Student Employee (x1) and Bachelor's and Paid Master's thesis opportunities

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Kontakt:        DI Akseli Laatikainen — akseli.laatikainen@tugraz.at
                     DI Gregor Kogler — gregor.kogler@tugraz.at

Work packages include

• AEM electrode fabrication
• Electrochemical lifetime testing
• Analysis of degradation mechanisms
• Data evaluation and feedback

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Forschungsprojekt

The primary objective of this thesis is to evaluate the feasibility of ATR–UV spectroscopy for in situ monitoring of residual alkali (EA) in a pilot-scale kraft digester. Specific goals are to:

1. Compare the effects of black liquor versus white liquor in chip impregnation on subsequent kraft cooking outcomes, including delignification rate, kappa number, pulp yield, and carbohydrate retention.

2. Characterize the role of dissolved wood components present in black liquor on liquor penetration, reaction kinetics, and fiber chemistry during cooking.

3. Quantify changes in the chemical environment induced by black liquor use, including alkali diffusion and lignin solubilization efficiency.

4. Evaluate the implications of alternative impregnation strategies for process control and final pulp quality in kraft pulping.

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Forschungsprojekt

The main objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of MgSO₄ addition and mixing efficiency on delignification performance and cellulose preservation during oxygen delignification. Specific objectives are:

1. To study the influence of MgSO₄ dosage on kappa number reduction, ISO and pulp viscosity.

2. To assess how mixing intensity affects oxygen delignification selectivity.

3. To analyze the interaction between MgSO₄ distribution and metal-catalyzed carbohydrate degradation.

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Forschungsprojekt

• Experimentally test new wood species for suitability in Kraft pulping

• Develop process strategies using the modern Mondi Cycle Digester at TU Graz

• Alter pulping setpoints like H-Factor, Pre-steaming, liquor:wood ratio

• Replace plastics with sustainable, high-quality pulp

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Forschungsprojekt

The primary objective of this thesis is to evaluate the feasibility of ATR–UV spectroscopy for in situ monitoring of residual alkali (EA) in a pilot-scale kraft digester. Specific goals are to:

1. Evaluate the usability and analytical performance of available ATR–UV/FIA systems for offline measurements of black liquors obtained from kraft cooking experiments.
2. Develop and validate multivariate calibration models (partial least-squares, PLS, regression) for the prediction of residual alkali under varying cooking conditions and liquor compositions.
3. Benchmark ATR–UV-based measurements against conventional reference methods, including ABC titration and online conductivity sensing, with respect to accuracy, response time, robustness, and operational stability.
4. Assess the technical feasibility of implementation of an ATR–UV/FIA system on a pilot-scale digester recirculation line for real-time, in situ monitoring of effective alkali, sulfide, and dissolved lignin.

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Forschungsprojekt

This MSc thesis is planned for 6-months and is entirely computational (do not worry: you may not enter the wet-lab). Your tasks will focus on the computation and prediction of molecular properties of relevant pharmaceutical molecules (i.e. solubility, stability) as well as in their interactions with other molecules of interest, to help in the pharmaceutical production and purification processes. A variety of methods will be use, from classical to quantum mechanics, including artificial intelligence algorithms.

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Forschungsprojekt

This project will evaluate the biological effects of new co-processed particles for inhalation (co-amorphous and cocrystalline drug-drug combinations) in the lung. These new formulations will be compared with pure crystalline drug substances to demonstrate the advantages of co-processed systems.

Tests will be performed at the Medical University and will include the following:

- Cytotoxicity of the formulations

- Permeability

- Uptake by common alveolar or bronchiolar lung cell lines

Another part of this work will involve testing the in vitro aerosolization performance of the new co-processed particles using impactors or dissolution setups.

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Forschungsprojekt

The focus of this thesis is on improving the sustainability of a biopharmaceutical manufacturing line. This should be achieved by applying feedback control concepts and manipulating the process parameters of the selected unit operations, e.g., of a perfusion bioreactor, or multiple filtration and chromatography units. Process models enabling simulation based development and model-based control algortihms are required. Computationally efficient dynamic models, focusing on the parameters relevant for the developed control concepts will be developed and evaluated for this purpose.

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LCA-gestützte Prozessmodellierung chemischer Reaktionen zur Nachhaltigkeitsbewertung neuer Materialien 
(Joanneum Research LIFE)

Inhalte der Arbeit umfassen:

• Entwicklung einer Berechnungsgrundlage oder eines Tools zur Analyse und Modellierung von chemischen Prozessen, um LCA für neue Materialien unter realistischen Produktionsbedingungen zu berechnen.
• Mithilfe von ML & Data mining (text mining, natural language processing) soll die effiziente Suche nach bestehenden Literaturdaten und die darauf basierte Entwicklung von Methoden für die Skalierung chemischer Prozesse von Labor zum industriellen Maßstab ermöglicht werden.
• Im Fokus stehen Energieverbrauch, Abfallbehandlung und die Übertragung von Labor- auf Produktionsmaßstab.

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Kontakt:       DI. Dr. Hannes Schwaiger 

Modeling the Separation Performance of a Disk Stack Centrifuge (IPPT)

Inhalte der Arbeit umfassen:

• Literature Review: Review centrifuge principles, particle settling in rotating
  systems, and existing separation models.
• Model Development: Develop a mathematical model for particle transport and
  separation based on centrifugal sedimentation.
• Implementation: Integrate the model into the current simulation software.
• Validation: Test the model with representative cases and, if possible, validate
  against literature or experimental data.
• Documentation: Summarize methodology, results, and conclusions in a thesis
  and presentation.

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Kontakt:       Univ. Prof. Johannes Khinast 

Modeling the pH Distribution in a Cell-Culture Bio-Reactor (IPPT)

Inhalte der Arbeit umfassen:

• Literature Review: Understand buffer systems and existing pH modeling
  approaches
• Model Development: Develop a mathematical model to calculate pH based on
  buffer equilibria and concentration fields.
• Implementation: Integrate the pH model into existing simulation software with
  predefined flow and concentration data.
• Validation: Verify the model using test cases and, if possible, compare with
  experimental or literature data.
• Documentation: Summarize methods, results, and insights in a written thesis
  and final presentation.

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Kontakt:       Professor Johannes Khinast 

HIGH CONCENTRATION ANTIBODY
FORMULATION USING SPRAY DRYING (RCPE)

Inhalte der Arbeit umfassen:

•  Extensive participation in a top-level and industrially relevant research project in an
  international environment
• Supervised training in the task
• Assistance of experienced staff with the implementation of innovative ideasAccess to highly modern infrastructure on campus of Graz University of Technology
• Assistance with the publication of results

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Kontakt:       RCPE Careers