Doing your master thesis with us at IVL gives you the opportunity to get a unique insight into our research and our work. It's a chance to learn a lot more in your field of study. We welcome master thesis students every semester.

About the master thesis

There is an urge to find suitable alternatives for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in widely used products. PFAS are chemicals with high-performance waterproof and oil repellent properties, with a large spectrum of applications including: textiles, food packaging, detergents, paints, adhesives, firefighting foam, insulation materials for electrical wires, non-stick and heat-resistant cooking surfaces and cosmetics. PFAS are now known to be persistent organic pollutants. They are often addressed as "forever chemicals": when ending up in the environment, as well as in our bodies, they are extremely persistent contaminants.

The EU funded Tornado project focuses on the development of scaled-up technology alternatives to PFAS-based materials used in kitchenware, packaging and textiles applications. The project includes a wide constellation of research institutes and industries from medium to large size, collaborating in the joint effort to develop novel technologies from laboratory scale to industrial scale.

However, will the novel technologies developed in the project be an improvement when compared to PFAS? There are famous examples of regrettable substitutions (for instance, a range of bisphenols have been used to replace bisphenol A and have been later associated with similar health hazards).

This master thesis project offered by IVL will provide an answer to this question, by implementing a Safe and Sustainable by Design (SSbD) assessment within the context of the materials investigated in the project. The SSbD assessment framework established by the European Commission in 2022 proposes an iterative process for assessing both safety and sustainability of chemicals and materials. The assessment is composed of four mandatory parts (“steps”): step 1, hazard assessment; step 2, human health and safety aspects of production and processing; step 3, human health and environmental aspects in the final application phase; and step 4, environmental sustainability assessment, which corresponds to life cycle assessment (LCA). The master thesis will focus on calculating results for some of the assessment steps, as well as collecting results provided by collaborators in the project for other assessment steps, and finally interpret all results to build up a comprehensive SSbD assessment.

Contact

For questions, please contact: 

Rosella Telaretti Leggieri

Rosella.telaretti.leggieri@ivl.se

+46 (0)10-788 65 50

Interested?

Submit your interest by clicking on "Registration of interest".