The PhD-student will study the quality of flowback water and perform the risk assessment. Flowback and produced water may contain high concentrations of compounds originating from the shale as well as compounds that are introduced via the fracturing fluids. In order to make a proper risk assessment, information on chemicals present in this water is required. In addition to public information, experimental techniques in this project will be applied to flowback and production water. Next to target chemical-analytical analysis, complementary non-target broad chemical analytical screening techniques, and bioanalytical techniques will be applied to flowback and production waters from present activities in European shale gas production activities, combined with leaching experiments with existing cores from relevant Dutch shales.
Preliminary toxicity assessment on identified fracking chemicals, including mixture effects, will be performed via literature studies on the toxicity of both the compounds originating from the shale and the fracturing chemicals.
Specific exposure scenarios towards groundwater aquifers for the activity of shale gas winning will be developed, including substance specific information on environmental fate.
The assessment of both toxicity and exposure will provide a preliminary cumulative risk assessment of the fracking and shale-originating chemicals for drinking water sources.
Context of the PhD position
The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), together with KWR Watercycle Research Institute, has recently started a four-year research programme in the field of shale gas and water. The programme focuses on the environmental risks to the water system associated with the production of shale gas in the Netherlands, the possibilities of removing these risks, and the functioning of the national and international legal frameworks.
Water management is a critical factor in the development of production sites for shale gas extraction, questions relate amongst others to changes in groundwater quality caused by fracking, and the quality and reuse potential of the discharged production water.
The “Shale Gas and Water” research programme is a collaboration between the following private and public partners: NWO, KWR, Utrecht University, Wageningen University, University of Amsterdam, and the water companies Brabant Water, Oasen and WML.
The research programme’s key elements are:
water use and geo-chemical vulnerability of the groundwater sources;
quality of the water discharged after fracking and production, and risk assessment;
treatment of discharged water;regulation and governance.
Description
Applicants should have a thorough background in environmental sciences, risk assessment, and/or chemistry. Experience in working in multidisciplinary projects with multiple organizations is a an asset, just as proven writing and communication skills.
Nr of positions available : 1
Research Fields
Physics
Career Stage
Early stage researcher or 0-4 yrs (Post graduate)
Experienced researcher or 4-10 yrs (Post-Doc)
More Experienced researcher or >10 yrs (Senior)
Research Profiles
Not defined
Benefits
2125 - 2717
Benefits
The successful candidate will be offered a full-time PhD position at Utrecht University, initially for one year. Upon good performance, the contract will be extended for three more years. Employment conditions are based on the Collective Labour Agreement of the Dutch Universities. The gross monthly salary starts at € 2.125,- in the first year and ends at € 2.717,- in the fourth year of the employment (PhD salary scale) on a fulltime basis. The salary is supplemented by a holiday allowance of 8% per year and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%. Furthermore we offer a pension scheme, collective insurance schemes and flexible employment conditions (multiple choice model). Facilities for sports and child care are available on our campus, which is only 15 minutes away from the historical city centre of Utrecht.
Part of the (experimental) work will be performed at KWR Watercycle Research Institute. The project will also be performed in collaboration with University of Amsterdam, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics. Therefore, the candidate should be willing to travel between Utrecht, Nieuwegein and Amsterdam. The position is aimed at a joint PhD degree by Utrecht University and the University of Amsterdam.
Requirements
| Physics |
| ENGLISH |
| Good |
| Physics |
| University Graduate |
| 1 |