Doctoral Candidate position within the NANAQUA MSCA Doctoral Network

We are excited to announce a fully funded Doctoral Candidate (DC15) position within the NANAQUA MSCA Doctoral Network at the University of Santiago de Compostela (USC), Spain. If you are passionate about sustainability, circular economy, process modeling, and water treatment innovation, this is an excellent opportunity to join a dynamic international research network and contribute to the future of sustainable water technologies.

Project title: Sustainability Assessment of Nanomaterial Application in Water Treatment Technologies (WP3)
This PhD project focuses on performing a Life-Cycle Sustainability Analysis (LCSA) of nanomaterials used in water treatment technologies, assessing their environmental, economic, and social impacts. The candidate will join the Marie Curie NANAQUA network led by a European consortium that aims to train doctoral researchers in nanotechnology-enabled water treatment.

Supervisor(s): Maite Moreira (PhD promoter)

Objectives: To perform a Life-Cycle Sustainability Analysis of nanomaterials used in water treatment technologies, evaluating their environmental, economic, and social impacts.
DC15 will undertake a holistic sustainability assessment of nanomaterials in water treatment, employing process modeling and material flow analysis, using tools like SuperPro Designer or Aspen Plus for scaling laboratory findings. This approach integrates a Material Flow Analysis with Life Cycle Inventory to gauge the efficiency of resource use, providing detailed input for Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). DC15 will also analyze nanomaterials’ efficiency from an LCA perspective, examining environmental impacts, pinpointing hotspots, and conducting sensitivity analyses. Economic viability will be assessed through Life Cycle Costing (LCC), incorporating market trends and process modeling data to evaluate financial parameters and environmental costs. Additionally, DC15 will integrate social impact assessments, measuring the community benefits and social welfare improvements offered by new water treatment solutions, ensuring compliance with effluent discharge standards.
In addition to research activities, the Marie Curie network promotes research stays, participation in training activities, and attendance at dissemination events.

Expected results: Modeling for the scale-up of the nanomaterial-based wastewater treatment process and analysis of its sustainability profile, avoiding the transfer of pollutants and ensuring low emissions.

Duration of the contract: 36 months (26 months NANAQUA MSCA DN 101169530 + 10 months additional USC financing through recently started projects – the ReWoW and Sea4Future projects)

Benefits:

• Monthly Living allowance: 3 400€
• Monthly Mobility allowance: 600€
• Monthly Family allowance (if applicable): 660€*

The application procedure and all the information about the position are available at the following link: DC15: Sustainability Assessment of Nanomaterial Application in Water Treatment Technologies – NANAQUA

Submission deadline: the deadline for submitting applications is March 12th, 2026