Ngai Yin Yip

The production of clean water requires energy, and the generation of energy uses large quantities of water. Yip is interested in the intricate link between water and energy, and the intertwined relation with the environment. The research group focuses on advancing technologies and innovations for the sustainable production of water and energy to address challenges at the water-energy-environment nexus. A pressing problem is the purification of challenging waste streams such as produced water from oil and gas operations that is currently beyond conventional treatment methods because of the high salt and contaminant concentration. He and his team are developing new reverse osmosis and electrodialysis membrane materials for more efficient desalination of hypersaline feed streams. At the same time, the Yip lab is investigating a novel membrane-based technology that is driven by the vapor pressure of water to harness widely abundant low-temperature heat from natural and anthropogenic sources for sustainable power generation.

Huge amounts of energy are expended to capture or extract the essential nutrients of nitrogen and phosphorus for agriculture. The research team is exploring innovative physicochemical technologies to recover and reuse N and P from wastewater. The successful evolution from a once-through to closed-loop circular utilization will translate to significant energy savings in addition to preventing environmental problems such as undesired eutrophication and harmful algal blooms. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the research, Yip works closely with a range of scientists and engineers, including chemical engineers, material scientists, microbiologists, and physicists.

Yip received his Ph.D., M.S., and M.Ph. in Chemical and Environmental Engineering from Yale University, and B.Eng. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Minor in Business Administration) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.