About the project
Can renewable electricity replace fossil-fuel heating in some of industry’s most energy-intensive processes? This PhD will uncover how flow, particle motion, electrical currents and heat interact inside electrified reactors, developing the fundamental understanding needed to design efficient, flexible technologies for low-carbon fuels, hydrogen production and a Net Zero future economy.
Many industrial processes require very high temperatures and currently rely on fossil-fuel combustion. Replacing this heat with renewable electricity could significantly reduce industrial carbon emissions, but new reactor concepts are needed to use electrical energy efficiently, safely and reliably.
This PhD will investigate the fundamental behaviour of directly electrified particle and fluidised-bed reactors. In these systems, electrically conductive particles can generate heat through Joule heating while being continuously moved and mixed by a flowing gas. This creates a challenging and largely unresolved scientific problem: particle motion changes the contact network through which electricity flows, while the resulting heat generation can in turn alter the flow, particle dynamics and, ultimately, chemical reaction.
The project will develop new understanding of these coupled interactions between fluid flow, particle motion, electrical conduction and heat transfer. Advanced computational modelling, theoretical analysis and relevant experimental data will be used to determine how particle-scale behaviour controls reactor-scale temperature distributions, electrical pathways, hot spots and overall energy efficiency.
The intended outcome is a predictive framework that identifies the physical mechanisms governing electrified reactors and provides new design principles for their efficient operation and scale-up. The research will have relevance to emerging Net Zero technologies including hydrogen production, methane pyrolysis, ammonia conversion, low-carbon fuels and other high-temperature industrial processes.
The project offers interdisciplinary training spanning fluid mechanics, multiphase flows, heat transfer, computational modelling and sustainable energy technologies, providing an excellent foundation for careers in both advanced engineering research and the rapidly growing industrial decarbonisation sector.
The School of Engineering is committed to promoting equality, diversity inclusivity as demonstrated by our Athena SWAN award. We welcome all applicants regardless of their gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or age, and will give full consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and those who have taken a career break.
The University has a generous maternity policy, onsite childcare facilities, and offers a range of benefits to help ensure employees’ well-being and work-life balance. The University of Southampton is committed to sustainability and has been awarded the Platinum EcoAward.
