PhD position

Vacancy Reference Number

AWRR002 (Trailblazer)

Organisation:

Coventry University

Closing Date

16 May 2022

Salary

£15,600 per annum

Address

Coventry University

Duration

3.5 years, commencing September 2022

The proposed project will investigate and quantify emission of new and emerging pollutants (NEPs) from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) into atmosphere. WWTPs are designed to remove contaminants from domestic and municipal wastewater. WWTPs serve as a ‘repository’ of concentrated wastes from these environments and are enriched with 1000s of chemicals including pharmaceuticals, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and personal care products, most of which are not regulated and referred to as NEPs.

NEPs are released continuously into environment and their presence even at very low quantities may cause chronic toxicity and endocrine disruption in humans. Although NEPs are mainly associated with aquatic environments, there is significant evidence that these pollutants can undergo liquid to air transfer, e.g. during aeration step of WWT.

Current governmental regulations on ambient air quality are limited to a very small number of air pollutants potentially overlooking a significant environmental problem. The project will involve analytical method development for measuring NEPs, field campaigns and lab experiments to understand NEPs transfer mechanism from WWT and contaminated waters into ambient air.

Further Information

Entry Requirements
A bachelor’s (honours) degree in a relevant discipline/subject area with a minimum classification of 2:1 and a minimum mark of 60% in the project element (or equivalent), or an equivalent award from an overseas institution.
PLUS
the potential to engage in innovative research and to complete the PhD within 3.5 years
An adequate proficiency in English must be demonstrated by applicants whose first language is not English. The general requirement is a minimum overall IELTS Academic score of 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 in each of the four sections, or the TOEFL iBT test with a minimum overall score of 95 with a minimum of 21 in each of the four sections.

Contact Details

To find out more about the project please contact Dr Ivan Kourtchev: ad5363@coventry.ac.uk

All applications require full supporting documentation, and a covering letter – plus the following: an up-to 2000-word supporting statement is required showing how the applicant’s expertise and interests are relevant to the project. Apply through link: https://pgrplus.coventry.ac.uk/studentships/ser-impact-of-wastewater-treatment-plants-on-emission-of-new-and-emerging-pollutants-into-atmosphere