PhD in the Phosphorus dynamics of wastewater treatment plants

Are you passionate about being a part of the solution to the phosphorus challenge?

We have a PhD position available in the Phosphorus dynamics of wastewater treatment plants

Funded MSCA PhD studentship

Position Summary

A three-year PhD position in the phosphorus dynamics and mechanisms in wastewater treatment plants available at Krüger Veolia, Denmark under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action (MSCA) European Innovative Training Network RecaP (Capture, Recycling and Societal Management of Phosphorus in the Environment) within the Horizon 2020 Programme of the European Commission (Agreement No. 956454).

Starting date: 1st December 2021 or soon hereafter.

Application deadline: 1st October 2021

Project Background

The PhD-project is focused on understanding the phosphorus dynamics of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and the possibilities to develop control strategies to optimize phosphorus removal and recovery e.g. crystallization or similar. The project will focus on investigating the operational parameters of WWTPs and pinpoint, which and how the controlling parameters are affecting the phosphorus mass-balances in the wastewater treatment processes, the sludge digestion process and the dewatering efficiency. This knowledge will be integrated in Krüger’s online control-module (Hubgrade™) for phosphorus removal. This control-module will during the entire project be validated and optimized from collection of full-scale data. The PhD-project should end up in a better understanding of the controlling parameters of phosphorus removal and recovery and integration of this knowledge in a design model.

Who is Krüger A/S

Krüger A/S is one of the leading engineering companies in the water sector in Denmark. Kruger’s main activities are in environmental technology and consultancy of the water and energy sector. Krüger is a Business Unit of Veolia, the world’s largest water company located in Paris. We have many research and development projects and we have specifically worked with phosphorus research for many years and developed the technology STRUVIA™ for phosphorus recovery. We have worked with intelligent control of WWTPs for more than 25 years and have developed many different modules as part of the product Hubgrade™, where also phosphorus removal is integrated.

You will be a part of the wastewater department in Jutland with office space in Aarhus/Aalborg (alternatively Copenhagen), where we are around 50 people working with wastewater and sludge. Ten of us are process engineers and the rest has expertise in mechanical and electrical engineering. Our daily language at the office is Danish, but we all speak English and are used to have meetings in English. Apart from having an office space at Krüger, you will be enrolled at Southern University Denmark (SDU), so that you can get your degree. We have a close collaboration with all the Danish Universities and students are employed at our department as part of their bachelor or master thesis or as interns, so there will be lots of people to network with.

For further information please visit www.kruger.dk

Qualifications

We expect you to be a friendly, outgoing and curious person that has the interest in being a part of a Danish private company in a department with expertise in wastewater treatment processes, where our engineers are having a close collaboration with the Danish Utilities. You hold a master degree with good grades in a relevant engineering field or similar (eg. environment, biotechnology, chemistry, energy, microbiology, chemistry etc.) and have an academic ambition that makes you able to complete a PhD-training. You are fluent in English both speaking and writing and have the appetite for mastering a Scandinavian language since the spoken language at the office is mainly Danish. You have during your education or afterwards worked with wastewater processes and know the biological processes in WWTPs by heart. You have preferably experience with phosphorus mass-balances, modelling and programming. Moreover, as part of the rules of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie program, you have maximum lived in Denmark 12 months during the past 3 years and you graduated with your Master degree for less than 4 years ago.

Please review the main duties for all PhD-positions by visiting the RECAP website.

The RecaP MSCA-ITN Training Network

RecaP will train a cohort of 15 PhD students (Early Stage Researchers) to become Phosphorus specialist within the Global Phosphorus Challenge in a way that is socially, economically, and environmentally acceptable. This application is for the project ESR11: P dynamics and mechanisms in WWTPs and the possibility for control strategies.

For further details, visit the RecaP website: https://www.sdu.dk/en/forskning/recap/about

Application Process

Upload your application with appendices no later than October 1st 2021. Relevant applicants will be invited to a virtual interview.

Required documents

• 1-2 page Motivation Letter (describing your specific interest, motivation and qualifications for the project)

• A curriculum vitae including personal contact information and previous employment

• Copies of Bachelor and Master certificates / diploma, or anticipated date of degree

• Copies of Bachelor and Master courses and grades

• A full list of scientific publications on which the applicant wishes to rely (if available)

• Minimum two letters of recommendation

• Documentation of English skills - if English is not your first language

• Examples of your English writing skills in form of a relevant report or similar (max. 2 documents)

• Any written documents from your education or work showing your experience in WWT processes (max. 3 documents)

During the application process, statistical information about the genders of applicants will be shared with the coordinating institution (University of Southern Denmark) in order to ensure a balanced recruitment process.

Incomplete applications and applications received after the deadline will neither be considered nor evaluated. We may use shortlisting in this process. Data collected from candidates will be used for recruitment purposes only and will not be shared outside of the RecaP consortium unless authorized by the applicant.

The RecaP website includes more detailed information about recruitment and selection.

RecaP values diversity, and does not discriminate based on gender, religion, marital status, age, or cultural background. Additionally, RecaP seeks to increase the number of women in scientific areas where they are underrepresented are therefore explicitly encourages women to apply.

Further informationFor further information about this position or Krüger A/S, please contact Team Manager Aviaja Anna Hansen at [email protected].

For further information about the RecaP Project, please contact Project Manager Jake Reardon at [email protected].

Additionally, the successful candidate must meet the MSCA criteria:

• Early State Researcher: Be in the first four years (full-time equivalent) of their research careers and not yet have been awarded a doctorate. This 4-year period is measured from the date of obtaining the degree which would formally entitle them to embark on a doctorate, excluding military, parental, sick leave, etc.

• Mobility Rule: Applicants must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the hosting institution for more than 12 months in the last 3 years immediately before the recruitment date. Compulsory national service, short stays such as holidays, and time spent as part of a procedure for obtaining refugee status under the Geneva Convention are exempt/excluded.

Kilde: Jobnet.dk