WOOD DALE, IL – Xiaolong Wang, environmental engineer with In-Pipe Technology, has successfully completed his PhD thesis defense entitled, “ Wastewater Collection System Modeling: Toward an Integrated Urban Water and Energy Network.” Dr. Wang, who began his career at In-Pipe Technology as an intern while still in school at Illinois Institute of Technology, has contributed to the company’s success over the last two years. 

“Xiaolong has been a great addition to our engineering team,” says In-Pipe Technology Vice President, Engineering, Raghu Komaragiri. “The knowledge he has gained through his undergraduate and PhD studies and its application to our client’s real-world situations has helped us further the value we deliver to our customers.” 

The purpose of Dr. Wang’s work was to increase the understanding of how wastewater collection systems can benefit wastewater purification and energy conservation efforts. There are many outcomes from the work including using the models developed to aid in predicting the feasibility and potential of thermal energy recovery and pretreatment in wastewater collection systems. 

“We’re very proud of Xiaolong’s accomplishment,” says In-Pipe Technology President and CEO, Bryan Weber. “His work further supports our efforts to continuously advance our knowledge and understanding of wastewater pretreatment potential in the collection system.” 

The research has many practical implications for In-Pipe Technology. It lays the groundwork to further understand the various factors that influence the efficacy of applying IPT’s bio-science approach to turning the wastewater collection system into a pretreatment bioreactor.