PhD Studentship - Process Industries: Net Zero - Process Systems Engineering for Net Zero Polymer Manufacturing

Polymer manufacturing is highly energy intensive, and achieving net zero requires more than fuel switching. This project focuses on process systems engineering for industrial decarbonisation, specifically reducing intrinsic energy demand in polymer production through process redesign, integration, and intensification.

The project is conducted in collaboration with Victrex, a global leader in high-performance polymers, and is based at Newcastle University within the EPSRC CDT in Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ).

Project Aim

To develop quantitative process systems engineering methods and models to identify, evaluate, and enable step-change reductions in energy consumption in industrial polymer manufacturing through system-level process redesign.

Core Research Focus

You will develop and apply advanced modelling and analysis tools to:

• Construct high-resolution energy and mass balance models of industrial polymer processes
• Identify key sources of thermodynamic and operational inefficiency
• Quantify opportunities for heat integration, energy recovery, and process optimisation
• Develop and evaluate alternative process configurations and plant architectures
• Investigate process intensification and advanced separations for reduced-energy operation
• Assess techno-economic trade-offs: energy vs cost vs operability vs scalability

The project explicitly moves beyond incremental optimisation towards fundamental redesign of industrial process systems.

Industrial Collaboration (Victrex): You will work closely with Victrex engineering teams, including access to the Hillhouse manufacturing site.

This provides exposure to:

• Real industrial process data
• Large-scale polymer production systems
• Operational constraints and engineering decision-making
• Direct pathways for translation of research into industrial practice

The project is strongly aligned with industrial decarbonisation and real-world deployment.

Number Of Awards: 1

Start Date: 1 October 2026

Award Duration: 4 years

Application Closing Date: 22 July 2026 - NOTE: This advert will close at midnight on 22 July 2026, but may close earlier if strong applications are received. Early submission is encouraged.

Sponsor

EPSRC

Supervisors

Richard Law (Richard.Law2@newcastle.ac.uk); Adam Harvey (adam.harvey@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. 

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 into the application form 
• The studentship code PINZ06-26 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.
• Upload your CV

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

Find out more about the Admissions Process and Timeline for applications for PINZ CDT studentships at Newcastle University.

Contact Details

General enquiries: pinz.cdt@ncl.ac.uk 

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