Sustainable routes for the recycling of lithium ion batteries

Applications are invited for one full-time PhD Studentship within the Department of Chemical Engineering funded by Brunel University London. The PhD studentship is for a period of three (3) years effective 1 October 2023 or 1 January 2024. The successful applicant will receive an annual stipend (bursary) of £ 20,662 plus payment of their full-time tuition fees.

Project Details

Significant and increasing quantity of lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are reaching their end of useful life each year. With a high content of metals and organic solvents in them, disposal without processing of the spent LIBs would cause substantial adverse environmental impacts as well as a loss of valuable resources. Recovery of the metals from the spent LIBs is therefore important for social, environmental and economic reasons.

The research project aims to develop hydrometallurgical/electrochemical routes for recovering valuable materials from spent LIBs using environmentally benign solutions. It requires a researcher with strong chemistry fundamentals, and skills and experiences in wet chemistry or extractive metallurgy experiments. Candidate’s exposure and training in advanced chemical analytical tools such as XRD, SEM-EDS and ICP-MS are not essential but would be considered a bonus

Applicants should submit the documents below to be considered for a challenging research project on developing sustainable routes for battery recycling. Informal enquires may be addressed to Dr Abhishek Lahiri or Professor Yinghe He via email to abhishek.lahiri@brunel.ac.uk; or yinghe.he@brunel.ac.uk

Eligibility

Applicants will have or be expected to receive a minimum 2:1 or 1^st class degree in chemical engineering, material science, chemistry or a related discipline. A Masters qualification is an advantage but not essential. Both international and UK home students are eligible for this studentship.

How to apply

Please e-mail your application comprising of all the documents listed below in ONE PDF file to

cedps-pgr-office@brunel.ac.uk by Noon on 31/08/2023:

Your up-to-date CV;
A research statement of 500-1,000 words setting out your project ideas
A one A4 page personal statement setting out why you are a suitable candidate (i.e.: your skills and experience);
A copy of your degree certificate(s) and transcript (s);
Names and contact details for two academic referees;
Evidence of English language capability to IELTS 6.5 (minimum 6.0 in all sections), if applicable

Interviews will take place during September 2023.

Meet the Supervisor(s)

Abhishek Lahiri - Dr. Lahiri joined Brunel University as lecturer in March 2020. He got his PhD from University of Leeds in 2008 after which he went on to do his Postdoc in USA and Japan. From 2011 he joined Clausthal University of Technology in Prof Frank Endres group and worked extensively on electrodeposition in ionic liquids and understanding the battery electrode/electrolyte interface. His work primarily focusses on electrochemical synthesis of functional materials using ionic liquids for energy storage and electrocatalysis. Besides, he focusses on sustainable extraction process for recovery of metal/metal oxides from electronic wastes and lithium ion batteries. In ionic liquids, the electrode/electrolyte interface is considerably different from aqueous electrolytes and therefore controlling and modifying the interface leads to change in functional properties of the materials. His research focusses and utilises the property of interfacial modulation to develop new functional materials and tries to bridge the gap between fundamental aspects of electrochemistry and applied electrochemistry. Questions such as can we design a suitable interface to develop dendrite-free deposits which are essential for developing high energy density Li/Na metal batteries are targeted. Besides, developing batteries for grid energy storage with sustainable materials are being researched.

Yinghe He - Professor He received his Batchelor and Master degrees in Extractive Metallurgy in China, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering in Australia. He subsequently worked in Australia at The University of Queensland and The University of Adelaide. He joined James Cook University in 2004 and was appointed to various leadership roles including the Head of School of Engineering and Physical Sciences. He joined Brunel University London in July 2022 as a professor and the Head of Chemical Engineering. Professor He is a Fellow of The Institution of Chemical Engineers (FIChemE) and Fellow of The Institution of Engineers Australia (FIEAust) and a Chartered Engineer (CEng).