Your ME or MSc will design a chemical to humanely kill introduced vertebrates.

Key objectives are
• To identify whether the reaction an equilibrium reaction.
• To determine the reaction rate constants, and how these vary with temperature.
• Recommend a probable reactor type for small scale production of the substance.

You will use a novel benchtop NMR spectroscopy to monitor online the reaction kinetics, identify the structure of the products of the reaction, and to perform quantitative analysis of the changing composition throughout the reaction. You will also design and build a system to enable real-time sampling of the reaction mixture. These measurements will be used to inform a New Zealand company, who are funding this research, and determine whether production of this alternative VTA is viable. Currently, there is no established international market for the production and distribution of the VTA, nor is there any local manufacturing capability.

Find out more and get in touch!

biosecurity.innovations@canterbury.ac.nz

Key qualifications and skills

You will have
• a chemistry or chemistry engineering background
• a first or second-class honours
• an interest in conservation and pest control
• and ideally an understanding of reaction kinetics of NMR however training will be provided.

Does the project come with funding

Yes - $28K for one and a half years + study fees

Final date for receiving applications

Ongoing

Keywords

Chemical engineering; chemistry; engineering; Masters; biosecurity; toxin