Biorefinery Demonstratin Plant Engineer
The Circular Bioeconomy is a thematic area of research at Munster Technological University in Ireland, led by the Circular Bioeconomy Research Group (CircBio) 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 BioReFarmeries, Farm Zero C, Biorefinery Glas, INFORMBIO, BIOSWITCH, BBioNets, 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.
The group plays a leading role in the development of bio-based technologies for processing feedstocks from biomass.
Munster Technological University, through CircBio will lead a new first-of-its-kind decentralised green biorefinery demonstration initiative funded under the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU).
Rural BioReFarmeries project will advance the development of farm-centred bioeconomy approaches through the deployment of green biorefineries across grassland regions of Europe. Two primary green biorefinery and anaerobic digestion demonstration sites in Ireland and Denmark will optimise various processes in collaboration with upstream research and industrial sites in Netherlands, Ireland, Denmark and Poland.
Description of Work
This position of Biorefinery Pilot Plant Engineer and Project Manager is an exciting opportunity to help oversee the implementation and management of a grass biorefinery demo facility at Farm Zero C, Cork Ireland. The engineer will work closely with the MTU project team, based at Kerry (Tralee) and Cork, along with the broader Farm Zero C Team at Shinagh Farm. In addition, the engineer will collaborate closely with Irish and EU downstream partners (who will further analyse projects), industry (product end-users) and the green biorefinery demonstration plant of Aarhus University, Viborg, home to the Danish demo site.
The position would suit a candidate in backgrounds such as process engineering, marine engineer (Maskin Mester), agricultural engineering, mechanical engineering, energy engineering, with experience of large-scale process integration, management and maintenance.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
* Manage the grass biorefinery demo 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 BioReFarmeries 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, pressure, etc.) by 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.
* Ensure that risks within the biorefinery are identified and mitigated in collaboration with supervisor and colleagues.
* Liaise with colleagues on secure management and supply of sample co-products to colleagues and partners.
* Support CircBio team colleagues on bench and pilot-scale processing prior to scale-up.
* Provide technical reporting activities.
* Mentoring of PhD students involved in tasks related to the green biorefinery and Rural BioReFarmeries projects.
* Management and mitigation of project risks related to green biorefinery implementation.
* Liaise with colleagues to 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.
* Contribute to the broader activities of CircBio and Rural BioReFarmeries.
Candidate Requirements:
* BSc/BEng, MSc/MEng or PhD 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 the maintenance and/or repair of engineering equipment/facilities.
* Experience in capturing, comparing and analysing process and sample data.
* Strong leadership capability.
* Experience of team working in a multidisciplinary operational environment.
* Excellent interpersonal, communication, presentation and organisational skills.
* A full driver's license is required in order to access the farm and other relevant sites.
Desirable Skills:
* 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.
* 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.
Application Procedure:
All applications to be made to vacancies.
Location:
This post is based within the Circular Bioeconomy Research Group (CircBio) at Munster Technological University in Tralee; however, the normal working place will be located at Farm Zero C at Cork, Ireland.
Occasional national and international visits will be essential for training and to collaborate with project partners and funders from time to time.
Eligible candidates must be citizens of the European Economic Area (EEA) or non-EEA nationals with a valid work permit.
The EEA includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and United Kingdom. Swiss citizens under EU agreements may also apply.
Non-EEA Nationals in employment without an appropriate employment permit can only work for the employer named on the permit.