Predoctoral Contract Offer (FPI) associated with the research project "PARTIAL HYDRODEOXYGENATION IN THE AQUEOUS PHASE OF MOLECULES DERIVED FROM BIOMASS. PRODUCTION OF MONOFUNCTIONALIZED PRODUCTS (HDOBLES)" (Reference PID2019-106692RB-I00).
Purpose of the contract: Carry out the Doctoral Thesis on the subject of the project. The project will be carried out in the laboratories of the Catalytic Technologies for Environmental Sustainability (TQSA) group of the Department of Chemical Engineering of the Faculty of Science and Technology, at the University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (Leioa).
Requirements: Have a Master's degree
Request:Of the October 13 to 27 (2:00 p.m.) of 2020 through the website of the Ministry of Science and Innovation: https://www.ciencia.gob.es/portal/site/MICINN/
Contact for interested persons (send CV):
Dr. Jose Luis Ayastuy
Phone: 946012619
email: joseluis.ayastuy@ehu.eus
Brief description of the theme
The HDOBLES project develops catalytic technology for the valorisation of fractions derived from biomass (glycerol, xylitol and sorbitol) through partial hydrodeoxygenation in the aqueous phase to obtain monofunctional compounds with high added value using hydrogen generated in situ. The process combines aqueous phase reforming (to generate the necessary hydrogen) and partial hydrodeoxygenation (since the presence of functional groups with oxygen provides valuable physical and chemical properties to the product).
The project will synthesize and characterize nickel-based bifunctional catalysts with acidic and metallic centers. The balance of the acid and metal function of the catalyst surface shall be adjusted to maximize yield to the target compounds. The reactions will be carried out in both batch and continuous reactors, with analysis using various chromatographs.