Wenming Wang, Ph. D.

Research Associate

National Photovoltaic Research Center

Department of Environmental Sciences

Brookhaven National Laboratory

Upton, New York, 11973

Phone: (631) 344-5673,  Fax: (631) 344-4486

E-mail: wwang@bnl.gov

 

EDUCATION

 

Ph.D., Metallurgical Engineering, University of Idaho, U.S.A., 2000

M.Sc., Ferrous Metallurgical Engineering, University of Science & Technology Beijing (USTB), Beijing, China, 1993

B.Sc., Nonferrous Metallurgical Engineering, Central South University (formerly, Central South University of Technology), China, 1990

 

EXPERTISE

 

Waste minimization, including recycling of electronic scraps and photovoltaics

 

Ion exchange and separation technology.

 

Thermal plasma materials processing (including synthesis of nano-particles or deposition of thin film using transferred/non-transferred arc plasma or inductively-coupled plasma; and surface coatings of materials using reactive plasma thermal spray system) and thermal plasma waste treatment.

 

Minerals processing and extractive metallurgy.

 

Molten oxide (extreme form of molten salt ) electrochemistry.

 

Metallurgical thermodynamics and kinetics, and high-temperature materials processing and synthesis.

 

Mathematical modeling and numerical solution to momentum transfer, to heat transfer, and to mass transfer in metallurgical and materials processing.

 

Vacuum technology and high-pressurized vessel technology.

 

Hydro-lab techniques and analytical chemistry (which basically includes fusion, digestion of raw samples, preparation of standard solutions, dilution of sample solutions, and performing ICP and AA analysis) on elemental analysis of metallic and ceramic samples

 

EMPLOYMENTS & RESEARCH EXPERIENCES

 

Research Associate in the National Photovoltaic Environmental Health and Safety Assistance Center of Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), September, 2003--present.

Research projects and major accomplishments:

DOE funded research program: Recycling of Photovoltaic (PV) Module Wastes.

Major accomplishments include: Optimization of leaching PV glass wastes with dilute sulfuric acid/hydrogen peroxide solution; complete removal/separation of cadmium from tellurium in the solution using an ion exchange procedure; recovery of cadmium using electrolysis process. These achievements will be filed for patent application.      

 

Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Metallurgical & Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines (CSM), May, 2002--September, 2003. The major duties include users training and equipment support of plasma facilities; preparing research proposals; designing reactors; participating research projects; conducting experiments; completing research reports and publications. Other duties included the supervision of graduate and undergraduate student research in the Plasma Processing Laboratory at CSM.

Research projects involvement and major accomplishments:

*                    The Treatment of Electronic Scraps Waste Using A Thermal Plasma System. A non-transferred arc plasma treatment system was designed and built to provide experimental demonstration of treatment possibilities of electronic scrap wastes. Preliminary experiments showed that polymer compounds in the shredded electronic scraps were completely pyrolyzed in the plasma flame and followed by complete combustion with the feeding of oxygen into the combustion chamber. It was also demonstrated that it is possible that the valuable metals in the electronic scrap waste can be reclaimed using this technology.        

*                    Coatings of TiC/Fe Using a Reactive Plasma Thermal Spray System. To improve the mechanical properties and wear resistance of metals, iron-titanium carbide composite coatings have been successfully deposited on low-carbon steel surface by using a reactive plasma thermal spray system with ilmenite ore concentrate and methane as raw feeding materials. Compared to conventional route, the present technique is a one-step, less expensive process.             

*                    Re-design of DC Transferred-Arc Plasma-Driven electro-reduction system. A batch crucible reactor system, with water-cooled bottom electrode, was redesigned and built for the plasma-driven electro-reduction process. The system has been tested for the electro-reduction of chromium metal and other transition metals using a reverse-polarity transferred arc plasma torch.        

*                    Technical Review on the Aqueous Electrolysis of Ferrous Chloride.

*                    Technical Review on the Production Cold-Bonded Iron Ore Pellets.

*                    Technical Review on the Recycling of Photovoltaic Wastes.

*                    Preliminary Technical Review on Stabilization of Elemental Mercury Wastes.

*                    Direct Production of Refractory Metals Using A Reverse-Polarity DC Plasma-Driven Molten Oxide Electrolysis Process.

*                    Technical Evaluation on the Processing of Vanadium-Bearing Titaniferous Magnetite Ores, August 2002-January 2003. A technological survey on the technology status of vanadium-bearing titaniferous magnetite ores all over the world has been intensively and extensively conducted with the request of a sponsor. A final report was completed and submitted to the sponsor.    

 

Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Department of Materials Science Engineering of the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK), January 2001-May 2002. The major duties included installation/calibration/operation of plasma facilities at UTK; preparing research proposals; performing experiments; and completing research reports and papers. Other duties included the management of Industrial Plasma Laboratory Base and the supervision of graduate and undergraduate student research at UTK.

The projects involvements and major accomplishments were as follows:

*                    Growth of Carbon Nano-Tubes Using A Thermal Plasma System. 

*                    The Destruction of Organic Liquid Waste Using a DC Thermal Plasma System, January 2002-May 2002. A non-transferred-arc plasma-fired linear reactor was used to test the decomposition of liquid organic wastes. The liquid waste was fed into the plasma flame through a water-cooled feeding probe. The analysis on off-gas compositions showed that complete destruction of organic compounds were achieved under plasma condition. This technology provides an alternative route for the treatment of organic wastes.   

*                    The Viscosity Measurements and Partitioning Study on CRT Glass Melts, July 2001-December 2001. To well understand vitrification of wastes using glass media and the treatment of CRT wastes, the viscosity measurements were conducted in the range of industrial processing temperatures. The measurement results showed that fluidity of CRT melt was significantly improved by adding trace amount of calcium fluoride without affecting the physical properties of the glass melt. A final report was completed and submitted to the project sponsor.      

*                    Upgrade of Quarts Sands Using A Thermal Plasma Process. High purity quarts powder was produced using a non-transferred arc plasma-fired cylindrical reactor. In this process, the raw quarts sands were fed into the high temperature zone of plasma flame. With the feeding of small amount of chlorine gas, chemical reaction took place between quarts particles and chlorine gas, which in turn generated insoluble quarts and water-soluble metallic chloride. By leaching the processed sands with water, impurities were dissolved, and thus removed from the bulk powder, which eventually upgraded the quarts sands.

 

Ph.D. Student Research Assistant at the Department of Metallurgical Engineering of the University of Idaho, January 1998-December 2000.

*                    The Production of Carbon-Free Chromium/Chromium Alloys using A Reverse-Polarity DC Plasma-Driven Molten Oxide Electrolysis Process (Ph.D. research topic). This novel process was originally concerned with the production of chromium/chromium alloys using an electro-reduction process, in which molten oxide melt, instead of halide, was used as electrolyte. In such a process, the plasma torch itself acts as an anode, and resulting liquid metals work as a cathode, whereas the molten oxides play a role of an electron transfer layer. Both chromium and chromium alloys were successfully produced through using different raw feedstock. This process provides an alternative method of producing chromium/chromium alloys from cheap, abundant chromite ore through use of a reverse-polarity direct current (DC) plasma arc heating process. The significance of this process is that so-produced metals are carbon-free. Without involvement of any reducing agents, this process is totally environmentally friendly in that it does not have carbon dioxide and halide emission problems. This process might be also applied to the production of other transition metals from their ores.       

*                    Production of Nano-Sized Ni-BST Composite Powders in A DC Plasma-Fired Horizontal Linear Reactor.

*                    Vitrification of High-Level Waste Simulants Using A Thermal Plasma-Driven Closed Top Cyclone Reactor. In this process, both glass vitrifying powder media and High-Level Wastes Simulants were fed into the top of a cyclone reactor, which was fired by a non-transferred arc plasma torch. During vitrifying process, with the formation of liquid glass falling along the inner wall of the cyclone, the metallic oxide particles in the wastes were captured and encapsulated into the glass media whereas the organic compounds in the wastes were decomposed and combusted to carbon dioxide and steam with the feeding of oxygen.       

*                    Mathematical Modeling On The Trajectory Of Ceramic Particles Into A Plasma Flame

 

University Lecturer in the College of Metallurgical Engineering of The University of Science & Technology Beijing (USTB), Beijing, China, July 1995-December 1997.

 

University Reader in the College of Metallurgical Engineering of The University of Science & Technology Beijing (USTB), Beijing, China, March 1993-June 1995.

 

The main duties as a university reader and a lecturer include teaching and research, which is shown in detail below:

Teaching: 1) Transport Phenomena (Heat, Mass, and Momentum Transfer)

in Metallurgical and Materials Processing. 2) Unit Operations and Design in Metallurgical Process.

Research: Principal Investigator of two large research projects funded by The Ministry of Science & Technology of the People’s Republic of China: 1) The Production of High-Nitrogen Stainless Steel Alloys In A Pressured Vessel Using A Nitrogen-Arc Plasma. 2) Industrial Application of Thermal Plasma Technology In Continuous Casting of Steelmaking Process (namely, Thermal Plasma-Driven Tundish Heating Process)

 

M.Sc. Student Research Assistant in the College of Metallurgical Engineering of The University of Science & Technology Beijing (USTB), Beijing, China, September 1990-March 1993.

*                    Studies of Nitrogen Absorption By Molten Steel Under Nitrogen-Arc Plasma Heating Condition.

*                    The Production of High-Nitrogen Stainless Steel Alloys Using A Nitrogen-Arc Plasma.

 

LIST OF SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

 

  1. Fthenakis, V.M. and Wang, W., Life Cycle Inventory Analysis in the Production of Metals used in Photovoltaics, for submission to Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews.
  2. Fthenakis, V.M. and Wang, W., Emission Factors in the Production of Materials Used in Photovoltaics, accepted for oral presentation to the 20th EURPVSEC, Barcelona, Spain, June 6-10, 2005
  3. Fthenakis, V.M. and Wang, W., Advances on Recycling of CdTe and CIGS Photovoltaic Modules, accepted for oral presentation to the 20th EURPVSEC, Barcelona, Spain, June 6-10, 2005.
  4. Fthenakis, V.M. and Wang, W., Advances in the Recycling of Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaic Modules, submitted to Progress in Photovoltaics.
  5. Wang, W. and Fthenakis, V.M., Feasibility of Recycling of Cadmium-Telluride Photovoltaics, The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) Extraction & Processing Division (EPD) Congress 2005, pp. 1053-1064
  6. Wang, W. and Fthenakis, V.M., Kinetics Study on Separation of Cadmium from Tellurium in Acidic Solution Media Using Cation Exchange Resin, in press Journal of Hazardous Materials.
  7. Fthenakis, V.M., Fuhrmann, M., Heiser, J., Lanzirotti, A., Fitts, J., and Wang, W., Emissions and Redistribution of Elements in CdTe PV Modules During Fires, Progress in Photovoltaics, in press.
  8. Fthenakis, V.M., Heiser, J., Fuhrmann, M. and Wang, W., Experimental Investigation of Emissions and Redistribution of Elements in CdTe PV Modules During Fires, 19th European Photovoltaic Energy Conference, Paris June 2004
  9. Wang, W. and Fthenakis V.M., Separation of Cadmium from Cadmium-Tellurium-Containing Waste Streams, Recycling Task -Progress Report II, April 19th, 2004
  10. Wang, W. and Fthenakis V.M., Leaching of Cadmium, Tellurium and Copper from Cadmium Telluride Photovoltaic Modules, Recycling Task -Progress Report I, February 3, 2004.
  11. P.R. Taylor and W. Wang, “Reverse-polarity direct current plasma-driven electro-reduction of refractory metals in molten oxide melts”, Minerals & Metallurgical Processing, Vol. 21, No. 2 • May 2004, Pp.103-109
  12. Patrick R. Taylor, Wenming Wang and Edgar E. Vidal, "Treatment of Transition Metal Oxide Wastes by Plasma Driven Electrolysis," EPD Congress 2004 (Warrendale, PA: TMS).
  13. P.R. Taylor, W. Wang and E.E. Vidal, “Thermal Plasma Treatment Of Metal And Material Wastes”, Yazawa International Symposium on Metallurgical and Materials Processing: Principles and Technologies; Vol. 1, Materials Processing Fundamentals and New Technologies, TMS, Warrendale, Pennsylvania, Volume 1. 2003, Pp.977-990.
  14. Wenming Wang and Patrick R. Taylor, “Viscosity Measurements of Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Glass Melt Above Glass Transition Temperature”, submitted for publication
  15. Patrick R. Taylor, M.A. Omofoma, and Wenming Wang, “Direct Smelting of Complex Galena-Sphalerite- Precious Metal Concentrate by The Soda-Ash Process”, Submitted to Minerals and Metallurgical Processing (2002)
  16. Patrick R. Taylor and Wenming Wang, “A Laboratory Investigation of the Reduction of Chromium Oxide by a Reverse-Polarity DC Plasma-Driven Molten Oxide Electrolysis Process”, Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol.22, No.3, 2002, Pp.387-400.
  17. Patrick R. Taylor and Wenming Wang, “Producing Carbon-Free Cr/Cr Alloys Using a Reverse-Polarity Transferred-Arc Plasma”, JOM, Vol.53, No.1, January 2001, Pp.25-26.
  18. Guangqian Fan, Qiuyang Yao, Wenming Wang, and Qiang Zhao, “Stainless Steel Containing Nitrogen Melted by Pressurized Plasma”, Iron and Steel (in Chinese), Vol.32, No.4, April 1997, Pp.27-30.   
  19. Zhigao Hu, Haihui Zou, Wenming Wang, and Guangqian Fan, “Study of Tundish Powder for Nitrogen Plasma Heating”, Journal of Iron and Steel Research (in Chinese), Vol.9, No.4, August 1997, Pp. 13-17.
  20. Zhigao Hu, Wenming Wang, Hui Zhao,and Guangqian Fan, “Research on Producing Stainless Steel Containing Nitrogen Element with Plasma”, Journal of University of Science and Technology Beijing (in Chinese), Vol.18, No.2, April 1996, Pp. 183-187.
  21. Guangqian Fan, Wenming Wang, Yongquan Qiu, and Tianji Wan, “Investigation on Nitrogen Content in Liquid Steel Heated by Nitrogen-Arc Plasma”, Proceedings of The 2nd Asia-Pacific Conference on Plasma Science & Technology (in English), September 25-27, 1994, Daejeon, Korea, Pp. 77-80.

 

INVITED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS:

  1. Wenming Wang, Vasilis M. Fthenakis, 2005 “Feasibility of Recycling of Cadmium-Telluride Photovoltaics,” TMS Annual Meeting &Exhibition (February 13–17, 2005 TMS Annual Meeting, San Diego, California)
  2. Patrick R. Taylor, Wenming Wang and Edgar E. Vidal, “Thermal Plasma Treatment of Metal and Material Wastes”, 2003 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition (March 2–6, 2003 TMS Annual Meeting, San Diego, California)
  3. Patrick R. Taylor and Wenming Wang, “Production of Refractory Metals by Reverse-Polarity DC Plasma-Driven Molten Oxide Electrolysis”, 2003 SME Annual Meeting (February 24-26, 2003, Cincinnati, Ohio)
  4. Wenming Wang, “Production of Chromium/Chromium Alloys Using Reverse Polarity Thermal Plasma-Fired Reactor”, Idaho Engineering Design Expo 2000, April 2000, Moscow, Idaho. (Silver Award Winner) 

5.      Keith A. Prisbrey, Aaron B. Sayer, Wenming Wang and Patrick R. Taylor, “The Application of Thermal Plasmas to Ore Reduction for In Situ Resource Utilization”, The First Space Resource Roundtable, October 27-29, 1999, Golden, Colorado

 

LANGUAGES

English, fluent (the main working and daily life language since January 1998)

Mandarin Chinese (native)

 

CITIZENSHIP AND CURRENT VISA STATUS

Chinese, H1-B1 visa status