Open Positions

Are you interested in the sustainable use of natural resources and would you like to research and develop new, efficient recycling methods as part of your scientific career? Then the Research Training Group WERA „Wertstoff Abwasser“ (Valuable Wastewater) at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) is a good place for you. The Institute of Particle Process Engineering of RPTU involved in WERA is looking for a postdoctoral researcher from 01.07.2025.

In WERA (website: rptu.de/wera), cooperative research projects on the recovery of the important raw material phosphorus (P) from wastewater are being worked on together in the fields of process engineering, chemistry, physics and wastewater technology using novel natural scientific and engineering approaches through to technical implementation. In WERA, various processes, such as the synthesis of tailor-made adsorbers and innovative separation units for phosphorus recovery will be developed, combined in process chains and validated on a wastewater recycling pilot plant. Suitable methods for process analysis and characterization will be extended and the chemical-physical relationships will be studied using molecular and thermodynamic simulations on the microscale with combined particle and flow simulations on the macroscale.
 

Tasks:

Your tasks at WERA include two central scientific challenges:

1. Your scientific research topic at WERA involves the formulation of customized P adsorbents by agglomeration processes and the experimental and numerical investigation of their mechanical stability in processes of P recovery from wastewater (Fig. 1). Mechanical stress on adsorbent particles often leads to their abrasion and breakage, which severely limits their lifetime in processes. The particle dynamics in the individual processes of P recovery are simulated on the microscale using computational fluid dynamics by coupling with the discrete element method (CFD-DEM) and modelled on the macroscale using the population balance method. The microstructure of the agglomerates and their fracture processes are analyzed with mechanical tests using in-situ micro computed tomography. Based on the knowledge gained, the processes for agglomeration of the adsorbents can be optimized and the process steps for P recovery along the process chain can be adapted in such a way that the lifetime of the adsorber particles is increased. You will be involved in an iterative exchange with all research projects of the Research Training Group and combine WERA's integral, scientific research approach with the central goal of the technical applicability of the adsorber materials developed. In addition, particle stability is also being researched in other P recovery processes, such as crystallization and precipitation of MAP. This opens up a wide range of opportunities for you to publish research results on interdisciplinary topics and establish new research focuses.
    
2. As a link between the research areas, you will coordinate the research operations of the wastewater treatment and recycling plant, bring the colleagues together in their different experimental requirements and thus enable joint research at the plant. This gives you an insight into the scientific details of each individual research project and allows you to contribute your scientific experience to the cooperative research work on the one hand and expand your scientific and engineering knowledge on the other.

Advantages:

As a researcher at WERA, you will benefit from close collaboration with the doctoral students and an interdisciplinary professors team and from a study concept with summer schools, keynote lectures given by internationally renowned scientists and topic-specific courses. WERA supports your academic career through international visibility (conferences, visits to international research institutes, trade fairs, publications) of your research work in the field of mechanical process engineering and the promising fields of resource recovery and environmental technology.

Application:

Please send your complete application documents by 30.04.2025: 

• Letter of motivation
• Curriculum vitae
• Copies of certificates: Doctoral certificate, Master's degree or equivalent with complete lists of grades

to the spokesperson of the Research Training Group Prof. Sergiy Antonyuk (sergiy.antonyuk[at]mv.rptu.de).

The prerequisite for the postdoctoral position is a doctoral degree in the field of process engineering.

About RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau:

With over 20,000 students, more than 300 professorships and around 160 degree programmes, the Rhineland-Palatinate University of Technology Kaiserslautern-Landau (RPTU) is the technical university of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. As a centre of top international research, it offers excellent working conditions and career opportunities. Those who study, research or work at RPTU experience a cosmopolitan environment and shape the future.

The Research Training Group GRK 2908 is financed by the German Research Foundation (DFG) with funds from the federal and state governments.