PhD Student (f/m/d) Interfacial Solution for prior-to-equilibrium rare-earth separator with Magnetic-Assisted Solvent extraction (INTO-MaSX)

With cutting-edge research in the fields of ENERGY, HEALTH and MATTER, around 1,500 employees from more than 70 nations at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) are committed to mastering the great challenges facing society today.

The Institute of Fluid Dynamics is conducting basic and applied research in the fields of thermo-fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics in order to improve the sustainability, the energy efficiency and the safety of industrial processes. At the Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology (HIF), innovative technologies for the circulareconomy are developed to provide and use mineral and metal-bearing raw materials more efficiently and to recycle them in an environmentally friendly way.

The Groups Electromagnetic separation and Hydrometallurgy are looking for a PhD Student (f/m/d) Interfacial Solution for prior-to-equilibrium rare-earth separator with Magnetic-Assisted Solvent extraction (INTO-MaSX). 

Places of work are Dresden-Rossendorf and Freiberg.

Your tasks

• Design, construct and experimenting a Lewis-type apparatus; defining both fluid dynamic situation at an oil-water interface with high shear rate with/without rare-earth cation exchange, and the membranes segregation in cell and magnetic fields to be used
• Conduct kinetic study and develop competitive RE(III) extraction/stripping kinetics law/model at sub-interface scale
• Investigate the mechanisms of third phase/layer formation
• Evaluate the effectiveness of magnetic field influence on the extraction/stripping kinetics
• Upscaling test in classical high throughput processes using Mixer Settlers and Kuehni Column apparatus
• Presentation of results in well-recognized peer-reviewed journals and conferences

Your profile

• Very good completed university studies (Master/Diploma) in the field of Mechanical/Process/Chemical engineering, chemistry or metallurgy with focus on fluid dynamics/mass transfer/hydrometallurgy or related areas with excellent grades
• Knowledge in fluid dynamics (interfacial hydrodynamic instability), rare-earth hydrometallurgy, solution chemistry, metal analytics and image processing
• Strong experimental skills, including setup construction, documentation, and data evaluation
• A prior knowledge on particle image/tracking velocimetry, schlieren imaging, instrumental analytical chemistry (FTIR-, UV-Vis spectroscopy and ICP-OES)
• Programming skill in one of the software/language: python, matlab, c++
• Self-dependent working style, problem-solving skills, outcome-oriented working style
• Good teamwork and communication skills in an interdisciplinary project team
• Good written and fluent verbal communication skills in English

Our offer

• A vibrant research community in an open, diverse and international work environment
• Scientific excellence and extensive professional networking opportunities
• A structured PhD program with a comprehensive range of continuing education and networking opportunities - more information about the PhD program at the HZDR can be found here
• Salary and social benefits in accordance with the collective agreement for the public sector (TVöD-Bund) including 30 days of paid holiday leave, company pension scheme (VBL)
• We support a good work-life balance with the possibility of part-time employment, mobile working and flexible working hours
• Numerous company health management offerings
• Employee discounts with well-known providers via the platform Corporate Benefits
• An employer subsidy for the "Deutschland-Ticket Jobticket"

We look forward to receiving your application documents (including cover letter, CV, diplomas/transcripts, etc.), which you can submit via our online-application-system.