Aberdeen University has been awarded more than £1m in funding to create a research centre for converting organic waste into sustainable materials.

It is one of ten universities in the UK to receive the Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Award.

The funding will build a multi-disciplinary Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) to teach a new generation of researchers to deliver the sustainable production of chemicals and materials from organic waste.

It will also evaluate the environmental and economic impacts of developing the technologies.

Dean of the Postgraduate Research School at Aberdeen University, Professor Judith Masthoff, led the successful funding bid.

She said: "This is a fabulous achievement for the university and builds on our reputation for outstanding postgraduate research training."

Their research will focus on the conversion of unavoidable organic waste into fuels, fertilisers, pharmaceuticals and construction materials.

School of Engineering senior lecturer Dr Davide Dionisi said: "The sustainable production of chemicals and materials from organic waste is a growing area of research, as we aim to find ways of limiting our reliance on fossil fuels.

"Our aim is to train a new generation of interdisciplinary researchers who will have the skills and knowledge to deliver our vision of producing chemicals and materials from waste using renewable energy, as well as to assess its environmental impact and provide the economic and political arguments to encourage its uptake."