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Professor in the Department of Engineering+44 (0) 191 33 42377

Biography

Summary
 

Yaodong Wang is a professor and an active researcher specializing in energy systems, with a focus on sustainable, clean, and renewable energy. He has over 25 years of experience working on various research projects as Principal Investigator (PI), Co-Investigator (Co-I), and Researcher, including 10 multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional projects. His research areas encompass:

  • Biomass gasification, anaerobic digestion, and combustion
  • Biofuel or biomass trigeneration and cogeneration with energy storage
  • Energy systems such as biomass/coal thermal power plants
  • Renewable energy systems (wind, solar, biomass, water/hydropower)
  • Advanced cycles to reduce emissions from energy systems (Miller Cycle petrol and diesel engines; Flameless Oxidation to reduce NOx emissions from gas turbines and power plants)
  • Biofuel petrol/diesel engines
  • Organic Rankine cycle
  • Thermal energy management in processing industries
  • Building energy saving using passive and active methods

He has published over 210 works, including 112 peer-reviewed journal articles and 100 international conference proceedings.

Dr. Wang received his PhD from Staffordshire University in 2004, funded by the EU FP5 project and the university, for his investigation of micro trigeneration of electricity, heating, and cooling simultaneously with only one fuel input. He then worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (PDRA) at Ulster University on EU FP6 funded projects focusing on clean combustion of coal and biomass in thermal power plants. His work there included using advanced concepts like "Flameless Oxidation" and "Continuous Staged Air Combustion" to reduce NOx emissions from gas turbines and power plants, as well as absorption-enhanced reforming of lignite and biomass to produce hydrogen (with carbon capture) for a trigeneration system supplying power, heating, and cooling to buildings.

In 2006, Dr. Wang moved to Newcastle University as a PDRA working in the renewable and clean energy area. He was appointed as a Lecturer in 2007 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2011 at the School of Mechanical Engineering (now the School of Engineering) at Newcastle University. He served as an Associate Professor at Durham University from 2019 to 2024, after which he was promoted to Professor in 2024.

Memberships:

  • Chartered Engineer (CEng), Member of The Institute of Mechanical Engineers (MIMechE)
  • Member of EPSRC Full College, UK. 
  • Fellow of Durham Energy Institute

Qualifications:

  • PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Trigeneration of power, heat and cooling. Outcomes: 5 conference papers; 4 journal papers.) 
  • MSc in Mechanical Engineering (Distinction. Novel combustion chamber for petrol engine. Outcomes: 3 journal papers.)
  • BSc (First Class) in Mechanical Engineering 

Research Groups: 

 Department of Engineering

  • Energy Systems

Research Interests / Experience

  1. Sustainable and net-zero farming: Biofuel trigeneration of power, heat and cooling - Utilisation of agricultural wastes to produce biofuels.
  2. Distributed renewable energy systems with energy storage
  3. Biofuel combined heat and power (CHP)
  4. Cogeneration of power and cooling driven by low grade heat
  5. Bio-oil Trigeneration (Combined cooling, heating and power)
  6. Low grade heat driven absorption refrigeration
  7. Coal/Biomass thermal power plant simulation and evaluation
  8. Biomass/bio-wastes to energy through gasification or anaerobic digestion
  9. Biogas energy system
  10. Vegetable oil application to diesel engines and CHP
  11. Ethanol/methanol application to petrol engines
  12. Ethanol application to diesel engine
  13. Miller cycle application to reduce NOx emissions from petrol engines
  14. Miller cycle application to reduce NOx emissions from diesel engines
  15. Flameless oxidation to reduce NOx emissions from power plant/gas turbine

Section Chief Editor (Energy Systems), Energy Reports (Elsevier Journal) and the Member of the Editorial Board of the journal.

Guest Editor of Special Issue on “Energy Storage and Future Carbon-Neutral Energy Systems (ES-CNES)”, Energy Reports (Impact Factor 4.937, 2021 – 2022).

Guest Editor of Special Issue on Thermal Energy Management, Applied Energy, volume 89, issue 1, January 2012.

Reviewer for international journals including: Fuel; Applied Energy; Applied Thermal Engineering; Renewable Energy; Fuel Processing Technology; International Journal of Thermal Sciences; Energy & Fuels; International Journal of Energy Research; International Journal of HydrogenEnergy; Energy Conversion and Management; Chemical Engineering Research and Design; Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering; International Journal of Ambient Energy

Section Chair for 11 international Conferences: International Conferences on Applied Energy (ICAE) 2018 in Hong Kong; International Conferences on Applied Energy (ICAE) 2017 in Cardiff; ICAE Conference 2016 in Beijing; SusTEM Conference 2015, Newcastle Upon Tyne, July 2015; ICAE 2015 in Abu Dhabi, March 2015; ICAE 2014 in Taipei, May-June 2014; ICAE 2013 in Pretoria, South Africa; and ICAE 2012 in Suzhou of China); Sustainable Thermal Energy Management in Process Industry (The 2nd PRO-TEM Network Conference - SusTEM2011, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK); 9th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies (SET2010, Shanghai, China). Sustainable Thermal Energy Management in Process Industry (The 1st PRO-TEM Network Conference, SusTEM2010).

External Examiner for 21 PhD’s and 1 MPhil’s theses; Internal Examiner for 16 PhD’s theses.

GoogleScholar:

https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=gQvzEUwAAAAJ&hl=en

ORCiD:

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9697-8673

Scopus:

https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=13403772900

Funded/completed research projects

1. EPSCR funded: UK National Clean Maritime Research Hub (EP/Y024605/1. Co-Investigator (Co-I), 01 September 2023 - 31 March 2027. Project awarded total: £7,813,341.)

2. Innovate UK funded: Gasification of agricultural waste streams for the secure cooking gas supply of rural and isolated communities in Pakistan (GAS-SCRIPt). (Principal Investigator (PI). Project awarded total: £289,316 1 Feb 2023 - 31 Jan 2024).

3. Innovate UK funded: Development of a sewage sludge waste containing microplastics pyrolysis plant for sustainable hydrogen, syngas and high quality pyrolytic char production. (Co-I. Project awarded total: £128,045. 1 Oct 2022 - 31 Mar 2024).

4. EPSCR funded: A network for hydrogen-fuelled transportation (Network- H2). (Co-I. Project awarded total: £1,255,359.40. 1 Oct 2019 - 30 Sep 2024).

5. Collaboration project: “NEATZERO (Home Working Energy Usage)” – Durham University (DU) and Durham County Council (DCC); funded by the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government, (PI. Project awarded total: £14,974.98. January – June 2021). 

6. EPSRC funded: A Zero-Emission Closed-loop linear-Joule CYcle (ZECCY) engine generator (EP/R041970/1, Co-I. Project awarded total: £ 897,057. 01 September 2018 - 31 August 2021).

7. European Commission: ‘ETALON: Energy Harvesting for Signalling and Communication Systems’. (Co-I. Project awarded total: € 1 699 998. 01/09/2017 - 29/02/2020).

8. British Council Newton Fund: Trilateral Workshop (UK, South Africa and Kenya) on ‘Increased food security through improved postharvest systems using renewable and sustainable energy for rural communities’ (2016-RLWK7-10403). (PI. Project awarded total: £50,000. 01/04/2017 - 31/01/2018).

9. N8 Research Partnership fund: Feasibility study of renewable bio-energy agri-product dryer (2nd stage). (PI. Project awarded total: £10,000. 01/042018 – 31/03/2019.

10. N8 Research Partnership fund: Feasibility study of renewable bio-energy agri-product dryer. (PI. Project awarded total: £10,000. 01/04/2017 – 31/03/2018.

11. EPSRC Prosperity Outcomes: Feasibility study of carbon-based Nanomaterials to enhance heat transfer and efficiency for chemisorption cooling and power cogeneration system (EP/P511201/1, Institutional Sponsorship 2016- Newcastle University. PI. Project awarded total: £15,000, 09/2016 – 03/2017). Outcome: published 2 papers on journals; 3 papers on conference proceedings.

12. EPSRC Global Challenges Research Fund Institutional Sponsorship Award 2016 - Institutional Sponsorship Funding for 2016 - 2017, Preparing for GCRF Award: Optimisation of different solar dryers used in Sub-Saharan Africa using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). (PI. Project awarded total: £19,838. 08/2016 – 03/2017. Outcome: A paper published in ‘Journal of Cleaner Production’.)

13. EPSRC IAA Phase 2 - Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) enabled optimisation of a hybrid solar dryer for sub-Saharan Africa. (PI, Project awarded total: £14,660. 07/2016 – 03/2017. Outcome: 1 paper published in ‘Journal of Cleaner Production’.)

14. EPSRC funded: Industrial Demand Reduction through Innovative Storage Technologies (IDRIST), (EP/M008088/1). (Co-I. Project awarded total: £602,610. 01/12/2014 - 31/05/2017). Outcome: A prototype storage unit manufactured and tested.)

15. EPSRC funded: Low Grade Heat Driven Adsorption-linear-expander Cycle for Cogeneration of Power and Refrigeration (EP/I027904/1, PI. Project awarded total: £102,988, 11/2011 – 02/2014. Outcome: published 4 papers in journals; 2 papers on the Proceedings of ICAE 2014 Conference.)

16. EPSRC funded: GLOBAL - Sustainable Energy through China-UK Research Engagement (EP/K004689/1, Co-I. Project awarded total: £483,547, 01/04/2012 – 31/03/2013).I led three themes and involved in Theme 11. Details are shown below:

• Theme 1 Trigeneration with Integrated Energy Storage & Biofuel Use (Theme Leader)

- Collaboration with Shanghai Jiaotong University, Guangxi University, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jishou University. 2 papers published on journals and 1 paper published on the Proceedings of ICAE 2014.

• Theme 3 Low Grade Heat Driven Cogeneration of Power & Cooling (Theme Leader) - Collaboration with Shanghai Jiaotong University. Outcome: 1 paper published in journal.

• Theme 6 Thermal Energy Management in Processing Industries (Theme Leader)

- Collaboration with Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jishou University, Guizhou University. Outcome: Outcome: 1 paper published on journal and 1 on the Proceedings of ICAE 2014 International Conference.

• Theme 11 Optimal Management of Water Resources and Flood Risk for Hydropower Generation - Collaboration with Dalian University of Technology, 1 paper published in journal.

17. EU funded: Adsor-Resor Cycle for power and cooling generation (FP7-PEOPLE/253106, EU Marie Currie Fellowship. Co-I, Project awarded total: £42,909. 09/2010 – 09/2011. Outcome: 1 paper in journal and 1 in international conference.)

18. EPSRC funded, BMT-CES: Biofuel Micro-Trigeneration with Cryogenic Energy Storage (EP/F061978/1, Co-I, six universities involved. Project awarded total: £1.1 million. 01/11/2008 – 16/04/2012. Outcome: 6 papers on high impact journals; 5 papers on international conferences).

19. EPSRC funded: Thermal Management of Industrial Processes (EP/G056706/1, Co-I. Project awarded total: £299,863. 01/11/2009 – 31/01/2012. Outcome: 2 papers in high impact journals; three papers in international conferences.)

20. EU ERDF funded CHP/Trigeneration and Energy Storage, Co-I, 2009 – 2012

21. EU FP7-TRANSPORT project (FP7-TRANSPORT/266030): ULYSSES Ultra Slow Ships (Co-I. Project awarded total: € 3 719 626,26. 01/01/2011 – 31/01/2013). Outcome: 1 paper for ‘2nd International Conference on Technologies, Operations, Logistics and Modelling for Low Carbon Shipping’.

Supervise research students (PhDs - ongoing)
  • THERMOELECTRIC HEAT PUMP WITH STORAGE FOR HEATING
  • Zero-emission Hydrogen-fuelled Internal Combustion Engine
Supervised research students (PhDs - graduated)
  1. Seasonal solar thermal energy storage using thermochemical adsorption for house heating
  2. An investigation of the performance of a free-piston engine using Miller cycle and renewable fuels.
  3. Energy saving technologies and optimisation of energy use for decarbonised iron and steel industry.
  4. Co-production of Hydrogen, Methane and Silica from rice straw using anaerobic digestion and thermal treatment processes in an integrated energy system
  5. Design and development of a community based micro-hydro turbine system with hydrogen energy storage to supply electricity for off-grid rural areas in Tanzania.
  6. Thermochemical sorption tri-generation system for energy storage and energy demand reduction. 
  7. A Detailed Optimisation of Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems and its Application.
  8. Evaluation of Biogas Driven Poly-generation System to Reduce Energy Poverty and Post-harvest Loss.
  9. Engine Waste Heat Recovery System Combining ORC and Resorption Cycles Enhanced by Ni/Al/Fe@C.
  10. Regional Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment on Decentralised Electricity Generation Technologies in the Northeast Region of England
  11. Investigation Into Fuel Pre-treatments For Combustion Improvement On A Compression Ignition Engine.
  12. An investigation and optimisation of electrical power generation scenarios for a sustainable Malaysia.
  13. Integration of Hybrid Energy Storage and Organic Rankine Cycle into the Trigeneration System.
  14. Household Energy Demand Management using Retrofitting and Passive Energy Saving Methods.
  15. Investigation of a Tubular Linear Transverse Flux Machine for Use with a Free‐Piston Engine.
  16. Utilisation of heat and organic wastes for energy recovery in the industry.
  17. Application of the Thermoelectric Heat Exchange Module Combined with Renewable Energy for UK Domestic Heating.
  18. Using natural gas to meet latent energy demand in Nigeria and deliver economic advantage.
  19. Methods to move to zero energy commercial building (ZECB) for the future.
  20. A resorption cogeneration cycle for power and refrigeration.
  21. An investigation of an adsorption cogeneration system for power and cooling using low grade heat.
  22. An investigation into the energy and control implications of adaptive thermal comfort.
  23. Dynamic energy demand prediction and related control system for UK households.
  24. Integration and optimisation of bio-fuel micro-tri-generation with energy storage.
  25. The design, testing and analysis of a biofuel micro-trigeneration system.
Supervised research students (MPhil - Master by Research - graduated)
  1. Combined PVT-SAHP system with seasonal storage for decarbonising domestic buildings
  2. Numerical Simulation of an Organic Rankine Cycle Using Scroll Expander in Geothermal Energy Applications
  3. Combined Solar Power and Cooling System Using an Organic Rankine Cycle
  4. EXPERIMENTAL AND COMPUTATIONAL STUDY OF ALGAE TO ENERGY: ALGAL GROWTH WITH CO2 FIXATION, OIL EXTRACTION AND AS FUEL FOR ENGINE
  5. Study of a micro smart grid to meet the dynamic demand of a household using renewable energy sources
  6. Investigating and optimizing the adsorbent pairs utilized in thermochemical resorption cycle
  7. Sustainable industry: utilisation of organic wastes from production process for energy supply
  8. Miller Cycle application to diesel and free piston engines
  9. Sustainable Building: Household Energy Demand Management using Retrofitting and Passive Energy Saving Methods
  10. Development and optimization of an organic Rankine cycle system driven by waste heat from diesel engines
  11. Application of nano-carbon catalysts in diesel/bio-diesel fuel blends to improve diesel engines performance and reduce exhaust emissions
  12. TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF BIO-METHANE PRODUCTION FROM ANAEROBIC CO-DIGESTION
Recent Conference Paper
  1. Catharina Astrup Horgen, Yaodong Wang*, Ye Huang, Techno-economic Analysis of a Cogeneration System in a Norwegian Farm, Applied Energy Symposium 2023: Clean Energy towards Carbon Neutrality (CEN2023) April 23-25, 2023, Ningbo, China. Paper ID: 0011.
  2. Adam Crilly, Yaodong Wang*, Ye Huang, A techno-economic study of a net-zero renewable energy supply for a farm, Applied Energy Symposium 2023: Clean Energy towards Carbon Neutrality (CEN2023) April 23-25, 2023, Ningbo, China. Paper ID: 0005.
  3. Chenjue Wang, Anthony Paul Roskilly, Yaodong Wang*, Combined Photovoltaic-Thermal System with Latent Heat Storage Tank for Domestic Heating Supply: A case study of UK conventional house, Applied Energy Symposium 2023: Clean Energy towards Carbon Neutrality (CEN2023) April 23-25, 2023, Ningbo, China. Paper ID: 0045.
  4. Joseph Wilson, Yaodong Wang*, A Techno-Economic Study into a Domestic Renewable Energy System, Applied Energy Symposium 2022: Clean Energy towards Carbon Neutrality (CEN2022) April 23-25, 2022, Ningbo, China, Paper ID: 0011.
  5. Chris Atkinson, Yaodong Wang*, Techno-Economic Study of a Distributed Renewable Power System for an Island, Applied Energy Symposium 2022: Clean Energy towards Carbon Neutrality (CEN2022) April 23-25, 2022, Ningbo, China Paper ID: 0014.
  6. Davina Vallabh, Yaodong Wang*, Ye Huang, Trigeneration with Carbon Capture and Storage using Digestate, Applied Energy Symposium 2022: Clean Energy towards Carbon Neutrality (CEN2022) April 23-25, 2022, Ningbo, China Paper ID: 0015.
  7. Morgan R. Boswell, Yaodong Wang*, How to Achieve a Low Emission Home - A Case Study, Applied Energy Symposium 2022: Clean Energy towards Carbon Neutrality (CEN2022) April 23-25, 2022, Ningbo, China Paper ID: 0021.
  8. Sammi Ly, Yaodong Wang*, Ye Huang, Biofuel Trigeneration with Energy Storage for Heating, Cooling and Power on Farms, The World Energy Storage Conference and Expo 2021, Nanjing, China, June 25, 2021.
  9. Charlotte Anning, Yaodong Wang*, Ye Huang, Biofuel Trigeneration for Supermarkets, The World Energy Storage Conference and Expo 2021, Nanjing, China, June 25, 2021.
  10. Benjamin White, Yaodong Wang*, Ye Huang, Hydrogen Trigeneration with Energy Storage for use on an Island, The World Energy Storage Conference and Expo 2021, Nanjing, China, June 25, 2021.
  11. Abdul Wahab, Yaodong Wang*, Optimization and techno-economic analysis of hybrid distributed renewable power production for a net zero energy house in Pakistan, The World Energy Storage Conference and Expo 2021, Nanjing, China, June 25, 2021.
  12. Edward Roper, Yaodong Wang*, Miller cycle and low-carbon fuels to improve diesel engine performance, The World Energy Storage Conference and Expo 2021, Nanjing, China, June 25, 2021.
  13. Kaixuan Zhou, Yaodong Wang*, Thermoelectric system with storage for heating, The World Energy Storage Conference and Expo 2021, Nanjing, China, June 25, 2021.
  14. Luke Oxenham, Yaodong Wang*, Biofuel Miller Cycle Gasoline Engine, The World Energy Storage Conference and Expo 2021, Nanjing, China, June 25, 2021.
  15. Ruiqi Wang, Long Jiang, Yaodong Wang, Tony Roskilly, PROCESS SIMULATION OF BLAST FURNACE OPERATION WITH BIOMASS SYNGAS INJECTION FOR CLEAN PRODUCTION, ICAE2019 (11th International Conference on Applied Energy), Västerås, Sweden, Aug 12-15, 2019.
  16. Zhichao Zhang, Yiji LU, Yaodong Wang, Tony Roskilly, EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON MACROSCOPIC SPARY CHARACTERISTICS OF HYDROTREATED VEGETABLE OIL (HVO) AND GAS TO LIQUID FUEL (GTL) (Paper ID: 964), ICAE2019 (11th International Conference on Applied Energy), Västerås, Sweden, Aug 12-15, 2019.
  17. Ke Tang, Yiji LU, Yaodong Wang, Tony Roskilly, ENHANCEMENT OF THE CHEMISORPTION REFRIGERATION BY NOVEL SORBENTS USING CARBON COATED NI AND FE (Paper ID: 975), ICAE2019 (11th International Conference on Applied Energy), Västerås, Sweden, Aug 12-15, 2019.
  18. Eric Siqueiros*, Rasaq.O.Lamidi, Pankaj. B. Pathare, Yaodong Wang; A.P. Roskilly, Energy Recovery from Brewery Waste: experimental and modelling perspectives, 2nd International Conference on Sustainable Energy and Resource Use in Food Chains 2018, 2018, 17th to 19th October 2018.
  19. Anu Antony, Y.D Wang, A.P Roskilly, A Detailed Optimisation of Solar Photovoltaic/Thermal Systems and its Application, Energy Procedia, Volume 158, February 2019, Pages 1141-1148.
  20. Rina Haiges*, Y.D.Wang, A. Ghoshray, A.P. Roskilly, Unconventional fuel pathways for decarbonizing the electrical power generation in Malaysia by 2050, 10th International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE2018), 22-25 August 2018, Hong Kong, China
  21. Jian Zhou, Wan Iman Wan Mohd Nazi, Yaodong Wang*, Anthony Roskilly, Investigating the impact of building’s facade on the building’s energy performance – a case study, 10th International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE2018), 22-25 August 2018, Hong Kong, China
  22. Jindou Yuan, Jinliang Xu, Yaodong Wang, Techno-economic study of a distributed hybrid renewable energy system supplying electrical power and heat for a rural house in China, 2017 International Conference on Renewable Energy and Environment (ICREE 2017), Toronto, Canada, 1-3 Nov 2017.

Publications

Chapter in book

Conference Paper

Journal Article

Supervision students