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Prof. Dr. Ronald W. Thring
Environmental Engineering Program, University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC), Prince George, British Columbia V2N 4Z9, Canada

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0 Environmental Engineering
0 Mixing
0 biodegradable materials
0 Chemicals, fuels and solids from natural resources
0 Reaction engineering principles and catalysis applied to pulp and paper, polymer, oil and gas processes

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Journal article
Published: 01 August 2019 in Journal of Advanced Research
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Environmental pollution by petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) is a severe and widespread problem impacting human health and the environment. To combat this issue, innovative and sustainable treatment methods are required. This research study investigated rhamnolipid-enhanced washing of drill cuttings and petroleum-contaminated soil obtained from northeastern British Columbia in Canada. The efficiency of PHC reduction was analysed and quantified via a Gas Chromatography equipped with a Flame Ionization Detector. Optimum washing conditions for both drill cuttings and petroleum-contaminated soil were temperature of ∼23.5 °C (room temperature), rhamnolipid concentration of 500 mg/L, and a washing time of 30 min. The optimum stirring speed and solution-to-sample ratio for drill cuttings and petroleum-contaminated soil were 100 rpm; 1:1, and 200 rpm; 4:1 respectively. The maximum PHC reduction recorded for total petroleum hydrocarbon and PHC fractions – F2, F3 and F4 were 76.8%, 85.4%, 71.3% and 76.9% respectively for drill cuttings and 58.5%, 48.4%, 63.5% and 59.8% respectively for petroleum-contaminated soil. The results strongly suggest that soil washing is an effective step in the reduction of PHC and can be used as a first step in the treatment of drill cuttings and petroleum-contaminated soils.

ACS Style

Ibukun O. Olasanmi; Ronald W. Thring. Evaluating rhamnolipid-enhanced washing as a first step in remediation of drill cuttings and petroleum-contaminated soils. Journal of Advanced Research 2019, 21, 79 -90.

AMA Style

Ibukun O. Olasanmi, Ronald W. Thring. Evaluating rhamnolipid-enhanced washing as a first step in remediation of drill cuttings and petroleum-contaminated soils. Journal of Advanced Research. 2019; 21 ():79-90.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ibukun O. Olasanmi; Ronald W. Thring. 2019. "Evaluating rhamnolipid-enhanced washing as a first step in remediation of drill cuttings and petroleum-contaminated soils." Journal of Advanced Research 21, no. : 79-90.

Review
Published: 17 December 2018 in Sustainability
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Biosurfactants are microbial products that have been increasingly researched due to their many identified advantages, such as low toxicity and high activity at extreme temperatures, but more importantly, they are biodegradable and compatible with the environment. Biosurfactants are versatile products with vast applications in the clean-up of environmental pollutants through biodegradation and bioremediation. They also have applications in the food, pharmaceutical, and other industries. These advantages and wide range of applications have led to the continued interest in biosurfactants. In particular, there is a growing discussion around environmental sustainability and the important role that biosurfactants will increasingly play in the near future, for example, via the use of renewable by-products as substrates, waste reduction, and potential reuse of the treated waste. This has resulted in increased attention on these microbial products in industry. Research highlighting the potential of biosurfactants in environmental sustainability is required to drive efforts to make biosurfactants more viable for commercial and large-scale applications; making them available, cheaper and economically sustainable. The present review discusses the unique relationship between biosurfactants and environmental sustainability, especially the role that biosurfactants play in the clean-up of environmental pollutants and, therefore, increasing environmental protection.

ACS Style

Ibukun Olasanmi; Ronald Thring. The Role of Biosurfactants in the Continued Drive for Environmental Sustainability. Sustainability 2018, 10, 4817 .

AMA Style

Ibukun Olasanmi, Ronald Thring. The Role of Biosurfactants in the Continued Drive for Environmental Sustainability. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (12):4817.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Ibukun Olasanmi; Ronald Thring. 2018. "The Role of Biosurfactants in the Continued Drive for Environmental Sustainability." Sustainability 10, no. 12: 4817.

Journal article
Published: 12 May 2017 in Hydrology
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This study presents the understanding of temporal dynamics of groundwater-surface water (GW-SW) interaction due to parameter uncertainty by using a physically-based and distributed gridded surface subsurface hydrologic analysis (GSSHA) model combined with a Monte Carlo simulation. A study area along the main stem of the Kiskatinaw River of the Kiskatinaw River watershed, Northeast British Columbia, Canada, was used as a case study. Two different greenhouse gas (GHG) emission scenarios (i.e., A2: heterogeneous world with self-reliance and preservation of local identities, and B1: a more integrated and environmental-friendly world) of the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) from the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for 2013 were used as case scenarios. Before conducting uncertainty analysis, a sensitivity analysis was performed to find the most sensitive parameters to the model output (i.e., mean monthly groundwater contribution to stream flow). Then, a Monte Carlo simulation was used to conduct the uncertainty analysis. The uncertainty analysis results under both case scenarios revealed that the pattern of the cumulative relative frequency distribution of the mean monthly and annual groundwater contributions to stream flow varied monthly and annually, respectively, due to the uncertainties of the sensitive model parameters. In addition, the pattern of the cumulative relative frequency distribution of a particular month’s groundwater contribution to the stream flow differed significantly between both scenarios. These results indicated the complexities and uncertainties in the GW-SW interaction system. Therefore, it is of necessity to use such uncertainty analysis results rather than the point estimates for better water resources management decision-making.

ACS Style

Gopal Chandra Saha; Jianbing Li; Ronald W. Thring. Understanding the Effects of Parameter Uncertainty on Temporal Dynamics of Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction. Hydrology 2017, 4, 28 .

AMA Style

Gopal Chandra Saha, Jianbing Li, Ronald W. Thring. Understanding the Effects of Parameter Uncertainty on Temporal Dynamics of Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction. Hydrology. 2017; 4 (2):28.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gopal Chandra Saha; Jianbing Li; Ronald W. Thring. 2017. "Understanding the Effects of Parameter Uncertainty on Temporal Dynamics of Groundwater-Surface Water Interaction." Hydrology 4, no. 2: 28.

Journal article
Published: 01 May 2016 in Environmental Pollution
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This study investigated the potential use of elemental S (S(0)) to convert Cr-VI to Cr-III which should decrease the bio-availability hence, toxicity of Cr-VI in soils. The bio-available fraction of Cr in soil was measured by phosphate buffer extraction (PBE) and the results showed that the fraction is about 10% of the total Cr-VI and varied from 12.8 to 42.5 mg kg(-1). The addition of 4.0 mg g(-1) S(0) decreased PBE Cr-VI to <0.4 mg kg(-1) limit established for Cr-VI toxicity in soils. Synchrotron-based X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and micro-XRD revealed that Cr-III was the dominant species (99% of total Cr) and Cr was retained by hematite and goethite in soil. Fe-containing minerals may have provided sufficient protection to render the dominant Cr-III species biochemically inert to redox processes in soils. It is concluded that S(0)amendment is a promising approach to remediate Cr-VI contaminated soils.

ACS Style

Jingjing Shi; Hualin Chen; Joselito M. Arocena; Todd Whitcombe; Ronald W. Thring; Jeff Nze Memiaghe. Elemental sulfur amendment decreases bio-available Cr-VI in soils impacted by leather tanneries. Environmental Pollution 2016, 212, 57 -64.

AMA Style

Jingjing Shi, Hualin Chen, Joselito M. Arocena, Todd Whitcombe, Ronald W. Thring, Jeff Nze Memiaghe. Elemental sulfur amendment decreases bio-available Cr-VI in soils impacted by leather tanneries. Environmental Pollution. 2016; 212 ():57-64.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Jingjing Shi; Hualin Chen; Joselito M. Arocena; Todd Whitcombe; Ronald W. Thring; Jeff Nze Memiaghe. 2016. "Elemental sulfur amendment decreases bio-available Cr-VI in soils impacted by leather tanneries." Environmental Pollution 212, no. : 57-64.

Journal article
Published: 01 October 2014 in Chemosphere
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Chromium (Cr) commonly enters the food chain through uptake by vegetables. However, accurate prediction of plant uptake of Cr (and other metals) still remains a challenge. In this study, we evaluated 5 indices of availability for Cr (and other metals) to identify reliable predictors of metal transfer from soils to garlic, onion, bokchoy, radish and celery grown in soils impacted by tannery wastes. The potential bio-accumulation of Cr in humans was calculated from the Cr content of vegetable predicted by the best bio-availability index, amounts of vegetable consumed and recommended daily doses for Cr. Our results show that soil total Cr is the best predictor of Cr transfer from soils to onion (Cr in onion=8.51+0.005 Total Cr) while Cr extractable by Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure at pH 5 correlates very well with Cr uptake by bokchoy (Cr bokchoy=5.86+7.32 SPLP-5 Cr) and garlic (Cr garlic=7.63+2.36 SPLP-5 Cr). The uptake of Cr by radish and celery could not be reliably estimated by any of the 5 indices of availability tested in this study. Potential bio-accumulation of Cr in humans (BA-Cr) increases from soils with low Cr (BA-Cr=11.5) to soil with high total Cr (BA-Cr=31.3). Due to numerous soil factors affecting the behavior of Cr in soils and the physiological differences among vegetables, we suggest that the prediction of the transfer of Cr (and other metals) from soils to plants should be specific to site, metal and vegetable. Potential bio-accumulation of Cr in humans can be derived from a transfer function of Cr from soils to plants and the human consumption of vegetables.

ACS Style

Hualin Chen; Joselito M. Arocena; Jianbing Li; Ronald W. Thring; Jiangmin Zhou. Assessments of chromium (and other metals) in vegetables and potential bio-accumulations in humans living in areas affected by tannery wastes. Chemosphere 2014, 112, 412 -419.

AMA Style

Hualin Chen, Joselito M. Arocena, Jianbing Li, Ronald W. Thring, Jiangmin Zhou. Assessments of chromium (and other metals) in vegetables and potential bio-accumulations in humans living in areas affected by tannery wastes. Chemosphere. 2014; 112 ():412-419.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Hualin Chen; Joselito M. Arocena; Jianbing Li; Ronald W. Thring; Jiangmin Zhou. 2014. "Assessments of chromium (and other metals) in vegetables and potential bio-accumulations in humans living in areas affected by tannery wastes." Chemosphere 112, no. : 412-419.

Journal article
Published: 01 August 2007 in CATENA
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The role of lichens in the breakdown of rocks in various environments is well documented. We investigated the formation of secondary minerals under 13 different fungal species growing on a basaltic flow in Sanliurfa (Turkey) to understand the influence of lichen species on the transformation of minerals in a Mediterranean environment. We used molecular technique (rDNA sequence) to identify 13 different species of lichens (7 crustose, 5 foliose and 1 pathogenic). X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy were used to determine the composition of mineral accumulations. The formation of quartz and 2:1 phyllosilicates in various layers (top, brown and white) of the weathered basaltic flows under all the lichen colonies may be the result of precipitated silica alone (quartz) or in combination with aluminum (2:1 clays) released as a by-product during the breakdown/weathering of primary silicate minerals present in the basalt. However, aeolian deposition may also be a possible source of these mineral species. Whewellite, a calcium oxalate mineral, accumulates in the weathered basalt underneath all the species of lichens. We believe that the formation of whewellite was due to organic acids excreted by fungal hyphae to dissolve primary minerals (e.g., olivine and feldspars); this lichen-mediated process released enough calcium and generated oxalate necessary for the formation of whewellite.

ACS Style

Joselito M. Arocena; Tariq Siddique; Ronald W. Thring; Selim Kapur. Investigation of lichens using molecular techniques and associated mineral accumulations on a basaltic flow in a Mediterranean environment. CATENA 2007, 70, 356 -365.

AMA Style

Joselito M. Arocena, Tariq Siddique, Ronald W. Thring, Selim Kapur. Investigation of lichens using molecular techniques and associated mineral accumulations on a basaltic flow in a Mediterranean environment. CATENA. 2007; 70 (3):356-365.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Joselito M. Arocena; Tariq Siddique; Ronald W. Thring; Selim Kapur. 2007. "Investigation of lichens using molecular techniques and associated mineral accumulations on a basaltic flow in a Mediterranean environment." CATENA 70, no. 3: 356-365.

Journal article
Published: 01 May 2007 in Journal of Environmental Quality
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Sediment from a storage facility for coal tailings solids was assessed for its capacity to reduce selenium (Se) by native bacterial community. One Se6+–reducing bacterium Enterobacter hormaechei (Tar11) and four Se4+–reducing bacteria, Klebsiella pneumoniae (Tar1), Pseudomonas fluorescens (Tar3), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (Tar6), and Enterobacter amnigenus (Tar8) were isolated from the sediment. Enterobacter hormaechei removed 96% of the added Se6+ (0.92 mg L−1) from the effluents when Se6+ was determined after 5 d of incubation. Analysis of the red precipitates showed that Se6+ reduction resulted in the formation of spherical particles (<1.0 μm) of Se0 as observed under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and confirmed by EDAX. Selenium speciation was performed to examine the fate of the added Se6+ in the sediment with or without addition of Enterobacter hormaechei cells. More than 99% of the added Se6+ (∼2.5 mg L−1) was transformed in the nonsterilized sediment (without Enterobacter hormaechei cells) as well as in the sterilized (heat-killed) sediment (with Enterobacter hormaechei cells). The results of this study suggest that the lagoon sediments at the mine site harbor Se6+– and Se4+–reducing bacteria and may be important sinks for soluble Se (Se6+ and Se4+). Enterobacter hormaechei isolated from metal-contaminated sediment may have potential application in removing Se from industrial effluents. Copyright © 2007. American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society. ASA, CSSA, SSSA

ACS Style

Tariq Siddique; Joselito M. Arocena; Ronald W. Thring; Yiqiang Zhang. Bacterial Reduction of Selenium in Coal Mine Tailings Pond Sediment. Journal of Environmental Quality 2007, 36, 621 -627.

AMA Style

Tariq Siddique, Joselito M. Arocena, Ronald W. Thring, Yiqiang Zhang. Bacterial Reduction of Selenium in Coal Mine Tailings Pond Sediment. Journal of Environmental Quality. 2007; 36 (3):621-627.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Tariq Siddique; Joselito M. Arocena; Ronald W. Thring; Yiqiang Zhang. 2007. "Bacterial Reduction of Selenium in Coal Mine Tailings Pond Sediment." Journal of Environmental Quality 36, no. 3: 621-627.