York PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry: Real-Time Detection of Amine Emissions from Carbon Capture

York PhD in Atmospheric Chemistry: Real-Time Detection of Amine Emissions from Carbon Capture

Quick Decision

Recommendation: Strong but verify fit. This is a well-specified experimental PhD for a candidate interested in atmospheric chemistry, analytical mass spectrometry and field measurements. Its central value is the attempt to make hard-to-measure amines and degradation products observable at carbon-capture facilities, then use those observations to improve air-quality evidence. YES-DTN guidance describes a programme-level 3.5-year award, potentially 3.75 years with an optional placement, a UKRI-rate stipend, tuition including the international fee difference, and research/training support. Confirm that those terms and the two-form Leeds/YES-DTN application route apply to this York-hosted project. The project-specific award and 2027/28 stipend are not stated. The fixed deadline is 12 January 2027 at 13:00 GMT; the opening date conflicts across YES-DTN pages. Visa, health surcharge and relocation costs are excluded, and up to 30% of awards may go to international applicants. The key scientific questions are how the new instruments will be validated for amines and which plant deployments are secured. Ask the supervisors about calibration, field access and the precise award-year stipend. project description application instructions funding terms

Research Problem and Doctoral Work

What Is Unsolved and Why It Matters

Post-combustion carbon capture commonly uses amine solvents. Even in systems designed to operate as closed loops, unreacted solvent and degradation products can escape with flue gas. The project description estimates that a monoethanolamine plant capturing about one million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year could release roughly 40–160 tonnes of amines annually. These compounds can oxidise, partition into aerosols or cloud droplets and deposit; atmospheric processing can also form nitrosamines and nitramines. Their yields, chemical identities and toxicology remain uncertain. Existing measurement approaches can lose amines because they are chemically unstable and adsorb strongly to sampling lines, leaving too little quantitative evidence to assess transport and impacts reliably. project description foundational amine chemistry review 2025 environmental review 2024 pilot-plant emissions study

Recent work reinforces why emissions measurements need to be interpreted by solvent and operating conditions. A 2025 modelling study found that annual-average nitrosamine/nitramine concentrations could be below a benchmark while short-term exposures may exceed it in some modelled cases; the study is not a site-specific risk assessment. A 2024 pilot-plant paper reports measured amines and volatile degradation products under particular plant conditions. Together they make a case for better data, while showing that a concentration reading alone is not a health conclusion. 2025 atmospheric model 2024 pilot-plant emissions study

Work, Methods, and Potential Outputs

The advertised doctoral work has four connected tasks:

1. Develop and validate proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) and ethanol chemical-ionisation mass spectrometry (Ethanol-CIMS) for trace measurement of carbon-capture-relevant amines. The project proposes rapid, direct, sensitive measurements with minimal sampling-line length and no sample pre-treatment.
2. Integrate the instruments into the University of York’s WACL Atmospheric Sampling Platform (WASP), a mobile laboratory that measures multiple pollutants at at least 1 Hz.
3. Deploy the mobile platform at UK post-combustion capture facilities to quantify ambient background, primary-amine emissions and degradation products.
4. Use the resulting observations to evaluate possible air-quality and human-health implications. project description

The most consequential method-development work is likely to be demonstrating that the instrument response is selective and stable for the target amines under field humidity and matrix conditions. Calibration, blanks, line losses, interference checks, detection limits, response time and comparison with an independent method should be discussed with the supervisors. Emission rates also require a defensible link between ambient measurements, background, meteorology and plant operation. These are suggested validation questions, not additional guaranteed work packages. Recent York papers on ambient source apportionment and plume-measurement validation offer useful field-method comparators, but involve vehicle emissions rather than amines. 2025 emissions paper 2024 ambient method paper 2025 field-method validation

School, Programme and Field Context

The PhD is based in the Department of Chemistry at the University of York, with research in WACL. York is the degree-awarding institution; the project lists the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as a project partner. WACL works across sensitive atmospheric measurements, technology development, atmospheric chemistry, field campaigns and modelling, in collaboration with NCAS. The project page describes more than 75 researchers in WACL and access to the WASP mobile laboratory. The Yorkshire Environmental Sciences doctoral network adds cohort training, scientific writing, data analysis, presentation practice and opportunities to present work at network, DEFRA and NCAS events. Confirm the 2027 cohort’s exact training calendar and how network training fits alongside laboratory work. project description doctoral training laboratory environment

York reports a joint 158th place globally and 24th in the UK in the QS World University Rankings 2027. This is an overall university ranking, not a Chemistry or atmospheric-chemistry position. It is useful as broad context but cannot substitute for the project’s direct evidence of research fit and facilities. university ranking

Supervisor and Lab Assessment

Supervisor Research Directions

The project names Dr Marvin Shaw as primary supervisor, with Professor Jacqui Hamilton and Dr Naomi Farren as academic supervisors. Shaw’s profile describes real-time PTR-MS/SIFT-MS measurements of VOC emissions, meteorological flux methods and field deployment. Hamilton’s research connects atmospheric transformation, aerosols, air quality and possible nitrosamine formation from carbon-capture amines. Farren’s research includes ambient emission quantification and source apportionment. This combination connects instrument development, atmospheric chemistry and interpretation of field data. The public profiles do not provide the planned supervisory meeting schedule or exact split of experimental responsibilities. laboratory team Marvin Shaw profile Jacqui Hamilton profile Naomi Farren profile

Recent Important Publications

• Farren and collaborators’ 2025 vehicle-emission study uses highly disaggregated particulate and gas emission factors with ambient concentration apportionment. It is relevant for field-data and source-attribution practice, not amine-specific calibration. 2025 emissions paper
• A 2024 Farren-led paper presents an ambient measurement method for vehicle-emission quantification and concentration source apportionment. Its contribution is a methodological comparator for separating background and source signals. 2024 ambient method paper
• A 2025 Farren-associated study optimises and validates plume chasing for robust NOx and particle measurements. Its attention to validation and field quality control is relevant, although mobile vehicle plumes are not carbon-capture stacks. 2025 field-method validation
• A 2025 review of amine-based capture emissions calls for more standardised measurement methods; a companion modelling study shows that predicted short- and long-term exposures depend on solvent and wash configuration. These are field-level context papers rather than direct outputs from the named supervisory team. 2025 environmental review 2025 atmospheric model

Lab, Resources, and Collaboration Environment

WACL combines laboratory and field research and is associated with York and NCAS. The project states that WASP is a comprehensive mobile air-quality laboratory, able to measure multiple pollutants at high temporal resolution. DEFRA is the project partner, and the listing describes opportunities to present at DEFRA/NCAS symposia. These are useful resources for applied dissemination; applicants should still confirm which sites and permissions are already secured, how often the mobile unit will be deployed, and what instrumentation is available to a doctoral researcher. project description laboratory environment laboratory team

Funding, Application, and Living Cost

The detailed application guide gives 12 November 2026 at 10:00 GMT as the opening time, while another YES-DTN page gives 2 November; confirm which opening date applies. Both give the deadline as 12 January 2027 at 13:00 GMT. YES-DTN Apply page The network application guidance lists two submissions: a Leeds Online Application (OLA) and the YES-DTN JISC application. Confirm with the network whether this route applies to the York-hosted project. Select project code YES-27-Y-11 and enter the student ID generated by OLA in the network application. The network recommends completing OLA several days early because the ID may take over 24 hours to arrive. Check the application instructions for the required documents and English-language evidence. application instructions

YES-DTN’s programme-level terms describe 3.5 years of funding, potentially 3.75 years with an optional three-month industry placement. They list a UKRI-rate stipend, university tuition including the international fee difference, and research, fieldwork, training and conference support. Up to 30% of cohort awards may go to international students. Visa, immigration health surcharge and relocation costs are explicitly excluded. The York project’s specific award and 2027/28 stipend remain unconfirmed; UKRI lists a 2026/27 minimum full-time stipend of £21,805 outside London, which is a comparison figure only. Confirm the actual award terms in writing. funding terms UKRI stipend guidance UKRI student guidance

York’s postgraduate cost guide and 2026/27 accommodation page provide a starting point for budgeting. University-managed accommodation prices may include utilities, but room availability and contract lengths vary. Compare rent for all 12 months, food, local travel and any excluded bills with the confirmed stipend. International applicants should separately budget visa, health surcharge and relocation expenses. York cost guide York accommodation

Applicant Fit and Preparation

Required Background and Skills

The project lists atmospheric science, chemistry, physical science and physics as relevant degree backgrounds. It does not state that prior experience with PTR-MS, CIMS or carbon capture is mandatory. Applications should show a quantitative experimental foundation and an ability to work carefully with trace measurements, calibration, uncertainty, analytical data and atmospheric processes. project description application instructions

Preferred Experience and Suggested Preparation

Prior instrument operation, field sampling, mass-spectrometry, air-quality measurement, meteorological data or reproducible coding would help an applicant make a credible case, but these are preparation suggestions rather than published eligibility requirements. Read about amine solvent slip, sampling-line adsorption and atmospheric oxidation; be ready to explain why a measured ambient concentration is not identical to an emission rate or a toxicity result. Include examples of troubleshooting or quality-control work and evidence of collaborative research. The network application and university application should tell a consistent story while meeting their separate submission requirements. project description Marvin Shaw profile Jacqui Hamilton profile Naomi Farren profile

Next Actions and Questions to Verify

Before Applying

• Confirm the opening and deadline in both application systems, the displayed time zone and every required document.
• Submit the university application early enough to receive the student ID, then verify that it is entered correctly in the network form.
• Ask for the exact 2027/28 stipend amount and written confirmation of fee, placement and research-cost coverage.

At Interview

• Which amines, degradation products, reference methods and detection limits will be prioritised?
• Which plant sites, solvents, permissions and field-campaign windows are already confirmed?
• How will the team test line losses, humidity effects, interferences, response drift and emission-rate uncertainty?
• How will supervisory responsibilities and access to WASP and field sites be divided?

Before Accepting an Offer

• Obtain the award duration, annual stipend, payment schedule and fieldwork/conference expense limits in writing.
• Confirm the international fee-gap award and make a personal plan for visa, IHS and relocation costs.
• Clarify what is covered during the optional placement and whether it extends stipend payments to 3.75 years.

Evidence and Sources

Project, Institution, and Training

• Official project description and supervisors
• Application route and deadlines
• Studentship funding and international conditions
• Doctoral network research training
• York atmospheric chemistry laboratories
• WACL research team
• York’s overall 2027 ranking statement
• University of York location

Supervisors, Publications, and Field Evidence

• Marvin Shaw research profile
• Jacqui Hamilton research profile
• Naomi Farren research profile
• 2025 emissions and source-apportionment paper
• 2024 ambient emissions measurement paper
• 2025 plume-measurement validation paper
• Atmospheric chemistry of carbon-capture amines
• 2025 environmental review of amine emissions
• 2025 model of atmospheric impacts
• 2024 pilot-plant emissions paper

Funding, Cost, and Career Context

• UKRI minimum stipend guidance
• UKRI studentship funding and provider responsibilities
• Postgraduate living-cost guide for York
• York postgraduate accommodation prices
• UK carbon-capture market and workforce outlook
• UK clean-energy workforce plan