profile, innovation focused national research facility. You will be working within an exciting and dynamic group with approximately over 60 researchers undertaking a broad area of energy research with approximately three years’ extensive research time in industry, preparing for high-level careers in the energy sector. 

Funding

The studentship will cover full university fees and a tax-free, enhanced annual stipend for four years. The stipend rate for the academic year 2023/24 from the EPSRC is £18,622. This stipend will rise with inflation each academic year. In addition, students receive a stipend enhancement of £3,750 per year.

Start date

We are seeking applicants to start in September 2024 but could accept a later starting date for the right applicant.

The applicant

Applications are welcome from graduates with a mechanical engineering or chemical engineering or chemistry background. Other relevant STEM or engineering background will be considered, if relevant. As a minimum we require candidates to have a First-class or 2:1 MEng degree or an MSc with merit (over 60%), or significant industrial experience if these requirements are not met.

Please apply to the University of Sheffield.

Informal enquiries may be sent to Prof Mathieu Lucquiaud (m.lucquiaud@sheffield.ac.uk). Please note that applications sent directly to this email address will not be accepted.