PhD - High-Temperature Kinetic, Thermodynamic, and Thermophysical Properties of Graphitic Biomass-Derived Biocarbon (Biochar): Applications in Energy Storage - CDD 36 months

1.     POST ENVIRONMENT

School of the ministry in charge of industry, IMT Mines Albi is a school of the Institut Mines-Télécom, 1st group of engineering and management schools of France. At the forefront of industrial and academic issues on the international scene, it acts as a territorial scientific and economic engine by combining its 4 missions - to train engineers by integrating the dynamics of sustainable development, scientific research, contributing to economic development and spreading the culture of science, technology and innovation - in a virtuous and innovative cycle.

Its positioning in terms of training and research places IMT Mines Albi as a reference school on three of the four themes of the IMT, namely responsible future industry, energy, circular economy and society and engineering, health and well-being.

IMT Mines Albi has adopted in 2023 and for a five-year period, a strategic plan divided into 7 major actions, thus responding to the strategic orientations of the IMT group to which it belongs.

The position is based within the RAPSODEE Center (Research of Albi in Process Engineering of Divided Solids, Energy and Environment), a CNRS joint research unit dedicated to processes, materials, and sustainable. energies.

The PhD thesis will be supervised by Prof. Ange Nzihou and co-supervised by a colleague from Princeton University (USA).

2.     MAIN MISSIONS AND ACTIVITIES

This work is part of an ERC (European Research Council) Advanced Grant project. The ERC is a European funding organisation that supports groundbreaking research projects through very competitive grants, as part of the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.         
The ERC project aims at evaluating the storage capacity of innovative biocarbon composites, a sustainable family of advanced biomass-based carbon materials to store energy in various environments, as opposed to most of the current solutions relying on fossil fuel-based or non-sustainable materials. This should translate into remarkable CO2 emissions reduction and energy savings. The work will be carried out in an international environment with regular visits to partners' laboratories in France, India, and the USA.    
Current studies are focused on the selection of biomass feedstocks, their characterisation, and on pyrolysis and graphitization to produce biocarbon composites as well as their use for energy storage in various configurations and environments.

3.     MAIN ACTIVITIES

As part of this ERC work and in parallel with other ongoing studies in our research group, this PhD work will be focused on the measurement calculation and modelling of thermodynamic and kinetic data. Insight into the kinetic and thermodynamic behaviour, namely dissolution-precipitation, grain nucleation, growth, and stability of the biocarbon-based composite during their formation, will be determined in constructing a multi-component phase diagram, among other approaches. The data obtained from the experiment will be compared to that from modelling. Machine Learning will be also used to predict and optimize the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of the biochar-based materials considered. Model will be realized considering measurable material macro-properties such as thermal expansivities or Poisson coefficient, molecular descriptors (density, melting temperature, entropy, etc..) microstructural defect or microlength scale organisation information. Experimentation combined with modelling and simulation approaches should enable the optimization of the thermophysical and chemical properties of the biocarbon and fine-tune the experimental and numerical approaches.

4.     SOME LITERATURE REFERENCES

Krishnan, S.; Bose, B.; Kalarikkal, N., Thomas, Sabu.; Nzihou, A. « Effect of Structural Defects on Electrical Conductivity of Graphitic Biocarbon. » ACS Omega (September 2025). https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.5c04847

Rigollet, S.; Béguerie, T.; Weiss-Hortala, E.; Flamant, G.; Nzihou, A. “Synthesis of graphitic biocarbons from lignin fostered by concentrated solar energy.” Sciencific Reports 15, (February 2025): 6418. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-91204-8

Mohanty, A.; Vivekanandhan, S.; Das, O.; Romero Millán, L.; Klinghoffer, N.; Nzihou, A.; Manjusri, M. “Biocarbon Materials for Composites, Energy and Environment.” Nature Reviews Methods Primers 4 (March 2014): 19. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43586-024-00297-4

Romero Millán, L.; Ghogia, A.; White, C.; Nzihou, A. « Iron Nanoparticles to Catalyze Graphitization of Cellulose For Energy Storage Applications ». ACS Applied Nano Materials 6, n°5 (February 2023): 3549–3559. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.2c05312

5.     TRAINING AND SKILLS

Minimum required level of training and/or experience:

Master’s degree (or equivalent) in chemical engineering, materials engineering, materials science, physical chemistry.

Knowledge, skills and experience

• Background in thermodynamics (fluid and solid thermodynamics, phase diagram) and/or kinetic modelling
• Programming skills (e.g. data analysis, scientific computing, uncertainty computation and model optimization, machine learning)
• Experience in materials characterization techniques such as XRD, XPS, TGA-DSC, N₂ sorption
• Knowledge of microscopy and spectroscopy techniques (SEM-EDS, HR-TEM, Raman spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy)

Abilities and aptitudes

• Scientific rigor, analytical and synthesis skills
• Autonomy and initiative
• A passion for experimental work
• Good written and oral communication skills in English

6.     ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Application deadline: August 31, 2026
• Position based at IMT Mines Albi with research visits to partner laboratories in the USA and other international locations (India, France).
• Required documents: CV, cover letter, and 1 or 2 recommendation letters
• Contact: auriane.agard@mines-albi.fr