Application Deadline: 14 March 2025
Details
Sheffield Water Centre at The University of Sheffield, in collaboration with Anglian Water and the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Water Infrastructure and Resilience.
PhD Studentship: Impacts of Blending Drinking Water from Desalination into Existing Distribution Systems
Stipend: This post will fully cover university tuition and provide a tax-free stipend for Home and Overseas students of £24,000 per year.
Closing Date for Applications: 14th March 2025
Start Date: 29th September 2025 (contract duration 4 years)
This PhD will address the vital uncertainty of what happens when we introduce relatively aggressive desalinated treated water into ageing water distribution systems. The results will help the global water industry understand how to safely introduce and utilise desalination within existing systems and provide safe clean drinking water for all into the future.
Water utilities in the UK and globally are looking to bolster their dwindling conventional water supplies and increase resilience to climate change using desalination, especially in regions with drought risk. However, the water produced through desalination has different quality characteristics (is more ‘aggressive’) than conventionally treated surface or ground waters. The addition of desalinated water into existing ageing water distribution networks requires careful consideration to manage risks such as the disturbance of historic biofilms and corrosion scales. This can compromise the aesthetic (discolouration), chemical (iron and manganese) and biological (microbial) water quality.
This project will work closely with Anglian Water, to inform their plans for new alternative water sources including desalination. The student will have the opportunity to work on lab-based and pilot-scale experiments to simulate different blending scenarios, using cast iron pipe retrieved from a case study network to observe changes in corrosion rates, disinfectant residual decay, biofilm growth and detachment rates, and mobilisation of inorganics. Impacts from different characteristics and blending options for the desalination water will be evaluated experimentally, including to understand the impact of corrosion inhibitors, hardness/alkalinity ions, and disinfectant residuals.
The student will benefit from state-of-the-art lab facilities at the University of Sheffield, using cutting-edge techniques for water quality analysis including online physical/chemical parameter monitoring and analysis (such as electron microscopy) and advanced microbiological analysis (such as flow cytometry), and will become part of one of the largest water distribution research groups in the world. This project will launch an exciting new field of enquiry to understand the impacts of blending water from different sources, with potential for global application.
The research programme to be completed in this project will be undertaken as part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Water Infrastructure and Resilience (CDT WIRe). WIRe is a collaboration between the three leading UK Universities in water resilient infrastructure. Students will benefit from a generous stipend, bespoke training scheme delivered by world leading experts from academia and industry, access to world leading experimental and computational facilities as well as close and regular contact with industry and end user partners. WIRe is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive community, and offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies. For further information on the WIRe scheme visit the web site at: https://cdtwire.com/
The project will be supervised by Professors Joby Boxall and Vanessa Speight in collaboration with partners from Anglian Water. There will be generous opportunities to travel to conferences and to visit our academic and industry partners in both the UK and overseas.
Eligibility Criteria
This studentship is subject to standard RCUK eligibility criteria. It is open to all students with Home or Overseas residency (subject to a maximum quota of overseas students per training grant).
The selection criteria for the position are:
• A good honours degree (or equivalent experience) in Engineering, Physical Science, or a related subject.
• Aptitude for research in a drinking water quality in water distribution systems (or similar chemical/microbiological analysis) and laboratory skills as evidenced by previous experience.
• Enthusiasm for research.
• Good level of written and oral communication skills, as appropriate for disseminating research and communicating with project partners.
• Willingness to collaborate with other researchers, industry and end-users.
How to apply
Interested candidates should email a covering letter and their Curriculum Vitae to Miss Lindsay Hopcroft (cdtwireapps@sheffield.ac.uk). Interviews will be held soon after closing by web-meeting. For information and informal enquiries please contact: Professor Boxall, j.b.boxall@sheffield.ac.uk.
Funding Notes
This post will fully cover university tuition and provide a tax-free stipend for Home and Overseas students of £24,000 per year.
This studentship is subject to standard RCUK eligibility criteria. It is open to all students with Home or Overseas residency (subject to a maximum quota of overseas students per training grant).
