Postdoctoral Researcher: Electrophoretic Separation for Critical Metals

Battelle Energy Alliance; Idaho Falls (ID); On-site; USD 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

401(k) with employer contribution

Paid time off

Employee Education Program

Relocation Package

Benefit eligibility subject to factors

Job summary

The Idaho National Laboratory seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate in chemistry, chemical engineering, geochemistry, or related fields to develop electrophoresis-based separation methods for recovering vanadium and other critical materials from high-salinity produced waters from aging wells.

The role involves planning lab-scale capillary and free-flow electrophoresis screening, optimizing ligand systems for brine environments, and scaling up separations for potential field pilots, with

Qualifications

• PhD in chemistry, chemical engineering, geochemistry, or comparable disciplines required.
• PhD must be completed by commencement of appointment and within the previous 5 years.
• Design and conduct electrophoretic separations of vanadium and other critical metals from high-salinity waters using capillary and free-flow electrophoresis.
• Develop and optimize ligand systems to enhance electrophoretic mobility differences under brine conditions.
• Scale free-flow electrophoretic methods for throughput, purity, and stage design for field pilots.
• Analyze datasets using ICP-MS/OES, chromatography, CE detection, and related workflows; publish results in English.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute laboratory-scale capillary electrophoresis screening.
• Optimize ligand systems for high-salinity environments.
• Scale-up free-flow electrophoresis for eventual field pilot operations.
• Analyze complex datasets to validate separation performance.
• Publish manuscripts and present results at national/international conferences.

Skills

Electrophoresis

Capillary electrophoresis

Free-flow electrophoresis

Ligand design

ICP-MS/OES

English communication

Education

PhD in chemistry/chemical engineering/geochemistry

Tools

ICP-MS

ICP-OES

Job description

The Idaho National Laboratory seeks a Postdoctoral Research Associate in chemistry, chemical engineering, geochemistry, or related fields to develop electrophoresis-based separation methods for recovering vanadium and other critical materials from high-salinity produced waters from aging wells.

The role involves planning lab-scale capillary and free-flow electrophoresis screening, optimizing ligand systems for brine environments, and scaling up separations for potential field pilots, with