Rob White

Profile

I am a PhD researcher at the University of Leeds under the supervision of Valerie Dupont. I enrolled in the Bioenergy CDT after completing an MChem at the University of Leicester, followed by a year working in their international office. This was inspired by my year abroad in Colorado, USA, during my MChem but ultimately led to taking on a PhD due to the lack of science in the job.

I completed two mini projects, one on Energy Return on Investment and another investigating the self heating and spontaneous combustion of biomass. Both of these projects influenced my decision to take on a more technical project with a life cycle analysis (LCA) component.

 

My project involves steam reforming, catalysis, process chemical engineering and (LCA). My PhD project is concerned with utilising glycerol waste streams from the Biodiesel industry. The main aim is to produce a methane rich gas from glycerol via steam reforming and will require a novel catalyst. My project is split into 4 phases - 

1. Literature Review and Modelling
2. Catalyst development and testing
3. LCA
4. Write Up

Research interests

My first year research has been concerned with methanation, reforming techniques, catalysis and biomass gasification.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301687359_Can_Biodiesel_Waste_Produce_A_Substitute_for_Natural_Gas

Qualifications

• MChem 1:1

Research groups and institutes

• Energy Leeds