Denmark:PhD positions available at CERE-DTU [Chemistry; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering]

Center for Energy Resources Engineering (Department of Chemistry and , Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering), Technical University of Denmark, has an opportunity to support two PhD projects:
Enhanced Oil Recovery with Application of Micro-Organisms,
Enhanced Oil Recovery with Application of Enzymes
in the framework of the large project “Biotechnology in Oil Recovery - BioRec”, supported by the Danish National Foundation for Advanced Technologies, Maersk Oil & Gas and DONG Energy.

Description of the project
A four-year BioRec project is focused around behavior and effects of microorganisms in reservoir engineering: Enhanced oil recovery (EOR), hydrate formation and inhibition, and bio-induced corrosion. The goal of the specific subproject is a highly focused investigation of the possible recovery mechanisms of Bio-EOR under conditions of the Danish North Sea reservoirs.

Application of the modern oil recovery methods never leads to complete recovery. Production of few ten percent is often considered to be a success. Can oil recovery be increased by the application of microorganisms and/or enzymes – protein catalysts from living systems? A positive answer would provide the opportunity to produce more oil in a relatively cheap and environmentally safe way.

The task of the PhD student
The tasks of the PhD students will be to carry out a series of laboratory experiments by displacement of oil by water containing bacteria and/or enzymes; and advanced mathematical modeling of the displacement processes under realistic reservoir conditions. Selection of the samples and bio-agents will be carried out in collaboration with industrial partners: Mærsk Oil & Gas, DONG Energy, Novozymes, and Danish Technological Institute.

The students are expected to exhibit creativity, openness to new challenges and interest to independent and nontrivial research.

Required skills
A degree (M.Sc.) in chemical or petroleum engineering, technical physics, other relevant areas;
Knowledge of the fundamentals of flows and fluid distribution in porous media;
Good writing skills in English;
Interest to independent research;
Laboratory skills;
Skills in mathematics, physics and programming;
Approval and Enrolment
The scholarships for the PhD degree are subject to academic approval, and the candidates will be enrolled in one of the general degree programmes of DTU. For information about the general requirements for enrolment and the general planning of the scholarship studies, please see the DTU PhD Guide.

Salary and appointment terms
The salary and appointment terms are consistent with the current rules for PhD degree students. The period of employment is 3 years.

Further information
The projects will be supervised by Associate Professor Alexander Shapiro ( ash@kt.dtu.dk) with possible co-supervision from other involved researchers.

Application
We must have your online application by March 15th, 2011. Please open the link "apply for this job online", fill in the application form and attach the following documents;
A cover letter outlining the motivation for the PhD study and for this particular project
Curriculum vitae
Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma
Conversion of grade averages to Danish grades (see guidelines and excel spreadsheet for the conversion here).
References
Candidates may apply prior to ob­tai­ning their master's degree, but cannot begin before having received it.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, race, inability, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline : 15 March 2011