Stage Compression osmotique microfluidique de formulations industrielles

Job description

Solvay is a multi-specialty chemical company committed to developing chemistry that addresses key societal challenges. We innovate and partner with customers in diverse global end markets. The Research & Innovation Function (R&I) leads Solvay into new growth territories with breakthrough innovation to generate new products, applications and processes in the field of sustainable chemistry. Partners with the GBUs to deliver more value and leverages the Group’s capabilities to improve competitiveness and create new business opportunities for Solvay and its customers.

Job Overview and Responsibilities:

Company: The internship will take place at the UMR LOF- SOLVAY / CNRS / University of Bordeaux, in one of the R&I centers of Solvay group. The UMR LOF, mainly specialized in microfluidics and soft matter (rheology, transport, phase diagram), gathers researchers from CNRS, the University of Bordeaux and Solvay. Thanks to its ambivalence, it offers an important dynamism in fundamental science as well as strong interactions with Solvay applications. Solvay, global actor of the chemical industry in the world, is today facing an increasing demand for eco-friendly products. With this sustainability issue, water-based formulations are more and more developed for various applications ranging from coatings, agrochemistry or home & personal care.

Project presentation: The production of complex and stable formulations (polymeric, colloidal, etc.) requires the control and the characterization of many parameters. The aim of this project is to test the stability of these dispersions using original microfluidic osmotic compression experiments. This innovative technique was recently developed at LOF and allows to mimic an ultra-filtration membrane process but at microfluidic scales. Such experiments make it possible to evaluate the colloidal stability of a specific formulation with the huge asset of a high throughput. During this internship, we will focus on colloidal dispersions made from self-assembled polymers and we will evaluate the parameters impacting interactions between colloids.

Tasks & responsabilities:·Original microfluidic devices micro-fabrication·Ultrafiltration experiments of the dispersions at microfluidic scales·Images analysis·Understanding of the physico-chemical phenomena inside the dispersions and at the interfaces·Interactions with different R&I and application teams of Solvay·The candidate will respect the safety rules of the laboratory during the internship.

Education and Experience:

Desired education: Master degree in physico-chemistry / materials science

Skills:

Required knowledge & skills: Physico-chemistry, materials science, soft matter Autonomy, preciseness, motivation & curiosity 
Knowledge about programmation software (such as Matlab) will be appreciated.
Internship duration: 6 months (february/march – july/august 2020) 
Contacts : matthieu.guirardel@solvay.com