PhD Studentships X 2 in MaREI’s CEEES Research Group

The successful PhDs will be based in the MaREI Centre for energy, climate and marine headquartered in the Environmental Research Institute in University College Cork.  MaREI is a key research centre within UCC’s Environmental Research Institute (ERI), which is an internationally recognised Institute for environmental research dedicated to the understanding and protection of our natural environment and to developing innovative technologies, tools and services to facilitate a transformation to a zero carbon and resource efficient society. The MaREI Centre is a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded research centre headquartered in the ERI and includes 13 other Universities and Third Level Institutes from across Ireland, has 50 industrial partners and has accumulated research funding of over €60m. It combines the expertise of a wide range of research groups and industry partners, with the shared mission of solving the main scientific, technical and socio-economic challenges across the climate, energy and marine spaces.  MaREI is also funded by SEAI, EI, EPA, ERDF, EU, HEA, Marine Institute, DCCAE and IRC, as well as through contributions from our industry partners. Researchers in the MaREI Centre have over 30 years of experience in conducting fundamental and applied research supported by competitively won national and international funding, and commercial contracts with government agencies and industry. MaREI’s strengths lie in the multi-disciplinary nature of its research teams, allowing it to combine insights across areas such as MRE Technologies, Materials & Structures, Observations & Operations, Coastal & Marine Systems, Bioenergy, Energy Policy & Modelling and Renewable Energy Management.

MaREI’s Circular Economy Energy and Environmental Systems (CEEES) Research Group focus on renewable advanced fuel production in circular economy systems consists of approximately 20 researchers. The breadth of the work includes for analysis of systems from ocean (offshore wind and seaweed) to conversion (hydrogen, electro-fuels, gaseous and liquid biofuels) to end use (industry, transport fuel).

Detailed laboratory work includes for production of biohydrogen and biomethane from feedstocks such as agricultural residues, lignocellulosic crops, macro-algae (seaweed) and micro-algae. Research covers biological and thermochemical bioenergy pathways. The group investigates a range of innovative technologies at laboratory scale including for Power to Gas, demand driven biogas and novel biogas upgrading technologies. Fundamental and applied aspects of biomass gasification, pyrolysis, and methanation are also investigated. Work includes for desktop analyses such as chemical kinetic modelling, process simulation, geographic specific bioresources, lifecycle analysis, sustainability analyses and techno-economic studies. The research facilitates the development of roadmaps, which describe how Ireland can initiate a green gas industry and contribute to mandatory renewable energy targets for renewable heat and transport fuels.

The CEEES research group is led by Dr Archishman Bose (Eli Lilly Lecturer at Process and Chemical Engineering), Dr Richard O’Shea (Lecturer in Sustainability in Enterprise), Dr David Wall (Senior Lecturer in Transportation) and Prof Jerry D Murphy (Director of the SFI MaREI Centre and Chair of Civil Engineering).

Regenerative Value Systems for Irish Grown Wool in Ireland (REVEIRE) is an all-island collaborative project partnered by University College Cork (UCC), Munster Technological University (MTU), Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS), University of Ulster (UU), Teagasc (Athenry) and the Irish Grown Wool Council (IGWC) and funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the EPA Research Programme.

The European Green Deal and the Circular Economy Action Plan, stress that accelerated actions must be taken to improve the sustainability of key sectors including food, textiles, packaging, and construction, as they represent some of the top resource intensive and polluting sectors in the European Union (EU). Wool is a renewable biomaterial, opportune management and use of which can result in sustainable production of both food (such as sheep meat) and biomaterials (wool as bio-based textile/ packaging/ construction material). Ireland currently produces in the region of 7 million kilogrammes of wool from approximately 4 million sheep (35,000 flocks). Irish wool, typically characterised as ‘strong wool’ (diameter greater than 30 microns (μm)) can have wide applications in textiles (carpets, filled products and rugs), packaging (insulated filler material), environmental (oil sorbent), and high-value (lanolin, keratin, ceramides) materials. However, due to low wool prices and lack of market demand and lack of information and validation of the front-end environmental, social and economic impact of the Irish grown wool, it continues to be categorised as Category 3 (low risk) waste material arising as animal by-product from sheep meat production and remains a financial burden to sheep producers. Additionally, Irish wool is industrially scoured abroad; this not only results in loss of value to Ireland, but also means that the returned clean wool may contain other wool varieties and currently cannot be termed ‘Irish Grown Wool’. Therefore, the proposed project, Regenerative Value Systems for Irish Grown Wool in Ireland (REVEIRE), by undertaking a comprehensive sustainability assessment of Irish grown wool including the value created by local scouring in a cascading biorefinery on the island of Ireland will provide data and evidence to inform Government policies, initiatives and investments required for regenerating the Irish grown wool industry for a sustainable circular bioeconomy. This will be supported by investigating innovative scouring techniques (such as enzymatic or dry scouring) and their corresponding integration pathways in the bioeconomy via a cascading biorefinery. In a novel approach, results of environmental, social, and economic impacts, assessed through life cycle analysis (LCA) and socio-economic surveys and business model developments, will be compiled using life cycle sustainability analysis (LCSA) to determine the overall sustainability of Irish grown wool. Innovations in current LCA methods to study wool-based systems will be assessed including extension of LCA results to understand impact of biodiversity and environmental handprint of Irish grown wool. Innovative business models and socioeconomic studies of processing wool in a circular bioeconomy in Ireland will allow development of scalable biobased business and inform how the value of Irish grown wool can create value beyond the net-zero goal of doing no harm (such as increasing generational renewal and economic return to land). The outcome of this project will thus provide an essential building block that will enable wool to evolve from a waste farm product with negative return on investment, i.e., shearing to a valuable product, reestablishing the wool sector in Ireland in a sustainable and fit-for-purpose model benefitting all stakeholders along the value chain.

Two PhD studentships are being advertised. The positions are 36 month fully-funded PhD (tax-free stipend of €25,000 p.a. and tuition fees covered at the EU rate. Non-EU applicants may be required to pay additional non-EU fees) which will be based in University College Cork. The students can expect their PhD to be co-supervised by partner institutions.

PhD 1: Environmental Footprint and Handprint of Irish Grown Wool – This work will evaluate the environmental footprint and handprint of Irish grown wool from selected sheep breeds. This PhD will be primarily supervised by Dr Archishman Bose and Prof Jerry Murphy.

Key responsibilities include:

• Perform thorough review of existing LCAs on sheep wool and on sheep farming.
• Review wool types from Irish sheep breeds and their applicability to textile, packaging and construction material to shortlist sheep breed of interest.
• Develop a comprehensive life cycle inventory of shortlisted sheep breed and wool value chain including the final use and recycling of the woollen product.
• Conduct detailed environmental LCA (e-LCA) to evaluate the environmental footprint of Irish grown wool under two scenarios: i) scouring outside Ireland (current scenario) and ii) local scouring (feasibility to be conducted in a different work package).
• Assess novel methods of evaluating emissions from farming (such as the GWP* method vs GWP100 method) and allocations (economic vs system expansion) to evaluate the footprint and handprint of Irish grown wool with a focus on GHG emissions, N and P recycling, water quality and water and land-related impacts (including biodiversity).

PhD 2: Business Models and Socio-Economic Impact of Scouring-driven Biorefinery – This work will develop innovative business models to support local scouring of Irish grown wool and corresponding cascading biorefinery. This PhD will be primarily supervised by Dr Tracy Bradfield, Dr Bernadette Power and Professor Valeria Andreoni.

Key responsibilities include:

• Establish appropriate metrics to study the socio-economic footprint and handprint of Irish grown wool through thorough literature review and stakeholder engagement.
• Develop insights and assess stakeholders’ perceptions (including those of farmers/keepers and manufacturers, resellers, and purchasers) towards sustainable local scouring.
• Collect data through multiple surveys and workshops and also assess existing data on wool-based business models in Ireland.
• Assess the impact of the innovative business models and a robust industrial ecosystem around wool scouring in Ireland on the socio-economic footprint and handprint of Irish grown wool across the entire wool value chain (from primary producers to clean wool consumers)
• Quantify the benefits of wool handling in Ireland beyond the net zero goals of doing no harm. 

Criteria (for all positions)

• First-class honours degree (or equivalent) in civil, environmental, energy, mechanical, and/or chemical engineering; candidates from other disciplines such as social science and business may also be considered if relevant to the topic.
• Capability of working within a project team to achieve results.
• Good communication, organisation, and interpersonal skills.
• Good knowledge of farming practices in Ireland and/or textiles is desirable.
• A full Irish driving license is desirable, but not essential.
• Applicants whose first language is not English must show evidence of English proficiency (e.g. IELTS minimum 6.5, individual sections 6.0), please check the requirements at: https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/comparison/english/postgraduate/

Criteria (for specific positions)

• Previous knowledge of Life Cycle Assessments is desirable for PhD 1
• Previous experience of stakeholder engagement and a good working knowledge of survey data collection methods and quantitative techniques for data analysis is desirable for PhD 2

Applications must be submitted via email to Dr Archishman Bose (ei.ccu@esob.namhsihcra) using the subject line “REVEIRE_PhD Vacancy Number_ Applicant Name”. Closing date for the application is 24^th January 2024.

Please include the following document with your application.

• Your detailed C.V.
• Your preferred PhD vacancy (PhD1 or PhD2) and
• A 1,000-word perspective on the PhD topic of preference (Please include an appropriate title for your perspective).

Please note

• Candidates should select their most preferred PhD vacancy (1 or 2) and submit only one application.
• An application with any of the above missing will not be considered.