CIMANET Doctoral Education Network

Are you a future expert in chemical engineering and thermodynamics? Sustainable society craves people who can tell how we get valuable products from renewable resources, and thermodynamic models for developing and designing industrially feasible processes is a key to achieve that.

Interested? Apply here by September 23!

The doctoral researcher will be working in a project investigating the role of hemicellulose solubility in biomass fractionation. Loss of hemicelluloses in chemical pulping accounts for loss of nearly a fourth of the material resources. Mastering the mechanism of solubilization may help to provide solutions to counteract this loss and make biomass processing more resource-efficient and contribute to the future biorefineries. The aim for the doctoral researcher is to become an expert in biomass fractionation.

Interested? Apply here by September 23!

Buildup of the secondary-form wood extractives decreases the pulp mill’s productivity as they partly form different carry-over pitch (or scale) components at the fiberline, leading to excessive chemical consumption and even unscheduled shut down of the mill. The native-form wood extractives (prior to the fiberline) have been well researched for decades, but there is not enough scientific data to investigate the reaction mechanisms behind its secondary form (in the fiberline). In other words, chemically modified wood extractives in the fiberline (cooking and bleaching) is not widely known subject, only limited number of studies can be found. Industrial-scale separation / recovery process, however, is largely dependent on the reaction mechanisms that occur throughout the fiberline. If we want to utilize them in future biorefineries, we need to know how they react in the fiberline and where they can be recovered (in the form having their maximum commercial value) before being chemically spoiled (or reacted).

Interested? Apply hereby October 7!

We are looking for a doctoral researcher to manage large data sets with numerical tools, especially with machine learning methods. In this position you will have a chance to make an impact by developing methods and tools for the analysis of renewable fuels in cold climate environment. Especially, you will analyze new renewable fuels from lignocellulosic residues and predict their cold properties by ML methods. Join us in shaping the future fuels !

Interested? Apply here by October 7!

NMR spectroscopy is one of the most powerful and versatile methods in chemical and materials characterization. This doctoral training project aims at developing sensitive, efficient, and information-rich NMR methods and applying them in the characterization of nanostructured cellulose materials. The NMR methods include, e.g., ultrafast Laplace NMR, which provide detailed information about the dynamics of molecules. The project will study porous materials and chemical structures of novel hybrid cellulose nanomaterials as well as their function in applications ranging from separation processes to electronics.

Specific qualifications: Background related to NMR methods is important. Moreover, knowledge on cellulose/soft materials is a benefit.

Interested? Apply here!

The project focuses on sustainable electronics in which the major materials, i.e. plastics and metals, are replaced with their renewable counterparts. For this purpose, nanocellulose substrates are harnessed to engineer disposable electronic structures and devices such as antennas, sensors, reflecting surfaces and wearables.

Specific qualifications: Background related to cellulose/soft materials and electronics is a benefit.

Interested? Apply here!

Understanding and assessing the future development of new innovative forest-based materials markets calls for interdisciplinary research integrating consumer/end-use research, market functioning, marketing, foresight and sustainability science.

The starting point is to build a state of the art in literature in new innovative forest industry products from the potential end-use/consumption perspective. Using empirical data, we are interested to analyse how do end users perceive advanced bio-based wood materials being on the edge of entering the markets currently dominated by other (already existing) materials, or opening completely new end-use visions?  Which are specific areas of potential sustainability-related/other acceptability risks/benefits for these?

This interdisciplinary study can provide a new evidence base to integrate material science solutions from textiles or construction materials to medical applications to assess market acceptability and competitiveness.  The study also provides a bigger picture to the means of strategic industry adaptation with respect to end user needs and perceptions. Data and methods include a systematic literature review, a survey on end user perceptions, thematic/case-specific expert interviews, and methods of futures research to scope risks and acceptability elements.

Interested? Apply here!

Understanding the future of forest-based materials markets as shaped by changing policy environment calls for an interdisciplinary approach including policy and foresight analysis, and business and sustainability sciences. Industry and market adaptation to turbulent business environment toward climate positive and circular economy is elementary for thriving forest bioeconomy, and this calls for a general policy fit in the society.

The key research questions are: To what extent the circular and bioeconomy policies influence on forest companies’ future competitiveness? What kind of sustainable future business environment the forest bioeconomy companies are preparing themselves for? What kind of elements are important for the businesses be prepared for the more unpleasant scenarios and disruptions? This study leads to knowledge on the dynamic capabilities (Teece et al. 2016) applied by the bioeconomy businesses in alternate future circumstances.

Data and methods include policy mapping and analysis, and futures research (such as expert Delphi-panel, participatory workshops and scenario building). As an outcome we will pinpoint areas of heterogeneity in future expectations, and how strongly the current strategic choices reflect into the future vision for which the industry is prepared for. Special interest is also placed on how the industry seeks and secures ability for resilient adaptation under various future scenarios.

Interested? Apply here!

Actions to reach carbon neutrality need to be delivered in a timescale that requires fast adaptation of technologically robust solutions. Lignin-based materials hold promise for replacing fossil-based plastics in many areas. Research has been active during the recent years, while critical attributes, such as thermal stability and toughness are lacking to truly compete with conventional plastics. At the same time, finding simple and green chemistries for delivering these attributes sets additional ambition to the task. BIOSTAR project answers to this challenge by utilizing modern spectroscopic methods in combination with interfacial interaction models to design composition and microstructures in bio-based composites and polymer blends with improved thermal and mechanical characteristics. By right combination of lignin derivatization, phase assembly, and adjustment of interfacial interactions within the formed biocomposites, their performance can reach the same level with thermoplastic polymers used today. Besides analysis of molecular characteristics and mechanical performance, the project aims for interdisciplinary research with experts from other fields of biomaterial research.

Interested? Apply here!

Ionic liquids (ILs) have been introduced to biomaterial processing during the past decade and gained great momentum due to their power as solvents for wood polymers and simultaneous function as catalysts for derivatization. The BIOCORE project builds upon strong expertise of University of Helsinki with ionic liquids for dissolution and regeneration of biomass that is being piloted for industrial production of cellulosic textile fibers. Application of ILs to reactive extrusion of biomass into composites with other biopolymers and/or recycled plastics offers a way for interfacial cohesion and crosslinking within the composites that has not been achieved with conventional compounding systems. In BIOCORE project, novel formulations and processing techniques are created to produce materials that can provide a sustainable alternative for engineering plastics used in many fields from automotive to construction. Analytical tools such as spectroscopy and microscopic techniques will be applied in collaboration with BIOSTAR project to analyze derivatization and interfaces generated within these new composites systems. Mechanical performance of the composites will be benchmarked against common engineering plastics.

Interested? Apply here!

Coatings are widely used in packaging and various other functional surfaces and are derived from fossil-based chemicals. Sustainable building blocks and green chemical approaches are in need to provide sustainable coating solutions. Lignin as the most naturally available aromatic polymer provides a potential to be used in the development of sustainable coatings. The ongoing research on lignin functionalization demonstrates a new possibility of designing one-dimensional fibrillar nanostructure. Such nanostructured lignin fibers exhibit interestingly higher viscosity than lignin nanospheres, possessing potential in new aqueous dispersion coatings. This projects targets to understand the chemistry governing the assembly of lignin to fibrillar structure and further tailor chemical functionality of lignin molecules with photo or thermal curability. As a result, sustainable coatings also with integrated functionality such as antimicrobial and anticorrosion will be developed. Such functional coating from highly reactive lignin has potential value in sustainable coating for several large-volume applications, such as packaging and composites. That is highly in line with research area of advanced lignocellulosic materials, with strong focus on novel solutions for packaging and construction.

Interested? Apply here!

The project focuses on incorporating renewable and biodegradable materials as alternatives to expensive and scarce raw materials in electronic devices. The emphasis is on solution processing of functional materials into (patterned) thin layers utilizing high-throughput processes. The ultimate goal is to enable development of metal-free, recyclable or disposable electronics, such as batteries and sensors, utilizing bio- and carbon-based based materials. The research will contribute to the emerging field of green electronics by advancing the understanding of the use of environmentally friendly materials.

Interested? Apply here!

Valorization of biomass often requires chemical modification or derivatization to tailor the chemical and material properties of functional biobased materials. This project targets to develop novel technologies for chemical modification of biomass derived molecules and materials, with the objectives of preparation of new biobased products. Methods for lignin depolymerization based on oxidation and reduction will be studied as well as chemical modification and functionalization of lignin and lignin derived polyphenolic compounds into for example co-polymers, adhesives, emulsifiers, coatings & membranes. Focus will be on the development of novel and improved catalytic methods.  The chemistry of lignin-carbohydrate hybrid material and reactive fractionation may be part of the work. The work will be combined with several existing research project related to biorefinery and lignin valorization. The work requires good knowledge in organic chemistry and/or industrial chemistry as well as knowledge in chemical analyses be different spectrometric and spectroscopic methods.

Interested? Apply here!