Chunjiang An

Chunjiang An
Concordia University · Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering

PhD

About

243
Publications
35,352
Reads
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6,966
Citations
Introduction
Dr. Chunjiang An is an Associate Professor in the Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering at Concordia University, and Concordia University Research Chair in Spill Response and Remediation. His research interests include a broad range of topics related to pollution control, risk assessment and systems analysis. Dr. An is a licensed Professional Engineer, associate editor and editorial board member of 8 international journals, and the guest editor for 10 special issues.
Additional affiliations
January 2018 - present
Concordia University
Position
  • Professor
January 2014 - December 2017
University of Regina
Position
  • Professor
Education
September 2007 - April 2013
University of Regina
Field of study
  • Environmental Systems Engineering
September 2003 - June 2006
Xi'an Jiaotong University
Field of study
  • Environmental Engineering
September 1998 - June 2002
Nanjing University of Science and Technology
Field of study
  • Environmental Engineering

Publications

Publications (243)
Article
The effects of five short-chain organic acids (SCOAs) on the behaviors of pyrene in soil-water system were investigated. The influences of the quantity and species of organic acids, pH, and soil dissolved organic matter were considered. The results showed the presence of SCOAs inhibited the adsorption and promoted the desorption of pyrene in the fo...
Article
Massive quantities of food waste often coexist with other agroindustrial and industrial waste, which might contain coal ash (CA) and uric acid (UA). This study investigated the influence of CA and UA on the composting of food waste in the in-vessel system. The patterns of food waste composting were compared among various combinations. The results s...
Article
Oil spills in the marine environment frequently reach the coastal zone where active cleanup strategies may become necessary if the rates of natural weathering and attenuation of the stranded oil are considered inadequate. The application of surface washing agents (SWAs) is an operational technique that enhances the separation and removal of oil tha...
Article
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This strategic review examines the pivotal role of sustainable methodologies in battery recycling and the recovery of critical minerals from waste batteries, emphasizing the need to address existing technical and environmental challenges. Through a systematic analysis, it explores the application of green organic solvents in mineral processing, adv...
Article
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Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) are a significant component of electronic waste (e-waste) and are among the fastest-generating waste flows. The potentially negative impacts caused by e-waste on the environment and human health pose an increasingly apparent threat to people's everyday lives and well-being. The nonmetallic fraction (predominantl...
Article
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The severe water quality pollution of the Bohai Sea impacts both the ecosystem and the economy of the region. This study assesses the water quality of the Bohai Sea using a two-year (2020–2021) dataset to investigate the spatial distribution and sources of contamination. Multivariate statistical analysis methods, including principal component analy...
Article
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Food waste gives rise to many environmental problems. A large amount of food waste is produced by grocery retail stores. It is therefore important to apply efficient food waste treatment technologies with minimal environmental impact and investigate the optimal approach for food waste collection, transportation, and treatment. In the present study,...
Article
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The status of water resources in many coastal cities has become increasingly fragile. In a changing climate, the amount and intensity of rainfall have continued to decline, causing some coastal regions to experience severe drought and deteriorated water supply situation. This article presents a comprehensive study of the urban water metabolism of C...
Article
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The disposal of fossil fuel-based plastics poses a huge environmental challenge, leading to increased interest in biodegradable alternatives such as polylactic acid (PLA). This study focuses on the environmental impact and degradation of PLA face mask components under various conditions (UV (Ultraviolet) radiation, DI water, landfill leachate of va...
Article
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Agricultural utilization of processed municipal organic waste (AUPMOW) offers a method of recycling organic waste to enhance crop productivity, maintain soil health, and increase carbon storage in plants. By effectively implementing AUPMOW, it can significantly contribute to a circular economy by managing waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions...
Article
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Recent military acts in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are forcing merchant ships to reroute, thereby driving up international shipping rates, prolonging delivery dates, and causing additional greenhouse gas emissions. Utilizing the European Union (EU) Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification emissions database and real time Automatic Identification S...
Article
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The unprecedented surge in the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) worldwide during the covid pandemic resulted in a significant increase in PPE consumption and subsequent waste generation. Despite the importance of PPE, its widespread usage and disposal have sparked worries about the environmental impact and its long-term sustainability...
Article
Inland oil spill accidents pose a negative impact on the health of the soil ecological system and human beings. The oil infiltration process is the main behavior of spilled oil, and its infiltration is influenced by many environmental factors like root netting and rainfall. This study was conducted to investigate the impact of these two important f...
Article
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Farm leftovers, particularly crop residues, are a key source of renewable energy in Canada. The nation’s robust agricultural industry provides ample biomass, derived from forestry and agriculture resources, for energy generation. Crop residues, such as straws and husks, play a crucial role in this biomass reservoir, contributing to biofuel producti...
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This study investigates the effectiveness of low-temperature (20 ± 1 °C) anaerobic digestion (AD) for two organic multiple farm substrate combinations: Set 1 comprising chicken manure (CM), dairy manure (DM), and waste corn silage (CS) and Set 2 comprising CM, DM, pig manure (PM), and CS. Inoculum adaptation steps were carried out using CM and CM+D...
Article
Ground transportation, which includes the road and rail sectors, is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. An emissions trading system (ETS) is one of the environmental policies for controlling carbon emissions from fossil fuel combustion during transport activities. To investigate the status of existing ETS interventions on ground trans...
Article
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Greenhouse gases (GHGs) can be produced from a broad range of anthropogenic activities at different spatial and temporal scales. In particular, emissions from urban area are an import source of GHGs. City is a complicated system consisting of various component and processes. Efforts have been made to reduce urban GHG emissions. However, there is a...
Article
Owing to their small size and stability, MPs have been found to be present in different media all over the world, even in the most remote regions such as the Arctic and Antarctic.
Article
Oil spills frequently cause devastating impacts on coastal ecosystems and communities.
Article
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Wood pellets have gained global attention due to their economic availability and increasing demand for bioenergy as part of sustainable energy solutions. Management of the wood pellet supply chains, from feedstock harvesting to bioenergy conversion, is critical to ensure competitiveness in the energy markets. In this regard, wood pellets supply cha...
Article
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Solid waste management (SWM) is crucially important for sustainable development and the environmental management system in First Nations (FN) communities and reserves. This research developed an inventory-theory-based optimization model under uncertainty for SWM to support FN communities. The model can be used to pick the most appropriate facilitie...
Article
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from maritime transport is an urgent topic. Some regional emissions trading systems (ETSs), buoyed by the globalized market-based measures (MBMs) plan of the International maritime organization, have initially assessed the feasibility of including maritime emissions under compliance obligations. However, including...
Article
The increasing enrichment of microplastics (MPs) in the shoreline environment poses both ecological and social-economic risks. The alteration and motion of MPs in the ocean under the effect of bulk nanobubbles (NBs) have been less extensively studied. In this study, we explored the behavior and movement of various MPs in the presence of bulk NBs. T...
Article
Oil deposited on shoreline substrates has serious adverse effects on the coastal environment and can persist for a long time. In this study, a green and effective microemulsion (ME) derived from vegetable oil was developed as a washing fluid to remove stranded oil from beach sand. The pseudo-ternary phase diagrams of the castor oil/water (without o...
Article
The issue of inland oil spills exerts an adverse impact on environmental and ecological health. Many cases are concerned with water-in-oil emulsions, especially in the oil production and transport system. To understand the contamination and take an efficient response work after spill, this study investigated the infiltration behavior of water-in-oi...
Article
The electrification of public transit is one of the key actions in the transportation sector. This study proposed an innovative framework for analyzing the effectiveness and emission reduction potential of electrifying transit policies. The future energy consumption, GHG emissions, and pollutant emissions of bus fleets in representative Canadian ci...
Article
Estuaries are one of the primary pathways for transferring microplastics (MPs) from the land to the ocean. A comprehensive understanding of the load, morphological characteristics, driving factors, and potential risks of MPs in estuaries is imperative to inform reliable management in this critical transboundary area. Extracted from 135 publications...
Article
Concerns regarding the negative impact of fossil fuels on the environment have led to a global shift towards sustainable energy systems. This study reviewed recent studies on renewable energy composition and electrifi-cation abatement in 26 future scenarios of Canada. There is a trend to move from a comprehensive forecasting analysis of multiple en...
Article
There is currently a lack of studies on residential waste collection during COVID-19 in North America. SARIMA models were developed to predict residential waste collection rates (RWCR) across four North American jurisdictions before and during the pandemic. Unlike waste disposal rates, RWCR is relatively less sensitive to the changes in COVID-19 re...
Article
In the present study, the infiltration and resuspension of microplastics (MPs) in a slope substrate under the influence of repeated tidal forces were investigated using a tidal tank. In the scenario in which MPs were placed on the top of the slope, increasing numbers of particles were observed on the water surface with the increase in tidal cycles....
Article
Biodegradable mulches (BMs) can be tilled into soils to mitigate disposal and environmental problems. However, the content of biodegradable microplastics (BMPs) would increase with the addition of biodegradable macroplastics (BMaPs). The fragmented particles have a strong affinity to soil pollutants, having the potential to transfer via the terrest...
Article
Full-text available
Biomass as an abundant renewable energy source can play a vital role in controlling the greenhouse gas emissions. The distributed nature of biomass and its low energy density have complicated the utilization of this cheap and available source of energy. Governments can stimulate the bioenergy industry and remove barriers for adoption of bioenergy b...
Article
Sea ice can serve as a temporary sink for microplastics (MPs), and thus, it too can function as a secondary source of and transport medium for MPs. This study aimed to explore the effect of various MP properties and environmental characteristics on the entrainment and enrichment of MPs in ice under varying turbulence conditions. It was found that h...
Article
The produced effluents after shoreline washing contain a certain number of oil droplets and further treatment is necessary. In this study, the innocuous, widely available, and biodegradable sodium caseinate (NaCas) was deployed to capture oil pollutants from oily wastewater. Oil droplets can be effectively and rapidly captured by NaCas and subseque...
Article
The presence of plastic fragments in the environment is a growing global concern. In this study, we explored the effects of dynamic fluctuations of capillary fringe on the transport of microplastics (MPs) in the substrate combining various environmental and MP properties. Both experimental and Hydrus-2D modeling results confirmed that increasing cy...
Article
Promoting cleaner municipal solid waste transportation processes plays a key role in sustainable waste management. In this study, a regional cap-and-trade system as an incentive tool was developed and applied to waste disposal in Montreal, Canada. The full life-cycle carbon emissions of a waste transport fleet, including four alternative energy sce...
Article
The large number of oily wastewater discharges and oil spills are bringing about severe threats to environment and human health. Corresponding to this challenge, a functional PAA-ZnO-HDTMS flax fiber with UV-induced switchable wettability was developed for efficient oil-water separation in this study. The developed flax fiber was obtained through P...
Article
Due to the excessive use of disposable face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, their accumulation has posed a great threat to the environment. In this study, we explored the fate of masks after being disposed in landfill. We simulated the possible process that masks would experience, including the exposure to sunlight before being covered and the...
Article
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There is an increasing concern regarding the sustainable solid waste management (SWM) around the world. This review first summarizes First Nations’ social behavior, culture, environmental perspectives, and sustainable development perspectives. The review then introduces the laws and regulations regarding the First Nations SWM system and environment...
Article
Oil spills are significant environmental accidents that have significant impacts on environmental and ecological health. Spill pollution in the cold regions may pose a particular challenge. To achieve a fast response, the oil transport mode such as penetration should be well understood. In this study, the oil penetration behavior in thawing frozen...
Article
Oil pollution is one of the major environmental concerns in the petroleum industry. In this study, a cheap food-grade sodium caseinate (NaCas) was used as a pH-responsive washing fluid in the remediation of phenanthrene (PHE) affected peat moss. The effects of environmental factors on the removal of PHE were systematically investigated. The results...
Article
Full-text available
Marine oil spills are serious ecological disasters that have massive adverse impacts on the environment. The impacts are even worse once the spilled oil is stranded on a shoreline. A series of shoreline cleanup methods are deployed to remove spilled oil, but their performance can be affected by the stranded oil. This review therefore comprehensivel...
Article
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Fresh biochar has been widely applied to the remediation of heavy metals in soil by its property of adsorption, but the changes in its physicochemical properties and in situ adsorption performance over time cannot be ignored. In this study, the sorption of Cd²⁺ by corn straw biochars (CB) and municipal sludge biochars (SB) produced at 350 °C and 65...
Article
Organic dyes from textile industries are becoming the second largest pollutants in the world. In this study, inspired by the seawater fish, a new diamine monomer, N,N-bis(3-aminopropyl)methylamine N-oxide (DNMAO) with a trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO)-derived “N⁺─O⁻” zwitterionic functionality, has been designed for the fabrication of polyamide thin-...
Chapter
Poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) membrane has been commonly used for wastewater treatment processes. However, they usually suffer from membrane fouling due to their hydrophobic property. In this study, a multifunctional PVDF microfiltration membrane was developed through ZnO–Ag nanocomposites to increase wastewater treatment efficiency. The develop...
Chapter
Canola plays an important role in the agricultural production in Canadian Prairie. An effective approach is required to improve the growth and yield of canola. Insights into effects of tillage and residue management on the growth of canola have been analyzed in this study through evaluating physicochemical features of canola plants under the interf...
Chapter
Biogenic oxygenated volatile organic compounds (BOVOCs), including methanol (CH3OH), are mainly released from vegetation and soil microbes in terrestrial ecosystems. Cropland is an important emission source of methanol to the environment. Wheat, as one of the large-methanol-emitters among fast-growing crops in Canada, was selected for this study. T...
Article
There has been an increase in marine transportation in cold regions, which in turn has led to an increasing risk of oil spills in these areas. To better support risk assessment and pollution control of oil spills, it is important to have a good understanding of oil transport in the environment. This information is essential to manage response prior...
Article
Since nearly half of the world's population lives near the coast, coastal areas have become hotspots for microplastic (MP) pollution due to human activity. The ubiquity of natural colloids in coastal waters plays a critical role in the potential fate of, and risks posed by, MPs. Nevertheless, far less has been known regarding the aggregation of MPs...
Article
Container ship accidents can contaminate the surrounding marine environment and even have wider impact. Our study aims to provide a comprehensive review of emerging marine pollution from container ship accidents with the focus on risk characteristics, response strategies, and regulation advancements. It was found that the number of container ship a...
Article
Full-text available
Oil spill incidents frequently cause serious impacts on the ecosystem, society, and economy. To cope with this problem, the use of phase-selective organogelators (PSOGs) has been developed in recent years as a promising oil spill response tool, which can congeal oils from biphasic systems, accelerating oil removal and recovery and reducing impacts...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
Heritage sites and buildings are very important for the society and the need for their conservation is becoming increasingly urgent. The unique nature and the significant value of the heritage buildings have created the need for standard unified methods to be used in local heritage building rehabilitation projects. This will allow such important bu...
Article
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In this study, aged biochar (CCB350 and CCB650) were obtained from pyrolysis of corn stalk biochar (CB350 and CB650) at the degree of 350 °C and 650 °C by artificial oxidation with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Also, the mechanism of Pb2+ and Cd2+ on fresh and aged biochars was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively by batch adsorption experiments c...
Article
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When oil is released into the oceans, spilled oil may get to the shoreline driven by wind and wave. This study comprehensively explored the effects of bentonite nanoclay on the oil behaviors in a water–sand system from both experimental and modeling perspectives. Four factors including nanoclay concentration, temperature, salinity, and pH have been...