PhD Study : Engineered solar systems for drinking water disinfection.

Summary

At least 1.8 billion people globally use a source of drinking water that is faecally contaminated and thus likely to lead to diarrheal illness. Diseases related to the consumption of contaminated drinking-water (food and domestic uses) place a major burden on human health. In 2015, 663 million people still lacked access to an improved drinking water source, and these are mostly the poor and marginalized. Almost a quarter of those people rely on surface water that is untreated and microbiologically unsafe, leading to a higher risk of contracting waterborne diseases, including typhoid, hepatitis A and E, polio and cholera. There are several low-cost interventions that can disinfect water. Among them, solar water disinfection has been demonstrated to inactivate a number of pathogenic microorganisms. Nevertheless, a number of challenges have identified that limit the application and compliance of this technology in the field, as for example the up-scaling of solar reactors to treat water at community level, the water quality assurance for adhering to the WHO international scheme to evaluate Household Water Treatment Technologies, and the user dependency.

The objective of this PhD project relates to the development of an application of solar water disinfection systems for the disinfection of water at community level facing these issues. This PhD project will focus on the efficiency of solar radiation for several microbial indicators inactivation and will identify engineered-enhancement routes to improve the process efficiency for the provision of safe water in low-income communities.

The main objectives of this project are:

Design and construct efficient low cost systems for the enhanced disinfection of drinking water, with focus in the materials selection.

Determining the efficiency of the solar disinfection systems for a bacterial and a viral indicator.

Identifying the main physical and design factors affecting solar water disinfection of bacterial and viral indicators and potential enhancers.

Determining the efficiency of the process under real solar radiation in the communities of the SAFEWATER project.

This project should deliver an engineered system for solar enhanced disinfection for providing safe drinking water for areas of low income. The data and results of this project will be published in high impact peer reviewed journals. The main novelty of this proposal is the development of a low-cost system for delivering clean and safe drinking water for sunny areas of the world with focus in community scale and quality assurance. The main impact expected for this project will be to reduce the incidence of diseases transmitted as result of drinking untreated water. This will be evaluated in selected communities of Latin America, and the results will be used as an exemplar for the use of technology for sustainable development – consistent with UN priorities and the sustainable development goals.

This PhD proposal is complementary to the recently funded GCRF – RCUK ‘SAFEWATER’ project (£4.8 M from EPSRC).

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

• Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
• Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
• Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living