Job Opportunity: Researcher and Development Engineer, Fiberight

Fiberight have created a circular economy solution to generate value-added products from municipal solid wastes (MSW). The process involves thermo-mechanically treating the waste to recover 2 main fractions: recyclables and biomass. This biomass is then further processed to generate a soluble organic stream for anaerobic digestion (AD); and a clean solid ligonocellulose fibre (paper pulp) which is converted to platform-sugars via enzyme hydrolysis. All bio outputs are used as chemical building blocks in the production of higher value-added products such as bio-resins, bio-coatings, bio-plastics, biofuels and bioenergy.

Fiberight require a Researcher and Development Engineer to run a small scale pilot facility for the project and carry out standard lab analyses such as pH, COD, gas production, TS/VS and sugar analysis. Applications are open until 1 Jul 16 and the role commences on 1 Aug 16. This is a 12 month initial contract based in Southampton, with a salary range of £23-£30K p.a dependant upon experience. Further details can be found here.

£17M Announced to Support Industrial Biotechnology – IB Catalyst Round 4 results published

The BBSRC have announced that sixteen projects have received a share of £17M to bring innovative biotechnology concepts to market. These projects have been funded under Round 4 of the Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst and they focus on a wide range of products from creating new drugs from bacteria, to increasing yields in the production of platform sugars from municipal solid wastes (MSW). The IB Catalyst has invested over £75M in four rounds and has helped create jobs, drive new technologies and promote academic and industrial collaborations to translate research into commercial reality. More information can be found in the complete BBSRC press release here.

Registraton open: Value Chain of Waste & Bio-resources, Manchester 30 Jun-1 Jul

The BBSRC Integrated Biorefining Research and Technology club (IBTI) and Networks in Biotechnology and Bioenergy (BBSRC NIBB), including ADNet, FoodWasteNet, LBNet and P2P, are hosting a FREE event focussed on addressing issues with the value chain of waste and bio-resources as feedstocks, at the Portland Hotel, Manchester on 30th June-1st July 2016. We will be discussing topics underpinning the value chain of waste feedstocks, particularly aiming to assess the value chain from all perspectives; from the feedstock to the end-product end of the value chain, as well as capturing novel technologies for the future and the challenges with respect to policy and regulation in the utilisation of waste feedstocks. This event will provide a brilliant opportunity to identify and highlight the major roadblocks in utilising waste and bioresource feedstocks and allow for right communities to combine their thoughts and efforts in order to tackle these issues.

 

This event has a maximum capacity and therefore a limited number of spaces are available. Should the number of applicant registrations exceed the maximum attendance, the registrations will be assessed in order to ensure that the most suitable audience is invited to attend.

 

Registration is available via the following link, https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WVKVD3V. Registration will close at midnight on the 06/06/2016 and attendance will be confirmed by 10/06/2016.

 

Posters and flash presentations

 

All applicants are welcomed and encouraged to apply for one of our flash and/or poster presentation spaces. All details regarding these are included in the registration link above.

 

Bursary placements

 

Please inform colleagues who may be interested in the following.

 

The bursary placement scheme aims to allow academics who are not members of IBTI to attend a Dissemination Event and covers cost of attendance at the event (excluding travel).  This is available to individuals who can benefit from interaction with the IBTI community and who also have a contribution to make.  We would in particular like to invite academics who have engaged or attempted to engage with the community.  Recipients will present a poster of relevant research and present a 2 minute poster flash to introduce themselves and their interests.

 

To apply for an IBTI bursary placement please use the following link, in addition to the event registration above, https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WC36NMS. Registration for bursary applications will close at midnight on the 06/06/2016.

 

Round 4 of the Energy Catalyst Now Open

We have not yet heard any further news on the next round of Industrial Biotechnology Catalyst award (see our news here), but Round 4 of the Energy Catalyst is now open. In most cases, Anaerobic Digestion is not applicable to the Energy Catalyst, but proposed solutions can focus on any part of the energy trilemma. Eligibility criteria and further information can be found here.

Note that registration for mid- and late-stage awards closes on 8 Jun 16, with the early-stage award deadline being 7 Sep 16.