Available now · London

Chemical Engineer.
Designing cleaner processes.

I've designed a 20,000 tpa biobutanol plant, modelled heat networks in industry at FairHeat, and run cold-temperature lipid membrane experiments for my dissertation. I'm looking for a graduate role in process engineering, sustainability or energy where I can turn modelling into real-world decisions.

University of Cambridge: MEng Chemical Engineering, First Class
FairHeat: District heating design & modelling
Tools: MATLAB · Aspen · AutoCAD · Python

Get in touch → Download CV

Fig. 01 Boyd Lyons

01 / About

I studied chemical engineering at Cambridge, graduating with a First in 2026, and spent summer 2025 at FairHeat working on district heating. I've led the fermentation design for a biobutanol plant, developed a protocol for making stable lipid membrane mimics at low temperatures, and built a site-visit reporting workflow that was taken up across FairHeat.

On the biobutanol design project, I was also process coordinator, fitting five people's process areas into one plant and giving up some local optimisation to get a better overall design. Much of my work has been on cleaner energy and materials, from biofuels and low-carbon heat to algae-based packaging.

Outside engineering, I founded the Clare College Amateur Golf Society, and I'm into running and philosophy. Before university I rowed, finishing by captaining a boat at Henley Royal Regatta in 2022, and I still hike and camp whenever I can.

Based: London
Degree: MEng, First Class
Available: Now

Selfie of Boyd in a lab coat in the biology wet lab — Fig. 02 In the biology wet lab 01 / 03

Boyd with the chemical engineering cohort at the Frank Morton — Fig. 02 In the biology wet lab 01 / 03

02 / Experience

Heat network design & modelling

Ran feasibility scenarios for proposed heat networks across the UK on FairHeat's Excel models, covering both the technical side (pipe sizing, pressure requirements, weather effects) and the economics (cost, payback time and sensitivity to customer numbers).
Distilled a 40+ worksheet techno-economic model to its core equations and tested its assumptions against real customer data, showing FairHeat's models were conservative and increasing client confidence.
Wrote Python code to process a year of Met Office weather data into a wind rose, informing evaporator layouts at an air-source heat pump energy centre.

Energy centre design

Updated seven RIBA Stage 3 LTHW schematics in AutoCAD following a HAZOP, and built reusable valve symbols and layouts to speed up future drawings.
Worked in a six-person team assessing a modular energy centre for ~70 GWh of heat demand (ASHPs and gas boilers), drafting layout options that reduced the footprint and improved road access.
Built two Excel workbooks to standardise energy-centre pipe sizing, accounting for pressure drop across ancillaries in large-diameter pipes above DN300, with a structure the team went on to adopt.

Cyber-security & process improvement

Consulted with clients on cyber-security for metering devices and wrote a specification clause and a 10-page design supplement for internet-enabled building systems.
Linked Microsoft Forms, Power Automate and Excel into a site-visit reporting workflow that removed double entry and automated photo cataloguing, and was taken up across FairHeat.

Excel modelling
AutoCAD
Python
HAZOP
Power Automate

Customer & operations

Helped elderly and less tech-confident customers use a new online booking system, improving accessibility.
Managed check-in and customer flow during peak periods with temperatures above 31°C.
Organised the pool shop and introduced a stock-reordering system to keep products available.

Customer service
Organisation
Working under pressure

03 / Education

I started in Natural Sciences before moving into Chemical Engineering, where the core (thermodynamics, separations, reaction engineering, process control) ran alongside a strong thread of sustainability and bioprocessing. Much of the degree was project-based, from a full team plant design to an experimental dissertation in a biophysics lab, and I also wrote a critical review of metal-organic frameworks for drug delivery.

Award Pressed Steel Prize for Engineering, 2024 and 2025
Award Clare College Foundation Scholarship, 2024 and 2025
Award Clare College Honorary Scholarship, 2026

A*Mathematics
A*Further Mathematics
A*Chemistry
A*Physics

12 GCSEs at grades 8–9, including Spanish, French, Latin and Ancient Greek, and an FSMQ at grade A.

04 / Projects

Process control diagram of the biobutanol plant fermentation area, showing control loops, alarms and trips — Fig. 03 Fermentation area PCD · click to enlarge

Team design project · 5 people

Biobutanol Plant Design

Full design of a plant producing 20,000 tpa of biobutanol at 99% purity from wheat. As process coordinator, I aligned all five design areas, and I led the fermentation and initial solvent-recovery stage.

Outcome A fully specified fermentation area with PFD, control philosophy, HAZOP and costing, plus a pressure swing adsorption proposal producing ~1,800 kg/hr of saleable hydrogen.

More detail

Modelled fermentation (including growth tanks) and gas stripping in MATLAB and Aspen, optimising batch mode, temperature, agitation, flowrates and stage numbers.
Specified every heat exchanger, pump and compressor in my area; produced PFD, layout and equipment drawings in AutoCAD.
Wrote the control philosophy (loops, alarms, trips on a PCD) and start-up, shutdown and cleaning procedures.
Calculated capital and operating costs, completed a HAZOP and analysed relief stream data.
Reviewed our stage 1 design and proposed a revised PFD for stage 2.

MATLAB
Aspen Plus
AutoCAD
HAZOP
Leadership

Fluorescence microscope image of a giant unilamellar vesicle (GUV), with a 5 micrometre scale bar — Fig. 04 GUV under the microscope

Dissertation

Lipid Membranes Under Cold Conditions

Investigated how the biophysical properties of lipid membranes depend on temperature under cold conditions, using live fish cells and giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs).

Outcome Developed a new protocol for producing stable GUVs at low temperatures, and showed that fluorescence measurements depend strongly on the local dye environment, which limits their use as a proxy for membrane fluidity.

More detail

Prepared live fish cells for imaging and designed an experimental protocol for cold-temperature GUV generation.
Imaged samples on microscopes with Class 3B lasers and a novel cooling collar.
Processed images and applied statistical tests to identify patterns and relationships.
Reviewed the literature on cold-temperature membrane behaviour and visualisation techniques.

Lab work
Microscopy
Data analysis
Research

Life-cycle analysis scope for algae-based film: cultivation, extraction, polymer processing, use and end-of-life, within the system boundary — Fig. 05 LCA scope and life-cycle stages

Individual · ESG study

ESG of Algae-Based Bioplastics

Assessed whether algae-based polymers could replace traditional barrier films in food packaging, comparing production routes to find the most sustainable option.

Outcome Identified two key barriers: low extraction yields mean far more raw material is needed than can be cultivated, and embedded additives such as plasticisers create a large upstream exergy burden.

More detail

Carried out exergy calculations on hotspots in a cradle-to-grave life-cycle analysis.
Built a stakeholder map showing benefits and drawbacks across the life cycle.
Evaluated both the potential and the current limitations of the technology.

LCA
Exergy analysis
ESG
Stakeholder analysis

Ansys model geometry of the Y-graft Fontan connection, with inlets and outlets marked — Fig. 06 Y-graft geometry in Ansys

Individual · CFD study

CFD of Fontan Connection Options

Used Ansys to compare two cardiovascular connection types (extracardiac conduit and Y-graft) for the Fontan procedure, and how their behaviour changes as parameters vary.

Outcome The extracardiac conduit performed better on most metrics, particularly power loss and wall shear stress, while the Y-graft gave a more balanced hepatic flow distribution, making it preferable for patients at higher risk of related complications.

Ansys
CFD
Fluid mechanics
Biomedical

Infographic for Fairy-Tale Fertiliser, a microalgae-based controlled-release fertiliser, covering sustainability, economics and challenges — Fig. 07 Product infographic · click to enlarge

Team product design · 6 people

Chemical Product Design: Controlled-Release Fertiliser

Proposed a controlled-release organic fertiliser using beneficial bacteria to reduce nutrient runoff and restore soil health, then pitched it to investors.

Outcome Won the competition, voted best product by both fellow teams and the expert panel.

More detail

Market research to identify a gap and a sustainable, economic solution.
Product development balancing target customer needs and competition.
Costed the product and found ways to make it more economical without losing sustainability.
Created a video and a PowerPoint pitch for investors.

Market research
Product development
Costing
Presenting

05 / Skills

Software

MATLAB
Aspen Plus
AutoCAD
Ansys (CFD)
Python
Excel (advanced modelling)
Power Automate & Microsoft Forms

Engineering

Process design & equipment sizing
Process control (PCDs, Ziegler-Nichols, Cohen-Coon)
HAZOP & risk assessment
Heat network & techno-economic modelling
Separations & distillation modelling
CAPEX / OPEX estimation

Sustainability & research

Life-cycle & exergy analysis
ESG & carbon footprinting
Literature review & critical evaluation
Laboratory work & microscopy
Statistical data analysis

Professional

Team coordination & leadership
Client consultation
Technical writing & documentation
Presenting & pitching

06 / Contact

Interested in working together, or want to know more about a project? Send me a message and I'll get back to you.

Chemical Engineer.
Designing cleaner processes.