EngD position: Design and evaluation of a membrane process for the recovery of ethanol from high pH media

In Europe alone, each year hundreds of million tons of valuable materials are lost in industrial processing. To increase the yield of these processes, it is important to reduce and/or valorise waste streams. Therefore, various processes that involve the use of alcohols as (anti)solvents and the application of pH switches to recover and purify valuable compounds from waste streams in the biotech and chemical industry have been developed. However, the recovery of (anti)solvents using conventional techniques like distillation requires large amounts of energy.

Membrane technology could be an alternative separation technology to make the biotech, chemical and other industries more circular, flexible and energy-efficient.

The Recircanol project was set up to study the recovery of ethanol from alkaline-ethanol media at high pH using membrane technology. In this project, Greencovery, Pervatech, SolSep, Nobian, ISPT and the University of Twente closely collaborate to generate new scientific and technological knowledge on pH-stable and solvent-resistant nanofiltration membranes for use at alkaline conditions, and on pervaporation membranes for the purification of valuable components and/or the recovery of (anti)solvents.

As EngD student in the Recircanol project, you will:

• Design membrane-based separation processes for the recovery of ethanol from alkaline-ethanol media at high pH, with a special focus on Greencovery’s process.
• Perform lab- and/or module-scale nanofiltration experiments to support or validate your process design with real measurement data.
• Assess the techno-economic feasibility of your designed processes for use in industrial applications characterized by extreme pH.

You will work closely together with the PhD student in the project, who scientifically evaluates nanofiltration membranes and membrane modules.

The Recircanol project is funded via the Top consortium for Knowledge and Innovation (TKI) Energy and Industry. You will closely collaborate with all partners in the project, but particularly with Greencovery.

This position will give you ample opportunities to collaborate with other EngD and PhD students within the Membrane Science & Technology department.

A very challenging position for two years.

You will be part of the EngD programme in Energy and Process Technology at the University of Twente. This is a tailor made post-master design programme that has an educational (40%) and process design part (60%).

A gross monthly salary of € 2.872,- per month.

There are excellent benefits including a holiday allowance of 8% of the gross annual salary, an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%, and a solid pension scheme.

Up to 328 leave hours in case of full-time employment based on a workweek of 40 hours.

Free access to sports facilities on campus.

Your design project has to result in a EngD thesis at the end of the employment period.

Department of Membrane Science and Technology (MST)

The MST department, often referred to as Twente Membranes, consists of several chairs focusing on the development of new membrane materials and modules, membrane characterization, transport phenomena near membrane surfaces and the development of membrane processes and applications. The MST department has a history in membrane research of more than 50 years, and is internationally recognized as a leading department in membrane science and technology. The department has an impressive track record of over 250 PhD graduates, over 1000 peer-reviewed scientific publications and over 40 granted patents.

Are you interested in this position? Please send your application via the 'Apply now' button latest on 5 May 2025 and include:

• A cover letter (maximum 2 pages A4), emphasizing your specific interest, qualifications, motivations to apply for this position.
• A curriculum vitae, including a list of all courses attended and grades obtained, and, if applicable, a list of publications and references.

The position is available as of September 1, 2025. For more information regarding this position, you are welcome to contact dr. ir. Sander Haase People Pages.