PDEng Position Pre-treatment of Tile Drainage Water for Subsurface Water Storage and Re-Use in the Dutch Coastal Delta
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Employer: Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) |
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Job location: Delft Netherlands |
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Apply before: 09 May 2022 |
Summary
Job description
Would you like to extend your knowledge, practical work experience and get a Professional Doctorate in Engineering degree (PDEng) in the water sector in only two years’ time? The faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) offers you a program where you will find a solution for a practical, integrated and complex problem in cooperation with a company. You study, on average, two days per week at the TU Delft, following dedicated courses, and apply your learnings three days per week on the project in practice.
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Develop water management solutions to enable climate-proof agriculture!
Job description
Would you like to extend your knowledge, practical work experience and get a Professional Doctorate in Engineering degree (PDEng) in the water sector in only two years’ time? The faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences of Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) offers you a program where you will find a solution for a practical, integrated and complex problem in cooperation with a company. You study, on average, two days per week at the TU Delft, following dedicated courses, and apply your learnings three days per week on the project in practice.
We offer a 2-year PDEng position, financed by the Dutch Science Foundation (NWO) to research and design a full-scale water pre-treatment system for tile drainage water from agricultural fields that meets quality standards for subsequent aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) in underlying brackish aquifers. The fresh water can be subsequently used as irrigation water in dry summers. The position is embedded in our recently awarded research project AGRICOAST Climate-resilient agriculture in the Dutch salinizing coastal delta: innovative water management, adaptive agriculture, and promising transition pathways. You will be part of a team including researchers in varying scientific and engineering disciplines. A total of 4 PhD positions & 1 PDEng position are available now including the PDEng position advertised here.
Tile drainage water (TDW) is a promising new water source for ASR but challenges existing treatment options due to its high variability with respect to quantity and quality. To enable ASR, TDW should have a low clogging potential and has to meet stringent water quality regulations in the Netherlands for infiltration into the subsurface. Pre-treatment solutions need to address high nutrient concentrations, the presence of plant pathogens, and potentially pesticides that are now regulated at extremely low concentrations (0,05-0.1 ?g/L for individual pesticides and 0.5 ?g/L for total pesticides). A combination of biodegradation and adsorption for the removal of nutrients and pesticides seems promising but currently no tailored TDW pre-treatment solution is available on the market.
In this PDEng position you will combine field research at pilots in the Northern Provinces of the Netherlands with laboratory experiments and cost analyses to identify suitable treatment options for TDW. For that you will (1) analyze pesticide and nutrient loads in TDW from a 1-year field monitoring campaign, (2) develop conceptual designs and cost estimations for treatment solutions (3) evaluate treatment performances in laboratory and field scale and (4) suggest a robust and cost-effective design that require at the same time minimal maintenance and has a small footprint. You will collaborate with the other PhDs in AGRICOAST on the interlinkages between the subprojects. You are part of a large consortium with various partners and stakeholders including companies, knowledge institutions, water management and agricultural organizations, and individual farmers.
You will be supervised by dr. Kim M. Lompe and dr. Boris van Breukelen. Various AGRICOAST supervisors and collaborators including from the company Acacia Water will provide additional expertise and feedback to your research in terms of utilization potential.
Requirements
Need-to-haves:
MSc in Chemical/Process Engineering or MSc related to Water treatment
Strong background and interest in water treatment technologies (relevant course work/ work experience)
Independent, self-motivated, curiosity-driven mind, open to communicate and collaborate with peers and partners as proven by previous experience
A scientific attitude and analytical skills combined with a hands-on mentality
Excellent spoken and written English
Nice-to-haves:
Experience to design and carry out bench-scale lab experiments proven by previous practical or research projects
Dutch language skills
Doing a PDEng at TU Delft requires English proficiency at a certain level to ensure that the candidate is able to communicate and interact well, participate in English-taught Doctoral Education courses, and write scientific articles and a final thesis. For more details please check the Graduate Schools Admission Requirements.
Conditions of employment
Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities. Compulsory and elective courses for the project will be provided and a proper guidance for the project. We offer a stimulating working environment both at TU Delft and at the pilot location.
The TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, discounts on health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexible work schedules can be arranged. For international applicants we offer the Coming to Delft Service and Partner Career Advice to assist you with your relocation.
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