Postdoctoral Researcher – Purification of Acidic & Complex Aqueous Media

About the role

We are looking for a highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to lead a project on sustainable purification of industrial acidic and complex aqueous media. The work will involve developing selective removal and recovery strategies for impurities, improving product purity and enabling valorisation of waste streams.

Key responsibilities

• Design and optimise selective purification and impurity‑recovery processes using reagents, precipitation agents, functionalised materials and ion‑exchange resins.
• Develop and scale‑up reactor concepts from batch laboratory tests to prototype units, ensuring efficient mass‑transfer under corrosive conditions.
• Study material stability, impurity control and the impact of competing species in multi‑impurity systems.
• Characterise purified streams and recovered materials using advanced analytical techniques.
• Collaborate with the Materials Science, Energy and Nano‑engineering department and external partners to integrate findings into sustainable industrial processes.

Required profile

• PhD in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science or a related discipline.
• Strong research background in acid or aqueous media purification, impurity separation or related fields.
• Experience with laboratory‑scale reactor design and scale‑up.
• Ability to work independently and within a multidisciplinary team.

Required skills

• Selective purification techniques
• Impurity recovery strategies
• Materials characterization (e.g., spectroscopy, microscopy)
• Reactor design and scale‑up
• Process integration and mass‑transfer optimisation
• Use of ion‑exchange resins and functionalised materials