PhD Studentship: Fully Funded EPSRC iCASE and TATA Steel PhD Scholarship: Circular Economy of Insulation Foams

Funding providers: EPSRC iCASE and TATA Steel UK

Subject areas: Materials science, manufacturing, engineering

Project start date: 

• 1 October 2024 (Enrolment open from mid-September)

Project description: 

Tata Steel’s Building Systems UK (BSUK) business manufactures a range of insulating sandwich panel products for building façades. With a design life of 25 years, these products offer an outstanding combination of light weight, low thermal conductivity and high fire resistance performance characteristics over an extended period. However, there is a growing need to ensure complete product circularity and this project will explore a number of innovative end-of-life recycling options. 

This iCASE PhD will focus on three key aspects of insulation foams. First, a detailed characterisation of aged panels (from accelerated testing or field exposure) will be used to develop better understanding of breakdown mechanisms. This will be used to design and test mitigation technologies that will extend panel lifetimes beyond the current 25 years. The research will involve microscopy and/or spectroscopic analysis to identify any leached by-products alongside detailed thermochemical analysis to compare with baseline data from pristine samples.

Secondly, foam recycling will be explored through combinations of the following potential options: using spent foam in new composite materials (e.g. polymer-polymer, polymer-foam or polymer-inorganic composites), the production of new feedstocks by thermochemical treatment of spent foam and/or the conversion of spent foam into new products (e.g. packaging material). Thirdly, techno-economic analysis of recycling processes will be used to assess and compare viability. Potential scale up of the most promising recycling systems will also be explored.

Eligibility

Candidates must hold a UK bachelor’s degree with a minimum of Upper Second Class honours or overseas bachelor’s degree deemed equivalent to UK honours (by UK ECCTIS) and achieved a grade equivalent to UK Upper Second Class honours in Engineering or similar relevant science discipline. If you are eligible to apply for the scholarship but do not hold a UK degree, you can check our comparison entry requirements. Please note that you may need to provide evidence of your English Language proficiency.

Due to funding restrictions, this scholarship is open to applicants eligible to pay tuition fees at the UK rate only, as defined by UKCISA regulations.

Funding Details

Additional Funding Information

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend of £19,237 plus an additional set payment of £1,500 per year.

Additional research expenses will also be available.

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