PROJECT TITLE

Road-deposited sediment pollutants: mobility and bioavailability remediation

THESIS TITLE

Road-deposited sediment pollutants: analytical techniques for mobility, bioavailability and remediation

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Rapid urbanisation and the associated increasing motor-traffic density have led to escalating amounts of pollution along road-ways in the form of aerosols and road-deposited sediments (RDS). RDS can have a major impact upon terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, both through the volume of sediments transported from these environments and the potential for high levels of pollutants associated with the sediments. It is therefore a key element of urban pollution management that levels and potential mobility of the pollutants in RDS are both monitored and actively managed to minimise their impacts. Conventional remediation measures used to reduce the pollutant load in RDS have not been very successful for the remediation of all pollutants. In this project, modified lab-based techniques will be developed to determine potential mobility and bioavailability of pollutants and tested in commercial laboratories.  Recently, the search for low-cost adsorbents that have metal-binding capacities has intensified. Industrial by-products (furnace slag, fly ash) and their surface modifications by coating with iron and manganese oxides can be used as low cost materials for treatment of pollutants. Considering the environmental compatibility and media characteristics, a remediation technology based on industrial by-products has significant potential to reduce the impact of RDS.

STUDENT PROFILE

Thuy Chung has a background in Biology with a Bachelor Degree from Hanoi University of Science completed in 2005. She did her Masters of Science at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in Korea (2007–2009). After completion Thuy Chung became a lecturer at Hanoi University of Technology (HUST). Her interests is in environmental monitoring, environmental toxicology and chemistry, and chemical treatment technology in road deposited sediments.