James Kwan

Research Interests

Emerging contaminants in water threaten its security. Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) can destroy most of these emerging contaminants. But AOP, such as ozonation, are a source for CO2 emissions. Green methods to produce oxidants in situ to oxidise emerging persistent contaminants is therefore highly desirable. Sonochemistry, the use of ultrasound and cavitation to enact a chemical effect, may provide a green AOP. Our previous work has demonstrated that tetracycline, a persistent organic pollutant, can be completely removed using our approach to sonochemistry. Our group is looking to explore the ability to remove other contaminants such as pharmaceuticals and perfluoryl alkyl substances (PFAS) using our novel sonochemical reactor and catalysts. We also want to explore the impact of water quality on sonochemical AOP and how we may implement solutions developed in the lab.

 

Qualifications & Experiences

PhD in chemical engineering. Supervised PhD, Masters, and undergraduate students for nearly 10 years.

 

Personal Research Keywords

Advanced oxidation processes, process intensification, reaction engineering, sonochemistry, ultrasound, cavitation