Wenzheng Yu

Professor

State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry

Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, P R China

No.18 Shuangqing Road, Haidian Distract, Beijing, China

Phone: +86 18210147043

E-mail: wzyu@rcees.ac.cn

Education

2010   Ph.D.

Municipal Engineering (Civil Engineering/Environmental Engineering),

Harbin Institute of Technology (China) /UCL (UK),

Advisor: Professor Guibai Li/ Professor John Gregory

2007   M.Sc.

Municipal Engineering (Civil Engineering/Environmental Engineering), Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, PR China 

Advisor: Professor Guibai Li (Fellow of Chinese Academy of Engineering)

2005   B.Sc.

Water Supply and Sewerage Engineering (Civil Engineering/Environmental Engineering), Wuhan University, Wuhan, PR China (985 University, top 10 in China) 

Employment

2010-2013

Assistant Professor

State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry

Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, PR China

Head: Professor Jiuhui Qu, Fellow of Chinese Academy of Engineering

2013-2017

Marie Curie International Incoming Fellow (EU)

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Imperial College London, United Kingdom

Host Partner: Professor Nigel Graham

2018-

Professor

Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, P R China

Research Experience

2009-2010

Joint Ph.D. Student

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

University College London (UCL), United Kingdom

Advisor: Professor John Gregory/ Dr Luiza Campos

2009 Summer

2008 summer

2006-2007

School of Civil Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, China.

School of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, China

School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Qingdao University of Technology, Shandong province, China

Technical Expertise

1.      Water/wastewater treatment

2.      Pre-treatment on mitigating ultrafiltration membrane fouling

3.      Coagulation mechanisms by hydrolyzed coagulants (Fe(II)/Fe(III) and Al(III))

4.      Membrane fabrication (2D materials) and its application

Awards

1.      Certificate of Reviewing, awarded by Journal of Membrane Science (August) and Journal of Environmental management (January) in 2015

2.      Marie Curie Fellowships (Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship) in 2013

3.      Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Harbin Institute of Technology in 2012

4.      Top Grade Outstanding Student Scholarship of Shanghai Baosteel Education Fund in 2010 (One student in each top 10 universities of China every year)

5.      Gao Tingyao Young Excellent Award of Environmental Science and Technology in 2010 (19 PhD students from all universities of China in 2010)

6.      Simon Li Scholarship of University College London in 2009/2010 as a visiting Ph.D. student (3 PhD students from China for coming to University College London)

7.      Outstanding Student Leader Award of Harbin Institute of Technology in 2009

8.      Excellent Graduates of Wuhan University in 2005

9.      Second Prize of Chinese Mathematical Model Contest (Hubei Province) in 2004

10.   Outstanding Student Leader Award of Wuhan University in 2003 and 2004

Successfully Obtained Funding

1.     Thousand Youth Talents Plan (Talent Recruitment Programs)     2018-2020

PI

PI-Funded by Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowships (EU)

First investigator (Host Partner: Professor Nigel Graham)

3.     Floc Breakage and Re-growth in Coagulation and Related Mechanisms (￥250,000.00, No. 51108444)                                                  2012.1-2014.12

PI-Funded by National Natural Science Funds of China

First investigator (Wenzheng Yu, Liyuan Wu, et al.)

4.     Novel Technologies and Mechanisms in Ultrafiltration Process for Drinking Water Treatment (￥2,900,000.00, No. 51138008)                         2012.1-2016.12   

Co-PI-Funded by Key Program of National Natural Science Funds of China

Key investigator (Jiuhui Qu, Hongwei Zhang, Wenzheng Yu, et al.)

5.     Drinking Water Purification Equipment in Development Towns  

(￥8,000,000.00, No. 2012BAJ25B02)                             2012.01-2015.12

Co-PI-Funded by National Science and Technology Ministry in China

Key investigator (Yalei Zhang, Wenzheng Yu, et al.)

6.     TWENTY 65: Tailored Water Solutions for Positive Impact

(￡ 3,963,000)                                                  2016.01-2020.12

Co-investigator-Funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK

Refereed Journal Publications

   2018

1.        Wenzheng Yu*, Lei Xu, Kaiyu Lei, John Gregory. Effect of crystallization of settled aluminum hydroxide precipitate on “dissolved Al”. Water Research, 2018, XXX, XXX-XXX

2.        Lei Xu, Bodi Wang, Xiuhua Liu, Wenzheng Yu, Yaqian Zhao. Maximizing the energy harvest from a microbial fuel cell embedded in a constructed wetland. Applied Energy, 2018, 214, 83-91

3.        Wenzheng Yu*, Teng Liu, John Crawshaw, Ting Liu, Nigel Graham**, Ultrafiltration and nanofiltration membrane fouling by natural organic matter: mechanisms and mitigation by pre-ozonation and pH. Water Research, 2018, 139, 353-362

4.        Ting Liu, Huimin Zhou, Nigel Graham, Yuanlong Lian, Wenzheng Yu*, Kening Sun*. The antifouling performance of an ultrafiltration membrane with pre-deposited carbon nanofiber layers for water treatment. Journal of Membrane Science, 2018, ***, ***-***

   2017

5.        Ting Liu, Bing Yang, Nigel Graham, Yuanlong Lian, Wenzheng Yu*, Kening Sun*. Mitigation of NOM Fouling of Ultrafiltration Membranes by Pre-deposited Heated Aluminum Oxide Particles with Different Crystallinity, Journal of Membrane Science, 2017, 544, 359-367

6.        Zhaoyang Su, Ting Liu, Wenzheng Yu*, Xing Li and Nigel J. D. Graham**, Coagulation of surface water: observations on the significance of biopolymers, Water Research, 2017, 126, 144-152.

7.        Ting Liu, Bing Yang, Nigel Graham, Wenzheng Yu*, Kening Sun*. Trivalent Metal Cation Cross-linked Graphene Oxide Membranes for NOM Removal in Water Treatment, Journal of Membrane Science, 2017, 542, 31-40

8.        Wenzheng Yu*, Tong (Yet) Yu and Nigel Graham*. Development of a stable cation modified graphene oxide membrane for water treatment, 2D materials, 2017, 4, 045006.

 

9.        Wenzheng Yu*, Dizhong Zhang, and Nigel J. D. Graham**. Membrane fouling by extracellular polymeric substances after ozone pre-treatment: Variation of nano-particles size, Water Research, 2017, 120, 146-155

10.     Ting Liu, Yuanlong Lian, Nigel Graham, Wenzheng Yu*, David Rooney, Kening Sun*. Application of polyacrylamide flocculation with and without alum coagulation for mitigating ultrafiltration membrane fouling: Role of floc structure and bacterial activity, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2017, 307, 41-48

11.     Wenzheng Yu*, Nigel Graham* and Ting Liu. Effect of intermittent ultrasound on controlling membrane fouling with coagulation pre-treatment: significance of the nature of adsorbed organic matter, Journal of Membrane Science, 2017, 535, 168-177

   2016

12.     Wenzheng Yu*, Matthew Brown and Nigel. J. D. Graham*. Prevention of PVDF ultrafiltration membrane fouling by coating MnO₂ nanoparticles with low dose ozonation. Scientific Reports, 2016, 6, Article number: 30144

13.     Wenzheng Yu, John Gregory*, Nigel Graham. Re-growth of Broken Flocs: effect of added fluoride. Environmental Science & Technology, 2016, 50, 1828–1833

14.     Wenzheng Yu*, Luiza C. Campos, Nigel Graham**. Application of pulsed UV-irradiation and pre-coagulation to control ultrafiltration membrane fouling in the treatment of micro-polluted surface water, Water Research, 2016, 107, 83-92

15.     Wenzheng Yu*, Nigel J. D. Graham** and Geoffrey D. Fowler. Coagulation and oxidation for controlling ultrafiltration membrane fouling in drinking water treatment: application of ozone at low dose in submerged membrane tank. Water Research, 2016, 95, 1-10

16.     Wenzheng Yu*, Yunjia Yang and Nigel Graham*. Evaluation of ferrate as a coagulant aid/oxidant pretreatment for mitigating submerged ultrafiltration membrane fouling in drinking water treatment. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2016, 298, 234–242

   2015

17.     Wenzheng Yu*, Nigel Graham**, Yunjia Yang, Zhiqi Zhou, Luiza C. Campos. Effect of sludge retention on UF membrane fouling: the significance of sludge crystallization and EPS increase. Water Research, 2015, 83, 319-328.

18.     Wenzheng Yu, Lei Xu, Nigel Graham, Jiuhui Qu*. Contribution of Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles to the fouling of ultrafiltration with coagulation pre-treatment. Scientific Reports, 2015, 5, 13067.

19.     Wenzheng Yu*, Nigel Graham. Performance of an integrated granular media – ultrafiltration membrane process for drinking water treatment. Journal of Membrane Science, 2015, 492, 164-172.

20.     Wenzheng Yu*, Luiza Campos, Tong Shi, Nigel Graham*. Enhanced removal of manganese in organic-rich surface water by combined sodium hypochlorite and potassium permanganate during drinking water treatment. RSC Advances, 2015, 5, 27970 – 27977.

21.     Wenzheng Yu, John Gregory*, Luiza C. Campos, Nigel Graham. Dependence of floc properties on coagulant type, dosing mode and nature of particles. Water Research, 2015, 68, 119–126.

22.     Wenzheng Yu, Nigel Graham*. Application of Fe(II)/K₂MnO₄ as a pre-treatment for controlling UF membrane fouling in drinking water treatment. Journal of Membrane Science, 2015, 473, 283-291.

23.     Wenzheng Yu, Jiu-hui Qu*, John Gregory. Pre-coagulation on the submerged membrane fouling in nano-scale: Effect of sedimentation process. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2015, 262, 676-682.

24.     Baiwen Ma, Wenzheng Yu, William A. Jefferson, Huijuan Liu, Jiuhui Qu*. Modification of ultrafiltration membrane with nanoscale zerovalent iron layers for humic acid fouling reduction. Water Research, 2015, 71, 140-149.

   2014

25.     Wenzheng Yu, Lei Xu, Nigel Graham, Jiuhui Qu*. Pre-treatment for ultrafiltration: effect of pre-chlorination on membrane fouling. Scientific Reports, 2014, 4, 6513.

26.     Wenzheng Yu, Lei Xu, Jiuhui Qu*, Nigel Graham. Investigation of pre-coagulation and powder activate carbon adsorption on ultrafiltration membrane fouling. Journal of Membrane Science, 2014, 459(1), 157-168.

27.     Wen-zheng Yu, John Gregory, Hui-juan Liu, Jiu-hui Qu*, Investigation of the property of kaolin-alum flocs at acidic pH. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2014, 443(20), 177–181.

28.     Baiwen Ma, Wenzheng Yu, Huijuan Liu, Jiuhui Qu*. Effect of low dosage of coagulant on the ultrafiltration membrane performance in feedwater treatment. Water Research, 2014, 51, 277-83.

29.     Baiwen Ma, Wenzheng Yu, Huijuan Liu, Jiuhui Qu*. Comparison of iron (III) and alum salt on ultrafiltration membrane fouling by alginate. Desalination, 2014, 354, 153-159.

   2013

30.     Wen-zheng Yu, Hui-juan Liu, Ting Liu, Rui-ping Liu, Jiu-hui Qu. Comparison of submerged coagulation and traditional coagulation on membrane fouling: Effect of active flocs. Desalination, 2013, 309, 11–17.

31.     Wen-zheng Yu, Nigel Graham, Hui-juan Liu, Hui Li, and Jiu-hui Qu*. Membrane fouling by Fe-Humic cake layers in nano-scale: Effect of in-situ formed Fe(III) coagulant. Journal of Membrane Science, 2013, 431, 47-54.

32.     Wen-zheng Yu, John Gregory, Gui-bai Li, Jiu-hui Qu*. Effect of humic acid on coagulation performance during aggregation at low temperature, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2013, 223, 412-417.

33.     Wen-zheng Yu, Hui-juan Liu, Lei Xu, Jiu-hui Qu*, Nigel Graham. The pre-treatment of submerged ultrafiltration membrane by coagulation—Effect of polyacrylamide as a coagulant aid. Journal of Membrane Science, 2013, 446, 50-58.

34.     Wenzheng Yu, Nigel Graham, Huijuan Liu, Jiuhui Qu*. Comparison of FeCl₃ and alum pre-treatment on UF membrane fouling. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2013, 234, 158-165.

35.     Baiwen Ma, Wenzheng Yu, Huijuan Liu, Jingbo Yao, Jiuhui Qu*. Effect of iron/aluminum hydrolyzed precipitate layer on ultrafiltration membrane. Desalination, 2013, 330(2), 16-21.

   2012

36.     Wenzheng Yu, Chengzhi Hu, Huijuan Liu, Jiuhui Qu*. Effect of dosage strategy on Al-humic flocs growth and re-growth. Colloid and Surface A, 2012, 404, 106-111.

37.     Wen-zheng Yu, Ting Liu, John Gregory, Gui-bai Li, Hui-juan Liu, Jiu-hui Qu*. Aggregation of nano-sized alum-humic primary particles. Separation and Purification Technology, 2012, 99, 44–49.

   2011

38.     Wenzheng Yu, John Gregory*, Luiza C. Campos. Breakage and re-growth of flocs-Effect of additional doses of coagulant species. Water Research, 2011, 45, 6718-6724.

39.     Wenzheng Yu*, John Gregory, Ting Liu, Yanling Yang, Ming Sun, Guibai Li. Effect of enhanced coagulation by KMnO₄ on the fouling of ultrafiltration membranes. Water Science & Technology, 2011, 64(7), 1497-1502.

40.     Wen-zheng Yu, John Gregory*, Luiza Campos, Guibai Li. The role of mixing conditions on floc growth, breakage and re-growth. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2011, 171, 425-430.

41.     Ting Liu, Zhong-lin Chen*, Wen-zheng Yu, Shi-jie You. Characterization of organic membrane foulants in a submerged membrane bioreactor with pre-ozonation using three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy. Water Research, 2011, 45(5), 2111-2121.

42.     Ting Liu, Zhong-lin Chen*, Wen-zheng Yu, Ji-min Shen, John Gregory. Effect of two-stage coagulant addition on coagulation-ultrafiltration process for treatment of humic-rich water. Water Research, 2011, 45(14), 4260-4268.

43.     Wen-zheng Yu*, Ting Liu, John Gregory, Luiza Campos, Guibai Li, Jiuhui Qu. Influence of flocs breakage process on submerged ultrafiltration membrane fouling. Journal of Membrane Science, 2011, 385-386, 194-199.

   2010

44.     Wenzheng Yu, John Gregory*, Luiza Campos. Breakage and re-growth of Al-humic flocs-effect of additional coagulant dosage. Environmental Science & Technology, 2010, 44(16), 6371-6376.

45.     Wenzheng Yu, John Gregory*, Luiza Campos. Breakage and re-growth of flocs formed by charge neutralization using alum and polyDADMAC. Water Research, 2010, 44(13), 3959-3965.

46.     Wenzheng Yu, John Gregory*, Luiza Campos. The effect of additional coagulant on the re-growth of alum-kaolin flocs. Separation and Purification Technology, 2010, 74, 305-309.

47.     Wenzheng Yu*, John Gregory, Yanling Yang, Min Sun, Ting Liu, Guibai Li. The effect of coagulation and applied breakage shear on the re-growth of kaolin flocs. Environmental Engineering Science, 2010, 27(6), 483-492.

  2009

48.     Wenzheng Yu*, Guibai Li, Yongpeng Xu, Xue Yang. Breakage and re-growth of flocs formed by alum and PACl. Powder Technology, 2009, 189(3), 439-443.

Publications in Chinese

1.        Wen-zheng Yu, Yanling Yang, Ming Sun, Ting Liu, Guibai Li. Influence of temperature and the size of initial particles on flocs breakage and re-growth. Journal of Harbin Institute of Technology, 2010, 42(10), 1572-1576.

2.        Yanling Yang, Ming Sun, Xing Li, Wen-zheng Yu, Li Guibai. Study on the influence of alkalinity on floc formation, breakup and regrowth by photometric dispersion analyzer. Optical Technique, 2010, 36(3), 474-478.

3.        Wen-zheng Yu, Yanling Yang, Ming Sun, Weixiong Chen, Ting Liu, Zhijun He, Guibai Li. Small experiment table on emergency water pollution and used in Mn accidental pollution. Water & Wastewater Engineering, 2009, 35(10), 18-21.

4.        Wenzheng Yu, Yanling Yang, Wei Lu, Guibai Li. Removal of particles through floc breakage and re-growth at low temperature. Acta Scientiae Circumstantiate, 2009, 29 (4), 791-796.

5.        Lei Xu, Wenzheng Yu*, Liang Liang, Tong Wang. The research of negative effect of natural organic matter on coagulation and the characteristics of flocs. Environmental Science, 2013, 34(11), 4290-4294

6.        Liang Liang, Wenzheng Yu*, Lei Xu. Effect of citric acid on coagulation process with different coagulants. Acta Scientiae Circumstantiate, 2013, 33(9), 2428-2431

Patents

1.      A small mobile and automatic experimental device utilized in an emergency of water pollution. Guibai Li, Wenzheng Yu, Xing Li, Li Cong. (In Chinese, NO. CN201322744)

2.      A new method to highly remove fluoride. Zhisheng Liu, HengLiang, Wenzheng Yu, Jie Chen. (In Chinese, NO. CN101041479)

3.      A new method to filter water, Jiuhui Qu, Wenzheng Yu, Huijuan Liu, Ruiping Liu, Huachun Lan, Hui Li. (In Chinese, NO. CN103030199A)

4.      Reactor for deep purification of drinking water and deep purification method of drinking water, Jiuhui Qu, Huijuan Liu, Ruiping Liu, Huachun Lan, Wenzheng Yu. (In Chinese, NO. CN102351371 B)

Presentations (Selected)

1.        Nigel J. D. Graham, Wenzheng Yu. Developments in Membrane Separation for Water Treatment, Twenty 65 conference, 4-5^th April, 2017, Manchester, UK (Oral presentation)

2.        Wenzheng Yu*, Ultrafiltration membrane in drinking water treatment: high water quality and low energy. Seminar/Workshop: Research showcase on clean water, September 29, 2016, Imperial College London, London, UK. (Oral presentation)

3.        Wenzheng Yu*, Nigel J. D. Graham, Geoffrey D. Fowler, Application of ozone at low dose in submerged membrane tank on controlling ultrafiltration membrane fouling in drinking water treatment. 5^th IWA Regional Conference on membrane Technology (IWA-RMTC2016), August 22-24^th 2016, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China. (Oral presentation)

4.        Wenzheng Yu* and Nigel J. D. Graham, Combined Coagulation and Ozonation for the Control of Membrane Fouling in a Hollow-Fibre UF Process: Effect of Ozone in Submerged Membrane Tank. Euromembrane 2015. September 6-10th, 2015, at Aachen Germany. (Oral presentation)

5.        Wenzheng Yu and Nigel J. D. Graham, Evaluation of submerged ultrafiltration membrane in sand layer for controlling membrane fouling, American Water Works Association 2015 Membrane Technology Conference March 2-6, 2015 at Orlando, Florida, USA (Oral presentation)

6.        Wenzheng Yu, Yunjia. Yang and Nigel. J. D. Graham, Evaluation of ferrate (K₂FeO₄) as a coagulant/coagulant aid to reduce ultrafiltration membrane fouling in drinking water treatment. Engineering Conferences International, Advanced Membrane Technology VI: Water, Energy, and New Frontiers to be held from February 8-13, 2015 at Sicily, Italy.

7.        Wenzheng Yu. Controlling UF membrane fouling in drinking water treatment: influence of nano particles and bacteria activity. October 5-10th, 2014, University technology of Berlin (Prof. Martin Jekel), University of Duisburg-Essen (Prof. Stefan Panglisch) and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Prof. Dr Andrea Iris Sch?fer), Germany (Invited speaker). https://mt.ifg.kit.edu/28.php

8.        Wenzheng Yu. Membrane in drinking water and how to control membrane fouling. (Invited by Professor Yajun Zhang, Vice-present of the Beijing university of Civil Engineering and Architecture), 20th May, 2013 (Oral Presentation)

9.        Wenzheng Yu, Huijuan Liu, Jiuhui Qu, John Gregory. Effect of acidic pH on the re-growth of kaolin alum flocs. Proceedings of the international conference on particle separation-advances in particles separation-science, technology, practice, 18-20th June 2012, Berlin, Germany. (Oral Presentation)

10.     Wenzheng Yu, Guibai Li, John Gregory. Effect of enhanced coagulation by KMnO4 on the fouling of ultrafiltration membranes. Membranes in drinking and industrial water treatment, 27-30th June 2010, NTNU-Trondheim, Norway. (Oral platform presentation)

11.     Wenzheng Yu, Yanling Yang, Guibai Li, Characteristic of flocs breakage and re-growth by in-line Imaging. 2nd National Ph.D. Candidates Academic Conference on New Theories and New Technologies in Environmental Science and Engineering, October 16-18th, 2008. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China. (Oral Presentation).

12.     Wenzheng Yu. Controlling UF membrane fouling in drinking water treatment: influence of nano particles and bacteria activity. Tianjin Chengjian University (March 23th, 2017) and Wuhan University (March 23th, 2017), China (Invited speaker in seminar)

Teaching and Supervising Experience

1.    Supervising Experience

PhD

Co-supervisor of Bai-wen Ma, Ph.D. student of Chinese Academy of Sciences, assistant professor there now (Water Research (2), Journal of Membrane Science (1), and Desalination (2))

Supervisor of Zhaoyang Su, Exchange PhD student from Beijing University of Technology (preparing for 5 papers, 1 paper published on Water Research)

Co-supervisor of Teng Liu, PhD student at Imperial College London

Masters (Three years) at Chinese Academy of Sciences

Lei Xu, (A Ph.D. student at University College Dublin)

Liang Liang, (A Ph.D. student at Tianjin University, China)

Hui Li, (A Ph.D. student at Beijing Normal University, China)         

Masters (One year) at Imperial College London

Yun-jia Yang (Distinguish)

(works in Guangzhou Iverson Mobil, China)

Di-zhong Zhang

Teng Liu (Distinguish)

Undergraduate students at Imperial College London

Brown Matthew

Tong (Yet) Yu (Exchange student from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

2.    Teaching Experience

Teaching Assistant at University College London (Some lab classes in the Lab of Department of Environmental Engineering)

2011-2015

2016-2017

6 months

2016-    

2012-2014

2011-2013

2011-2013

2013-2014

2014-2015

2015-2016

2014-2015

2015-2016

2010

Independent Reviewer for Scholarly Journals/ grant proposal

Adsorption Science and Technology

Brazilian Journal of Science and Technology

Chemical Engineering Journal (6 times)

Chemosphere

Clean-Soil, Air, Water

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects

Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology

Desalination and Water Treatment

Environment Pollution

Environmental Technology

Environmental Science & Technology

Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology

Frontiers of Environmental Science and Engineering

International Journal of Chemical Kinetics (Wiley)

Journal of Cleaner Production

Journal of Chemical Technology & Biotechnology

Journal of Chemistry

Journal of Environmental Management

Journal of Environment Sciences (3)