Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology blog

We are delighted to introduce out latest Envrionmental Science: Water Research & Technology Emerging Investigator Jingyun Fang! 

Jingyun Fang is now an associate professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering at Sun Yat-sen University. She received B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Municipal Engineering from Harbin Institute University. She was a postdoctoral fellow, working with Prof. Chii Shang at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology from 2010 to 2012. Her research focuses on advanced oxidation processes in water treatment: kinetics and mechanisms of degradation of micropollutants and formation of disinfection by-products.

Read Jingyun’s Emerging Investigators article ‘Comparative study of naproxen degradation by the UV/chlorine and UV/H₂O₂ advanced oxidation processes’ and find out more about her in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on naproxen degradation by UV/chlorine and UV/H₂O₂ advanced oxidation processes. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article? 

My first research article was on the formation of disinfection byproducts from algae containing water during my PhD study. My current paper is on the control of emerging contaminants by advanced oxidation processes. So, over the years, the focus of my research has shifted from disinfection byproducts to advanced oxidation processes in water treatment. I am fascinated by the performance of some free radicals in water treatment, particularly for some newly identified radicals such as halogen radicals, sulfate radicals and carbonate radicals.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment? 

I am most excited about exploring new radicals formed in engineering and natural aquatic systems with the ultimate goal of discovering their potential in promoting water sustainability.

In your opinion, which of the two advanced oxidation processes studied was the most effective at degrading naproxen? 

For kinetics, the UV/chlorine process is much more effective at degrading naproxen than the UV/H₂O₂ process, due to the good reactivity of naproxen with reactive chlorine species (RCS) produced in UV/chlorine. RCS are more selective than hydroxyl radicals (HO•), thus the efficiency UV/chlorine process to the degradation of different pollutants are compound specific. Meanwhile, the formation of toxic halogenated byproducts and toxicity alternation induced by RCS during UV/chlorine should be further assessed.

What do you find most challenging about your research? 

The most challenging aspect of my research is the combination of laboratory experiments and computer-based modeling to identify the roles of primary and secondary radicals in different advanced oxidation processes, as the databases for the reactivity of some newly identified radicals with emerging contaminants or water matrix components are not available.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you? 

I will be at the upcoming American Chemical Society National Meeting held in Boston, MA on August 17-18, 2018. Also, I usually attend IWA events.

How do you spend your spare time?

I enjoy spending time with my spouse and our one-year-old boy and twin girls. If there is still time, I enjoy reading, playing yoga and walking.

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist? 

If I am not a scientist, I think I might enjoy being a chef. I love cooking and sharing food with friends. Nevertheless, being a scientist is much better as there are a lot of unknowns and it is fun.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists? 

Being able to enjoy the research that you are doing, working hard and being persistent will eventually bring you what you dream.

Takahiro Fujioka received his B.Eng. in 2000 and M.Eng. in 2002 both in Chemical Engineering from Hiroshima University, Japan. He worked as a project manager at Fuji Electric Systems Co. Ltd. from 2002 to 2005. He undertook postgraduate training in Water Supply Engineering at UNESCO-IHE, Netherlands and graduated in April 2009. Thereafter, he worked as a project engineer at Mitsubishi Electric Co. until December 2010. From December 2010 to December 2013, Takahiro undertook a Ph.D. training project at the University of Wollongong, Australia. From December 2013 to April 2015, Takahiro worked as a research fellow at the University of Wollongong. In addition, he served as the secretary and a board member of the Membrane Society of Australasia from May 2013 to May 2015.

Takahiro is currently an Associate Professor at Nagasaki University. His research interests centre on water reuse using membrane technologies. He has published 34 international journal papers.

Read Takahiro’s Emerging Investigators paper “A steric pore-flow model to predict the transport of small and uncharged solutes through a reverse osmosis membrane” and find out more about him in the interview below:

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John D. Sivey is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Towson University, where he is also a Fisher Endowed Chair in the Biological and Physical Sciences. Sivey’s research group investigates the chemistry and consequences of highly electrophilic halogenating agents in disinfected waters. His team also examines the transformation mechanisms and fate of “inert” constituents of agrochemical formulations. Sivey teaches courses in analytical and environmental chemistry, as well as an Honors College course entitled The Polluted States of America. 

Sivey received his PhD in Environmental Engineering and Chemistry from Johns Hopkins University, his MS in Environmental Engineering and Science from Clemson University, and his BS in Chemistry from Central Michigan University. Prior to joining the faculty of the Department of Chemistry at Towson University, Sivey completed postdoctoral work in the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University.

Read John’s Emerging Investigators paper “Comparing the inherent reactivity of often-overlooked aqueous chlorinating and brominating agents toward salicylic acid” and find out more about him in the interview below:

Your recent Emerging Investigator Series paper focuses on the reactivity of chlorinating and brominating agents towards salicylic acid. How has your research evolved from your first article to this most recent article?

As an undergraduate student, I performed research in the area of physical organic chemistry, at which time I first became interested in chemical kinetics. While completing my MS thesis, I examined the long-term fate of polychlorinated biphenyls at the sediment-water interface of a lake in South Carolina, USA. Most of my PhD research focused on the kinetics of chlorination and bromination, particularly with respect to organic compounds in disinfected waters. While completing my PhD dissertation, it became clear that traditional models used to describe the behaviour of aqueous chlorine and bromine could not fully explain reactivity patterns associated with several types of organic compounds. Such traditional models typically assume HOCl and HOBr are the only kinetically-relevant chlorinating and brominating agents in waters treated with free chlorine. We discovered, however, that despite their typically low concentrations, several additional halogenating agents (such as BrCl, BrOCl, Cl₂O, and others) can influence overall halogenation rates, especially for organic compounds with moderate reactivity toward aqueous chlorine and bromine. As my group’s paper about salicylic acid illustrates, I am still interested in fleshing out the solution conditions and organic compound classes that are most susceptible to halogenation by these less abundant (but highly electrophilic) halogenating agents.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment?

Most of my group’s halogenation research has (until recently) been performed in synthetic waters with carefully-controlled compositions. New experiments in my laboratory are delineating the contributions of species such as BrCl, BrOCl, et al., in natural waters following disinfection. Such experiments will help us to bridge the knowledge gap between comparatively clean synthetic waters and the more complex natural systems.

In your opinion, what is the potential impact on drinking water quality presented by halosalicylates?

Halosalicylates can have at least a two-fold impact on drinking water quality. Firstly, halosalicylates can attenuate drinking water quality by contributing to the overall toxicity of these waters, which depends on the specific chemical structures, concentrations, and persistence of the halosalicylates (and other toxicants) present. In addition, halosalicylates can undergo subsequent reactions (e.g., with chlorine or bromine) to form other disinfection byproducts that may be of greater or lesser concern than the halosalicylates themselves.

What do you find most challenging about your research?

Converting chemical kinetic data into mechanistic models is definitely one of the most challenging aspects of my group’s research. In the salicylic acid paper, for example, the possibility of salicyloyl hypochlorite serving as a reactive intermediate never crossed my mind prior to wrestling with the data and having helpful conversations with my colleagues.

In which upcoming conferences or events may our readers meet you?

I will be at the American Chemical Society’s National Conference in New Orleans beginning on March 18, 2018. I also plan to attend the Gordon Research Conference on Water Disinfection, Byproducts and Health beginning on July 28, 2019.

How do you spend your spare time?

I enjoy taking hikes with my two Labrador Retrievers, gardening, watching college sports, and playing arcade pinball (which, as it turns out, is enjoying a bit of a renaissance).

Which profession would you choose if you were not a scientist?

Were it not for environmental chemistry, I would have chosen meteorology. I had a short stint as a meteorology major as an undergraduate before switching to chemistry. If I were forced into a career outside of the sciences, it would be as a basketball referee (which was my side job as an undergraduate). It was once pointed out to me that meteorologists and referees are two jobs where you can routinely be incorrect and yet keep your job.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Look for the teachable moments in successes and in failures. My institution (Towson University) is primarily undergraduate, and I make it a point with my research students to celebrate the experiments that did not give the results we anticipated. I’m quick to remind my students that every new experiment can result in a discovery, even if that discovery is not the outcome the student (or I) had in mind.