Biorefinery Demonstrating Plant Engineer
The Circular Bioeconomy is a thematic area of research at Munster Technological University in Ireland, led by the Circular Bioeconomy Research Group (Circ Bio) based at the Shannon Applied Biotechnology Centre.
This multi-disciplinary team leads and participates on a range of exciting, high-impact, national and international research projects, including Rural Bio Re Farmeries, Farm Zero C, Biorefinery Glas, INFORMBIO, BIOSWITCH, BBio Nets, BIO4 AFRICA, COOPID, Mainstream BIOROBIN. Bio Assess and many more.
Research activities of Circ Bio focus upon improving the value and circularity of raw materials and waste, sustainable product development, analyzing and monitoring the impact of sustainable technologies and practices, and engaging with primary producers, industry, government, and relevant stakeholders to ensure research impact is maximized with real-world impact.
Job Description:
* Operate, implement the Rural Bio Re Farmeries farm-scale green biorefinery demonstration facility at Farm Zero C, Ireland, with support from supervisor and colleagues.
* Collaborate with project and farm colleagues to schedule the timely provision of green biomass feedstock in a suitable manner for processing within the green biorefinery.
* Manage biorefinery equipment and parameters for the conversion of biomass into different co-products (e.g., press cake, protein concentrate, and brown juice).
* Test different green biorefinery feedstocks under different processing conditions (e.g., different biorefinery pre-treatment systems).
* Liaise with fellow Rural Bio Re Farmeries researchers to allow for sample taking from different process streams which will be investigated by fellow researchers and industry partners downstream.
* Record data related to process parameters to enable process optimization (e.g., temperature, pressures, throughput, yield, etc.) and development of mass and energy balances for subsequent research colleagues in studies such as LCA and technoeconomics.
* Develop with supervisor and colleagues a standardized method for collection, comparison, and analysis of green biorefinery feedstock and process data.
* Liaise closely with the biorefinery team from our sister green biorefinery demo site at Aarhus University, Viborg, to collect and compare data, along with the wider Rural Bio Re Farmeries project team.
* Ensure that risks within the biorefinery are identified and mitigated in collaboration with supervisor.
* Ensure that the biorefinery is maintained and/or repaired at regular intervals as necessary over time.
* Liaise with colleagues on secure management and supply of sample co-products to colleagues and partners.
* Support Circ Bio team colleagues on bench and pilot-scale processing prior to scale-up.
* Support the Rural Bio Re Farmeries team in efforts to scale activities from bench-top to pilot.
* Collaborate with and support coordinator on day-to-day Rural Bio Re Farmeries management and reporting activities.
* Mentoring of Ph.D. students involved in tasks related to the green biorefinery and Rural Bio Re Farmeries projects.
* Management and mitigation of project risks related to green biorefinery implementation.
* Liaise with partners (Circ Bio, University of Galway, Bi Orbic, UCD, TCD, and others) working to optimize and scale anaerobic digestion process from biorefinery residues.
* Participate in, contribute to, and co-organize project-related external events such as demonstration days, workshops, training, and promotional events, as well as internal project meetings.
* Contribute to future green biorefinery design and development work.
* Write technical reports and contribute to peer-reviewed publications.
Requirements:
* BSc/BEng, MSc/MEng or Ph.D. in a related engineering area (e.g., process engineering, marine engineer (Maskin Mester), agricultural engineering, mechanical engineering, etc.).
* Relevant technical background with experience in operations engineering and process management, ideally within a biomass-related position, or other relevant areas such as marine, food, and agriculture industry, and energy industry, etc.
* Experience of participation in industrially relevant commercial or pilot projects, maintaining and optimizing process parameters like heat, steam, and pressure.
* Experience in maintenance and/or repair of engineering equipment/facilities.
* Capturing, comparing, and analyzing process and sample data.
* Strong leadership capability.
* Experience of team working in a multidisciplinary operational environment.
* Self-motivated and strong ability to work on own initiative will be essential to the role.
* Able to follow instruction of project PIs and collaborate with other team members is also a requirement.
* Excellent interpersonal, communication, presentation, and organizational skills.
* A full driver's license is required in order to access the farm and other relevant sites.
Desirable:
* Knowledge and experience of biorefinery process systems and extraction of products (e.g., proteins/sugars) from biomass.
* Any experience of grasses or other biomass feedstocks suitable for biorefinery processing as well as logistics.
* Previous engineering experience focused on operations for large-scale projects.
* Strong technical background, including track record of technical report preparation.
* Experience of project management, and demonstrable ability to plan and implement tasks in a timely manner.
* Excellent track record of delivering technical reports and/or publications.
Salary:
€43,768 per annum.
The post is of 24 months' duration and may be extended.