Green ammonia is one the few chemicals that can bridge the energy and food value chains as it can be used as a hydrogen carrier for energy applications and as fertilizing molecule in crops production of crops. While ammonia Haber-Bosch synthesis is currently operated in large scale (160 million tons per year globally), the conversion of ammonia back to nitrogen and hydrogen is only conducted at small scales using energy inefficient methods. Conventional catalysts, unfortunately, are constrained by the Sabatier limit that essentially forces the utilization of high temperatures to ensure that all the N-and H- surface intermediates couple to form nitrogen and hydrogen. To lower the operation temperature of this process and reduce the energy losses at small scales we will leverage dynamic operation of the catalytic reactor to increase the rate of reaction of the ammonia dehydrogenation to achieve compact and efficient hydrogen generation in decentralized locations. In this project, you will develop a new reactor concept that can operate in a dynamic manner to achieve faster reaction kinetics.

• For this position we are searching for a candidate with a doctoral degree in chemical engineering or chemistry or material science with a strong emphasis on heterogeneous catalysts.
• A solid background on reaction kinetics, mass/heat transport, and catalyst fabrication is essential for this project.
• Applicants with programming skills (e.g. Matlab or Python) and process modelling (e.g. ASPEN +) are encouraged to applied.
• This position will require the development of a new reactor, preparation of catalysts, physico-chemical characterization (e.g. surface area, CO-Chemisorption, Raman spectroscopy, TEM, SEM, XPS, XRF, XRD), and reaction testing. Thus, demonstrated experience with these tasks will be important.
• This information will be employed to make preliminary estimations of the techno-economic feasibility of the process in commercial scale

• Fulltime position for two years
• The university offers a dynamic ecosystem with enthusiastic colleagues in a stimulating scientific environment.
• The salary amounts, depending on education and experience, minimal 3.557,- to a maximum of € 4.670, gross per month in case of a fulltime employment.
• A holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary and a year-end bonus of 8.3%.
• The number of holiday hours for full-time employment is 232 hours per calendar year.
• Full status as an employee at the UT, including pension and health care benefits.
• Professional and personal development programmes.

This position will be hosted by the Multiphasic Catalysis and Reactions (MCR) group, led by Dr. J. Faria (Jimmy), within the chair of Catalytic Processes and Materials (CPM) at the University of Twente. The MCR group leverages fundamental knowledge on physical-chemistry and engineering to study complex multi-phasic reaction systems and create novel synthetic catalytic materials for the sustainable production of renewable energies and chemicals.