Research Topic Title:

Production of organic products from CO2 and zero-valent metals

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

Within the scope of the doctoral research, the following will be examined:

1. Methods for synthesizing zero-valent metals and their application in hydrogen production and CO2 sequestration.
2. Hydrogen production reactions utilizing these metals under aqueous conditions and in the presence of dissolved CO2. Techniques to increase the efficiency of the reaction (e.g., removal of the passive layer, enhancement of specific surface area, etc.).
3. Use of metallic waste in hydrogen production reactions.
4. Integration of the above process with hydrogenotrophic microorganisms and other autotrophic microorganisms for the production of products (methane, volatile organic acids, proteins, biopolymer etc.).
5. Other research directions based on experimental findings.

Funding:

Qualified candidates could be funded as teaching assistants, receive internal scholarships based on excellence when and if available participating in funded research grants.

Required Qualifications:

Candidates should hold a recognized Bachelor's and Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, Industrial Engineering, Chemistry, Biology, Environmental Engineering, or a related field, and should have a satisfactory level of proficiency in the English language.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Ioannis Vyrides

Position:

Associate Professor

Email:

Ioannis.vyrides@cut.ac.cy

Research Topic Title:

Modeling of the rheological response of cement fluids

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

Undoubtedly, cement is one of the most important materials in the construction industry. For its effective use, it is particularly important to fully comprehend the rheological behavior of cement fluids. When cement is mixed with water, a suspension is initially formed and the rate of hydrolysis reactions accelerates leading to the formation of a new irreversible structure, i.e., the cement paste gradually solidifies. At the same time, the viscosity of the paste initially decreases with time, while at long times it gradually increases steeply due to the formation of the irreversible structure. Recently, we proposed a rheological model that also predicts, in addition to a yield shear stress, a yield normal stress difference, which has never been reported in the literature. Our goal in this project is to optimize the rheological response of cement fluids via the use of a systematic, hierarchical, approach.  We will employ non-equilibrium thermodynamics (NET) to develop a sophisticated mathematical model. Experimental data will be employed to parametrize this model. Thereafter, it will be employed in direct numerical simulations, the results of which will be employed to compute the optimal cement fluid characteristics for optimal rheological response, depending on the construction site.

Funding:

Depending on the candidate's expertise and qualifications, funding could be available.

Required Qualifications:

Successful candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree and should possess a postgraduate degree (Μaster’s level) from an accredited University in Chemical Engineering, or Theoretical/Computational Chemistry, Computational Materials Science, or Applied Computational Physics. Previous experience (e.g., during the preparation of a diploma or Master thesis) in the above-mentioned research topic will be considered as an advantage.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Pavlos S. Stephanou

Position:

Assistant Professor

Email:

pavlos.stefanou@cut.ac.cy

Research Topic Title:

Modeling of the transport of Drug-Carrying particles to treat Atherosclerosis

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

Diseases of the circulatory system have been the cause of death for almost 2 million Europeans (38% of all deaths) in 2012 alone, the most important being atherosclerosis. Traditional treatments have proven impotent as drug molecules act non-specifically by diffusing freely throughout the body, leading to undesirable side effects and detrimenting the achievement of the required doses. On the other hand, medical nanotechnological applications have proven proficient enough to deliver protagonistic clinical breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerosis using drug-carrying particles (DCPs).  In such an endeavour, the optimal design of DCPs targeting atherosclerotic plaques is paramount. However, the current design of DCPs is sub-optimal due to several factors, such as low adherence to the endothelium and an overall inability to reach the designated target. Our goal in this project is to optimize the targeted delivery of DCPs to treat atherosclerosis via the use of a systematic, hierarchical, approach.  We will employ non-equilibrium thermodynamics (NET) to develop a sophisticated mathematical model addressing the vascular flow of DCPs. Experimental data and coarse-grained simulations will be employed to parametrize it. Thereafter, it will be employed in direct numerical simulations in atherosclerotic vessels, the results of which will be employed to compute the optimal particle characteristics for a specific in silico patient.

Funding:

Depending on the candidate's expertise and qualifications, funding could be available.

Required Qualifications:

Successful candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree and should possess a postgraduate degree (Μaster’s level) from an accredited University in Chemical Engineering, or Theoretical/Computational Chemistry, Computational Materials Science, or Applied Computational Physics. Previous experience (e.g., during the preparation of a diploma or Master thesis) in the above-mentioned research topic will be considered as an advantage.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Pavlos S. Stephanou

Position:

Assistant Professor

Email:

pavlos.stefanou@cut.ac.cy

Research Topic Title:

Modeling the rheological response of entangled polymer systems

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

High molecular weight polymers, i.e. those of industrial interest, tend to exhibit completely different behavior than lower molecular weight ones. This lies in the development of entanglements between polymer chains, which complicates the modeling of their rheological behavior. These polymers are thus called entangled polymers. In the present doctoral work, we aim to perform comprehensive modeling of the rheological response of entangled polymers both from a theoretical perspective and a computational one. In more detail, we aim to derive a constitutive model for entangled polymers via the use of either the Generalized Bracket or GENERIC formalisms of non-equilibrium thermodynamics (NET). The attractive advantage of employing a NET formalism is that the resulting constitutive model is, by construction, consistent with the laws of thermodynamics. The constitutive model to be proposed will provide predictions for the fraction of absorbed chains as a function of the strength of the imposed flow, as well as their rheological properties (e.g., their viscosity). Also, to parametrize and validate the new model that is to be developed, we will compare its predictions against results obtained from atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) and non-equilibrium MD (NEMD) simulations of sample entangled polymers [such as polyethylene and poly(ethylene oxide)]. There is significant previous experience in the team, both in the theoretical and computational components, with a large number of published articles in scientific journals of international scope. The successful candidate will be asked to modify and optimize pre-existing models.

During this research project, there will be a collaboration with Prof. Vlasis Mavrantzas (Depart. Chemical Engineering, Univ. Patras, Greece/ Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, ETH Zürich, Switzerland).

Funding:

Depending on the candidate's expertise and qualifications, partial funding could be available.

Required Qualifications:

Successful candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree and should possess a postgraduate degree (Μaster’s level) from an accredited University in Chemical Engineering, or Theoretical/Computational Chemistry, Computational Materials Science, or Applied Computational Physics. Previous experience (e.g., during the preparation of a diploma or Master thesis) in the above-mentioned research topic will be considered as an advantage.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Pavlos S. Stephanou

Position:

Assistant Professor

Email:

pavlos.stefanou@cut.ac.cy

Research Topic Title:

Hydrogenation of CO2 to Methane, Methanol and Higher Hydrocarbons using Heterogeneous Catalysts in Flow Microreactors

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

 Methanol is considered as a starting feedstock in chemical industries and an alternative fuel to replace fossil fuels. The formation of methanol and methane for example can be very useful since these two chemicals can be potential candidates for future alternative fuels. Moreover, the methanation of CO2 can increase the capacities of global methane which can be further transformed to useful chemicals, such as methanol or can be used for electric power generation. The current industrial scale for methanol production is based on syngas technology via utilization of CO and using metal-based catalysts. Replacing of CO with CO2 is a great challenge in CO2 utilisation.

To design and develop microreactors for CO2 hydrogenation for methanol and methane production and to evaluate the catalytic performance of synthesized materials and discover catalysts for improving the catalytic performance of optimized catalysts (exploitation of bimetallic and trimetallic supported nanoparticles) in terms of yield to methanol, methane, and long-term stability. Particularly this work aims to model the physico-chemical processes associated with CO2 hydrogenation using supported nanoparticles in order to optimise the production of methane/methanol using intensified microreactors. Furthermore, different microreactor designs will be evaluated in order to examine the performance of the nanoparticles in the formation of methane/methanol.

Funding:

n/a

Required Qualifications:

Candidates should possess an undergraduate degree and postgraduate qualification at the Master level from accredited universities in chemical engineering, or any other related field. A strong background in computer programming using MATLAB, gPROMS, COMSOL Multiphysics or similar languages is required.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Achilleas Konstantinou

Position:

Assistant Professor

Email:

a.konstantinou@cut.ac.cy    

Research Topic Title:

Waste PVC Thermolysis as a Recycling Route

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

With rapid economic growth and massive urbanization, waste-to-energy technology is recognized as a renewable source of energy and is playing an increasingly important role in municipal solid waste (MSW) management. Plastic solid waste is growing rapidly as world bank data suggests and PVC is playing a pivotal role in the accumulation of waste due to its rapid use in almost every household across the world. Pyrolysis of plastic solid waste (PSW) has gained importance due to having better advantages towards environmental pollution and reduction of carbon footprint of plastic products by minimizing the emissions of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide compared to combustion and gasification.

In this work the pyrolysis of PVC waste which will be reclaimed from various sources and conditions, shall be treated in TG & TG-IR set-up to study its mechanism and determine its fuel like gases that are to be evolved against time of reaction. Process modelling of the thermolysis process will be the key aspect of this research work in order to optimise the reactor design and conditions as well the pyrolysis oil yield.

Funding:

n/a

Required Qualifications:

Candidates should possess an undergraduate degree and postgraduate qualification at the Master level from accredited universities in chemical engineering, or any other related field. A strong background in computer programming using MATLAB, gPROMS, COMSOL Multiphysics or similar languages is required.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Achilleas Konstantinou

Position:

Assistant Professor

Email:

a.konstantinou@cut.ac.cy    

Research Topic Title:

Computational Investigation of Microreactor Configurations for Hydrogen Production from Formic Acid/Hydrous Hydrazine Decomposition using a heterogeneous Catalysts

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

The need to replace fossil fuels with sustainable alternatives has been a critical issue in recent years. Hydrogen fuel is a promising alternative to fossil fuels because of its wide availability and high energy density.

For the very first time, novel microreactor configurations for the formic acid decomposition will be studied using computational modelling methodologies. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) will be utilised to develop the comprehensive heterogeneous microreactor models.

The CFD modelling study begins with the development of a packed bed microreactor to validate experimental results, subsequently followed by the theoretical development of novel microreactor configurations to perform further studies. The detailed models developed in this work will provide an interesting insight into the intensification of the formic acid decomposition reaction, using a heterogeneous catalysts. 

Funding:

n/a

Required Qualifications:

Candidates should possess an undergraduate degree and postgraduate qualification at the Master level from accredited universities in chemical engineering, or any other related field. A good knowledge of chemical reaction engineering, chemistry, maths and physics is essential. A strong background in computer programming using STAR-CCM+, gPROMS, COMSOL Multiphysics or similar languages is required.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Achilleas Konstantinou

Position:

Assistant Professor

Email:

a.konstantinou@cut.ac.cy    

Research Topic Title:

Energy and Meteorology

No. of Openings:

2

Description:

Electricity production from Photovoltaics (PVs) is heavily dependent on local meteorological phenomena, especially cloud type and cloud cover. Thus, in order to further promote the penetration of small-scale roof-top PVs in cities, the effect of clouds on PVs and the prediction of electricity production from these systems needs to be understood and any problems should be resolved. The current project addresses this topic and a software will be developed based on a novel methodology (patent pending) for the prediction electricity production from PVs.

Funding:

Not applicable

Required Qualifications:

Successful candidates should possess Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from an accredited University in Mechanical or Electrical Engineering or Physics. They should have experience in computer software (Python/C++/Matlab/GIS/etc) and should be willing to engage in interdisciplinary work on energy and meteorology.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Alexandros Charalambides

Position:

Associate Professor

Email:

a.charalambides@cut.ac.cy

Research Topic Title:

Creating Local Ecosystems of Climate Innovation

No. of Openings:

2

Description:

The aim of the research is to measure and analyze the effect of local traditions for the development of integrated regeneration practices for a sustainable future through innovation and entrepreneurship. Existing practices in South-East Europe (Greece, Croatia, Western Balkans, Cyprus) and the whole of the Middle East-North Africa (MENA region) will be studied and compared with more developed countries (Israel, Korea, USA, etc). Furthermore, the role of "champions" and of "regional development policies" will be an integral part of this research.

Funding:

Not applicable

Required Qualifications:

Successful candidates should possess a Bachelor’s and/or Master’s degrees from an accredited University in Business and/or Management and/or Environmental Studies or in a relevant field. Should be willing to engage in interdisciplinary work on climate studies, engineering and innovation.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Alexandros Charalambides

Position:

Associate Professor

Email:

a.charalambides@cut.ac.cy

Research Topic Title:

Bioprocess Development for Waste Bioplastics Treatment

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

Bioplastics, defined as the plastics which are either characterised as bio-based or biodegradable, currently hold significant interest as sustainable alternatives to their fossil-based counterparts. However, although biodegradable plastics are truly biodegradable only under industrial conditions, their leakage to the marine and terrestrial environment should be avoided given that the disposal of bioplastics could enhance the negative impact imposed by “white pollution”. The current Thesis will focus on developing novel bioprocesses for valorisation of major bioplastics, which will be applied without or following aging/pretreatment. Tailored innovative strategies based on microbial and enzymatic systems will be implemented. Molecular techniques (NGS, qPCR) will be applied to monitor the composition of the microbial communities formed as well as expression from specific genes that pertain to important metabolic pathways of the strains involved.

Funding:

Depending on the field of expertise and qualifications, funding could be available through current European research projects of the lab. Moreover, the successful candidate could be offered teaching assistant positions in the department for lab-based courses.

Required Qualifications:

Candidates should possess a Bachelor’s and postgraduate degree of Master’s level from accredited Universities in Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biotechnology, Bioengineering, Biology, Environmental Engineering or any other related field and to be fluent in English. Past practical experience in bioprocess development will be an advantage.

Research Advisor: Michalis Koutinas

Name/Surname:

 Michalis Koutinas

Position:

 Associate Professor

Email:

michail.koutinas@cut.ac.cy

Research Topic Title:

Application of Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) for the detoxification of cyanotoxin contaminated water

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

 The presence and subsequently the removal of micropollutants like pesticides, hormones, medical drugs and naturally occurring toxic metabolites (cyanotoxins) from water resources comprises a challenge for the water and wastewater industry. In order to remove micropollutants in trace concentrations from water resources chemical oxidation technologies such as ozonation and advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are increasingly used to treat different types of source water and wastewater. The aim of this thesis is to explore the potential application of various AOPs for the removal of a group of natural toxins produced from the toxic strains of cyanobacteria, commonly known as cyanotoxins. The study aims to determine the tested AOPs efficiency and energy demands, toxicity of end product and unveil the transformation products. This will be a collaborative project with the University of Gdansk in Poland (Prof. Hanna Mazur-Marzec).

Funding:

n/a

Required Qualifications:

Successful candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited University in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering or Biochemistry and/or a postgraduate degree (Μaster level) from an accredited University in the field of Environmental Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Toxicology, Environmental Science or Environmental Engineering. The candidates must be fluent in English. Previous experience in the above-mentioned research topic will be considered as an advantage.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Maria G. Antoniou

Position:

Assistant Professor

Email:

maria.antoniou@cut.ac.cy

Research Topic Title:

Detection and removal of taste and odor compounds from surface waters contaminated with cyanobacterial harmful blooms (cyano-HABs)

No. of Openings:

1

Description:

 Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are phototrophic microorganisms and represent an essential component of the food web in all aquatic ecosystems. However, certain strains of cyanobacteria have the ability to produce bioactive secondary metabolites along with taste and odor compounds that make the water unfit for use. Climate change and anthropogenic activities are major contributors towards the more frequent and prolonged appearance of cyanobacterial harmful blooms (Cyano-HABs) across the globe, adding further pressure on scarce fresh water supplies.  In order to mitigate the effects of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins measurements need to be taken at source. This study aims to apply advanced analytical techniques to identify taste and odor compounds (beyond the terpenoids geosmin and MIB) apply various physico-chemical methods for restoring cyanobacterial contaminated sites. This will be a collaborative project with the Technical University of Crete (Prof. Elia Psillakis).

Funding:

n/a

Required Qualifications:

Successful candidates must possess a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited University in Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Chemical Engineering and/or a postgraduate degree (Μaster level) from an accredited University in the field of Environmental Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry, Environmental Science or Environmental Engineering. The candidates must be fluent in English. Previous experience in the above-mentioned research topic will be considered as an advantage.

Research Advisor:

Name/Surname:

Maria G. Antoniou

Position:

Assistant Professor

Email:

maria.antoniou@cut.ac.cy