Internship - Polymers Engineering

Solvay is a science company whose technologies bring benefits to many aspects of daily life. Our purpose—we bond people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress—is a call to go beyond, to reinvent future forms of progress and create sustainable shared value for all through the power of science. In a world facing an ever-growing population and quest for resources, we aim to be the driving force triggering the next breakthroughs to enable humanity to advance while protecting the planet we all share.

We bond with customers and partners to address today and tomorrow’s megatrends. As a global leader in Materials, Chemicals and Solutions, Solvay brings advancements in planes, cars, batteries, smart and medical devices, water and air treatment, to solve critical industrial, social and environmental challenges. You can count on our innovative solutions to contribute to safer, cleaner and more sustainable future.

Role Overview

Chemical reactions are often carried out under mixing, especially at an industrial scale. Mixing aims to homogenize the concentrations and temperatures of reactants over a whole reactor. This mixing-driven chemistry ignores the effects of flow on reaction kinetics because flow/mixing is likely not strong enough to significantly drive molecules from their equilibrium conformations to non-equilibrium ones. We propose a new concept which aims at manipulating the dynamics and structural order of molecules in order to tune the reaction kinetics. The objective will be to identify suitable process conditions to accelerate the polymerization of a new polymer in the molten state.

After a literature review aiming at understanding the scientific and technical basis of this new concept, the experimental work will be focused on the post-condensation of a prepolymer provided by Solvay. A rheological study will be performed in order to identify suitable process conditions in well controlled conditions (temperature, shear rate, time,...). In parallel, post-condensation trials will be performed in a reactor at lab and/or pilot scale in various process conditions. The influence of process conditions on the post-condensation kinetics will be assessed by rheological characterizations and various analytical technics. The results of first experiments will be compared to theoretical assumptions. Processing conditions will be progressively fine-tuned and specific tools will be designed in order to maximize the reaction kinetics.

**Qualifications and requirements**:
Final-year master student in chemistry

Good knowledge of chemical engineering and polymer engineering

Student having a good practical and synthetic spirit

**Additional information**:
6 months internship.

This paid traineeship will take place in Nancy in collaboration between LRGP Lab (UMR CNRS 7274) and Solvay 'Polymer Materials Design and Development' Department.

About us

After 50 years, we are going back to the Moon... Solvay Materials are making it possible once again for Humans to return to the Moon. Check here our Artemis missions with NASA: we will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Solvay’s purpose is to bond people, ideas and elements to reinvent progress. We can only fulfill this purpose with a diverse workforce that feels respected and appreciated, and has equal opportunities to work, grow and thrive. Our differences, visible or not, are valued. As Solvay seeks to promote unity and not uniformity, we invite you - regardless of background, age, gender, race, national origin, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, ability or identity - to consider a future with us.