PhD Studentship - Advanced Process Intensification Strategies for Chemical and Catalytic Reactions Using Taylor–Couette Reactor Technology

Award summary

100% fees (UK home only), a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £21,805 (2026/27 UKRI rate), and a research training support grant of £20,000.

Overview

This PhD project is part of the CDT in Process Industries: Net Zero.

Taylor–Couette technology exploits the controlled vortices formed between concentric rotating cylinders to generate intense, well-defined shear and mixing. The fluid flow inside a Taylor-Couette Reactor (TCR) has been shown to pass through series of instabilities, with flow regimes spanning laminar to Taylor-vortex through to turbulent flow regimes under increased rotational speeds of the cylinder(s). This has great benefits in process intensification, allowing precise control of mixing, mass and heat transfer in reactions and solid handling procedures, amongst other applications.

However, application specific operational drawbacks can have detrimental impacts on conversion, selectivity and uniformity of product distribution, such as in solid precipitates formation, compromising the enhancements achieved through the use of TC intensification principles. The proposed project will investigate the development of TCRs by studying the impact of geometries and microstructures on the hydrodynamics of reactants in chemical and/or catalytic reactions and solid handling processes.

The successful PhD student will be co-supervised by Professor Kamelia Boodhoo and Dr. Fernando Russo Abegão from the Process Intensification Group at Newcastle University, with regular input from Laminar, the industrial sponsor of this project.

You will be taught a range of skills to complement, drive and strengthen your research: design of experiments, life-cycle analysis, techno-economic analysis, digital and business skills, ethics etc. You will also undertake short courses in the core subjects of this PhD programme including process intensification and green chemistry.

Number of awards: 1

Start date: 1^st October 2026

Award duration: 4 years

Sponsor: EPSRC

Supervisors

Professor Kamelia Boodhoo (kamelia.boodhoo@newcastle.ac.uk) and Dr Fernando Russo Abegão (fernando.russo-abegao@newcastle.ac.uk)

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. Due to nature of this project, the candidate should have a strong background in Engineering, especially chemical engineering or another closely related engineering subject. Enthusiasm for research, the ability to think and work independently, excellent analytical skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are also essential requirements.

This studentship is available to home students only.

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 PINZ04-26 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

General enquiries: pinz.cdt@ncl.ac.uk

Project specific enquiries: kamelia.boodhoo@newcastle.ac.uk

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