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Deadline: 29 November 2026
South West, All England
This project is one of a number in competition for a studentship from the Faculty of Engineering and Design at the University of Bath. If successful, this studentship is expected to commence 04 October 2027.
An alternative start date may be possible if agreed with your intended supervisors and the Doctoral College.
Project Description
| The University of Bath is seeking an outstanding student to develop green technologies for hydrogen production. This will be achieved through simulations of reactors and chemical plants alongside material synthesis, lab scale testing, and analytical techniques. In the International Energy Association’s Sustainable Development Scenario, the transition to net zero requires the deployment of global hydrogen and that unabated hydrogen be replaced by low-emission hydrogen. This faces many challenges including: high electrolyser costs, material scarcity and infrastructure gaps. A solution is the use of low economic value biomass to produce H2. This is often called Biohydrogen. Biohydrogen production does not emit fossil CO2 as any emitted by the process originates from recent biomass. If the process for hydrogen production includes carbon capture and storage, then the process will result in CO2 being removed from the atmosphere while producing economic green hydrogen. Biohydrogen faces several major hurdles before it can become a part of global industrial strategy. Current production methods require expensive separation technologies, suffer heavy energy penalties, and have varying feedstock quality over the course of a year. Chemical looping offers a versatile modular solution, enabling hydrogen production with inherent CO₂ capture. This is made possible using oxygen carriers such as Iron, turning gas-phase reactions into a series of gas-solid reactions, inherently separating product gases, eliminating the need for downstream separations and lowering the environmental costs associated with high energy penalties. The modular nature of the system allows for easy scaling and adaptive operation to market needs and feedstocks. This project focusses on non-stoichiometric oxygen carriers, which demonstrate high H₂O conversion efficiencies (>99% Metcalfe 2019 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0273-2) but limited oxygen storage remains a challenge compared to conventional carriers like Fe/Al₂O₃. The objective of this study is to enhance oxygen storage in LaₓSr₁₋ₓFeᵧMn₁₋ᵧO₃ and similar perovskites. They will be evaluated for suitability in a packed bed chemical looping reactor undergoing H2O splitting to H2 during chemical looping water gas shift of biogenic waste formed syngas. The candidate will be based in the Department of Chemical Engineering. In addition to technical skill development, the candidate will have opportunities to gain transferrable and professional skills. |
Applicants should hold, or expect to receive, a First Class or good Upper Second Class Honours degree (or the equivalent) in chemical engineering or a closely associated discipline. A master’s level qualification would also be advantageous.
Non-UK applicants, who are not currently studying in the UK, must meet the programme’s English language requirement before the application deadline – no exceptions will be considered.
Applicants will be considered for a studentship. Studentships cover tuition fees, provide a £1k per annum training support fee, and a maintenance stipend (£21,805 2026/27 rate). International students will be required to cover the cost of a Student visa and Immigration Health Surcharge from personal funds.
Informal enquiries are encouraged. Direct these to [email protected]
Please follow the below instructions carefully.
You must make a formal application via the University of Bath’s online application form for a
Please note that you can apply for a maximum of two PhD projects on this programme.
In the ‘Funding Your Studies’ section, you must select ‘University of Bath URSA’ from one of the drop-down menus.
In the ‘Your PhD project’ section, you must quote the project title in the PhD project title field, and you must quote the lead supervisor’s name in the field ‘Name of intended supervisor at University of Bath.’
If you are applying for two projects, you must quote the project title for your second choice project in the field ‘Project 2 Title’ and the lead supervisor’s name in ‘Name of intended supervisor for 2nd choice project at University of Bath.
You must ensure that you follow the above steps correctly. Failure to complete these steps will cause errors in the automated processing of your application and may mean that you are not considered for a particular project.
The Faculty of Engineering and Design at the University of Bath has studentships available for Home and Overseas students. However, in line with UKRI policy, the number of studentships available to Overseas students are capped.
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Wed 21 Oct 2026