Master’s thesis: Optimizing the membrane distillation technology for process water cleaning from industrial side-streams to close production cycles.

AEE – Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC)

AEE – Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC) was founded in 1988 and is now one of the leading European institutes of applied research in the fields of renewable energy and resource effi-ciency. In the three target groups “Buildings”, “Cities & Networks”, and “Industrial Systems”, as well as the three technology working groups “Renewable Energies”, “Thermal Storage”, and “Water and Process Technologies”, the range of R&D projects carried out extends from basic research projects to the implementation of demonstration plants.
AEE INTEC currently employs around 80 people from eight different nations in Gleisdorf. With an average of three PhD students and about ten diploma students, interns, and student assistants, the institute also contributes to the training of highly qualified professionals.
Within the framework of national, European and international research and development projects, AEE INTEC has made a significant contribution to the further development of sustainable technolo-gies in recent years. Clients of these projects are federal states, federal ministries, the European Commission, international organizations such as UNIDO as well as industrial and commercial enter-prises.

Research Project

Europe has set the goal of achieving climate neutrality and a circular economy by 2050. In the EU Horizon project “Cornerstone”, the treatment, upgrading, and reuse of industrial wastewater is be-ing pursued. The aim is to drive the integration of new technological and digital developments into existing industrial wastewater treatment systems to recover and reuse fresh water, energy, and dissolved substances.
The steel, pulp & paper, and chemical industries are the primary focus as end-users, as they are es-sential for realizing the goals of P4Planet, which seeks to transform European process industries. Within the project, six technology modules will be tested on different process waters. AEE INTEC focuses on the development and testing of a novel modified membrane distillation technology.

Master-Arbeit

The master thesis will be conducted as an integral part of the aforementioned research project. The objective of this thesis is to experimentally investigate at a lab scale whether a new innovative membrane distillation (MD) approach can significantly improve conventional direct contact mem-brane distillation, with the goal of enhancing thermal energy efficiency and reducing fouling and scaling on the membrane surface and potentially in membrane pores.
This new innovative MD approach will be tested and verified for the first time in the lab, compared to data from similar unmodified tests (which will be carried out by project partners).

The tasks of the master thesis include:

• Testing a novel membrane distillation system for water treatment
• Conducting membrane distillation tests with reference and real samples
• Verifying the laboratory system (precision, accuracy, repeatability)
• Optimizing the system and process conditions
• Sampling and analyzing samples (simple analytics)
• Data processing and statistical evaluation
• Discussing the results in light of the research hypotheses
• Evaluating the suitability of the method

We expect

• A structured, solution-oriented, and preferably independent working style
• Basic knowledge in one or more disciplines such as environmental engineering, urban water management, process engineering, physics, or chemistry
• Good command of English (the project language is English)
• Presence at the research institute in Gleisdorf required
• Possibility of remote work for data analysis

We offer

• A paid master thesis and a workplace at the institute in Gleisdorf
• Public transport ticket for the duration of employment
• Integration into an ongoing research project and the research team
• Supervision by experienced staff and researchers
• Duration: 6-12 months starting from October 2024

Contact:

• DI Dr. Christoph Höfer, Tel.: +43 (0)3112 5886-456, E-mail: c.hoefer@aee.at
• DIin Dr.in Bettina Muster-Slawitsch Tel.: +43 (0)3112 5886-471, E-Mail: b.muster@aee.at