The assignment
The main goal of this assignment is to identify biological and biomineral stabilisation routes that improve the wet behaviour of earthen materials under immersion and wet–dry conditions. You will investigate how different biobased stabilisers and fixation mechanisms influence water resistance and structural integrity, with the aim of selecting the most promising routes for further development.
You will work with a predefined set of biological stabilisers, such as starch, lignin, tannins and alginates. These will be combined with different fixation approaches, including calcium crosslinking, iron complexation, oxidative curing and thermal treatment. Through targeted literature review you will familiarise yourself with the proposed stabilisation mechanisms and use this understanding to design and carry out practical experiments comparing the different routes.
Experiments will be performed on standardised kaolinite/silica-based manufactured soil systems. You will evaluate parameters such as immersion resistance, capillary water uptake, wet–dry cycling performance, erosion resistance and overall structural integrity after saturation. Based on the results, you will link your experimental observations to the underlying stabilisation mechanisms and identify the most promising routes.
The final outcome will be a comparative screening matrix with clear go/no-go recommendations. Weak or non-scalable candidates will be filtered out at an early stage so that follow-up research can focus on the best options. The internship runs from 24-8-2026 to 29-1-2027, will be conducted in English, and includes an internship allowance of €350 per month. The assignment is well suited for a background in Chemistry or Chemical Engineering.
You will be supervised by Zoya Zarafshani and Moctar Coulibaly. For questions and to apply, please send your CV and motivation letter to m.coulibaly@avans.nl.
About MNEXT
MNEXT is the Centre of Expertise for the materials and energy transition. Together with companies, governments, researchers and students, MNEXT bridges the gap between innovation and society and works on practice-oriented research for a sustainable future.
Projects at MNEXT fall within three main themes: transition and value creation, sustainable energy technologies and biobased and circular materials. As an intern, you fully participate in a multidisciplinary research team and work on real-life questions from the professional field.
Each semester, dozens of students do an internship at MNEXT. This means you collaborate intensively with other students, build a strong professional network and have plenty of opportunity to exchange experiences. You also automatically take part in an internship programme with more than ten workshops, ranging from the use of AI in desk research and research integrity to professional use of LinkedIn and coaching to further develop a start-up idea.