Offer

The SERENADE project involves a consortium of 5 leading European companies from Spain, Germany, Italy, and Belgium, along with 5 research universities. The consortium intends to train 7 Ph.D. researchers in building smart sustainable solutions targeting the reduction of food waste at the end of the food supply chain. These 7 multidisciplinary Ph.D. projects are grouped according to three pillars: food, sensors, and materials technologies.  Funding for these projects has been provided by the EU under their competitive HORIZON-MSCA-DN-2021 (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks) program under Grant Agreement No. 101072846.

The consortium invites applications for up to 7 highly motivated and talented Ph.D. candidates (Doctoral Candidates, DCs) for these fully-funded positions. Recruitment will remain open until all positions are filled in 2023.  The target start date for the first positions will be in October 2023. DCs will be employed full-time and based at one of 5 host companies for 18 months and at one of 4 host universities for another 18 months.  They will also spend up to 5-months on secondment at partner organizations, thereby ensuring that all DCs will spend time in both academia and industry and at least two different countries.

In case you are interested to apply to one or more vacancies, please send the following information to recruitment@serenade-project.eu:

  • A motivation letter expressing your interest in the project and your contribution
  • Your personal Curriculum Vitae
  • Details about your place of residence during the 36 months prior to October 2023

DC 7: Eco-friendliness of food-grade bio-based and with dissolution purification technology recycled plastics

Galloo, VITO, KU Leuven
This PhD aims to increase the sustainability of the materials of food containers by the incorporation of polymers recycled from complex waste streams. To achieve this, an innovative recycling process will be developed, combining mechanical and chemical treatment steps, to allow selective polymer recovery while maintaining its physical-chemical characteristics. The most promising end-of life streams will first be selected and characterized, then the optimal pre-treatment by mechanical sorting will be investigated, and finally a highly selective dissolution-based approach will be developed. Process sustainability and the effectiveness of contaminant removal will be major focus points. For this, also the eco friendliness (LCA) and economic viability (LCC) of the recycled plastics will be compared to the use of virgin polymer and biobased polylactic acid.
Secondments are planned in KU Leuven and BSH.

Skills/Qualifications

  • Master in science or engineering or equivalent
  • Background in materials, polymers or chemistry related topics
  • Languages: English – level: good / French

Additional Information

Eligibility criteria
Applicants must comply with official criteria as stated in the Horizon Europe Programme.

Where to apply
Website: https://serenade-project.eu/
Application Deadline: 31 Aug 2023 - 23:59 (Europe/Brussels)

Contact
Website: https://serenade-project.eu/
E-mail: recruitment@serenade-project.eu
Type of Contract: Temporary
Job Status: Full-time
Offer Starting Date: 2 Oct 2023
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? HE / MSCA
Marie Curie Grant Agreement Number: 101072846