Fully-funded PhD studentship: Revolutionising sustainable construction through an experimentation and modelling approach for optimization of bio-based plasterboard manufacturing

This is a fully-funded 4 year PhD offering an annual tax-free stipend of £20,780, tuition fees and an enhanced research and training grant.

This PhD is one of a number of projects hosted by the Centre for Doctoral Training in Green Industrial Futures (CDT-GIF). We are offering pioneering research projects that will enable PhD researchers to explore key technologies and solutions that will support UK industry to reach net zero.  Alongside their research, our PhD researchers gain valuable training in how to apply their research within the wider industrial system, including opportunities for industry placements, site visits, international facility visits and biannual residentials.

The Project

Are you passionate about sustainable innovation and eager to tackle one of the construction industry’s biggest environmental challenges? This fully funded PhD offers a unique opportunity to develop energy-efficient, cost-effective, and carbon-reducing manufacturing processes — placing you at the forefront of sustainable materials research.

Plasterboard is the third most-used construction material globally, contributing significantly to the 40% of carbon emissions attributed to the construction industry. To combat this, Adaptavate has developed Breathaboard—a sustainable plasterboard alternative made from mineral binders and bio-aggregates/biochar. Breathaboard offers comparable structural performance while dramatically lowering embodied carbon emissions.

A resource intensive stage of Breathaboard production is curation. This PhD will focus on transforming the manufacturing process by delivering novel form of industrial symbiosis, through of co-location of several Breathaboard processes, enhancing both efficiency and sustainability.

The PhD will focus on three key objectives:

• Investigate Microstructural and Chemical Changes: Analyse how curation and drying impact mechanical properties and hygrothermal performance.
• Develop a Predictive Model: Create a computational model linking operational variables and material properties.
• Integrate Pyrolysis and Curation: Build a combined model to optimize energy consumption and assess the effects of pyrolysis parameters on biochar quality, curation rate, drying behaviour, and material performance.

Throughout this PhD, the successful applicant will gain expertise in cutting-edge modelling approaches and experimental techniques including:

• Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA) with Mass Spectrometry (MS) to study reaction and drying kinetics.
• X-ray Diffraction (XRD) for crystalline phase identification.
• Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDX) for microstructural and elemental analysis.
• Numerical and Mathematical Modelling of kinetic and thermodynamic performance of material to optimize the production process.

The research has significant real world impact. It is expected to deliver a step change in manufacturing efficiency, allowing a reduction in capital and production costs, improve product consistency, and enhance environmental benefits, contributing to circular economy principles and sustainable construction material manufacturing.

The CDT and the project has an interdisciplinary approach: Collaborate with experts from diverse fields including engineering, environmental science, policy studies, and business to address complex decarbonisation challenges.

Click Apply now for more information on our application process. Deadline: 30^th June.

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