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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
PhD Project Template
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Use one form per project
Please complete & submit to international@nuigalway.ie as soon as possible, and by 27/11/2012
In your email, begin the subject line with [SWB] (be sure to use square brackets) to ensure that
your email is filed correctly. Emails will be automatically filed
PI name & contact details:
School:
Dr. Xinmin Zhan
Civil Engineering, College of Engineering and Informatics
National University of Ireland, Galway
Tel: 00353-(0)91-495239; e-mail: xinmin.zhan@nuigalway.ie
Engineering and Informatics
Has project been agreed with head (or
nominee) of proposed registration school?
Research Centre / group affiliation:
Ryan Institute
Research group / centre website:
PI website / link to CV:
http://www.nuigalway.ie/civileng/Staff/xinminzhan.html
Brief summary of PI research / research group / centre activity (2 or 3 lines max):
If you are already involved in relevant scholarly activities relating to Brazil, please mention them here.
Research activities ongoing in my research group are in three key areas including: (1)
recovery of organic waste and biomass for use as sustainable, clean energy and for building a
smart agriculture; (2) interactions between climate change and the waste treatment
infrastructure: adaption to climate change risks; and (3) development of cost-effective and
efficient technologies for domestic and industrial wastewater treatment. Our laboratory is
well equipped and we have actively published in top journals in these areas.
Title & brief description of PhD project (suitable for publication on web):
Development of household biowaste collection and processing technologies
Use of anaerobic digestion (AD) for the treatment of biowastes has gained increasing attention in
recent years due to (i) provision of treatment of the wastes, (2) generation of electricity and heat from
the wastes, and (3) diversion of the wastes from landfill. Successful anaerobic digestion of organic
fraction of municipal solid waste needs separate collection of biowastes, for example, household food
waste and yard waste. The aims of this project are to find a feasible and economically viable
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
method for food and yard wastes collection, and to examine anaerobic biodegradability of
household biowaste packing materials used for separate collection and the microbial mechanisms
involved.
Unique selling points of PhD project in NUI Galway:
NUI Galway projects should emphasise features that are not typically available in Brazil – specific equipment,
multi-disciplinarity, aspects of structured programme, links with industry, placements, links with other research
groups etc.
This project is multidisciplinary, combining the disciplines of environmental engineering and
microbiology. Advanced molecular techniques, like PCR and DGGE, are used. It is in
collaboration with local authorities and industries. The research on anaerobic biodegradation of
packing materials is the first in the world and municipal waste management is urgent all over
the world. The university offers a wide range of facilities, such as SEM, TEM, AFM, confocal
microscope, PCR, DGGE, HPLC and GC, to the project.
Name & contact details for project queries, if different from PI named above:
Please indicate the graduates of which disciplines that should apply:
Environmental engineering and science, microbiology, biotechnology
Ciência sem Fronteiras / Science Without Borders Priority Area:
Please indicate the specific programme priority area under which the proposed PhD project fits- choose only
one (tick box):
Engineering and other technological areas
X
Pure and Natural Sciences (e.g. mathematics, physics, chemistry)/Physical Sciences (Mathematics,
Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geosciences)
Health and Biomedical Sciences / Clinical, Pré-clinical and Health Sciences
Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), Computing
Aerospace
Pharmaceuticals
Sustainable Agricultural Production
Oil, Gas and Coal
Renewable Energy
Minerals, Minerals Technology
Biotechnology
Nanotechnology and New Materials
Technologies for Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Disasters
Bioprospecting and Biodiversity
Marine Sciences
Creative Industry
New technologies in constructive engineering
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Universidade Nacional da Irlanda em Galway -- Ciência sem Fronteiras
Please indicate which of the following applies to this project (referring to Science Without Borders
arrangements):
Suitable only as a Full PhD (Y/N): _ _Y___
Available to candidates seeking a Sandwich PhD arrangement (Y/N): _____
Suitable for either/Don’t know: _____