This project seeks to address climate change and resource depletion through industrial decarbonization. It will use systems engineering techniques to explore the reuse of industrial wastewater streams for hydrogen production and direct integration into industrial feedstocks, and will evaluate the economic, environmental, and technical feasibility using data from real industrial wastewater streams, called trade effluent, as case studies.
Currently, nearly all hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels. Industries which use hydrogen as a feedstock could reduce their carbon footprint by using renewable energy to electrolyse water.
This project seeks to identify specific industries / facilities where this process integration would be feasible, considering cost, feedstock needs, and trade effluent characteristics. It will explore the full scope of developing this reuse process, including creating appropriate process trains for the purification and electrolysis of trade effluent, and analysing it for yield rates, costs, and environmental load, among other metrics. It will develop case studies identifying the specific makeup of the wastewater, what the current disposal method is, what the current source of hydrogen is, specific constituents which may be a problem for electrolyzers, and specific constituents which are of strong environmental concern.
This project will be primarily computational. This project will develop an appropriate process train using unit operations and process modelling for the purification and electrolysis for hydrogen production from wastewater for specific industries. This will be supported by a techno-economic analysis and lifecycle assessment to understand the economic and environmental implications. This will be extended by optimizing the process train and operating point to maximize financial viability and minimize the environmental load. It will provide specific recommendations for implementing and integrating these methods through the development of a technical implementation roadmap.
Outcomes from this work include a set of case studies of industries which benefit most from reusing wastewater to produce hydrogen; a set of process models to describe the energy, additive, material and equipment needs of the process; and a techno-economic analysis and lifecycle assessment to optimize process designs for financial cost or environmental burden. The model will be applied to the case studies and analysed for potential improvements to the process.
This project encourages the circular resource economy and identifies strategies for decarbonizing feedstocks from critical industries through process integration of wastes and feedstocks. It will provide specific recommendations and pathways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and the environmental load from wastewater releases.
With, or expected to gain a high 2:1, preferably a 1st class honours degree in chemical, mechanical, manufacturing, or environmental engineering, or similar. Background knowledge of electrochemistry, water chemistry, or computational or mathematical programming would be beneficial.
EPSRC DLA studentships are available for eligible home students and a limited number of international students.
To apply for this studentship, please send your two-page CV and a cover letter explaining your interest and background to Dr. Nathanial Cooper at nc646@cam.ac.uk no later than 28 February 2026. Applications may close early if the position is filled before this date.
Please note that any offer of funding will be conditional on securing a place as a PhD student. Candidates will need to apply separately for admission through the University's Graduate Admissions application portal; this can be done before or after applying for this funding opportunity. The applicant portal can be accessed via: www.graduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/directory/egegpdpeg.
The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.
