OPEN POSITIONS
Post-doc Fellowship in Modelling of CO2 Capture Systems
Job description
The job is in the area of process modelling and process engineering of power and industrial plants with CO2 capture and on their techno-economic assessment. The candidate will mainly work in industrial projects and may be involved in European projects on this topic.
More specifically, the work will consist in:
• Performing process simulations and techno-economic analysis of the CO2 capture systems to be assessed;
• Performing techno economic analysis of CO2 transport, storage and utilization for the Italian context;
• Supervising PhD and MSc students involved in the projects;
• Writing technical reports and papers.
The candidate may also be involved in the preparation of research projects proposals for competitive calls.
The candidate will likely be involved in teaching activities as teaching assistant of classes in the area of Energy Systems and Energy Conversion. Participation in activities as teaching assistant will ensure additional incomes.
In the course of this job experience, the candidate:
• will develop technical skills thanks to the guidance of experienced professors and research staff of the Gecos research group and thanks to the collaboration with companies and other academic partners involved in the projects.
• will develop project management skills.
• will develop skills in the preparation of research projects proposals for competitive calls.
• will develop teaching skills.
• will have the possibility of developing own research ideas autonomously.
Requirements
The optimal candidate should:
• hold a PhD in Energy Engineering, Chemical Engineering or related subjects with a thesis or significant working experience on process engineering;
• have experience with process modelling software (e.g., Aspen Plus, Aspen Hysys, Pro/II, Thermoflex);
• have experience on modelling, simulation and techno-economic analysis of some of the following: industrial plants (cement plants, steel mills, hydrogen production plants, etc…),
power plants, CO2 separation processes, CO2 utilization processes, thermodynamic cycles for heat recovery, CO2 transport;
• be an excellent writer of scientific papers and reports;
• be a passionate hard worker;
• be willing to learn Italian (or know Italian already).
Duration and expected starting date
The contract will have a duration of 2 years, starting possibly from January 2021. There is however some flexibility in defining the starting date.
Application procedure
To apply for this position, please send your detailed CV and a motivation letter to matteo.romano@polimi.it. All applications received before September 30th will be considered. A limited number of applicants will be pre-selected based on the CV and will be interviewed. The most suitable candidates for the post-doc position will be invited to participate in a public competition where the final selection is made.
For further details: Post-doc fellowship PoliMi-Gecos on CO2 capture systems
PhD Position in Design and operation of a binary ORC plant for geothermal sources
The PhD position is available within the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Early Stage Researcher ITN project EASYGO.
Job description
Aim of the project is to develop a general design strategy for the power plant with particular reference to the geothermal fluid features, to enlarge the consolidated application range, including two phase (liquid and steam) geothermal sources. Furthermore, the goal is to increase knowledge on the thermodynamic properties of liquid, steam, and non-condensable gases mixtures with different salinity, improve plant design,improve knowledge on the salt precipitation mechanism so as to prevent a decrease of the plant performance, investigate the solubility of CO2 in the geothermal fluid, including the energy cost of CO2 compression, and optimise the reinjection process. It aims to optimise the overall power plant configuration and the design of plant components using available real data from existing power plants (e.g., by Turboden) and to predict real operating conditions of ORC binary plants.
Expected results:
• Thermodynamic model of mixtures of liquid water, steam, salts and non-condensable gases;
• Numerical model of the miscibility of CO2 in liquid mixtures;
• Optimization of the overall power plant configuration;
• Model validation with respect to available experimental data of an existing plant;
• Optimization of the plant operating strategies under different working conditions;
• Yearly energy balances for electricity generation;
• Procedure to establish a predictive maintenance strategy.
Eligibility criteria
REQUIRED EDUCATION LEVEL: Engineering Master’s degreen or equivalent
REQUIRED LANGUAGES: ENGLISH (excellent)
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Eligibility rules apply. In particular, please be aware of the ITN mobility rule: "You must not have resided or carried out your main activity (e.g. work, studies) in the country where you will be recruited for more than 12 months in the 3 years immediately before the recruitment date."
Qualifications
The successful candidate should demonstrate to possess:
• Strong logical reasoning capabilities;
• Scientific writing and reporting skills;
• Capability to deal with data processing and programming;
• Ability to work both independently and in a project team and take responsibility for own research tasks;
• Fluency in communicating and reporting in English.
Previous knowledge or experience in thermodynamics, energy systems, heat transfer, fluid dynamics, power engineering and ability to develop simulation tools and use commercial simulation softwares are considered relevant.
The enrolment is subject to academic approval and fulfilment of the requirements for admission to a doctoral program at Politecnico di Milano. In addition to a Master of Science, candidates are required to present an English Language Certification, complying with the rules and regulations of the PhD School of Politecnico di Milano, as stated in page five of the following document: http://www.dottorato.polimi.it/fileadmin/files/dottorato/concorso_linkweb/Bando_ENG.pdf
Starting Date: February 1st, 2021.
Duration: 36 months.
Application procedure
Please apply for maximum 3 positions within the EASYGO project and indicate on each application all other applications and a clear order of preference. Please submit your application to: paola.bombarda@polimi.it as a PDF file named EASYGO_ESR13_Lastname_Firstname.pdf containing a CV, motivation letter, certificates and a list of courses/study plan with grades including range, highlighting the most important courses for the position. An English language certificate is mandatory for this ESR while certificates of practical experience are desirable. Please note that this file will be shared with members of the EASYGO recruitment committee at all four participating IDEA League universities and one industry representative.
Application deadline
31/10/2020 23:59 (CET)
For further details, read the full document: PhD position “Design and operation of a binary ORC plant for the exploitation of different geothermal sources, including two-phase sources”.
For inquiries, please contact Dr. Paola Bombarda (paola.bombarda@polimi.it) or Prof. Paolo Silva (paolo.silva@polimi.it).