Internship Master: Heterogeneous reaction of inorganic and organic pollutants with natural mineral dusts and surrogates

Discipline : CERI EE

Line Manager : Nadine LOCOGE

Location : IMT NORD EUROPE, CERI EE, 941 rue Charles Bourseul, 59500 Douai

Type of contract: Master internship, duration 4-6 months.

Internship in Atmospheric Science

Context:

Public establishment belonging to IMT (Institut Mines-Télécom), placed under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, IMT Nord Europe has three main objectives: providing our students with ethically responsible engineering practice enabling them to solve 21st century issues, carrying out our R&D activities leading to outstanding innovations and supporting territorial development through innovation and entrepreneurship. Ideally positioned at the heart of Europe, 1 hour away from Paris, 30 min from Brussels and 1h30 from London, IMT Nord Europe has strong ambitions to become a main actor of the current industrial transitions, digital and environmental, by combining education and research on engineering and digital technologies.

Located on two main campuses dedicated to research and education in Douai and Lille, IMT Nord Europe offers research facilities of almost 20,000m² in the following areas:

•             Digital science,

•             Processes for industry and services,

•             Energy and Environment,

•             Materials and Processes.

For more details, visit the School’s website : www.imt-nord-europe.fr

Context:

It is estimated that 1600 Tg of mineral dust are released into the atmosphere on an annual basis with the ability to undergo long-range transportation. The role of heterogeneous interactions of atmospheric trace gases on mineral dust particles remains an important question in tropospheric chemistry. These interactions have been a subject of great interest in the past decade, due to their momentous capability in altering the atmosphere chemical balance and modifying dust particle properties. Recent studies evidenced that mineral dust may significantly influence the local and regional abundances of trace gases in the troposphere.

Objectives:

The purpose of the internship is to investigate the heterogeneous interaction/reaction of key atmospheric species such as inorganic and organic pollutants (e.g. HCl, O3, HBr, VOCs, etc) with natural mineral dusts and proxies (i.e. mineral oxides such as CaCO3, SiO2, etc.). The experiments will be carried out inside photochemical reactors and optical cells coupled with state-of-the-art mass spectrometric and spectroscopic instrumentation (SIFT-MS, DRIFT, FTIR, various types of analyzers) to monitor in real time the gas phase concentrations of pollutants as well as their surface concentration. Consequently, crucial kinetic parameters (uptake coefficients) and surface properties (surface coverage, partitioning coefficients) will be determined. Furthermore, to better evaluate the impact of these heterogeneous processes in real atmosphere, experiments will be carried out under simulated atmospheric conditions (temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, etc).

Profile:

The successful candidate should have a strong background in physical chemistry, infrared spectroscopic and mass spectrometric techniques. Good computer skills and knowledge of data treatment software (Excel, Origin Pro, Igor) will be appreciated. Motivation and good communication skills will be highly valuable. The candidate will have the opportunity to be trained in state-of-the-art analytical techniques used in atmospheric chemistry, and work close to a dynamic international team of researchers.

Candidates should send a motivation letter and a detailed curriculum Vitae, and a reference letter to the supervisors. Dr. Manolis Romanias and Anais Lostier.

Expected starting date: January/February 2025

Supervisor: Dr. Manolis Romanias and Anais Lostier,

For further information on the internship, please contact Dr. ROMANIAS Manolis (Emmanouil.romanias@imt-nord-europe.fr, and Anais Lostier, (Anais.lostier@imt-nord-europe.fr). For any administrative information, please contact the Human Resources Department: jobs@imt-nord-europe.fr

DEADLINE DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS : 31/12/2024