Postdoctoral researcher in sustainability engineering; LCA manure

Organisation/Company University of Antwerp Research Field Agricultural sciences » Other Chemistry » Biochemistry Engineering » Agricultural engineering Engineering » Chemical engineering Engineering » Civil engineering Engineering » Industrial engineering Engineering » Materials engineering Engineering » Mechanical engineering Engineering » Other Environmental science » Other Technology » Energy technology Technology » Environmental technology Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Final date to receive applications 26 Jan 2026 - 22:59 (UTC) Country Belgium Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Let’s shape the future at the University of Antwerp:
Sustainable manure engineering

The SUSTAIN Research Group is hiring a full-time postdoctoral researcher for life cycle assessment (LCA) of resource recovery technologies and other solutions for the sustainable management of manure nutrients in livestock husbandry.

The University of Antwerp (UAntwerp) is a dynamic and forward-thinking university in the heart of Europe. It ranks 5th in the “Times Higher Education Millennia ls 2020” and 20th in the “QS Top 50 Under 50 2021”, and is a founding member of the Young Universities for the Future of Europe (YUFE) alliance. We offer innovative academic education to more than 23 000 students, conduct pioneering scientific research and play an important service-providing role in society.

We are one of the region's largest, most international and most innovative employers. With almost 7000 employees from 130+ nationalities, we are helping to build tomorrow's world every day. Through top scientific research, we push back boundaries and set a course for the future – a future that you can help to shape.

The Bioscience Engineering Department was established in 2006 within the Faculty of Science , recognising strong societal demand for experts in applied life sciences, such as cleantech and environmental technology at the interface of food, water, and nutrients. In 2015, prof. Siegfried Vlaeminck launched Biobased Cleantech and Environmental Analysis Research (BioCLEAR), a proud member of the Biobased Sustainability Engineering (SUSTAIN ) Research Group.

The BioCLEAR team is a core member of the Enviromics valorization consortium, the Blue App innovation hub for sustainable chemistry and materials, the CAPTURE platform for resource recovery and circular economy, and the MELiSSA circular life support system programme of the European Space Agency (ESA).

BioCLEAR’s mission is to develop clean solutions for environmental and industrial biotechnology, and to assess the environmental sustainability of novel treatment and production pipelines. Our novel solutions are based on microbial cleantech and environmental systems analysis. Key focus areas are sustainable water treatment, nutrient management, and food production. The team has, for instance, expertise in nutrient recovery from wastewater and manure, nitrogen and COD removal from wastewater, production of single-cell protein and other value-added microbial products for feed and food, based on nitrification, anammox, high-rate activated sludge, purple bacteria, microalgae,…

The advertised position is in the environmental systems analysis and engineering cluster, led by prof. Marc Spiller , specialised in: (i) sustainability assessment of novel technologies in the agri-food chain and urban water cycle, (ii) method development for life cycle assessment (LCA), and (iii) development and application of material flow analysis (MFA) in relation to nitrogen, phosphorus, protein, and water. The work in this team is interdisciplinary, with strong links to programming and computation, as well as to economics and other social sciences.

• You will conduct quantitative environmental sustainability assessments of novel manure management solutions, with a primary focus on treatment and processing, while also considering collection, storage, logistics, and land application. Particularly…