Internship - T&i Feedstock Modelling

INTERNSHIP POSITION - T&I - Feedstock Modelling STC-Geleen, The Netherlands

**DEPARTMENT**
SABIC Technology and Innovation - Feedstock Modelling

Industrial scale production of synthetic polymers started in the 1940s and since then the production, consumption and waste generation rate of plastic solid waste has increased considerably. It has reached 260 million tons in 2007, and is growing at a rate of about 5% per year. In the last decade a great deal of attention has been focused on recycling of plastics including postconsumer commodity products like polyethylene, PVC, PET and engineering plastics like polycarbonate. Chemical recycling of plastic has been studied for over 40 years. Some chemical recycling processes has been implemented to a commercial scale, but these plants were shut down mainly due to economic reasons. Pyrolysis (thermal cracking) of plastics has been proven at commercial demonstration scale. The process operates at temperatures from 450 to 800 °C and at very high heating rates. The heat supply for the endothermic reactions is the rate determining step in the process. Coke, gas and liquid waxes are obtained during the plastic pyrolysis. The composition and distribution of the products depends on the type of plastic, temperature and other operating conditions. The plastic pyrolysis liquid consists of various contaminants and purification steps are necessary for the downstream processing.

**JOB PURPOSE & RESPONSIBILITIES**

As a student, are you willing to contribute to a relevant area of research in the field of polyolefin and aromatics materials? At the Global Technology Center at SABIC Geleen, we are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated young professional willing to be part of a young, dynamic and international team focusing on the development of performing lab experiment including sample handling and preparation, spiking, etc.

The main activity of the Technology and Innovation at SABIC STC Geleen is to define and carry out research projects aimed at the optimization of existing petrochemical processes and development of new ones, working closely with the manufacturing organization to implement the results. Within this frame, this assignment consists of modelling of the plastic pyrolysis liquid purification section. He/She needs to develop the models in Aspen plus or HYSIS and validate the models against experimental data or plant data. The modeler will use the model he/she developed to establish the optimal operating conditions of the unit operations.

The main deliverables of the assignment are validated models, the optimization results and a report with technical findings and recommendations.

This internship includes tasks such as:

- Work in a multidisciplinary setting within the SABIC Technology & Innovation organization where you will collaborate with different disciplines and use state-of-the-art equipment.
- Search literature and databases to collect relevant background information such as kinetic and pyrolysis data when available and when necessary.
- Perform data analysis and summarize the findings in a final internship report and presentation to an internal SABIC audience.

**REQUIREMENTS**
- Strong in both written and verbal communication in English.
- Bachelor or Master's degree prefered in chemical or mechanical engineering.
- You are curious and investigative and have hands-on mentality and work structured.
- You are able to connect easy to others and can adept well in an international environment.
- Good communication skills to be able to work in a multidisciplinary team.
- Self driven

**FURTHER INFORMATION**

Start date: as of as soon as possible(other dates can be discussed) for a duration of 5 months to one year. Duration can be adjusted depending on the availability of the intern.

Location: SABIC T&I STC-Geleen, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167 RD Geleen

Interested in this position?

**ABOUT SABIC**
SABIC is a global diversified chemicals company, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It manufactures on a global scale in the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia Pacific, making distinctly different kinds of products: chemicals, commodity and high performance plastics, agri-nutrients and metals.
In Europe, we have over 5,000 professionals running multiple world-scale production sites and 4 technology and innovation centers. We are present in almost every European country. Major locations within our broad network of innovation, production and marketing are: Teesside (UK), Cartagena (Spain), Gelsenkirchen (Germany), Geleen (the Netherlands), Bergen op Zoom (the Netherlands) and Genk (Belgium).