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Gang Pan

Gang Pan

Staff Group(s)
Environment

Role

Dr Gang Pan is an Emeritus Professor and Ex-Associate Dean of Research for the School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences. He is also the Ex-Director of the Centre of Integrated Water-Energy-Food (iWEF) studies at NTU. Professor Pan is an environmental, ecological, material, and physical chemist. He pioneers in geo-engineering technologies for natural water restoration and eutrophication control, sediment remediation, environmental nanotechnology, surface adsorption, algal biotechnology and synchrotron techniques.

He was awarded National First Prize of Environmental Science and Technology of China (2009); “Scientists of the Year” (2010, Chinese national annual award); 2014 Excellence in Review Awards (ES&T), and the First Prize of “Dayu Award” in 2017 (the highest Chinese national award in hydrology and ecology). He has published over 300 peer reviewed papers (H index 47 Google Scholar) and filed over 50 patents. His current research focuses on algal biotechnology and nanobubble technology.

Career overview

  • Professor and Director, Centre of Integrated Water-Energy-Food Studies, Nottingham Trent University, UK (2018 – 2022)
  • Professor and Associate Dean for Research, School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University, UK (2016 - 2018)
  • Professor, Deputy Director of Key Laboratory of Environmental Nanomaterials and Health Effect , Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China (2000 - 2022)
  • Senior Research Fellow, T H Huxley School, Imperial College, UK (1999 – 2000)
  • Research Fellow, Dept. Environ. Sci., University of Plymouth, UK (1998 – 1999)
  • Post-doc, School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds, UK (1996 - 1998)
  • Lecturer, Department of Chemistry, Ocean University of China (1982 - 1991)
  • PhD Environmental Chemistry, University of East Anglia, UK (1996)
  • MSc Physical Chemistry, Ocean University of China, China (1989)
  • BSc Physical Chemistry, Ocean University of China, China (1982)

Research areas

Areas of research interest include:

  • Aquatic ecological engineering: eutrophication and algal bloom control, in-situ sediment remediation
  • Environmental nano-materials: nanobubble and its application to natural water and soil remediation, agriculture, and green energy
  • Biogeochemical cycling of P, N, S, C, Hg, As, Cd, Zn in natural waters, sediment, and soil
  • Environmental interfacial chemistry: adsorption and flocculation reactions; heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
  • Micro-algal technology for pollutants removal (water, soil, and air), electricity and biofuel production, and microsphere algal biochar production for soil remediation and agricultural food safety.

Opportunities to carry out postgraduate research towards an MPhil/PhD exist and further information may be obtained from the NTU Doctoral School.

External activity

  • Member of UK Research & Innovation Sustainable Advisory Group
  • Member of NERC Responsible Advisory group
  • Horary president, Aquatic Environment Academy of Wunan Province (China)
  • Chairman of Global Phosphorus Recycling Initiative (GPRI), international SCOPE
  • Vice president, Aquatic Environment Committee, Chinese Society of Environment
  • Board member of Chinese Society of Environmental Nanotechnology
  • Board member of Chinese Society of Environment and Energy
  • Board member of Water Science Committee, Chinese Society of Limnology and Oceanography
  • Board member of Synchrotron Committee, Chinese Society of Physics
  • Expert Panel, Key program of Chinese Natural Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Member of American Chemical Society
  • Judge Panel for Reed Elsevier Environmental Challenge (International prize in environment)
  • Guest Editor and Editorial board: Water
  • Associate Editor, Frontiers in Environmental Science; Water

Sponsors and collaborators

Research funding has included:

  • Sponsored research by Yantai HABs Control and Ecological Restoration Technology Co., Ltd. The development of modified local soil (MLS) material towards preventing sediment resuspension and stimulating indigenous macrophyte restoration. £116 k (2019-2021)
  • Sponsored research by Hunan Zhongke Water Environment Management Co., Ltd. Modified local soil (MLS) technology for harmful algal blooms control, sediment remediation, and ecological restoration. £21 k (2019-2022)
  • New Zealand’s Maori Centre of research excellence-seeding and scoping new research excellence project. Modified local soil and oxygen nanobubble technology to heal unwell taonga lakes. Cooperated with Ruto Ora Ltd. $60,000 (2020-2021)
  • NTU QR fund for iWEF centre construction: Integrated water, energy and food (IWEF) pilot platform and studies. £140 k (2018-2020)
  • NTU Medical Technologies and Advanced Materials Research Theme: Turning wastewater pollutants into micro/nano structure bio-hydrochar materials. £35 k (2018-2019)
  • GCRF (quality-related research funding Global Challenges Research Fund): Establishing new research collaborations and developing sustainable solutions to pollution problems. £7 k (2019)
  • NTU Sustainable Futures Research Theme. Improve nutritional value for food sustainability using microalgal technology £13.2 k (2019)
  • Environmental Research Platform, Beijing Advanced Science and Innovation Center, China, 200 million RMB (2015-2020)
  • Industrial commercialization: Eco-Green Environmental Technology Ltd, 5 million RMB (2014-2019)
  • New environmental nanotechnology and its application in lake remediation, Ministry of Science and Technology (China), 5 million RMB (2013- 2018)
  • Sino-EU governmental cooperation program: Natural water quality improvement, Gang Pan, chief scientist, 1 million RMB (2009- 2012)
  • Chinese National Key Basic Research Program (973): The application of nano-meterial and nano-technology in detecting and treating water pollutants. Ministry of Science and Technology (China), 5 million RMB (2009-2014)
  • Chinese National Key Basic Research Program (973): Mechanism of the eutrophication inducing ecological disaster and its prevention measures, Ministry of Science and Technology (China), 4.68 million RMB (2008-2012)
  • National Key Science and Technology Program (863): Water quality improvement technologies of Taihu Lake, Gang Pan, Deputy Chief-scientist, Ministry of Science and Technology (China), 45 million RMB (2000-2005)
  • Seven normal grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (2000 to 2015)
  • Several large grants from Chinese Academy of Sciences, one of them is a strategic program-A of CAS (7 million RMB) (2000 to 2015)

Publications

Selected publications:

  1. Modified Local Soil (MLS) Technology for Harmful Algal Bloom Control, Sediment Remediation, and Ecological Restoration. Water (2019), 11 (6), 1123
  2. Biocompatible functionalisation of nanoclays for improved environmental remediation. Chemical Society Reviews (2019), 48, 3740-3770.
  3. Visible-light photocatalysis accelerates As (III) release and oxidation from arsenic-containing sludge. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental (2019), 250, 1-9.
  4. Nanobubble Technology in Environmental Engineering: Revolutionization Potential and Challenges. Environmental Science & Technology (2019), 53 (13), 7175-7176
  5. Impact of eutrophication on arsenic cycling in freshwaters, Water Research (2019), 150: 191.
  6. Cryogenic circulation for indoor air pollution control, Science of the Total Environment (2019), 651: 1451.
  7. Switching Harmful Algal Blooms to Submerged Macrophytes in Shallow Waters Using Geo-engineering Methods: Evidence from a N-15 Tracing Study, Environmental Sciences & Technology (2018), 52: 11778.
  8. Hypoxia Remediation and Methane Emission Manipulation Using Surface Oxygen Nanobubbles, Environmental Science & Technology (2018), 52: 8712.
  9. Combating hypoxia/anoxia at sediment-water interfaces: A preliminary study of oxygen nanobubble modified clay materials, Science of the Total Environment (2018), 637: 550.
  10. Enhanced phosphorus locking by novel lanthanum/aluminum–hydroxide composite: implications for eutrophication control, Environmental Science & Technology (2017), 51(6): 3418.
  11. Algae decorated TiO2/Ag hybrid nanofiber membrane with enhanced photocatalytic activity for Cr(VI) removal under visible light, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2017, 314, 622-630
  12. From Harmful Microcystis blooms to multi-functional core-double-shell microsphere bio-hydrochar materials, Scientific Reports (2017), 7: 15477.
  13. Flocculation of cyanobacterial cells using coal fly ash modified chitosan, Water Research (2016), 97: 11.
  14. Removal of Microcystis aeruginosa using cationic starch modified soils, Water Research (2016), 97: 19.
  15. Ecotoxicological assessment of flocculant modified soil for lake restoration using an integrated biotic toxicity index, Water Research (2016), 97: 133-141.
  16. Nanobubbles at Hydrophilic Particle–Water Interfaces. Langmuir (2016), 32: 11133.
  17. Manipulating nutrient limitation using modified local soils: A case study at Lake Taihu (China), Water Research (2016), 101: 25.
  18. Simultaneous removal of harmful algal blooms and microcystins using microorganism-and chitosan-modified local soil, Environmental Science & Technology (2015), 49: 6249.
  19. Facile and green fabrication of multiple magnetite nano-cores@void@porous shell microspheres for delivery vehicles, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 3715-3718
  20. Distribution of Perfluorinated Compounds in Lake Taihu (China): Impact to Human Health and Water Standards. Science of the Total Environment, 2014, 487, 778–784
  21. Impact of suspended inorganic particles on phosphorus cycling in the Yellow River (China). Environmental Science  & Technology, 2013, 47, 9685–9692
  22. Universal Method for Flocculating Harmful Algal Blooms in Marine and Fresh Waters Using Modified Sand, Environmental Science & Technology, 2013, 47, 4555–4562
  23. Reducing the recruitment of sedimented algae and nutrient release into the overlying water using modified soil/sand flocculation-capping in eutrophic lakes, Environmental Science & Technology, 2012, 46, 5077-5084
  24. Coordination Structure of Adsorbed Zn(II) at Water-TiO2 Interfaces, Environmental Science & Technology, 2011,45(5),1873-1879

See all of Gang Pan's publications...

Press expertise

  • Natural water pollution control and restoration
  • Sediment and soil pollution remediation
  • Waste water treatment
  • Nanobubble technology
  • Micro-algal biotechnology
  • Heavy metals and organic pollutants
  • Aquatic ecological engineering: lake restoration, eutrophication and algal bloom control