Dr Bert Swart


PhD Thesis: Experimental & analytical methods for investigating microbubble-microplastic flotation


PhD Supervisors: Dr Jannis Wenk and Professor John Chew


PhD

Bert was a PhD student in the WISE Centre for Doctoral Training between 2017-22 and was based at the University of Bath.  Bert successfully defended his PhD thesis on “Experimental & analytical methods for investigating microbubble-microplastic flotation” on 9th May 2023.  He currently works for hydrology and water resources consultancy Hydrology.UK.

Background

Bert graduated in 2017 with a MEng (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bath. In his final year he completed a group design project designing a plant which converts CO2 into useful hydrocarbon products as well as an individual design of a Reverse Water Gas Shift Reactor.

Industrial Placement

Bert undertook a yearlong placement as part of his MEng Degree as a Trainee Process Engineer within the Process Management Group at Coveris Advanced Coating. Working within a small engineering team, Bert undertook a wide variety of tasks and was given a significant amount of responsibility within this role. Such tasks included leading the design and installation of an upgraded filtration system, as well as developing pressure calculations for a feed system in order to model the flowrates that could be achieved with different types of fluid.

Research Interests    

  • Process modelling
  • Treatment of wastewater
  • Focussing on applications in developing areas of the world