PhD-position | The role of using biomass in the chemical industry for reaching climate neutrality in Europe
Background:
Currently, biomass replaces fossil fuels mainly in the energy sector, but less so in the chemical industry. However, in the energy sector, alternatives to biomass are available, while biomass may be a fundamental resource for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions in the chemical industry. Currently, state-of-the-art modelling approaches for developing climate neutrality scenarios, however, mostly do not consider the chemical sector at all.
Research Objectives:
- Determining the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that can be substituted by replacing fossil fuels with biomass in the chemical sector
- Determining in which sectors biomass is best used to reduce co2-emissions cost-effectively
- Estimating at which relative carbon, fossil fuel, and biomass prices the use of biomass is cost-effective in the chemical sector
- Understanding which products developed in Circular Bioengineering have the largest prospects for reducing emissions
Methods:
We expand the energy system model pypsa-eur by adding conversion technologies in the chemical industry, and demand for all biomass uses, i.e. materials, energy, food, feed, and the chemical industry. Integrate this model with the model in the second, Post-Doc project to develop full climate neutrality scenarios for the European Union.
Where to apply:
Fachgebiet
Energy & land use system modelling
Arbeitgeber
Arbeitsstätte
Stunden
30
Antrittsdatum
01. September 2025
Bewerbungsfrist
30. Juni 2025
Kontakt
Cluster of Excellence: Circular Bioengineering
cb_managingdirector(at)boku.ac.at
014765475002
Sophie Schober
cb_managingdirector(at)boku.ac.at
014765475002