PG Funding: PhD Studentships – Process Industries: Net Zero – Development of a Novel Microwave Non-thermal plasma Reactor for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Utilisation Full Time

Award summary

100% fees (UK Home only), a minimum tax-free annual living allowance of £21,805 (2026/27 UKRI rate), and a research training support grant of £20,000.

Overview

This PhD project is part of the Process Industries: Net Zero (PINZ) Centre for Doctoral Training and will focus on developing the design of a novel microwave-based non-thermal reactor developed by ARCS Evolution Ltd. The reactor is known as the “ARCS chamber” and is used for non-thermal plasma treatment of gas streams. The aim of the PhD is to understand how chamber design and operating conditions influence exhaust gas clean-up performance. The study will focus on the interaction between chamber geometry, chamber construction materials, microwave operating conditions, and gas-stream properties, and how variation in these factors affects the removal or conversion of key gas-phase species and particulate content.

A structured Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology will be used to investigate the principal operating variables to be explored, allowing rapid exploration of the parameter space. The research will combine design space exploration, heuristic investigation, and statistical analysis to identify promising chamber configurations and operating windows. The outcome will be a clearer engineering understanding of how ARCS chamber design can be varied to improve the performance of non-thermal plasma treatment for polluted gas streams.

This is an opportunity to work on a genuinely novel, near-to-market technology and participate in its journey towards commercialisation.

Number of awards: One

Start date: 1^st October 2026

Award duration: 4 years

Sponsor: EPSRC

Supervisors: Professor Adam Harvey (adam.harvey@newcastle.ac.uk)

Eligibility criteria

You must have, or expect to gain, a minimum 2:1 Honours degree or international equivalent in a subject relevant to the proposed PhD project. Due to nature of this project, the candidate should have a strong background in Engineering, especially chemical engineering or another closely related engineering subject. Enthusiasm for research, the ability to think and work independently, excellent analytical skills and strong verbal and written communication skills are also essential requirements.

This studentship is available to UK Home students only.

How to apply

You must apply through the University’s Apply to Newcastle Portal. Once registered, select ‘Create a Postgraduate Application’.

Use ‘Course Search’ to identify your programme of study:

• Search for the ‘Course Title’ using the programme code: 8856F
• Leave the ‘Research Area’ field blank
• Select ‘PhD in Process Industries; Net Zero (PINZ’) as the programme of study

You will then need to provide the following information in the ‘Further Details’ section:

• A ‘Personal Statement’ (this is a mandatory field) – upload a document or write a statement directly in to the application form  
• The studentship code PINZ08-26 in the ‘Studentship/Partnership Reference’ field  
• ‘Research Proposal’ – when prompted for how you are providing your research proposal –select ‘Write Proposal’. You should then type in the title of the research project from this advert. You do not need to upload a research proposal.

You must submit one application per studentship. You cannot apply for multiple studentships in one application.

Contact details: General enquiries: pinz.cdt@ncl.ac.uk