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Dr Thomas Robshaw

Position
Research Associate
Areas of expertise
Adsorption; Ion-exchange; Porous materials; Functionalised polymers; hydrometallurgy; Waste valorisation; Resource recovery; Water treatment; Wastewater treatment; Active waste; Heavy metals; Critical minerals
Location
SCaPE, GM.60
Faculty
Engineering
School
Chemical and Process Engineering

Tom is a Research Associate in the Nuclear Engineering Group (NEG) and is currently working on a solvent extraction separation process for removal of lithium from water and enrichment of the Li-6 isotope. His background is mainly in solid-liquid separation (adsorption) processes, with a particular focus on ion-exchange. Ion-exchange has many uses for purification and desalination of water, but can also be used for recovery of valuable chemical species from water, by careful design of the adsorbent. Tom has worked with an array of different porous, functionalised materials, targeting removal of halides, heavy metals, precious metals and radioisotopes. He has special interests in understanding the molecular-level interactions occurring at the solid-liquid interface and how this knowledge can be harnessed to inform the development of next-generation adsorbent materials.