Doctoral student in PFAS treatment and destruction technologies

Karlstad University; Göteborgs kommun; On-site; SEK 362,808 - 434,573; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Fully funded position

Employee benefits

Swedish courses for non-native speakers

Job summary

Karlstad University is seeking a Doctoral student to work on PFAS treatment and destruction technologies in Gothenburg. The role involves developing methods for treating complex water matrices and will require collaboration with IVL and Örebro University.

Applicants should have a Master's degree in material science or equivalent and experience in areas like catalysis or analytical chemistry. The position is fully funded, offering an inspiring working environment and opportunities for teaching.

Qualifications

• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Experience with wastewater treatment processes including membrane filtration.
• Experience working with PFAS or other persistent organic pollutants.

Responsibilities

• Develop and evaluate PFAS treatment trains in complex water matrices.
• Take courses at an advanced level within the Graduate School.
• Work in an interdisciplinary environment spanning catalyst development and PFAS analytics.

Skills

Catalysis

Photocatalysis

Environmental chemistry

Analytical chemistry

Education

Master's degree in material science, chemistry, or equivalent

Tools

Mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS and/or HRMS)

Python

MATLAB

R

Job description

Doctoral student in PFAS treatment and destruction technologies

Our goal is to focus on competence, knowledge and collaboration in order to play an important, demonstrable role in social development.

PFAS pollution is a slow‑moving environmental crisis, contaminating water resources, ecosystems and food webs. Current treatment technologies often transfer PFAS between waste streams rather than eliminate them. Join Chalmers to develop a treatment train that first concentrates PFAS from complex water matrices and then destroys them using catalytic and photocatalytic approaches, supported by advanced analytical verification methods. The research is conducted in close collaboration with the IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute, Örebro University and municipal wastewater treatment plants.

About the research group

The Ergang Wang group focuses on the synthesis of organic semiconductors for organic electronics and the development of photocatalysts for sustainable chemistry applications (e.g., hydrogen generation and polymer degradation). The group is international and currently consists of 1 Professor, 1 permanent researcher, 6 postdocs and 2 PhD students.

About the research project

The doctoral position is part of the Forms‑funded COAST‑PFAS project, led by IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and conducted in collaboration with Chalmers, Örebro University and municipal wastewater treatment plants. The PhD project focuses on developing and evaluating treatment trains that combine PFAS pre‑concentration, catalytic and photocatalytic destruction, and advanced analytical verification to achieve robust PFAS elimination in complex water matrices. Experimental work will involve visits to IVL’s Sjöstadsverket Water Innovation Centre (SWIC) in Stockholm and collaboration with researchers at Örebro University.

Qualifications

• Master’s degree (120 credits) in material science, chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental engineering or equivalent.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.
• Experience in at least one of the following areas:
• • Catalysis, heterogeneous catalysis or electrochemistry.
• • Photocatalysis, photochemistry or photoredox processes.
• • Environmental chemistry or water treatment processes.
• • Analytical chemistry relevant to environmental samples (e.g., chromatography, spectroscopy, ion analysis).
• For students with an education earned outside Sweden, a 4‑year Bachelor’s degree is accepted.

Experience that strengthens the application

• Experience working with PFAS or other persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
• Experience with water and wastewater treatment processes, including membrane filtration, flotation, foam fractionation, adsorption or pilot‑scale treatment systems.
• Experience with advanced oxidation/reduction processes, radical chemistry or reaction kinetics.
• Experience with mass spectrometry (LC‑MS/MS and/or HRMS), organofluorine‑related methods (EOF/TOF) and/or fluoride analysis.
• Experience with reactor design/operation (batch/flow photoreactors, catalyst immobilisation, scale‑up considerations).
• Experience with complex matrices (wastewater, landfill leachate, concentrates) and QA/QC routines (blanks, spikes, recoveries).
• Programming and data handling skills (e.g., Python, MATLAB, R) for data processing and modelling.
• Experience in organic synthesis or materials synthesis.

What you will do

• Take courses at an advanced level within the Graduate School of Materials Science or Chemistry.
• Develop scientific concepts and communicate research results verbally and in writing.
• Provide teaching at the undergraduate level or perform other duties corresponding to 5‑10 % of working hours.
• Develop, optimise and evaluate PFAS treatment trains combining pre‑concentration and catalytic/photocatalytic destruction in complex water matrices.
• Evaluate pre‑concentration and destruction performance in PFAS‑rich water matrices using laboratory and pilot‑scale treatment systems (define operating windows, kinetics and robustness).
• Identify and quantify degradation products to distinguish true destruction from transformation and assess residue fate.
• Use analytical insights and mass‑balance assessments as feedback to improve treatment performance in iterative design‑test‑learn cycles.
• Learn and apply computational methods (e.g., Density Functional Theory) to understand reaction pathways, adsorption and activation mechanisms, and structure‑activity relationships.
• Work in an interdisciplinary environment spanning catalyst development, PFAS analytics, water treatment and systems assessment.
• Contribute to publications, project deliverables and collaborate with partners (IVL, Örebro University and water‑sector stakeholders).
• Collaborate across partner organisations and undertake periodic travel to IVL’s Sjöstadsverket Water Innovation Centre (SWIC) in Stockholm and to Örebro University for experimental work and joint research activities.

Contract terms

• Doctoral student positions are fully funded from the start.
• Fixed‑term appointment of four years, with the possibility to teach up to 20 % extending the position up to five years.
• Starting salary of 35,725 SEK per month (valid from May 1 2026).
• Doctoral studies require physical presence throughout the entire study period; a valid residence permit must be presented by the study start date.

What we offer

• As a Doctoral student at Chalmers, you are an employee and enjoy all employee benefits.
• A dynamic and inspiring working environment in Gothenburg.
• Swedish courses for non‑native speakers to support settling in.
• Information on Sweden’s generous parental leave, subsidised day‑care, free schools and healthcare.

Application deadline

No later than August 10 2026.