Hydrothermal liquefaction, specifically the Cat-HTR process developed by Professor Maschmeyer and Licella, makes use of sub- and supercritical water to depolymerise, deoxygenate and liquefy carbonaceous (waste) materials into a “biocrude” that is fungible with existing petroleum-derived oil fractions for refinement. The presence of water is crucial for the success of this process, avoiding many of the drawbacks that arise from the pyrolysis of biomass, such as the facile repolymerisation of products, requirement for added hydrogen to suppress this repolymerisation, and the energy penalty for drying biomass before its thermal conversion to improve yields. In contrast to pyrolysis “biocrudes”, the liquid products resulting from the Cat-HTR process are stable liquids and do not require additional hydrogenation step during or post- the depolymerisation and deoxygenation cascade. Given the lack of fundamental understanding of the complex reaction cascades and complicated product mixtures that result, there is a need for improved analysis protocols for the (bio)crudes generated in the Cat-HTR process. In addition, validation of this improved understanding is required to showcase and verify this analysis works in an Industrial setting.
The overall objective is to better understand the chemical composition of Licella’s biocrude product from the liquefaction of waste cellulosic biomass. The key aim is to improve our understanding of the composition of biocrude and how changes to the HTL processing parameters influence the chemical composition of the biocrude product. This PhD project will be conducted in conjunction with a second PhD project in which process parameters and catalysis will be used to direct the reaction cascades that operate during the Cat-HTR process. Feedback between the 2 PhD projects is envisaged such that: the Analytical PhD’s results and protocols will inform the Catalytic PhD’s understanding of the catalysis; and the Catalytic PhD’s results will assay and benchmark the analyses and protocols developed in the Analytic PhD project described below. In particular, the initial focus of the Analytic PhD will be to understand and develop the best analysis methods for characterising the parameters that are important for Licella to better understand the precise chemical makeup of its products, which will influence process optimisation. This includes whole biocrude and fractions of biocrudes that contain mixtures of target compounds. The analyses will focus on properties such as flow characteristics, viscosity, oxygen content, chemical make-up (group analysis, molecular weight distribution, etc.) & identification of promising targets (classes of molecules or properties) for isolation and purification. The work will be based on a mixture of commercial samples, laboratory samples (generated in a small-scale reactor run under relevant conditions), and model compounds to investigate how, after an improved understanding of the chemical composition and reaction cascades, the Cat-HTR process can be better tailored to promote or suppress chemical species of interest. The desired outcome is a better understanding of fundamental reaction processes and improved biocrude analysis.
Please see the application form to apply.
The scholarship includes a tax-free stipend (~$42,000k/year) and covers tuition & bench fees.
Short-listed applicants will be contacted within 2 weeks of submission.
Hydrothermal liquefaction, specifically the Cat-HTR process developed by Professor Maschmeyer and Licella, makes use of sub- and supercritical water to depolymerise, deoxygenate and liquefy carbonaceous (waste) materials into a “biocrude” that can be blended with existing petro-derived oil fractions for further refinement/upgrading. Not only is water the centre-piece of this process, acting as a reacting solvent as well as a heat and mass transfer liquid, but added catalysts can play pivotal roles in directing reaction cascades that lead to the ultimate chemical composition of the biocrude. Biocrude stability, aromatics & naphtha content, hydrogen incorporation and deoxygenation/heteroatom depletion are all chemical and composition-specific parameters that determine the properties of the biocrude. Not only do these properties dictate what a refiner can accomodate or blend proportionally with petro-feedstocks, but they also determine whether the fractions of the biocrude are worth upgrading and valorising for specific chemical applications. Thus far, the relative lack of (a) the fundamental understanding regarding some the very complex reaction cascades which operate during the Cat-HTR process and (b) the nature of the complicated product mixtures generated, mean there is an extensive parameter space to be mapped before a more complete understanding of reaction parameters, and their influence can be gained.
The key aim is to improve our ability to control composition of biocrude and influence the HTL processing parameters to tailor the chemical composition of the biocrude product. The overall objective is to improve the properties of Licella’s biocrude product from the liquefaction of waste cellulosic biomass and making further valorisation of whole biocrude or fractions thereof more attractive. This aim requires an intimate knowledge of the composition of the biocrude and how the Cat-HTR process can be rationally directed to give a more desirable feedstock. This PhD project will be conducted in conjunction with a second PhD project in which Cat-HTR derived biocrudes are rigorously characterised in detail. Feedback between the 2 PhD projects is envisaged such that: the Catalytic PhD’s biocrude will provide the raw material for the Analytical PhD’s analyses and the Analytical PhD’s results will assist the Catalytic PhD student to make informed choices about varying the Cat-HTR process parameters and catalyst inputs, as described below. The desired outcome is a better understanding of fundamental reaction processes, improved biocrude properties, and direction of fractions to refiners for subsequent upgrading. Industrial targets for Licella include being able to minimise high molecular weight fractions; reduce hydrogen burden for hydro deoxygenation (HDO) and appropriately fractionate the biocrude into cuts that can be used for renewable monomers or other chemical feedstocks.
Please see the application form to apply.
The scholarship includes a tax-free stipend (~$42,000k/year) and covers tuition & bench fees.
Short-listed applicants will be contacted within 2 weeks of submission.
Methane emissions represent one of the most urgent environmental challenges of our time. Over a 20-year period, methane has a global warming potential 86 times greater than that of CO₂ on a per-mass basis. In Australia, a significant portion of methane (CH₄) emissions originate from fugitive sources at geographically dispersed and often remote sites, such as landfills and mining operations. Traditional CH₄-conversion technologies, like steam reforming (SMR) and methanol synthesis, require large-scale infrastructure, making them impractical for the small, decentralized sources of CH₄ found in these sectors. There is an urgent need for low-energy, cost-effective, and modular technologies that can operate efficiently at smaller scales and in remote locations. This need is particularly pressing given Australia’s October 2020 commitment to the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to reduce CH₄ emissions by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. Achieving this goal would be equivalent to eliminating all CH₄ emissions from Australia's landfill sites. Despite this ambitious target, a viable technological solution to meet the pledge remains elusive. To address these critical challenges, we propose a highly innovative program to activate this ‘decarbonised ammonia’ for the coupled chemo-electrosynthesis of small molecules based on methane. Our proposal is complementary to, and dovetails with, other ARC CoE CSI research programs which currently seek to use electrocatalysis for the fixation of nitrogen from various sources (e.g. NRR for atmospheric N₂ and NOxRR for waste-water); and those which are directed towards capturing and oxidising CH₄ using SMR technologies. For example, using bi-functional or sequential electrocatalysts in flow systems for coupling NH₃ with a cascading reaction sequence involving CH₄ and CO₂: thus, linking electrosynthesised ammonia to the valorisation of fugitive methane emissions, and CO₂ sequestration. This approach has the potential to generate a range of renewable chemicals including methylamine, ammonium carbonate, ammonium carbamate, urea; ammonium formate, and formamide. But catalysts alone are insufficient: they need to be integrated into a dynamically coupled reaction system, within a reactor that enables the kinetics to be systematically optimised to compete with the traditional process in terms of material and energy balance as well as space-time yield. This project will use a novel low-cost, 3D printed reactor platform developed by our group for the rapid testing and screening of catalytic gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs), which are not inherently limited by the gas solubilities in (aqueous) electrolytes, for the above electrochemical processes.
Please see the application form to apply.
The scholarship includes a tax-free stipend (~$42,000k/year) and covers tuition & bench fees.
Short-listed applicants will be contacted within 2 weeks of submission.
Catalysts are a key component of any technology aimed at reducing the energy and carbon footprint of today’s incumbent technologies. Being able to synthesise nanoparticle-based catalysts efficiently and reliably, whilst minimising solvent and auxiliary use is crucial for advancing green catalytic Science and Engineering. In this project you will learn to use novel Nanoparticle printing technology to create new and improved catalysts, and exploit catalyst–support interactions with novel carbons from within the ARC Carbon Science Innovation Centre of Excellence.
Please see the application form to apply.
The scholarship includes a tax-free stipend (~$42,000k/year) and covers tuition & bench fees.
Short-listed applicants will be contacted within 2 weeks of submission.