PhD position in Interactions between Impure CO2 and Reservoir Rock at Fluid-Formation Interface—DCR7 in the MISSION-C...

The Department of Chemistry at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) is seeking a talented PhD student to contribute to our exciting CO2 capture and storage (CCS) project “Interactions between impure CO2 and reservoir rock at fluid-formation interface.”

The project belongs to the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks (DN) Programme MISSION-CCS – Material Science Innovation for Accelerated, Sustainable and Safe Implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage. MISSION-CCS presents a timely and unique doctoral network designed to deliver the next generation of highly trained researchers and entrepreneurs in the field of material science, specifically focused towards accelerating implementation of carbon capture and storage CCS technologies worldwide and ensuring the sustainable and safe operation of existing and future CCS systems. MISSION-CCS will train 13 Doctoral Candidate Researchers (DCRs) hosted by DTU (Denmark), NTNU (Norway), INSA Lyon (France), and University of Leeds (UK). The advertised position is for DCR7.

Responsibilities and qualifications
The project is intended to better understand and describe the interactions between injected impure CO2 and reservoir rock mainly at the injection interface. It will investigate the long-term effects of impure CO2 injection on the formation integrity through core flood or batch reaction tests. Ex-situ analysis of core samples (tomography, microscopy, etc.) will be used before and after the tests to inspect the change in core samples after long-time fluid-rock interaction. The geochemical effects caused by impure CO2, especially SOx, NOx, and amine carry-over, will be detected by analysing the effluent. Bespoke reactive-transport modelling will be used to interpret the core flood or batch reaction results, and reservoir simulation coupled with geochemical reactions will be used to provide scaled-up analysis for the near-wellbore region. The expected results include core flood tests for long-time impure CO2 injection, detailed analysis of the effects of SOx, NOx, amine carry-over on reservoir core in terms of geochemical reactions and surface effects, and finally, reactive-transport modelling of the interactions between impure CO2 and reservoir rock under multiphase flow at the core plug scale and the near wellbore scale.

The PhD candidate will be supervised by Dr. Wei Yan at DTU Chemistry and Dr. Nicolas Bovet at DTU Offshore. As required by the MSCA Doctoral Networks Programme, secondments to consortium partners will be an essential and integral part of the programme. The researcher will have his research secondments at the University of Leeds in the UK and Equinor in Norway. The PhD project will provide the candidate with specialized skills in the aforementioned research area as well as a systematic understanding of the material science related topics in the whole CCS chain, thus an excellent preparation for working in the future CCS research or industry.

You must have a two-year master's degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master's degree in disciplines like chemical engineering, applied chemistry, petroleum engineering, or related disciplines. The MSCA Doctoral Networks Programme further requires that all researchers recruited in MISSION-CCS must:

• be doctoral candidates (i.e. not already in possession of a doctoral degree at the date of the recruitment)
• undertake transnational mobility - researchers must not have resided or carried out their main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the recruiting beneficiary for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before their date of recruitment.
• Researchers who have successfully defended their doctoral thesis but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will not be considered eligible.
• For all recruitments, the eligibility of the researcher will be determined at the date of their first recruitment in the action. This status will not evolve over the lifetime of the action, even if they are re-recruited at another beneficiary.

The candidates are expected have the following qualifications:

• A strong interest in experimental measurement and numerical modeling
• Previous experience with mathematical modelling and dynamic numerical simulation
• Skills in computer programming
• Experiences with chemical analysis is an advantage.
• Knowledge on thermodynamics and phase equilibrium is an advantage.

Approval and Enrolment
The scholarship for the PhD degree is subject to academic approval, and the candidate will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes at DTU. For information about our enrolment requirements and the general planning of the PhD study programme, please see DTU's rules for the PhD education .

We offer
DTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and appointment terms
The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The period of employment is 3 years. We expect to start the position latest September 2024.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here http://www.dtu.dk/english/about/job-and-career/working-at-dtu/career-paths.

Further information
Further information may be obtained from Associate Professor Wei Yan, tel.: +45 4525 2379, email: [email protected] .

You can read more about Department of Chemistry on www.kemi.dtu.dk

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark . Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar ” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU.

Application procedure
Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 31 March 2024 (23:59 Danish time).

Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file . The file must include:

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master's degree but cannot begin before having received it.

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, disability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

Technology for people
DTU develops technology for people. With our international elite research and study programmes, we are helping to create a better world and to solve the global challenges formulated in the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU in 1829 with a clear mission to develop and create value using science and engineering to benefit society. That mission lives on today. DTU has 13,500 students and 6,000 employees. We work in an international atmosphere and have an inclusive, evolving, and informal working environment. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland, and we collaborate with the best universities around the world.

Kilde: Jobnet.dk