CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellowship in CO2 Capture and Mineralisation - CSIRO - EducationCareer

First listed on: 27 July 2022

CSIRO Postdoctoral Fellowship in CO2 Capture and Mineralisation

 

Acknowledgement of Country

CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and pay our respects to their Elders past and present. View our vision towards reconciliation

The Opportunity

  • Do you have a PhD in chemical engineering, civil engineering, mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, environmental engineering, or materials science and engineering?
  • Keen to lead innovation of high-impact research in a large, multidisciplinary team with well-established collaborations?
  • Access major, state-of-the-art facilities including Intelligent Leaching Column facilities and the Australian Synchrotron

CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships provide opportunities to scientists and engineers who have completed their doctorate and have less than three years of relevant postdoctoral work experience. These fellowships aim to develop the next generation of future leaders of the innovation system.

The unsustainable use of natural resources has led to excessive emissions of different pollutants including carbon dioxide and alkaline solid wastes (coal ash, red mud, steel and iron slag, mine tailings, etc.). Carbon dioxide emissions contribute to global warming and most alkaline residue waste ends up in landfill, where it contaminates soil, water and air.

We have recently proposed and validated a new concept - Integrated CO2 Absorption and Mineralization (IAM). The IAM technology can potentially combine carbon capture from industries and the ambient air with mineralisation into one short, efficient, thus low-cost process, turning CO2 and solid wastes to carbonates, valuable construction materials and locking away CO2 permanently. This project represents outstanding opportunities for the CERC Fellow to gain a fundamental understanding of the new process and through science and engineering innovation and further to advance the new technology which has the potential to contribute significantly to a circular economy nationally and internationally.

The CERC Fellow’s research strongly aligns with a range of strategic priorities for CSIRO Energy, the Permanent Carbon Locking Future Science Platform and the Towards Net Zero Mission. These include industrial decarbonisation, environmental performance, and technologies supporting a circular economy. The CERC Fellow will lead the project, explore research opportunities, apply for additional funding, engage customers and supervise students. This will help establish the Fellow as a highly independent leader who will build global scientific and business network by working at CSIRO Newcastle and Clayton.

Your duties will include:

  • Designing, setting up and operating a CO2 absorption and mineralisation rig to assess and identify effective CO2 absorbents for selected alkaline solid wastes.  
  • Using the facilities at CSIRO and its research partners to determine and characterise the reaction mechanisms involved in CO2 mineralisation reactions.
  • Improving process efficiency through innovation and intensification, including heat integration, reactor design and process optimisation.
  • Assessing the technical, economic and environmental factors associated with the use of carbonated materials.
  • Carrying out innovative, impactful research of strategic importance to CSIRO that will, where possible, lead to novel and important scientific outcomes.
     

Location: Newcastle, NSW and Clayton, VIC
Salary: AU$89k - AU$98k plus up to 15.4% superannuation
Tenure: Specified term of 3 years
Reference: 86472

To be considered you will need:

  • A doctorate (or will shortly satisfy the requirements of a PhD) in a relevant discipline area, such as chemical engineering, civil engineering, mineral processing, hydrometallurgy, environmental engineering, or materials science and engineering. Please note: To be eligible for this role you must have no more than 3 years (full time equivalent) of postdoctoral research experience.
  • Solid background in a relevant research area, such as mineral carbonation, carbon capture, carbon storage, or alkaline leaching.
  • Excellent experimental skills including design, set up and operation of bench-scale facilities.
  • Practical experience with solid materials characterisation.
  • High level written and oral communication skills with the ability to represent the research team effectively internally and externally, including the presentation of research outcomes at national and international conferences.
     

For full details about this role please view the Position Description

Eligibility

Applications for this position are open to Australian/New Zealand Citizens, Australian Permanent Residents or Australian temporary residents currently residing in Australia and be able to commence in the role by 31 January 2023.

Appointment to this role is subject to provision of a national police check and may be subject to other security/medical/character requirements.

Flexible Working Arrangements

We work flexibly at CSIRO, offering a range of options for how, when and where you work. 

Diversity and Inclusion

We are working hard to recruit people representing the diversity across our society, and ensure that all our people feel supported to do their best work and feel empowered to let their ideas flourish. 

About CSIRO

At CSIRO Australia's national science agency, we solve the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology. We put the safety and wellbeing of our people above all else and earn trust everywhere because we only deal in facts. We collaborate widely and generously and deliver solutions with real impact. 

Join us and start creating tomorrow today!

How to Apply

Please apply on-line and provide a cover letter and CV that best demonstrate your motivation and ability to meet the requirements of this role.

Applications Close

31 August 2022, 11:00pm AEST