ICRA is seeking to incorporate a postdoctoral research fellow with strong background in material science and electrochemical systems, in the scope of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Transition Grant project FOREVER WATER. The main objective of EIC Transition Grants is to mature and validate a novel technology and improve its market readiness for specific applications with high market potential. FOREVER-WATER will validate the technology previously developed and patented within the European research Council (ERC) projects ELECTRON4WATER (www.electron4water) and GRAPHEC (www.graphec.com), which delivered a new, graphene-enabled electrochemical system for the treatment of contaminated water.
The peculiar characteristic of this system is graphene sponge electrode, capable of degrading extremely persistent and toxic contaminants, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in different types of water and wastewater matrices. PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” due to their extreme persistency in the environment. PFAS have been included in uncounted everyday products from clothing to cosmetics since the 1950s and are now present in our water, air, soil and bodies. Exposure to PFAS is associated with multiple health risks, e.g., thyroid disease, infertility, cancer, and immunotoxicity. The annual health-related costs of PFAS pollution in Europe are estimated at €52-84 bn. Currently available technologies for PFAS destruction in water suffer from low efficiency and high energy demand when dealing with real PFAS-contaminated waste streams, as well as low operational feasibility (e.g., they require high temperatures and pressures, and are difficult to operate in continuous mode), and overall low sustainability. FOREVER WATER project aims to develop further graphene-enabled electrochemical systems for PFAS destruction, advance the technology to technology readiness level (TRL) 6 and deliver a minimum viable product (MVP) by: i) further development of the graphene sponge electrode material to improve the process scalability and current distribution, ii) process optimization and system integration in the selected test beds, iii) continuous techno-economic assessment (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) of the devices, and benchmarking against commercially available competing technologies in water and wastewater treatment sector. The project is coordinated by ICRA and counts with the participation of CEA-Leti (www.leti-cea.com), Fraunhofer IKTS (www.ikts.fraunhofer.de) and Amphos 21 (www.amphos21.com).
The postdoctoral research fellow is expected to have a strong background in electrode material development, preferentially in the domain of electrochemical water and wastewater treatment but also from adjacent fields (e.g., ohmic heating, batteries, energy storage). The main goal will be to develop an electrochemically stable anode material based on reduced graphene oxide-coated conductive ceramics. This material will then be thoroughly evaluated for electrochemical oxidation of PFAS and applied at pilot-scale for the treatment of different types of contaminated water (e.g., groundwater, landfill leachate, semiconductor wastewater). The scholar will be exposed to a multidisciplinary research environment at ICRA and potentially involve in other ongoing projects focused on PFAS. Successful applicant will receive a three-year contract.
Salary will depend on the previous experience of the candidate, as evaluated by the members of the reviewing committee.
- Synthesis of functional graphene sponge electrodes (i.e., reduced graphene oxide-coated) using conductive ceramic foams as templates.
- Characterization of the graphene sponge electrodes based on conductive ceramics (electrochemical, surface characterization).
- Evaluation of the produced electrodes for electrochemical oxidation of PFAS.
- Close collaboration with researchers at ICRA working on the development of PFAS analysis and PFAS destruction technologies.
- Preparation of scientific publications and participation in international conferences.
- As with all research staff, a small proportion of the time will be allocated to communal services such as joint laboratory cleanings etc.
Apply: https://icra.cat/en/oferta-treball/postdoctoral-researcher-advanced-r2_forever-water/