AIM-CO₂ - AI-assisted high-pressure microfluidics for CO2 capture, transport and utilization

PRISM programme

The PRISM (PhD Research Programme for International Training in Sustainable Soft Matter) programme has launched its first call for applications, offering up to 14 fully funded PhD fellowships starting from 1 March 2027 at Paris Sciences & Lettres (PSL) University. The programme trains researchers to address ecological transition challenges through sustainable soft matter science, with projects focused on eco-friendly chemical processes, circular economy, renewable energies, and carbon capture, storage, and valorisation. Co-funded by the European Union under Horizon Europe MSCA COFUND (Grant Agreement 101261637) and partner institutions, PRISM provides interdisciplinary, international, and intersectoral training, including mobility opportunities, secondments, and courses in sustainability, innovation, entrepreneurship, career development, and transferable skills.

Applications must be submitted only via the PRISM website (https://prism.psl.eu/en/) between 1st September to 31 October 2026 (23:59 Paris time).                                                                    

The PhD project

Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 requires the rapid deployment of reliable carbon capture, storage and utilization (CCUS) technologies. A major limitation is the lack of experimental data acquired under controlled but industrially relevant conditions, especially for reactive, corrosive and multiphase fluids. This PhD project will develop a robust high-pressure microfluidic platform for the quantitative study and monitoring of CCUS processes. The device will be designed to operate up to 100 bar, between -25 deg C and 80 deg C, with dense or supercritical CO2 and highly corrosive fluids, including concentrated H2SO4 and HNO3 when required. It will be coupled to in situ analytical tools, in particular micro-Raman spectroscopy, optical imaging,pressure/flow/temperature control and machine-learning algorithms for data analysis and autonomous optimization.

Microfluidics is particularly well suited to this objective because it enables precise control of flow rate, pressure, temperature and composition, while generating large datasets on fast and localized phenomena such as reaction kinetics, mass transfer and precipitation. Three use cases will demonstrate the versatility and industrial relevance of the platform. First, the project will address corrosion risk during CO₂ transport by producing and analysing microdroplets generated by reactions between SOx/NOx impurities, water and CO₂. Raman spectra and machine-learning regression or classification models will be used to infer droplet composition and assess corrosion-relevant operating windows. Second, the platform will be used for online monitoring of solvent loading in CO₂ capture processes. Absorption and desorption of CO₂ in amine-based solvents, such as MEA, DEA and alternative formulations, will be studied as a function of pressure, temperature and solvent composition. Spectroscopic data will be used to calibrate process-following models and kinetic descriptions, with the objective of improving solvent selection and reducing regeneration energy. Third, the project will investigate controlled CaCO₃ precipitation for CO₂ valorization. Supersaturation, pH, temperature, mixing and residence time, additives will be tuned in microfluidic devices to control precipitate morphology, from platelets to rods, and to identify routes toward high-value materials such as fillers for polymers. The structure will be characterized using Xray and electronic microscopy.

The expected outcomes are a validated experimental platform, reproducible protocols for harsh CCUS conditions, interpretable datasets, machine-learning tools for process monitoring, and design rules connecting microfluidic measurements to industrial operating constraints.

3i dimensions

INTERNATIONAL: The project will include the compulsory international secondment of at least one month required by PRISM. Two possible destinations are currently envisaged, and the final choice will be left to the PhD student, according to their scientific interests and the development of the project. A first option is a stay at the University of Amsterdam, in the laboratories of Prof. Noushine Shahidzadeh and Prof. Daniel Bonn. This secondment would focus on the CaCO₃ precipitation case study and would benefit from their expertise in crystallization, confined fluids and complex interfaces. A second option is a stay in Toronto in the laboratory of David Sinton, dedicated to CO₂ electroreduction. This would provide the student with access to additional experimental approaches and an international research environment. The secondment will be prepared once the ESPCI platform and the preliminary experimental protocols have been established. Both laboratories have agreed to host the student.

INTERSECTORAL: The project has a strong intersectoral dimension through its co-funding and co-supervision by TotalEnergies. The industrial partner will contribute relevant CCUS use cases, operating constraints, safety requirements, process questions and criteria for transfer from model microfluidic devices to industrial monitoring. The collaboration will help prioritize measurements that are both scientifically rigorous and practically useful: corrosion risk in CO₂ transport, online monitoring of solvent loading, and CO₂ valorization through controlled CaCO₃ precipitation. The PhD student will be trained in academic research while being exposed to industrial R&D issues such as robustness, scale-up, quality of data, intellectual property, safety procedures and decision-oriented modelling.

INTERDISCIPLINARY: The proposal integrates microfluidics, soft-matter physics, physical chemistry, spectroscopy, chemical engineering, materials science and machine learning. The central scientific challenge is to connect flow, pressure, temperature, reactive chemistry, phase behaviour, precipitation and spectroscopic signatures in confined geometries. Raman and imaging data will be analysed using quantitative models and machine-learning tools, while the three use cases connect fundamental transport/reaction mechanisms to industrial decarbonization needs. This interdisciplinary integration is essential: neither process engineering, spectroscopy nor data science alone can provide a predictive framework for harsh CCUS conditions.

Salary

The PRISM programme offers a competitive salary above the national average for PhD candidates in France to attract and support excellent researchers. Doctoral candidates will receive an approximate net monthly salary of €2,200, with additional family and mobility allowances available for eligible fellows. The salary is subject to French income tax, with the exception of the family and mobility allowances. Depending on the candidate's individual tax situation, income tax may represent approximately 2–5% of the net salary and is levied by the French tax authorities independently of the employer. To ensure consistent management and equal employment conditions across the programme, all PRISM doctoral candidates will be employed by ESPCI Paris, regardless of the host laboratory where their research is carried out.

Employer’s benefits

Remote working opportunities, access to sports and leisure activities, free access to public Paris city council’s swimming pools, access to CROUS canteen, scientific campus in central Paris, professional development programs, well-being workshops, social benefits through CNAS, partial health insurance support, and 75% support for sustainable mobility.

Name of the school of PSL

ESPCI Paris - PSL (Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris)

Research Unit

Chimie Biologie Innovation, UMR 8231, CBI; MIE team (Materiaux Innovants pour l'Energie), ESPCI Paris - PSL / CNRS.

CBI (Chimie Biologie Innovation, UMR 8231, ESPCI Paris-PSL/CNRS) develops research at the interface between chemistry, biology, physics, analytical sciences and soft matter. The MIE team (Materiaux Innovants pour l'Energie) focuses on complex fluids, microfluidics, interfacial transport and materials/processes for energy. It combines original experimental devices, quantitative imaging, spectroscopy, electrochemistry, rheology and modelling. The team offers a strong environment for a PhD project linking fundamental physics of transport and reactions with industrial problems in decarbonization and process monitoring.

Supervision

Supervisor: Annie Colin annie.colin@espci.fr

Co-supervisor: Enric Santanach Carreras enric.santanach-carreras@totalenergies.com

All projects are open PhD projects, meaning that the research plan will be further developed collaboratively by the selected doctoral candidate and the supervisors.

The candidate should have a strong background in physics, physical chemistry, chemical engineering, materials science, microfluidics or process engineering. Experience with experimental work, spectroscopy, high-pressure devices, image analysis, data treatment or machine learning will be appreciated. The project requires careful experimental practice, interest in coupled transport and reaction phenomena, and willingness to work under strict safety protocols with corrosive fluids and pressurized systems. Programming skills in Python, Matlab, LabVIEW, COMSOL or equivalent tools would be useful. Good written and oral English is expected.