| Prof Ng Wun Jern
Committee Vice-Chair for Sustainable Earth Peak of Excellence, President's Office
Executive Director, Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute
Professor
Division of Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering
Email: WJNG@ntu.edu.sg
Phone: (+65)6790 6813
Office: CleanTech 1, #06-08 |
| Education |
- PhD Birmingham University 1980
- MSc (Water Resources Engrg) Birmingham University 1978
- BSc (Civil Engrg) University of London, Queen Mary Coll. 1977
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| Biography |
NG WUN JERN interacts with the industry as an advisor in water and effluent treatment - and has brought R&D to full-scale applications. Commercialized IPs include biosystems [eg aerobic SBR, anaerobic SBR, anaerobic filter and hybrid anaerobic reactor] and equipment [eg recirculating aerator and electrochemical system]. His designs have been applied to some 120 full-scale installations. He had managed a “spin-off” company, was chairman on the board of directors at MWH (Montgomery, Watson & Harza) Consultants, is presently technical advisor on wastes to bio-energy to three companies operating in ASEAN, China and India, and had served on the national water reclamation expert panel. He is a registered professional engineer.
He teaches environmental engineering and science and has guided numerous postdoctoral fellows, and Masters and PhD candidates. He was a founding member of the Singapore Engineering Accreditation Board and contributed to Singapore's first Accreditation Manual for university engineering education.
He was Vice-Dean at the Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore and then Dean until 2003. In 2004 the Faculty was ranked 9th in a world ranking exercise conducted by Times London. From 2003 - 2004, he was founding Director of the Environmental Science & Engineering Program. In 2005 he was Singapore director of the Singapore-MIT Alliance serving the alliance universities - National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology till 2006. Thereafter he was Director - Capability Development at the Environment & Water Industry Development Council, Ministry of the Environment & Water Resources working on national funding for R&D and manpower development. In 2007 he joined NTU and became founding Executive Director at the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) which operates with five research centres and two groups covering education, research, development, and applications. |
| Research Interests |
NG WUN JERN's research interests are largely in the area of water and wastewater management. The focus of his efforts has been on investigations into water quality, treatment science, and development of treatment technologies. These investigations span the water quality spectrum - ranging from ultra-pure water to high strength and potentially inhibitory wastewaters.
His research output may be found in some 400 publications. These include journal papers, conference presentations, book chapters and monographs, reports, and patents. His latest book publication is titled "Industrial Wastewater Treatment" (Imperial College Press). He is currently working with colleagues on a book on engineered wetlands in tropical applications and one on water reclamation.
Current R&D interests revolve around effluent treatment and include dehalogenation under bioreductive conditions. Of particular interest are the chloro-compounds and dehalogenation under acidic conditions with biomass sculptured into granules.
The interest in bioreductive (instead of bio-oxidative) processes stems from concern over energy costs and carbon footprints of treatment processes. Anaerobic processes are therefore of interest when used to manage strong wastewaters from industrial and agro-industrial sources. Current R&D interest focuses on thermophilic anaerobic processes and gas productivities and quality. Conceptually there is a shift from viewing the anaerobic process as a wastewater pretreatment device to one which is intended to recover energy from the wastewater.
Extending this interest is the work on biosorption where sorption is used to concentrate carbonaceous material from low strength wastewaters prior to anaerobic degradation of the sorbent with gas recovery. This approach deviates from the conventional approach of using anaerobic processes such as the UASB or anaerobic filter to address low strength wastewaters. Laboratory studies typically use the cyclic process configuration although larger scale studies can be with the cyclic or continuous flow configuration.
In aerobic treatment, there is interest in the MBR applied with granulated biomass. The interest is on biofouling mitigation using this modified biomass morphology. There is also interest in using the MBR and the concept of "back seeding" to achieve better nutrients removal and degradation of resistant organics (eg textile dyes). |
| Research Grant |
- Academic Research Fund Tier 1 (2011-2015)
- EMA Smart Energy Challenge – Energy Research Development Fund (2010-2014) [by Energy Market Authority (EMA)]
- NEA Environment Technology Research Programme (2010-) [by National Environmental Agency (NEA)]
- NRF Competitive Research Program (2010-) [by National Research Foundation (NRF)]
- NRF Research Fellowship (2011-) [by National Research Foundation (NRF)]
- NTU Internal Funding - New Initiative Funding (2010-) [by Nanyang Technological University]
- PUB-NTU (2012-) [by Environment & Water Industry Development Council (EWI)]
- PUB-NTU (2012-) [by Public Utilities Board (PUB)]
- Start Up Grant (2010-2014) [by Nanyang Technological University]
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| Current Projects |
- Anaerobic Digester Feed Stream Conditioning for Increasing Biogas Production
- ENERGY + : A Novel Integrated Concept for Retrofitting and Optimizing Existing Wastewater Treatment Plants into Energy Self-Sufficiency
- EWT VPP David Stuckey on the Anaerobic Membrane Reactor Responses to Ramp/Shock Loads and Toxin Addition: Fundamentals, Monitoring and Controller
- Energy+: A Novel Integrated Concept for Retrofitting and Optimizing Existing Wastewater Treatment Plants into Energy Self-Sufficiency (NEWRI project)
- Enhanced Biological and Physical Stabilization in Landfills
- Investigating Issues Affecting Optimal Industrial Anaerobic Process Applications - Improving Energy Generation (NEWRI Proj)
- Investigating issues affecting optimal industrial anaerobic process applications - improving energy generation
- Investigation of the effects of metal-reducing bacteria bioaugmentation on energy production efficiency in anaerobic digestion and evaluation of its potential for practical application
- MBR Process Modeling And Optimization: Case Study of Ulu Pandan Water Reclamation Plant With Future Scale-Up Considerations
- Microbial Community Analysis of Water Reclamation Plants in Singapore
- Research Funding for Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professorship
- Sustainable Urban Waste Management for 2020_Project 1: Communities As Renewable Resource Recovery Centres
- Sustainable Urban Waste Management for 2020_Project 2: Wastewater Treatment Plants As Urban Eco Power Stations
- Sustainable Urban Waste Management for 2020_Project 3: Rapid Land Reclamation of Closed Urban Dumping Grounds
- Understanding and Mitigation of Sludge Deflocculation During Nitrogen Removal Process
- WATER AND ENERGY IN THE URBAN WATER CYCLE - IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT (NEWRI Proj)
| Selected Publications | - Lim Jun Taek, Poh Leong Soon, Zhou Yan, Ng Wun Jern. (2012). Ammonia-Oxidizers Diversity in Wastewater Treatment Processes. IWA Nutrient Removal and Recovery 2012.
- K.K. Xiao, Y. Maspolim, B. Zhai, Y. Zhou, W.J. Ng, and C.H. Guo. (2012). Degradation of Prop ionic and Acetic Acids, and Microbial Profiles in Two-phase Anaerobiosis. Singapore International Water Week: Water Convention 2012.
- Y. Maspolim, K.K. Xiao, C.H. Guo, B. Zhai, Y. Zhou, T. Goh, W.J. Ng. (2012). Degradation and Microbial Profiles in Single Stage and Two Phase Sludge Digestion. Singapore International Water Week: Water Convention 2012.
- Guo C H, Maspolim Yogananda, Xiao Ke Ke, Zhou Yan, Ng Wen Jern* Zhai Bing. (2012, June ). DEGRADATION AND MICROBIAL PROFILES IN SINGLE-STAGE AND 2-PHASE CSTR SLUDGE DIGESTION. Paper presented at 6th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology.
- Huang Wen Hai; Wang Zhen Yu; Zhou Yan; Ng Wun Jern. (2012). Performance and Microbial Profiles of 2-Phase Anaerobic Digestion of Food Waste Leachate. International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology.
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