Our research group performs largely experimental work on environmental separations and primary aerosols. A brief description of our current and recently concluded work is given below.
Our water/wastewater purification research includes:
-
- Colloidal transport mechanisms in treatment processes.
- Methods to enhance removal/inactivation of waterborne viruses.
- Fouling of pressure-driven membranes and control via pretreatment.
- Desalination for potable reuse and hypersaline industrial wastewater.
- Treatment of drinking water, municipal wastewater, and hydraulic fracturing wastewater.
Our research on primary atmospheric particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) includes:
-
- Trace metals measurement. We have pioneered digestion and ICP-MS methods for rare earth elements, platinum group elements, and a host of other representative and transition metals present in urban particulate matter in the USA.
- Long-range aerosol transport; e.g. Sahara-Sahel dust and Central American smoke to Texas.
- Emissions from fluidized bed catalytic cracking units of petroleum refining operations.
- Tailpipe and non-tailpipe emissions from gasoline-driven light duty vehicles.
- Source apportionment in industrialized urban areas.
Examples of current and recently concluded projects are:
-
- Membrane autopsy for fouling identification and cleaning.
- Produced water treatment to generate clean brine and its desalination.
- Microorganism attenuation by aggregation and inactivation by (electro)coagulation.
- Optimizing microfilter productivity during water treatment and potable reuse.
- Advanced pretreatment for desalination.
- Electrocoagulation pretreatment for microfilter fouling reduction and enhanced virus removal.
- Quantifying North African dust, Central American biomass burning smoke, and proximal sources using rare earths, transition (platinum group) metals, and main group elements.