Yujie Li

Doctoral student, Department of Chemical Engineering, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) Barcelona East School of Engineering (EEBE), Campus Diagonal Besòs, Av. Eduard Maristany, 16, 08019 Barcelona

Email: li.yujie@upc.edu

Profile

Yujie Li is a PhD student in Chemical Process Engineering at UPC, working within CEPIMA under the supervision of Montserrat Pérez Moya. The doctoral research focuses on photo-Fenton treatment of contaminants of emerging concern, combining pilot-scale experiments with kinetic modelling and parameter estimation.

Current activities include experiments in a 15 L photo-Fenton reactor, analytical calibration, and monitoring of hydrogen peroxide, total organic carbon, dissolved oxygen and paracetamol. Python-based workflows support dynamic simulation, weighted least-squares parameter fitting, comparison with experimental data, and evaluation of alternative hydrogen peroxide dosing profiles. The research aims to improve understanding of the relationships between oxidant addition, reaction kinetics and treatment performance, and to support more efficient operating strategies.

During the master’s degree, research internships at the Toulouse Biotechnology Institute investigated quorum-quenching polymer beads for mitigating membrane biofouling, combining life cycle assessment (Umberto) with process and transport modelling (COMSOL) to examine scale-up and environmental impacts. Previous experience as a process integration engineer in semiconductor manufacturing adds a practical background in process monitoring and root-cause analysis.

Research interests

Advanced oxidation processes, particularly photo-Fenton water treatment
Removal and mineralisation of contaminants of emerging concern
Reaction kinetics, dynamic process modelling and parameter estimation
Experimental investigation and optimisation of pilot-scale water treatment processes
Sustainable water treatment and life cycle assessment

Education

PhD in Chemical Process Engineering (in progress), UPC, since December 2025
MSc in Complex Systems Engineering, specialisation in Water Engineering and Water Management (WEWM), INSA Toulouse, France (programme delivered with Toulouse INP–ENSEEIHT), 2022–2024
BSc in Polymer Materials and Engineering, Beijing University of Chemical Technology (BUCT), China, 2017–2021

Projects

Kinetic modelling optimisation for photo-Fenton treatment of contaminants of emerging concern, doctoral research, CEPIMA, UPC, since December 2025. Supervisor: Montserrat Pérez Moya. Pilot-scale photo-Fenton experiments, analytical calibration and monitoring, and Python-based dynamic simulation and parameter fitting.