Scholarship details
Study levels
Research and PhD
Student type
Future students
Study area
Engineering, Science, Science, technology and engineering and mathematics
Eligibility criteria
Academic performance
Citizenship
Australian or New Zealand and International
Application dates
- Applications close
- 5 July 2024
What you'll receive
You'll receive:
- a stipend scholarship of $33,637 per annum for a maximum duration of 3.5 years while undertaking a QUT PhD. The duration includes an extension of up to 6 months if approved for your candidature. This is the full-time, tax-exempt rate which will index annually.
- a tuition fee offset/sponsorship, covering the cost of your tuition fees for the first 4 full-time equivalent years of your doctoral studies
- the opportunity to work with a team of leading researchers, to undertake your own innovative research in and across the field.
Eligibility
Required
You need to:
- meet the entry requirements for a QUT Doctor of Philosophy, including any English language requirements
- enrol as a full time, internal student (unless approval for part-time and/or external study is obtained)
- have a science/engineering background, preferably in chemical engineering.
Desired
- research experience will be highly valued, including publications in reputable journals, if any
- skills and interests in catalyst synthesis, testing and characterization and process optimisation are desired.
How to apply
Apply for this scholarship at the same time you apply for admission to a QUT Doctor of Philosophy.
- The first step is to email Dr Gabriel Fraga detailing your academic and research background, your motivation to research in this field and interest in this scholarship, and include your CV.
- If supported to apply, you will then submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) following the advice at How to apply for a research degree.
- In your EOI, nominate Dr Gabriel Fraga as your proposed principal supervisor, and copy the link to this scholarship website into question 2 of the financial details section.
About the scholarship
The aviation sector is often considered one of the most challenging to transition to electrification in the coming decades. Its routes to achieving decarbonization by 2050 will involve the adoption of sustainable fuels, including those derived from biological sources. ASTM International has certified seven pathways for producing sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), with ongoing development and testing of new thermochemical methods such as hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) and pyrolysis followed by upgrading. The later demonstrates versatility in handling various feedstocks and producing a range of final fuel products suitable for shipping, road transportation, and aviation.
To produce a premium liquid fuel suitable for aviation, it is necessary to eliminate oxygen through a process known as hydrotreating. However, a significant obstacle encountered in hydrotreating of biocrude is the limited thermal stability of the oil, which accelerates catalyst deactivation and reactor blockages due to rapid coking. The objective of the PhD project is to perform experiments to screen catalysts in a for the conversion of model HTL oils as well as real HTL oils to identify promising catalysts for stabilizing the oil and increase selectivity towards kerosene type hydrocarbons (C9-C16).