Postdoctoral Researcher
Thermodynamic modelling of energy recovery options from digestate at wastewater treatment plants
College of Engineering & Informatics
NUIG Ref. No. 128-14
Applications are invited from suitably qualified candidates for a 12-month fixed term contract as Postdoctoral
Researcher to be based in Mechanical engineering at the College of Engineering & Informatics at NUI
Galway. The position is available from 2nd March 2015 to the contract end date on 29th February 2016. This
is an EPA-funded project to assess the feasibility of thermochemical energy recovery (combustion,
gasification and pyrolysis) from anaerobic digester (AD) digestate at municipal wastewater treatment (WWT)
plants. The findings of the project will inform future research and Irish government policy on energy recovery
at WWT plants.
The model will include mass and energy balance submodels for simplified anaerobic digestion, digestate
pre-treatment and/or drying, energy conversion via combustion, gasification or pyrolysis, energy integration
with other WWT processes, air emissions control, waste product handling, recovery of valuable non-energy
resources, and subsequent production of heat, electricity and/or fuel. In addition, the project will compare the
amount of energy recoverable to that required to produce additional fertiliser to offset biosolids no longer
used for landspreading. The objectives of this project are:
1. To conduct comprehensive reviews of relevant AD digestate properties, energy requirements at WWTs
and state-of-the-art technologies available for energy recovery from AD digestate.
2. To create a state-of-the-art physics-based computer model to accurately and efficiently quantify
production of useful energy, valuable non-energy resources, air emissions and waste products from
thermochemical conversion of AD digestate at WWT plants.
3. To use the model to compare thermodynamic performance of available technologies in order to
determine the most feasible in Irish contexts.
4. To make recommendations on future research and demonstration priorities aimed at reducing energy
demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions at WWT plants.
The successful candidate will:
(i) Hold a PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering or a closely-related discipline, with
emphasis on computer modelling.
(ii) Have a strong publication record.
(iii) Have excellent communication skills.
(iv) Be expected to assist in (a) the supervision of PhD students & (b) the preparation of grant applications.
(v) Have a strong background in thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, fluid dynamics, chemical reactor
modelling and programming languages such as MATLAB, Python, Modelica, C, C++, FORTRAN or
similar.
Salary scale: €37,750 - €38,860 per annum (public sector pay policy pertaining to new entrants will apply)
Further information on research and working at NUI Galway is available on Research at NUI Galway. For
information on moving to Ireland please see www.euraxess.ie. Information about Mechanical Engineering at
NUI Galway can be found at http://www.nuigalway.ie/engineering-informatics/mechanical-engineering/.
Informal enquiries about this post can be made to Dr Rory Monaghan: rory.monaghan@nuigalway.ie, +35391-494256.
To Apply: Applications (Covering letter, CV and contact details of three referees) should be sent to Dr Rory
Monaghan, Mechanical Engineering, NUI Galway or to rory.monaghan@nuigalway.ie. Please ensure to put
the reference number NUIG 128-14 in the subject line of e-mail application.
Closing date for receipt of applications is 5:00 p.m. on Monday 12th January 2015
National University of Ireland Galway is an equal opportunities employer.