Overview
Background
Dr Liu Ye is is a Professor at The University of Queensland (UQ) in the School of Chemical Engineering. Dr Ye’s research is focused on sustainable environmental engineering and is dedicated to finding innovative and practical solutions to tackle challenges in achieving net zero emissions, climate resilience, and sustainability. She is the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) research program leader at UQ urban water engineering. She has an established national and international leadership in the research field of net-zero emissions from urban wastewater systems. Prof Ye has been awarded over AU$10M competitive research funding and has a broad research collaboration within academia and industry. She collaborated extensively with water industry partners (> 15, both Australia and overseas water utilities), Australian state Government, Industry peak bodies (Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA), Water Research Australia (WarterRA)) and Technology companies (e.g., Jacob, Suez, Veolia). She has also received more than eight scientific awards (including Research Innovation Award from Australia Water Association, UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award, etc.), and the EAIT faculty teaching excellence award. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and an elected member in the Strategic Council of International Water Association (IWA). She is also a member of the Australia Association for Engineering Education (AAEE) and Engineers Australia (EA). She current servers as the Associate editor of Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology and in the Editorial board of Engineering journal.
Research:
Liu’s research includes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and mitigation from biological wastewater treatment processes; sludge minimization and biogas production enhancement; advanced biological nutrient removal (BNR) technology development; on-line process control and optimisation and resource recovery from wastes.
Teaching and Learning:
CHEE2020: Process Equipment and Control (Coordinator and Lecturer);
CHEE2501: Environmental Systems Engineering I: Processes (Lecturer);
CHEE4012: Industrial Wastewater & Solid Waste Management (Lecturer);
CHEE4007/4027 Thesis project;
Availability
- Professor Liu Ye is:
- Not available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Engineering, Zhengzhou University
- Doctor of Philosophy, Beijing University of Technology
Research impacts
Prof Liu Ye's research is having a substantive impact in gaining a deeper scientific understanding of biological nutrient removal and recovery during wastewater treatment and outputs from her research are used by industry to recover nutrients from wastewater and reduce greenhouse gas emission and activate sludge production during wastewater treatment, which directly benefits the Australia water utilities and the living environment-:
- Leader and one of the key drivers to the development of N2O research at UQ, with solid and active collaboration with Australia water utilities. Research outcome has set a benchmark for reducing emissions by 35% at one of the largest Australian treatment plants in Adelaide, translating to potential annual savings of $50M for the water industry.
- GHG outcome featured as an exemplar of how chemical engineering can drive real change for a better future, as recognized by the IChemE in their publication "Chemical Engineering Impact in Australia" at the end of 2019.
- Featured by IChemE Sustainability Hub: Sustainability success stories on “Wastewater treatment and process emissions – Dr Liu Ye”, (https://www.icheme.org/knowledge-networks/sustainability-hub/sdg-6-clean-water-and-sanitation/making-a-difference-sustainability-success-stories/)
- Her methodology for real-time greenhouse gas emission measurement, which was applied in Melbourne Water’s full-scale treatment plant, won the 2022 Australia Water Association Research Excellence and Innovation award (Victoria region).
- Developed the first systematic approach to quantify the N2O emissions from wastewater system with surface aerators. It was successfully applied to estimate the N2O emission factor for a well-mixed full-scale oxidation ditch wastewater treatment plant in Perth.
- Her ground-breaking research has led to substantial development and commercialisation of the free nitrous acid (FNA) technology. Her research revealed, for the first time, FNA at a low concentration can completely suppress bacterial growth. This research, together with another research result, underpinned the application of FNA as a green chemical to control biofilm growth on sewers and to reduce the sludge production during urban wastewater treatment.
Works
Search Professor Liu Ye’s works on UQ eSpace
2022
Book
Quantification and Modelling of Fugitive Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Urban Water Systems
Ye, Liu, Porro, Jose and Nopen, Ingmar eds. (2022). Quantification and Modelling of Fugitive Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Urban Water Systems. London, United Kingdom: IWA Publishing. doi: 10.2166/9781789060461
2022
Book Chapter
Perspectives on fugitive GHGs reduction from urban wastewater systems
Nopens, Ingmar, Porro, Jose and Ye, Liu (2022). Perspectives on fugitive GHGs reduction from urban wastewater systems. Quantification and modelling of fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from urban water systems. (pp. 245-257) edited by Liu Ye, Jose Porro and Ingmar Nopens. London, United Kingdom: IWA Publishing. doi: 10.2166/9781789060461_0245
2022
Book Chapter
Introduction
Ye, Liu and Porro, Jose (2022). Introduction. Quantification and modelling of fugitive greenhouse gas emissions from urban water systems. (pp. 1-9) edited by Liu Ye, Jose Porro and Ingmar Nopens. London, United Kingdom: IWA Publishing. doi: 10.2166/9781789060461_0001
2022
Journal Article
An integrated first principal and deep learning approach for modeling nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater treatment plants
Li, Kaili, Duan, Haoran, Liu, Linfeng, Qiu, Ruihong, van den Akker, Ben, Ni, Bing-Jie, Chen, Tong, Yin, Hongzhi, Yuan, Zhiguo and Ye, Liu (2022). An integrated first principal and deep learning approach for modeling nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater treatment plants. Environmental Science and Technology, 56 (4) acs.est.1c05020, 2816-2826. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c05020
2022
Journal Article
A green, hybrid cleaning strategy for the mitigation of biofouling deposition in the elevated salinity forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) operation
Ab Hamid, Nur Hafizah, Wang, David K., Smart, Simon and Ye, Liu (2022). A green, hybrid cleaning strategy for the mitigation of biofouling deposition in the elevated salinity forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) operation. Chemosphere, 288 (Pt 3) 132612, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.132612
2021
Journal Article
Adaptation and evolution of freshwater Anammox communities treating saline/brackish wastewater
Lin, Limin, Pratt, Steven, Li, Zhiheng and Ye, Liu (2021). Adaptation and evolution of freshwater Anammox communities treating saline/brackish wastewater. Water Research, 207 117815, 117815. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117815
2021
Conference Publication
A comprehensive carbon footprint analysis of different wastewater treatment plant configurations
Wu, Ziping, Duan, Haoran, Li, Kaili and Ye, Liu (2021). A comprehensive carbon footprint analysis of different wastewater treatment plant configurations. International conference on sustainable technology and development 2021, Shenzhen, China, 31 October - 2 November 2021.
2021
Journal Article
Centralized iron-dosing into returned sludge brings multifaceted benefits to wastewater management
Hu, Zhetai, Duan, Haoran, Wang, Zhiyao, Zhao, Jing, Ye, Liu, Yuan, Zhiguo, Zheng, Min and Hu, Shihu (2021). Centralized iron-dosing into returned sludge brings multifaceted benefits to wastewater management. Water Research, 203 117536, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117536
2021
Journal Article
Achieving combined biological short-cut nitrogen and phosphorus removal in a one sludge system with side-stream sludge treatment
Lu, Xuanyu, Duan, Haoran, Oehmen, Adrian, Carvalho, Gilda, Yuan, Zhiguo and Ye, Liu (2021). Achieving combined biological short-cut nitrogen and phosphorus removal in a one sludge system with side-stream sludge treatment. Water Research, 203 117563, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117563
2021
Journal Article
Insights into nitrous oxide mitigation strategies in wastewater treatment and challenges for wider implementation
Duan, Haoran, Zhao, Yingfen, Koch, Konrad, Wells, George F., Zheng, Min, Yuan, Zhiguo and Ye, Liu (2021). Insights into nitrous oxide mitigation strategies in wastewater treatment and challenges for wider implementation. Environmental Science and Technology, 55 (11) acs.est.1c00840, 7208-7224. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.1c00840
2021
Journal Article
Salinity effect on freshwater Anammox bacteria: ionic stress and ion composition
Lin, Limin, Pratt, Steven, Crick, Oliver, Xia, Jun, Duan, Haoran and Ye, Liu (2021). Salinity effect on freshwater Anammox bacteria: ionic stress and ion composition. Water Research, 188 116432, 1-10. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116432
2021
Journal Article
Better understanding wastewater treatment’s nitrous oxide emissions
de Haas, David and Ye, Liu (2021). Better understanding wastewater treatment’s nitrous oxide emissions. Water e-Journal, 6 (2), 1-15. doi: 10.21139/wej.2021.008
2021
Journal Article
Recovery of nitrous oxide from wastewater treatment: current status and perspectives
Duan, Haoran, Zhao, Yingfen, Koch, Konrad, Wells, George F., Weißbach, Max, Yuan, Zhiguo and Ye, Liu (2021). Recovery of nitrous oxide from wastewater treatment: current status and perspectives. ACS ES&T Water, 1 (2), 240-250. doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.0c00140
2020
Journal Article
Achieving stable operation and shortcut nitrogen removal in a long-term operated aerobic forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) for treating municipal wastewater
Ab Hamid, Nur Hafizah, Wang, David K., Smart, Simon and Ye, Liu (2020). Achieving stable operation and shortcut nitrogen removal in a long-term operated aerobic forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) for treating municipal wastewater. Chemosphere, 260 127581, 127581. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127581
2020
Journal Article
Mitigating nitrous oxide emissions at a full-scale wastewater treatment plant
Duan, Haoran, Akker, Ben van den, Thwaites, Benjamin J., Peng, Lai, Herman, Caroline, Pan, Yuting, Ni, Bing-Jie, Watt, Shane, Yuan, Zhiguo and Ye, Liu (2020). Mitigating nitrous oxide emissions at a full-scale wastewater treatment plant. Water Research, 185 116196, 116196. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116196
2020
Conference Publication
Reducing nitrous oxide emissions from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant
Duan, Haoran, Van den Akker, Ben, Thwaite, Ben, Peng, Lai, Pan, Yuting, Ni, Bing-jie, Watt, Shane, Yuan, Zhiguo and Ye, Liu (2020). Reducing nitrous oxide emissions from a full-scale wastewater treatment plant. IWA Nutrient Removal and Recovery Conference, Helsinki, Finland, 1-3 September 2020.
2020
Journal Article
Improving wastewater management using free nitrous acid (FNA)
Duan, Haoran, Gao, Shuhong, Li, Xuan, Ab Hamid, Nur Hafizah, Jiang, Guangming, Zheng, Min, Bai, Xue, Bond, Philip L., Lu, Xuanyu, Chislett, Mariella M., Hu, Shihu, Ye, Liu and Yuan, Zhiguo (2020). Improving wastewater management using free nitrous acid (FNA). Water Research, 171 115382, 115382. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2019.115382
2020
Conference Publication
Achieving combined partial nitrification and biological phosphorus removal in a side-stream sludge treatment system
Lu, Xuanyu, Duan, Haoran, Oehmen, Adrian, Carvalho, Gilda, Yuan, Zhiguo and Ye, Liu (2020). Achieving combined partial nitrification and biological phosphorus removal in a side-stream sludge treatment system. IWA Nutrient Removal and Recovery Conference, Helsinki, Finland, 8 - 12 June 2020. IWA.
2019
Conference Publication
What matters for inhibition on freshwater anammox what matters for inhibition on freshwater anammox bacteria: salinity or the type of salts?
Lin, Limin, Crick, Oliver, Pratt, Steven and Ye, Liu (2019). What matters for inhibition on freshwater anammox what matters for inhibition on freshwater anammox bacteria: salinity or the type of salts?. 2019 Innovation Conference on Sustainable Wastewater Treatment and Resource Recovery, Shanghai, China, 24-28 November 2019.
2019
Journal Article
Economic, energy and carbon footprint assessment of integrated forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) process in urban wastewater treatment
Ab Hamid, Nur Hafizah, Smart, Simon, Wang, David K., Koh, Kaniel Wei Jun, Ng, Kalvin Jiak Chern and Ye, Liu (2019). Economic, energy and carbon footprint assessment of integrated forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) process in urban wastewater treatment. Environmental Science: Water Research and Technology, 6 (1), 153-165. doi: 10.1039/c9ew00608g
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Liu Ye is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Evaluating and reducing the carbon footprint of biosolids treatment from urban wastewater system
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Damien Batstone
-
Doctor Philosophy
Climate smart biological wastewater treatment processes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan
-
Doctor Philosophy
Climate smart biological wastewater treatment processes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan
-
Doctor Philosophy
Novel Phosphorous accumulating organisms in next generation wastewater treatment systems
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Adrian Oehmen
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding nitrous oxide emissions from wastewater treatment processes with stable isotopes and mathematical modelling
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan, Professor Hongzhi Yin
-
Doctor Philosophy
Quantification and reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from next generation wastewater treatment systems
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan
-
Doctor Philosophy
Novel biofilm-based nitrogen removal technology and its N2O emission in wastewater treatment
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan
-
Doctor Philosophy
An Integrated Approach to achieve Net-zero operation in Wastewater Resource Recovery Facilities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Zhiyao Wang
-
Doctor Philosophy
State of Knowledge and modeling of Scope 1 emissions from Sewage Treatment Plants
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan, Dr Shakil Ahmmed
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater system in the data era
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan, Professor Hongzhi Yin
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater system in the data era
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan, Professor Hongzhi Yin
-
Doctor Philosophy
A sustainable biological nutrient removal and recovery process for cost-effective wastewater treatment
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Adrian Oehmen, Associate Professor Gilda Carvalho
-
Doctor Philosophy
Investigating novel microbes for simultaneous nutrient removal from wastewater in Carbon Neutral era
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Adrian Oehmen, Dr Zhiyao Wang
-
Doctor Philosophy
The development of process control strategies to optimise biological phosphorus removal and recovery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Gilda Carvalho, Associate Professor Adrian Oehmen
-
Doctor Philosophy
Sustainable and cost-effective biological phosphorus removal technology in urban water systems
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Gilda Carvalho, Associate Professor Adrian Oehmen
-
Doctor Philosophy
Establishment LCA method coupled with an activated sludge model for sustainable nitrogen management technology evaluation.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rocky Chen, Dr Shakil Ahmmed
-
Doctor Philosophy
Cost-effective and sustainable treatment of ammonium-rich industrial wastewater
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Shihu Hu, Dr Haoran Duan
Completed supervision
-
2025
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding and mitigating greenhouse gas emissions from wastewater system in the data era
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan, Professor Hongzhi Yin
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding nitrous oxide generation from novel partial nitrification systems for sustainable wastewater treatment
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Zhiguo Yuan, Dr Haoran Duan
-
2022
Master Philosophy
Carbon Footprint Analysis of Urban Wastewater Treatment Processes and Nitrous Oxide Emission From Aerobic Digestion
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Haoran Duan
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Achieving and Understanding Combined Biological Phosphorus Removal and Short-cut Nitrogen in Wastewater Treatment Processes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Adrian Oehmen, Honorary Professor Zhiguo Yuan
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Freshwater Anammox bacteria for treatment of saline wastewater
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Steven Pratt
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding of Carbon/Nitrogen recovery from wastewater as value-added bioproducts
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Jianhua Guo
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Forward Osmosis (FO) Membrane-based Technology in Urban Wastewater Treatment
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Simon Smart
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
The return activated sludge sidestream process and the role of Tetrasphaera, a fermenting polyphosphate accumulating organism
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Adrian Oehmen
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
Versatile uses of iron in the urban wastewater system
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Shihu Hu
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Controlling nitrite oxidizing bacteria using nitrogen released from sludge digestion
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Zhiguo Yuan
-
2016
Master Philosophy
Biological silicon removal from coal seam gas water
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Steven Pratt
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
FNA-based Pre-treatment of Primary, Secondary and Digested Sludge
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Zhiguo Yuan
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding nitrous oxide production by ammonia oxidizing bacteria in an enriched nitrifying sludge
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Zhiguo Yuan
-
2014
Doctor Philosophy
Treatment of secondary sludge using free nitrous acid to achieve sludge reduction and enhance methane production in wastewater treatment systems
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Zhiguo Yuan
-
2013
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding nitrous oxide production during denitrification by methanol-utilizing denitrifying activated sludge
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Zhiguo Yuan
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Liu Ye directly for media enquiries about:
- Biological wastewater treatment
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- nitrous acid
- online process control
- saline wastewater treatment
- sludge reduction
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