IHE Delft offers a PhD fellowship as part of the “NOMAD” Project (European Union’s Horizon 2020 Project ID: 863000). Within the PhD research project, different lab trials will be conducted to evaluate different methods for the removal of endocrine disrupters.

Digestate supernatant from farming activities will be characterized to determine the main endocrine disrupters. The following removal processes on the liquid phase are foreseen:

  • adsorption (using activated carbon and/or biochar as carrying material);
  • membrane (e.g. ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis);
  • direct advanced oxidation (based on ozone, UV, and hydrogen peroxide generation);
  • indirect advanced oxidation (generation of hydroxyl radicals via electric pulses); and,
  • biodegradability enhancing (e.g. through the application of electric pulses and direct as well as indirect advanced oxidation processes).

Short- (days) and long-term (weeks) evaluations will be conducted to assess the removal efficiencies of the parent-active compounds, by-product formation and toxicity effects. Research will take place at the laboratory of IHE Delft (Delft, The Netherlands). The experiments will be conducted in laboratory set-ups tailor-made to assess the removal of these compounds.

Duration: 4 years
Fellowship: €1190 /month
Allowance: €300/year (book) / €35/month (study material)
Other cost coverage: Residence permit / Health Insurance

Requirements

The ideal PhD candidate must fulfil the following requirements:

  • a Master’s degree in environmental biotechnology, environmental engineering, sanitary engineering or alike;
  • proven experience/knowledge on the removal and analytical determination of endocrine disrupter compounds and their metabolites is a strong advantage;
  • proven record of publications is a plus;
  • excellent proficiency in spoken and written English;
  • excellent communicational skills and ability to work independently in a heterogeneous and dynamic team;

Application

The application to this PhD fellowship must contain the following documents:

  • Curriculum vitae
  • Motivation letter
  • List of publications

Please, send the application to the secretaries of the Environmental Engineering and Water Technology (EEWT) Department to the following e-mail  SecretariatEEWT@un-ihe.orgbef ore September 1st, 2019, with the subject “NOMAD PhD application”.  The interviews are planned for the third to fourth week of September.

For further information, please feel free to contact Dr. Francisco Rubio Rincon ( f.rubiorincon@un-ihe.org  ) or Dr. Carlos Lopez Vazquez (  c.lopezvazquez@un-ihe.org  ).