Postdoctoral position in Chemistry with focus on Environmental Chemistry - Befattningen är under tillsättning eller redan tillsatt, och det är inte längre möjligt att lämna in en ansökan

Department of Chemistry is looking for a postdoctor that will be part of a research project aimed at addressing water treatment implementation challenges. The main task will be to develop biochar adsorbents suitable for wastewater with highly complex contamination profiles. The position is a fulltime employment for two years with entry by agreement.

Project description and working tasks
Water scarcity is a serious global problem that affects the world’s poorest the most. This postdoctoral position is part of a research project that addresses major challenges relating water scarcity and in particular to wastewater reuse from a multidisciplinary perspective. The overall goal of the research project is to provide knowledge that contributes to the development of an efficient wastewater treatment methodology with low environmental impact and sustainable use of local resources.

The main tasks for this postdoctoral position will be to develop biochar adsorbents for treatment of wastewater with highly complex contamination profiles by e.g. activation and functionalization. You will mainly work with enhancing the removal of micropollutants from complex wastewater by increasing the sorption capacity of biochars that we in previous studies have identified as promising materials for further work. You will also explore the impact of combining biochars with different properties and functionalities to obtain an efficient multi-target adsorbent. Some of the tests of adsorbents will be performed in a DEWATS (decentralized wastewater treatment system) plant in Durban, South Africa. The postdoc project may also include studies on thermal destruction of used biochar adsorbents, by a comparative study of thermal degradation behavior and the fate of sorbed organic and inorganic micropollutants during thermal processing, and an assessment of emissions generated in a realistic combustion scenario.

This project will be carried out within the environmental platform of the research programme Bio4Energy (www.bio4energy.se), and within a research group focusing on thermal processes that utilize biomass and other biomaterials. The work is mainly based at Umeå University but some tasks will be located at University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) in Durban, South Africa, and at Institut Agronomique et Véterinaire Hassan II (IAV) and Mohammed V University (MVU), in Rabat, Morocco, which are our collaboration partners in this project.

Qualifications
The required qualification is a doctoral degree or a foreign degree that is deemed equivalent in chemistry, chemical engineering, or equivalent. To be eligible, the degree must have been completed a maximum of three years before the end of the application period unless certain circumstances exist.

Previous experience of research on utilization of carbonized biomass and/or organic waste for water treatment is required. Training and/or experience in environmental chemistry and analytical chemistry is required, and we expect that you have experience in techniques of relevance for environmental analysis (primarily GC-MS and LC-MS). We expect you to have the capability of planning and performing scientific experiments, and an interest to operate in an international environment. Very good command of the English language, both written and spoken, is a requirement. Very good skills in writing scientific publications is also a requirement. You must be creative, with good interpersonal and collaborative skills, have power of initiative, and a high degree of independence, and also have a keen interest in this research area and be prepared to take on the scientific and technical challenges.

Since thermochemical degradation of biochar adsorbents also will be addressed in the research project that this postdoc position is part of, experience of combustion-related research is a strong merit. In addition, it is desirable that you have training and/or experience in surface chemistry, and are familiar with surface characterization techniques such as FTIR and XPS. Previous international experience is a merit.

Application
The application must contain the following documents:

• A cover letter (maximum 2 pages) that describes your qualifications and suitability for the position, your research interests and motivation for applying, and your contact information
• A curriculum vitae, including a publication list
• A copy of PhD thesis and relevant publications that you wish to submit (maximum 5 publications)
• A copy of doctoral degree certificate or equivalent and other relevant degree certificates, including documentation of completed academic courses and obtained grades
• Name and contact information of at least two reference persons
• Other relevant documents you wish to claim

Applications, written in Swedish or English, must be submitted via our e-recruitment system Varbi no later than 7 November 2019.

For more information please contact Assoc.Prof. Stina Jansson, phone: +46-90 786 76 22, email: stina.jansson@umu.se.

Information about the department
Department of Chemistry is the largest department in the Faculty of Science and Technology, with approximately 200 employees, including about 40 doctoral students, and with a strong and expanding research. Three major areas of research; Biological Chemistry, Environmental and Biogeochemistry and Technical Chemistry, represents the research and chemistry education of our department. We are also a strong partner in KBC, The Chemical-Biological Centre. For more information about working at Umeå University: https://www.umu.se/en/work-with-us.