Background: Certain aspects of transportation, air travel in particular, remain significant contributors to climate change, but are extremely difficult to decarbonise. Whilst the motor transportation industry is undergoing a revolution as Li-ion battery technology replaces fossil-derived liquid fuels, this is not possible for aviation fuel as the power-to-weight ratio of today’s batteries are too low. This is an increasingly urgent issue since the aviation sector is expected to continue to grow, raising its impact on global warming unless (close to) net zero flying can be developed. Since today there are no alternative fuels with sufficient energy density compatible with aviation needs, it is crucial to develop drop-in replacement hydrocarbon fuels derived from sustainable resources, such as biomass.
Although sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) also generate carbon dioxide during combustion, using appropriately-chosen sources of biomass in their production offers the ability to recycle carbon in a closed loop manner, absorbing carbon during production and releasing it upon use, thus minimising net emissions maintaining a balance in atmospheric carbon levels. However, the scale, availability and diversity of biomass feedstocks are significant hurdles, which means that a wide range of different biorenewable feeds are needed and hence a spectrum of chemical conversion methods are required to produce aviation grade SAFs.
Project: This project will focus on the development of processes for the selective, atom-economic synthesis of both saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons with chain lengths in the SAFs range (C12-C16) from bio-derived feedstocks. The principal focus will be the development of highly selective integrated catalytic processes operating in a cascade fashion, starting with sustainable bio-derived alcohols and catalytic pyrolysis products. Sustainable metals (earth-abundant and/or close-loop-recycled precious metals) and structured inorganic oxides will provide the basis for the multifunctional catalysts needed for the challenging cascade conversion. This project will be co-supervised by Professor Phil Dyer and Dr Russell Taylor. Catalyst design will build on prior state-of-the-art work from the Dyer and Taylor groups. Building on their long-standing experience of biomass conversion and upgrading, a range of technologies for the manufacture of bio-derived SAFs will be developed.
The successful candidate will be a member of both Dyer and Taylor groups, and benefit from being part of the Chemistry for Sustainability theme within the Department. Training will be provided in underpinning areas of homo- and hetero-geneous catalysis, inorganic materials synthesis, catalyst characterisation methods, catalyst testing (batch and flow reactors), and elements of process design and analysis.
This project is part of the EPSRC CDT ReNU+, a collaborative doctoral training programme run by the Universities of Northumbria, Newcastle and Durham which provides added-value training opportunities through a 4-year training programme alongside individual scientific research project.
For informal enquiries please contact Prof Phil Dyer: p.w.dyer@durham.ac.uk
For more information and to apply visit https://www.findaphd.com/phds/project/bio-renewable-routes-to-sustainable-liquid-fuels/?p179810