Jirong Lan

• Doctor of Engineering
• Post Doctoral Fellows at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

In modern civil engineering, advanced concrete materials are expected to not only possess excellent mechanical and durability properties but also exhibit additional functions. Waste-derived artificial aggregate (AA) is an innovative designable aggregate type with high sustainability and value-added properties. This study provided a comprehensive li...

To address the environmental hazards of electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) accumulation and the urgent need for ecological restoration in mining areas, we developed an innovative method for creating pit restoration materials (S-EMRs) using alkaline-excited EMR via mechanical ball milling. Black liquid (BL) was used as a base exciter and EMR as th...

Desert areas pose challenges for building construction due to extreme temperatures, low humidity, and water scarcity. These factors contribute to the rapid drying of self-bonding materials, leading to poor stability of materials. This study aims to address these issues through a novel approach involving the collaborative utilization of natural aeol...

There has been increasing attention given to nickel-cobalt tailings (NCT), which pose a risk of heavy metal pollution in the field. In this study, on site tests and sampling analysis were conducted to assess the physical and chemical characteristics, heavy metal toxicity, and microbial diversity of the original NCT, solidified NCT, and the surround...

metakaolin (MK). However, the behavior of Fe in different species during the highly alkaline geopolymerization process remains unclear. In this study, Fe-based geopolymers were prepared by adding hematite (HE), magnetite (MA), and reduced iron powder (RIP) into MK. By adjusting the proportions of these Fe substances' mineral phases, we studied vari...

In the practical operation of traditional landfills, compaction clay often experiences cracking, while the HDPE geomembrane may tear and bulge, resulting in a compromised performance of the landfill covering system. To address this issue, a capillary retarding covering material for landfill sites is proposed by utilizing municipal sludge and constr...

Copper smelting slag discharged from mining and high-aluminum fly ash generated during the combustion of coal for energy production are two typical bulk solid wastes, which are necessary to carry out harmless and resourceful treatment. This research proposed an eco-friendly and economical method for the co-consumption of copper smelting slag and hi...

How to effectively recycle Ni–Co ore mining mullock (OMM) is a key means to address both local environmental pollution and resource waste. In this study, OMM and bottom ash (BA) were prepared into cementitious materials (OBM) by mechanochemical means with gentle conditions. It is mainly realized by grinding the mixture and pressing it into columnar...

Municipal solid waste incineration fly ash (MSWIFA) exsits in large quantitities and contains pollutants such as heavy metal. While solidification is one of the most effective methods for treating MSWIFA, this application is limited by cost, subsequent treatment, and simultaneous immobilization of anions and cations. This research demonstrated that...

Aiming at the existing problems of poor treatment effect and immersion stability of expansive soils, a slag soil hardener (SSH, developed by Wuhan University, China) was combined with different additives to dispose in this study. The free expansion rate, compressive strength, and immersion stability of samples were compared, and the influences of d...

Tetracycline (TC) is an organic pollutant that is difficult to remove in wastewater. TC pollution in water has gradually become a global concern. However, limited removal techniques could be used for TC-containing wastewater. Mn-N-doped carbon aerogels (MCA), as a new type of high-efficiency adsorbent, was used to treat wastewater polluted by TC. A...

Mesoporous silica (MCM-41) is widely used as a supporting material due to its large specific surface area and good stability, but it cannot remove heavy metals due to the lack of adsorption active sites. In this study, the MCM-41 (a mesoporous SiO2 material) decorated with iron and magnesium oxide (Fe/Mg-MCM-41) was found to be an excellent adsorbe...

Hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) as a virulent carcinogen has led to environmental pollution and health threats. Nanoscale zero-valent iron (NZVI) is considered one of the most effective environmental remediation materials in the field. NZVI/phosphotungstic acid/graphite carbon nitride ([email protected]/g-C3N4) composites were facilely fabricated by pho...

Degradation of indigo carmine (IC) in aqueous solution via electrochemical oxidation (EO) was investigated by low voltage pulse electrolysis. The effects of experimental operating variables on total organic carbon(TOC) removal efficiency were studied, including initial pH, NaCl addition, charging voltage/frequency, and initial concentration of IC....

The increasing accumulation of electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) with high ammonium nitrogen and heavy metals has become the biggest obstacle restricting the sustainable development of electrolytic manganese industry. A novel method for efficient recovery of ammonium nitrogen as well as solidification of Mn and other heavy metals in the process...

Mg/Al-LDH is widely used in the removal of aqueous pollutants due to the large surface and high anion exchange capacity, but the traditional Mg/Al-LDH for arsenic removal has a narrow range of pH application. The present study focused on the modifying of the lamellar Mg/Al-LDH to synthesize flower-like nanoparticles for arsenate removal in a wide p...

Heavy metal (HM) soil pollution has become an increasingly serious problem with the development of industries. Application of biochar in HMs remediation from contaminated environment has attracted considerable research attention during the past decade. Although the mechanism of HMs passivation with biochar has been investigated, effects and mechani...

Rice straw-derived biochar (BC) has the advantage of low cost to remove tetracycline (TC) as a potential adsorbent, but it is limited by its poor adsorption capacity. On this basis, it was modified with tannic acid (TA) by precovering to increase the number of oxygen-containing functional groups. The structure and chemical properties of the modifie...

Soil contamination by multiple heavy metals and As is one of the major environmental hazards recognized worldwide. In this study, pinecone-biochar was used for stabilization and passivation of Pb, Cu, Zn, Cr, and As in contaminated soil around a smelter in Hubei province, China. The stabilization rate of heavy metals in soil can exceed 99%, and the...

A series of nitrogen-doped carbon aerogels (NCAs) were obtained through phase reaction polymerization and different carbonization temperatures to enhance adsorption efficacy of hexavalent chromium (Cr[VI]) from wastewater significantly. Factors that influence adsorption properties of carbon aerogel microspheres toward Cr(VI), such as pH, adsorbent...

Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) are a class of biologically accumulated carcinogenic and teratogenic toxic chemicals that exist widely in the environment. This study, Pseudarthrobacter defluvii E5 was isolated from agricultural soils and showed efficient PAEs-degradation and -mineralization abilities for five PAEs, and encouraging PAEs tolerance and bi...

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), as a new class of proton conductors, have attracted much attention in the application of proton exchange membranes due to their precisely defined structure and tailorable functionality. However, for most of the MOF materials, their long-term stability is a huge barrier to practical application. Therefore, the struct...

Elevated arsenic (As) levels in groundwater pose a risk to the local population that relies on this resource for their living needs. Here we analyzed samples collected from a sediment core recovered from Jianghan Plain, China, a region experiencing high As concentrations in groundwater. We evaluated the vertical distribution of As forms, fluorescen...

This research aimed to address the issue of residual manganese in electrolytic manganese residue (EMR), which is difficult to recycle and can easily become an environmental hazard and resource waste. This research developed a method for the efficient and selective recovery of manganese from EMR and the removal of ammonia nitrogen (ammonium sulfate)...

Hexavalent chromium in soda ash Chromite Ore Processing Residue (COPR) is harmful to the environment, it is imperative to develop a low cost, efficient, and effective treatment. Herein, a new method (ball milling + sodium sulfide) was developed for mechanochemical treatment of water-leached COPR (W-COPR, about 900 mg/kg non-exchangeble Cr(VI) and m...

Slag backfilling with electrolytic manganese residue (EMR) is an economical and environmentally-friendly method. However, high ammonium-nitrogen and manganese ions in EMRs limit this practice. In this study, a method of highly efficient simultaneous stabilization/solidification of ultrafine EMR by making EMR-based cementitious material (named EMR-P...

This study was aimed at removing and stabilizing heavy metals (HgII, ZnII, CuII, and CdII). A novel material (named A-EMS) for heavy metal removal was proposed by ball grinding activated electrolytic manganese slag (EMS) with low content of sodium hydroxide. For different application scenarios, the two physical properties of the materials were deve...

The related microbial metabolomics on biological recovery of manganese (Mn) from Electrolytic Manganese Slag (EMS) has not been studied. This study aimed at open the door to the metabolic characteristics of microorganisms in leaching Mn from EMS by using waste molasses (WM) as carbon source. Results show Microbacterium trichothecenolyticum Y1 (Y1)...

In this study, Electrolytic Manganese Residue (EMR) was treated by EDTA-2Na/NaOH, ultrasonic etching, and hydrothermal reaction to obtain a novel nanocomposite catalyst (called N-EMR), which then was used, together with H2O2, to treat synthetic textile wastewater containing Reactive Red X–3B, Methyl Orange, Methylene blue and Acid Orange 7. Results...

In this study, two bacteria strains (Enterobacter sp. SL and Acinetobacter sp. SL-1) and waste molasses (carbon source) were used to remove Zn(II), Cd(II), Cr(VI), and Cr(Total) in the liquid solution (87 mg·L). The results showed the removal efficiencies of Cr(Total) and Cr(VI) could reach over 98.00% after reaction, and the removal efficiencies o...

Alkaline sulphide leaching processes have been widely used for the arsenic selective removal from metallurgical wastes. However, high consumption of energy and chemicals as well as long extraction time have forced the industries to find more cost-effective and eco-friendly separation techniques. In this work, a feasible microwave-enhanced leaching...

Currently, bioleaching of manganese (Mn) from Mn-poor ore (e.g. pyrolusite) is facing the challenges of low leaching efficiency and high cost of leachant and process operation. In this study, a new process was developed that uses Microbacterium trichothecenolyticum Y1 (bacteria Y1) and waste molasses to bioleach Mn from pyrolusite or pure MnO2 (for...

A technology utilizes bacteria Enterobacter sp. SL grown in an anaerobic reactor with waste molasses as carbon source to bio-reduce hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in wastewater and then remove total chromium has been developed. The performance was elucidated through different initial and operating experiments conditions, and the associated mechanism...

In this research, electrolytic manganese residues (EMRs) modified by NaOH, ultrasonic etching and microwave-assisted heating treatment (called M-EMRs hereafter) were used as a novel adsorbent to remove Arsenic (V) [As(V)] from synthetic wastewater. Results showed that M-EMRs were of nanosheet structure in sizes of about 100–300 nm; the percentage o...

The electrolytic manganese residues (EMRs) contain variable amounts of trace metals and valuable elements, which can negatively impact the environment. This research focused on recovering valuable elements (SO 4²⁻ , NH 3 –N, Mn, Mg, and Fe) from EMRs by bioleaching. Bacteria (Y1) were isolated from EMRs and then acclimated for bioleaching processes...

This paper studied the effect of the chemical morphology and physicochemical properties of heavy metals in residue adding activated sludge, pig manure water, city sludge, woods mulch, biological agents and adding nothing under a certain ratio of manganese slag, molasses and bagasse by compost fermentation. The physical characteristics were monitore...

N-doped carbon xerogel (N-CX) is synthesized and used for adsorption removal of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) from aqueous solution. Characterizations including N2 physisorption, TEM and XPS indicate that N atoms are doped into the N-CX and the material has porous structure. Adsorption tests show that the N-CX is efficient for MC-LR adsorption, with adsor...

The intramolecular S = O…H−O hydrogen bond in a chiral cyclic sulfite ester, which affects the reaction behavior and spectral properties considerably, was studied.The Intramolecular S = O…H-O Hydrogen Bond In A Chiral Cyclic Sulfite Ester: How It Affects The Reaction Behavior And Spectral PropertiesAll authorsXiaoyun Hua*, Dongzhi Chenb, Jirong Lan...