Closing Date: 17th February 2023
Project Start Date: 1st October 2023
Funding Provider: UKRI EPSRC CDT Studentship
Subject Area: Functional Coatings
Key Information
Project Supervisors
Academic Supervisors: Primary: Prof Matthew Davies. Secondary: Prof Geraint Williams.
Industry Supervisor: Dr James Smith. Dr Susana Hult Torron
Aligned programme of study: EngD in Materials, Modelling and Manufacturing
Mode of study: Full-time
Expected Interview Date: Late April 2023
Background
Company:
Dating back over 150 years, Beckers is a true pioneer in providing unique, high-quality solutions that answer coating needs across many sectors. Currently Beckers is proud to be the global leader in supply of coil coatings from 24 locations in 18 countries. With 20% of our personnel worldwide working in laboratories, 4% of our sales spent on R&D and 25% of our coatings being new products created in the last five years, we are proud to be considered an industry innovator and we will continue to explore smart and sustainable solutions.
Research:
One of the main uses of Coil Coatings is on exterior façade panels used in building construction. Coatings are applied to continuous, wide metal strip and then thermally treated so as to induce gelation or crosslinking. Chemistries used include Polyester/Melamine, Polyurethane, PVdF & PVC plastisol amongst others. Currently, as cladding is removed from buildings at the end of life the metal is recycled via melting and then re-casting. During this process the coil coating is incinerated from the metal and so is lost.
Currently, a significant part of the carbon footprint of a coated metal panel is the emissions related to the production of the raw materials used to make the coating. Therefore, if a route to recover those raw materials was to be developed, this would yield a significant reduction in the total carbon footprint of the coil coating.
Project Aims
The specific focus of the doctorate will be firstly to investigate and develop low-carbon impact methods, chemical or mechanical, that would support the removal of the end-of-life coating from the substrate. Secondly, to develop a route to extract the constituent parts that can be reused in future Coil Coatings. This process would be carried out before the metal is then recycled.
Desired outcomes:
Development of a method to extract usable Coil Coating raw materials from exposed paint films that are applied to a metal substrate. The materials that would be most desirable for recovery are the coloured or anti-corrosive pigmentation (especially TiO2), and the organic polymers used as the binder.
Student profile:
The ideal candidate will be a self-starter who is willing to act on their own initiative and one who can present the results to an audience of Industrial Chemists, Senior Managers, and their peers. The candidate will have a first or upper second-class degree in chemistry, material science or mechanical engineering but other science-based disciplines may be considered.
Working locations:
The student will be based at Swansea university with occasional laboratory work & meetings being carried out at Beckers, as required.
Sponsor Company: Beckers Group
COATED M2A recognises applicants have a variety of backgrounds with different educational and research experiences. We do not expect applicants to be proficient users of any techniques/equipment mentioned, at the time of application. Our focus is to upskill our participants and training will be provided.
COATED M2A in the Faculty of Science and Engineering is a Swansea University initiative which provides postgraduate research training in partnership with industry, providing access to world class laboratories and a wealth of academic and industry expertise. COATED M2A is committed to providing top quality research opportunities within an inclusive environment, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Swansea University and Industry partners.
Interwoven through the research study are business, technical and entrepreneurial courses, designed to support and prepare participants for a senior role in industry or academia, on completion of their studies.
The Athena SWAN charter recognises work undertaken by institutions to advance gender equality. The College of Engineering is an Athena SWAN silver award holder and is committed to addressing unequal gender representation. Applications from women and other under-represented groups are particularly welcomed.
All applications will be anonymised prior to short listing.
Are you considering making an application and have questions you’d like answered? Come and have a 1-2-1 chat with us at our applicant surgeries (Link). We encourage all applicants to review our ‘hints and tips’ document found here.
Eligibility
Candidates must normally hold at minimum (or expect to obtain by the start date) an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level (or Non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University), or a combination of degree and equivalent experience to the same level.
NB: If you are holding a non-UK degree, please see Swansea University degree comparisons to find out if you meet the eligibility.
English Language requirements: If applicable – IELTS 6.5 overall (with at least 6.0 in each individual component) or Swansea recognised equivalent. Details on the Swansea University English Language entry policy can be found here.
Studentships for October 2023 entry are open to candidates of any nationality; however, please note:
- International students (including EU countries) can apply, but due to UKRI funding rules, no more than 30% of the Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Functional Industrial Coatings projects can be allocated to international students. Once the cap is reached, studentships will only be open to applicants eligible for tuition fees at the UK rate, as defined by UKCISA regulations.
- Further details about eligibility, including information about the ‘international cap’ can be found at: Eligibility (identifying if you are a home or international student) – UKRI.
If you have any questions regarding your academic or fee eligibility based on the above, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk with the web-link to the studentship(s) you are interested in.
Funding
This studentship covers a full award and includes a tax-free stipend (currently £22,000 per annum) and tuition fees, each for a period of four years, subject to meeting University progression requirements.
Also, a generous budget is available to support training, project costs, industry placements and travel to enable you to network and showcase your research at an international conference.
How to Apply
To apply, please complete your application online with the following information:
1. Course choice (section 1) – for administrative purposes only, please select PhD Materials Engineering and your application will be considered for the Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in Materials, Modelling and Manufacturing programme.
In the event you have already applied for the above programme previously, the application system may issue a warning notice and prevent application, in this event, please email pgrscholarships@swansea.ac.uk where staff will be happy to assist you in submitting your application.
2. Start year (section 1) – please select 2023
3. Personal Statement (section 6) – select ‘Add Personal Statement Text’ and set out your skills and experience and the relevance of these to the project within the text box provided. Please refer to the ‘hints and tips’ guide for details of how to structure your personal statement. Shortlisting decisions will be made on information supplied in section 6 of Apply only. Please do not attach a cover letter as it will not be considered.
4. Funding (section 8) –
- ‘Are you funding your studies yourself?’ – please select No
- ‘Name of Individual or organisation providing funds for study’ – please enter ‘RS254 – Cladding’
*It is the responsibility of the applicant to list the above information accurately when applying, please note that applications received without the above information listed will not be considered for the studentship award.
One application is required per individual Swansea University led research scholarship award; applications cannot be considered listing multiple Swansea University led research scholarship awards.
As part of your online application, you MUST upload the following documents (please do not send these via email):
- Degree certificates and transcripts (if you are currently studying for a degree, screenshots of your grades to date/interim transcripts are sufficient)
- Two references (academic or previous employer) on headed paper or using the Swansea University reference form. Please note that we are not able to accept references received citing private email accounts, e.g. Hotmail. Referees should cite their employment email address for verification of reference.
- Evidence of meeting English Language requirement (if applicable).
- Copy of UK resident visa (if applicable).
Furthermore, we invite you to complete the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Monitoring Form (online form). Data is solely collected for statistical purposes and is not viewed by those that shortlist.
Informal enquiries are welcome, please contact M2A@swansea.ac.uk.
*External Partner Application Data Sharing – Please note that as part of the studentship application selection process, application data sharing may occur with external partners outside of the University, when joint/co- funding of a studentship project is applicable.