PhD opportunity – Corrosion inhibition in geothermal systems, Leeds, UK

University of Leeds, England (source: Alex Liivet / flickr, Creative Commons)

The University of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England has published a PhD position for research on “Sustainable and Environmentally Friendly Corrosion Inhibitors for Renewable Energy Applications.” The research will be done in collaboration with Roemex, a chemical services company with focus on energy transition activities, notably in the geothermal energy sector.

The PhD position is open to all nationalities and is expected to start by 1 October 2023. Formal applications must be made online through the University’s website on or before 5 May 2023. More details on the application process are available on the official listing page.

This PhD will investigate and optimise sustainable chemical inhibitors for the corrosion protection of geothermal energy infrastructure.  A multi-electrode flow cell, integrated with electrochemical sensing, will be designed and utilised to characterise existing inhibitor performance with a view to understand how to develop novel environmentally friendly corrosion inhibitors synthesised from industrial waste products, such as amino acids. The cell will then be used in conjunction with newly synthesised chemistries to optimise chemical blends for corrosion protection of carbon steel in specific geothermal systems worldwide.

Fund may be provided by highly competitive EPSRC CASE Competition Studentship in partnership with Roemex, consisting of the award of fees with a maintenance grant (currently £17,668 in academic session 2022/23) with an additional Top-Up of £4,000 per year. All candidates will be placed into the EPSRC CASE Competition Studentship Award Competition and selection is based on academic merit.

Source: University of Leeds