About the organization:

The Netherlands Center for Multiscale Catalytic Energy Conversion (MCEC) is a multidisciplinary research program. Within this program chemists, physicists and engineers from Utrecht University (UU; commissioner of the MCEC-program), Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and the University of Twente (UT) join forces in order to address one of the grand challenges that our society faces today: sustainable energy conversion. Different research teams work together to develop efficient processes for the conversion of renewable raw materials, such as non-edible biomass, waste and solar energy, fuels and chemical building blocks. MCEC gives academics the opportunity to work on important scientific topics in not previously existing partnerships, and thus creates the conditions for innovative, groundbreaking and multidisciplinary research, including both experimental and theoretical approaches.

MCEC is a so-called Gravitation Program, funded by the Dutch Ministry of education, Culture and Science (OCW). The program is cofounded with a grant that has been awarded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie COFUND program.

What we are searching for

For the second phase of the MCEC research program, MCEC is looking for a PhD candidate for the research project 'MRI Flow Imaging of Trickle Bed Reactors':

Fischer-Tropsch processes are currently performed in bubble slurry reactors or trickle bed reactors. Although trickle bed reactors have a smaller degree of back mixing and as a result higher chemical conversion, this technology was developed much later than bubble slurry column reactors. The main reason is the difficulty to design and scale-up these reactors, because they are governed by the particle-scale phenomena.

In this project, the two-phase flow in a trickle bed reactor will be studied with MRI. The use of MRI will allow visualization of the flow field and obtain quantitative data on the particle-scale phenomena such as the liquid and gas phase distribution. This project will have a close collaboration with a numerical modelling project within MCEC.

Keywords:

• Trickle bed reactors
• Multiphase flow
• MRI
• Heat and mass transfer
• Experiments

MCEC is looking for a highly motivated and creative PhD candidate who has:

• an excellent master's degree or an international equivalent in the relevant fields of Chemistry, Physics and Chemical Engineering;
• a strong interest in sustainable energy conversion;
• excellent research and scientific writing skills;
• perseverance and an independent, pro-active working style;
• the willingness to look beyond the borders of his or her own discipline and strong motivation to work in a multidisciplinary team;
• excellent collaboration and communication skills (written and verbally) in English

We offer a challenging job for four years in a highly motivated team at a dynamic and ambitious University. You will work with innovative analytic equipment and you will be part of a highly profiled multidisciplinary collaboration where expertise of a variety of disciplines comes together. The TU/e is located in one of the smartest regions of the world en part of the European technology hotspot 'Brainport Eindhoven'; well-known because of many high-tech industries and start-ups. A place to be for talented scientists!

The gross monthly salary in accordance with the Collective Labor Agreement of the Dutch Universities (CAO NU), starts with € 2.325,- in the first year to € 2.972,- in the fourth year. Besides this the TU/e has holiday- and end-of the year allowances, an excellent package of attractive benefits for employees and a modern sports complex. Assistance for finding accommodation can be given. Especially for PhD students the TU/e also offers opportunities for personal development. We do this by offering every PhD student a series of courses that are part of the Proof program as an excellent addition to your scientific education.

More information is available on the website of Eindhoven University of Technology: www.tue.nl