Postdoc Modelling of Electrochemical Recovery of Nitrogen Vectors from Wastewater

This position is part of the European project eLitre - Electrochemical recovery of nitrogen vectors from wastewater, funded in the Water4All Partnership on “Water for Circular Economy”. The consortium includes five European partners: four knowledge institutions and one industrial partner in the water and urban services sector.

A large fraction of European water suffers from eutrophication induced by high nitrate concentrations contained in agricultural runoff, while food production continues to heavily rely on ammonia-based fertilizers, a critical chemical with a large carbon footprint. eLitre proposes to develop integrated electrochemical and photobiological processes to address excess nitrate species in wastewater streams. The technology developed in eLitre could actively help remediate nitrate-contaminated water bodies while upgrading nutrients back into raw materials for fertilizer applications.

eLitre’s direct path to impact lies in its contribution to water circularity and nutrient recovery and revalorization. With the electrochemical processing pathway, eLitre pursues the direct conversion of nitrate species dissolved in wastewater into ammonia, at high nitrogen conversion rates, selectivity, and rates. In this way, eLitre could contribute to enhanced water circularity in both agricultural industries and urban settings, including resource recovery and valorisation and experimentally informed economic and environmental assessments.

The Postdoc will develop models of the eLitre technology and carry out techno-economic and life cycle assessments to evaluate the impact of different technology configurations under different scenarios. The proposed solutions will be evaluated for their capabilities for nitrate removal and recyclability in the context of the EU Nitrates Directive. The studies will be based on experimental observations from tasks within the project, enabling KPI-informed models. The project will offer insights on the cost and environmental impact of the technologies developed to improve performance on the path to viability.

The Process Systems Engineering (PSE) section at TU Delft is part of the Chemical Engineering Department and comprises a professional team dedicated to advanced computational research, with a collective focus on advancing the PSE field to bring new insights and sustainable developments.

Job requirements

• PhD in chemical engineering or a similar field.
• Experience in process modelling, techno-economic assessment, and life cycle assessment.
• Interest in electrochemical processes.

Conditions of employment

• Duration of contract is 3 years. Temporary appointment.
• Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.
• Excellent pension scheme via ABP.
• Possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• 232 leave hours per year based on a 38-hour week, with the option to sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave.
• Attention to healthy and energetic working through the vitality program.
• If relocation to the Netherlands is needed, TU Delft offers support through the Coming to Delft Service, including information, events, and a Dual Career Programme for accompanying partners.