PhD IN STEAM EXPLOSION OF WOOD

The need for alternative and sustainable raw materials for production of chemicals, materials and fuels is of growing concern.Wood is a natural candidate and is built up of three polymers: cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin.In the first step wood is disintegrated into its major components which are subsequently modified and used as building blocks for new components and products. The division of Chemical Engineering at Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology has a staff of around 30 people.The main research areas: are multi-phase flows in chemical engineering; particulate processes; transport phenomena and mathematical modelling.Steam explosion is a very fast wood disintegration method that will have an increased importance in future bio-refineries.Even though steam explosion has been used for some time very little is known about the detailed mechanisms of the process.In this project we will study the kinetics of the disintegration operation experimentally and theoretically.It is expected that pressure/temperature conditions combined with pre-treatment are of high relevance.A steam explosion unit will be built and designed for optical access.Modelling work will combine transport phenomena models with models for mechanical strength.The project is funded by Chalmers Energy Initiative.A suitable background is Master of Science (Swedish: civilingenjör) in Chemical engineering, Chemical Engineering with Physics (Kf), Mechanical Engineering or Engineering Physics; specifically with interest in applied mathematics and transport phenomena.