PhD Studentship - Process Industries: Net Zero - Optimisation Bio-methanol Production from High-moisture Feedstock

Award summary

100% fees (UK Home only), a minimum tax-free annual living allowance at the 2026/27 UKRI rate) (note that the 2025/26 rate is £20,780), and a research training support grant of £20,000.

Overview

This PhD project is part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ). The PINZ CDT will train the next generation of process and chemical engineers, and chemists, to develop the new processes, process technologies and green chemistries required for the process industries’ transition to Net Zero.

Methanol is a versatile platform chemical, commonly synthesized from synthetic gas (a mixture of CO and H2). Driven by the demand for green fuels and sustainable chemicals for decarbonisation, the global bio-methanol market is forecast to grow significantly. Bio-methanol production utilises renewable sources such as biomass and residues through gasification-methanol synthesis routes, and increasingly, via conversion from captured CO2 and biogas from anaerobic digestion process. This PhD project will investigate bio-methanol production from high-moisture feedstock (e.g. digestate, a by-product of anaerobic digestion) using hydrothermal processing to reduce the energy needed for drying compared to conventional gasification. 

The research focuses on reactor design optimisation, scalability, investigating the effect of operating conditions, and a techno-economic/environmental assessment. This is a co-created project with PuriFire Labs Ltd, ensuring practical relevance. 

The student will also work closely with our industrial partner on process engineering for a scalable prototype facility and product output testing.

The successful PhD student will be supervised by Prof Anh Phan from the Process Intensification Group at Newcastle University. There will also be an industrial supervisor from PuriFire Labs Ltd.

Number of awards: 1

Start date: 1^st October 2026

Award duration: 4 years

Sponsor: EPSRC

Supervisors: Professor Anh Phan

Eligibility criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project (usually chemical engineering, but please get in touch if you think your qualification may be relevant). Enthusiasm for research, the ability to think and work independently, excellent analytical skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are also essential requirements.

Home are welcome to apply and if successful will receive a full studentship. Applicants whose first language is not English require an IELTS score of 6.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in all sub-skills.

How to apply

You must apply through the University's Apply to Newcastle Portal. Once registered, select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application'.

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8856F
• Leave the 'Research Area' field blank
• Select ‘PhD in Process Industries; Net Zero (PINZ)' as the programme of study

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:  

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) - upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form  
• The studentship code PINZ03-26 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field  
• ‘Research Proposal’ - when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal –select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

You must submit one application per studentship, you cannot apply for multiple studentships on one application.

Contact details: pinz.cdt@ncl.ac.uk

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