What are the responsibilities and job description for the Chemical Analysis of CO2 Capture Solvent Degradation Products position at Zintellect?
The National Energy Technology Laboratory's (NETL's) record of success has been built on understanding the future of energy and the technologies required to make that future possible. We’ve long touted our success in developing the technologies that took on acid rain in the 1970s and mercury in the early 2000s.
Program Goals
The Professional Internship Program is designed to introduce undergraduate students and recent Bachelor's graduates to the challenges of conducting energy research, and enable graduate students and recent Master's graduates to further build off their studies and experience as they join the scientific community. Participants interact daily with assigned mentors who guide research and project activities during the internship, while they become integral members of project teams.
The program goals include providing the opportunity to participants to:
- Develop skills and knowledge in their field of study
- Engage with new areas of basic and applied research
- Transition classroom theory into hands-on experience
- Network with world-class scientists
- Exchange ideas and skills with the Laboratory community
- Use state-of-the-art equipment
- Contribute to answers for today's pressing scientific questions
- Collaborate with the broader scientific and technical communities
Project Details
Through the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), this posting seeks a recent Bachelor's graduate, recent Master's graduate, or student researcher to engage in projects with the Research Innovation Center (RIC) at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in the area of Point Source Capture under the mentorship of Lauren Burrows. This project will be hosted at the NETL Pittsburgh, PA campus.
Amine-based CO2 capture solvents are exposed to high temperatures and post-combustion byproducts which cause these solvents to degrade over time. NETL has built a mobile solvent degradation laboratory which will travel to CO2 capture test sites and evaluate amine degradation, providing rapid feedback that will help increase efficiency and reduce costs. In this project, the participant will collect liquid samples of condensed exhaust gas from CO2 capture tests and determine the identity and concentrations of degradation products using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-nitrogen chemiluminescence detection (GC-NCD) and liquid chromatography-MS (LC-MS). This appointment will involve travel to the National Carbon Capture Center in Alabama, and various other test sites in the United States and laboratory-based research on-site at NETL in Pittsburgh.
Stipend: Participants receive a biweekly stipend based on their educational level. Stipend payments are taxable as an educational benefit. Stipends for full-time participation are:
- $775.50 per week for undergraduate students
- $1206 per week for recent Bachelor's graduates
- $1475.50 per week for graduate students and recent Master's graduates
Program Requirements: To document the effectiveness of the program, participants are required to submit a pre-appointment and post-appointment survey, as well as a reflection on their appointment experience when they renew or end their appointment. The reflection should summarize their project(s), additional activities, and overall experience. Details are provided as the appointment end date approaches.
Participants may also have the opportunity to contribute to manuscripts, journal articles, book chapters, conference presentations, posters, patents, and other publications as a part of their appointment. Such achievements should also be reported to ORISE; additional details are provided after an offer has been accepted.
The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory system, is owned and operated by the DOE. NETL supports the DOE mission to advance the energy security of the United States. This is an educational opportunity offered by NETL and administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education. Participants in the program are not considered employees of NETL, DOE, the program administrator, or any other office or agency.