Research Fellow in Liquid-Liquid Extractions of Metals

Working Time: 37.5 hours per week

Post Type: Full Time

Contract Type: Fixed Term (for up to 31 months, with the possibility of an extension - to complete specific time limited work)

Do you have a strong technical background in flow chemistry and a proven record in the development of complex hardware systems? Are you interested in working in partnership with industrial partners to develop extraction methods for dilute metals within aqueous streams?

A robust supply of rare earth metals is vital for a range of applications, from nuclear energy to medicine, battery manufacturing to catalysis. Yet such metals have high production costs because they are low in abundance (requiring high volumes of ore to be mined, often in regions of political instability) and typically come with extensive purification requirements. Thus, the supply of such materials is accompanied by extreme risk. 

The TOMoRROW project (Targeted Optimisation for Intensified Metal Recovery from Wastes) explores the recovery of metals from complex mixed metal waste streams, including those that result from nuclear energy production, decommissioning and waste management activities. Some of these waste streams are unique to the UK and have resulted in considerable stockpiles of rare metals including (for example) protactinium and actinium. These are of particular interest to the nuclear medical industry as a source of radioisotopes for new techniques for treating cancer with minimal side effects and excellent outcomes. 

This project examines the recovery of rare earth metals, uses a coalescence separator to provide high separation efficiencies on mixed liquid-liquid systems. It utilises readily available non-woven fabrics and has already demonstrated efficiencies in separating complex aqueous-solvent systems which are otherwise stable over many hours and do not readily separate using other approaches. The project is in close collaboration with our industrial partners. This specific project addresses the design of the coalescing system (including remote operation) and quantification of system performance. In addition, you will work with a second Research Fellow optimising the chemical used within the process.

We are open to discussing flexible working arrangements.

To explore the post further or for any queries you may have, please contact: 

Prof Nikil Kapur, Professor in Applied Fluid Mechanics

Tel: +44 (0)113 343 2152

Email: N.Kapur@leeds.ac.uk

Please note that this post may be suitable for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route but first-time applicants might need to qualify for salary concessions. For more information, please visit the Government’s Skilled Worker visa page.

For research and academic posts, we will consider eligibility under the Global Talent visa. For more information, please visit the Government’s page, Apply for the Global Talent visa.

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