Research Profile

Collaborator: Jordan Kent (Masters Student)

This research focuses on using the novel process of aerobic granular sludge to remove select emerging contaminants of concern (ESOC) that are of interest to the Calgary region and worldwide. Similar to other biological processes, aerobic granular sludge utilizes the natural ability of bacteria to degrade or absorb organic compounds. The granular structure of the bacteria culture causes the bacteria to perform differently than bacteria do in more traditional biological treatment methods. It is the goal of this research to exploit these differences to remove complex and potentially toxic compounds.

The partnership with the ACWA facility allows this research to be done with representative samples at environmentally relevant concentrations. Based on the lab results there is the opportunity for pilot-scale studies to be conducted at the ACWA facility.

HQP: Mohamed Abdelsamie (PhD)

Current biological treatment methods can achieve organics removal efficiency of (70-90%); and, they face challenges in the removal of nitrogen and phosphorus (nutrients), which results in the deterioration of lakes and rivers water quality. Aerobic granulation is a more efficient technology in terms of pollutants removal and cost. Simulation is essential for process optimization, control, performance prediction, and decision making.

Several mathematical modeling and simulation attempts were developed for aerobic granulation; however, they require detailed knowledge of the process mechanics from the user. They are complicated partial differential equations that need calibrating numerous parameters manually, greatly reducing the generalizability of the model, and making it only suitable for specific defined conditions. To address the gaps in previous research, the aim of the current research is to develop a new simulation technique to model aerobic granulation that is based on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

The model will learn from daily operation of the treatment reactor and can be generalized to predict performance in the future. Extensive data collection will be performed to build a database for training the neural network from different reactors under different scenarios. Two different artificial intelligence models will be developed and compared to conventional mathematical models for prediction accuracy. The project outcome will lead to the full-scale application of the aerobic granulation technology in Canada, improving the quality of the treated wastewater before the disposal in Canadian lakes and rivers.

This project is funded by NSERC. 

HQP: Oliver Iorhemen (PhD)

This project is aimed at integrating aerobic granular sludge and membrane filtration to develop the aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (AGMBR). AGMBR is conceptualized to overcome the membrane fouling challenge currently limiting membrane bioreactors (MBRs). The MBR technology is a compact and efficient technology for the treatment and reclamation of municipal and industrial wastewaters. However, it is limited by membrane fouling which significantly increases operational and maintenance costs. In AGMBR, the major MBR membrane foulants - bacteria and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) - will be utilized to form aerobic granules, resulting in less membrane fouling. Experiments will focus on cultivating and maintaining healthy granules, low EPS production and membrane fouling control. In addition, aerobic granules exhibit a layered structure with an oxic zone near the granule surface, an anoxic zone in the middle layer, followed by an anaerobic zone at the granule centre. Such a layered structure is suitable for biological nutrients removal.

The capabilities of aerobic granules in AGMBR to remove nutrients will also be determined. AGMBR generates many benefits, including low capital and operational costs, significantly reduced reactor volume and land space requirements, low membrane fouling, high resilience to toxic chemicals, high effluent quality and low sludge production. The technology will promote better wastewater management and develop a user-friendly and flexible wastewater treatment and reclamation technology that can be widely used for wastewater applications. Ultimately, AGMBR will lead the way to cleaner water, better protected ecosystems and improved public health.

This project is funded by NSERC. 

HQP: Anrish Kanda (MSc)

One of the major advantages of the aerobic granulation technology is its capacity of simultaneous removal of substrates and nutrients, due to the stratified structure of aerobic granules with aerobic zone on the exterior layer and anaerobic/anoxic zone inside. Compared with traditional biological nutrient removal processes, only one tank is needed to complete nutrient removal with aerobic granular sludge. Integrating anaerobic-aerobic granulation into one column can generate a novel type of reactor which can further improve nutrient removal for technologies based on aerobic granulation. Our current research shows that with solely aerobic granulation, nitrogen and phosphorus can be successfully removed completely from municipal wastewater. Anaerobic granulation helps when influent nutrient concentrations significantly exceed the typical domestic level. It has also been discovered that nutrient removal in aerobic granules may not be completed through the traditional pathway, which can shed some light on the study of the mechanisms involved in the function/activity of aerobic granules. 

This project is funded by NSERC. 

HQP: Roya Pishgar (PhD)

Excess concentrations of ammonia and phosphate (nutrients) in water resources cause serious health and environmental issues. Nutrients are one of the top five causes of water quality impairment in the North America. About 20 percent of nutrient discharge into the water bodies originates from poorly-treated municipal and industrial effluents. 
Aerobic granulation overcomes the limitations of conventional biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes. Agglomeration of activated sludge into dense multispecies “aerobic granules” facilitates reliable nutrient removal in a compact granular reactor with low effluent suspended solids, resulting in no or a small subsequent settling tank. The phenomenal intra-particle structure of aerobic granules provides ecological niches for all types of nutrient-removing organisms in a single granule, eliminating the necessity of separate tanks for the BNR.

In general, a granular wastewater treatment facility with nutrient removal capability can reduce the plant footprint by 75%. Indeed, nutrient removal by aerobic granulation is a win-win treatment technique. The compact structure of aerobic granules protects sensitive nutrient-removing microorganisms against environmental and operational shocks, leading to a steady nutrient removal performance. In return, cultivation of such microorganisms enhances the long-term stability of aerobic granules which are the core of this groundbreaking wastewater treatment technique.

This project bridges the gap between successful operation of aerobic granular reactors and the optimized microbial ecology for nutrient removal. Aerobic granules can acquire different nutrient removal capacities, which has been explained by distinct microbial composition developed under different environmental and operational conditions. This study investigates the mechanism of aerobic granulation with nutrient removal capability under different conditions. Profound understanding of the interactions between influential variables and the microbial assembly of aerobic granules can ensure successful application of the technology, particularly in terms of meeting stringent nutrient discharge permit limits.

This project is funded by NSERC. 

1. Somathilake, P., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Influence of UV dose on UV/H2O2 process for the degradation of carbamazepine in wastewater’, Environmental Technology. In press, 2018, Manuscript ID: TENT-TENT-2017-1127.R1
2. Dominic, J.A., Somathilake, P., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Sunlight mediated passive wastewater treatment technology using photochemical reduction of Ferric iron for decontamination of various aqueous contaminants’, Solar Energy. Under review, 2018
3. Somathilake, P., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Use of low pressure (LP) mercury lamps with H₂O₂ and TiO₂ for treating carbamazepine in drinking water: batch and continuous flow through experiments’, Journal of water Processes Engineering. Under Review, 2018, Manuscript ID: JWPE_2018_75
4. Gong H., Pishgar R., Tay J. H., ‘Artificial neural network modeling for organic and total nitrogen removal of aerobic granulation under steady-state condition’, Environmental Technology. Under review, 2018, Manuscript ID: TENT-TENT-2018-0255
5. Hollman, J., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Effect of UV dose on degradation of venlafaxine using UV/H₂O₂: perspective of augmenting UV units in wastewater treatment’, Environmental Technology. Under Review, 2018
6. Khan, M.F., Yu, L., Achari, G., Tay, J.H. ‘Degradation of sulfolane in aqueous media by integrating activated sludge and advanced oxidation process’, Water Research. Under Review, 2018, Manuscript ID: WR42877
7. Zaghloul, M.S., Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H., ‘Simulation of aerobic granulation using a two stage neural networks model’, Chemosphere. Under Review, 2018, Manuscript ID: CHEM51453.
8. Dominic, J.A., Somathilake, P., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Photochemical degradation of degradation of Carbamazepine using Ferric chloride under long wavelength irradiation: kinetics and pathways’, Environmental Science and Technology. To be submitted, 2018
9. Dominic, J.A., Somathilake, P., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Short wavelength excitation of ferric chloride for degradation of Carbamazepine in treated effluent: kinetics and optimization’, Water Research. To be submitted, 2018
10. Gong H., Pishgar R., Tay J. H., ‘Comparison of artificial neural networks and support vector machines in simulating aerobic granulation performance during startup’, To be submitted, 2018
11. Heydari, G., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘A field study on passive solar treatment of emerging contaminants in water’, Journal of Environmental Engineering. To be submitted, 2018
12. Sheng, Z., Liu, Y. Tay, J.H. ‘Aeration and aerobic granule stability: effects and control’. To be submitted, 2018
13. Heydari, G., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Relative efficiencies of four semi-passive photocatalytic degradation systems for treatment of 2, 4, D in Killex’, Environmental Science and Technology. To be submitted, 2018
14. Pishgar R., Kanda A., Gress G. R., Gong H., Tay J. H., ‘Design of pilot aerobic granular bubble column reactor: An emphasis on aeration pattern, instead of aeration intensity, during scale up’, To be submitted, 2018
15. Sheng, Z., Gao, M., Liu, Y. Tay, J.H. ‘Causes of aerobic granule disintegration under high organic loading and potential approach to maintain granule stability’. To be submitted, 2018
16. Tiwari, S.S., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H. ‘Treatment of Commercial Naphthenic Acids using Aerobic Granular Sludge in a Sequencing Batch Reactor’. To be submitted, 2018
17. Pishgar R., Sheng Z., Tay J. H., ‘Microbial structure and nutrient removal characteristics during granulation under different alternating phases in pilot sequencing batch reactors’, To be submitted, 2018
18. Somathilake, P., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Time separated regenerative Fenton reaction for degradation of organic contaminants’, Environmental Science and Technology. To be submitted, 2018
19. Sheng, Z., Gao, M., Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Kanda, A., Liu, Kent, J.,  Pishgar, R., Tiwari, S.S.,  Vashi, H., Y. Tay, J.H. ‘Microbiome diversity – the key to aerobic granule stability’. To be submitted, 2018
20. Tiwari, S.S., Tay, J.H. ‘Naphthenic Acids Treatment and Effects of Supplemental Carbon using Aerobic Granulation’. To be submitted, 2018
21. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Zaghloul, M.S., Tay, J.H. ‘Rapid formation and characterization of aerobic granules in pilot-scale sequential batch reactor for high-strength organic wastewater treatment’, Journal of Water Process Engineering, 22, pp. 27-33, 2018 
22. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., M.S. Zaghloul, Tay, J.H. ‘Simultaneous organics and nutrients removal in side-stream aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (AGMBR)’, Journal of Water Process Engineering, 21, pp. 127–132, 2018
23. Sarma, S.J., Tay, J.H. ‘Aerobic granulation for a future wastewater treatment technology: challenges ahead’. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, 4(1), pp. 9-15, 2018
24. Vashi, H., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H. ‘Aerobic granulation: a recent development on the biological treatment of pulp and paper wastewater’, Environmental Technology & Innovation, 9, pp. 265-274, 2018
25. Zhang, Y., Wusiman, A., Liu, X., Lee, D.-J., Tay, J. H., ‘Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) production from phenol in an acclimated consortium: Batch study and impacts of operational conditions’, Journal of Biotechnology, 267, pp. 36-44, 2018
26. Dankewich, D.J., Chu, A., Sarma, S.J., Tay, J.H. ‘Bioenergy feasibility study of a raw corn and peas processing facility in Lethbridge, Alberta’, Biofuels, 9(2), pp. 263-272, 2017
27. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H. ‘Membrane fouling control in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) using granular materials’, Bioresource Technology, 240, pp. 9-24, 2017
28. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H. ‘Utilization of aerobic granulation to mitigate membrane fouling in MBRs’, Membrane Water Treatment, 8(5), pp. 395-409, 2017
29. Kasiviswanathan, K.S., He, J., Tay, J.-H., ‘Flood frequency analysis using multi-objective optimization based interval estimation approach’, Journal of Hydrology, 545, pp. 251-262, 2017.
30. Pishgar, R., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H. ‘Augmenting Lagoon Process Using Reactivated Freeze-dried Biogranules’, Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology, 181, pp. 1-18, 2017
31. Sarma, S.J, Tay, J.H., Chu, A. ‘Finding knowledge gaps in aerobic granulation technology’. Trends in Biotechnology, 35(1), pp. 66-78, 2017
32. Somathilake, P., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. ‘Degradation of Carbamazepine by photo-assisted ozonation: Influence of wavelength and intensity of radiation’, Ozone: Science & Engineering, 40(2), pp. 113-121, 2017
33. Sarma, S.J., Tay, J.H., Chu, A., ‘Prospective bioprocess engineering strategies for efficient production of volatile fatty acids’, Biotechnology and Bioengineering. Under review, 2017, Manuscript ID: 16-883
34. Chu, A., Long, J.E., Do, P., Sarma, S.J., Tay, J.H., ‘Volatile fatty acid production in full-scale fermenter: the effect of hydraulic retention time’, Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering. Under review, 2017, Manuscript ID: BPBSE-16-0508.
35. Zaghloul, M.S., Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H., ‘Biological Processes Modeling for Organics and Nitrogen Removal in Aerobic Granulation’, Advances in Environmental Research. Under Review, 2017, Manuscript ID: AER75864C.
36. Elawwad A., Zaghloul M.S., Abdel-Halim H., ‘Simulation of Municipal-Industrial Full Scale WWTP in an Arid Climate by Application of ASM3’, Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination, 7(1), pp. 37-44, 2016
37. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H. ‘Anaerobic-aerobic granular system for high-strength wastewater treatment in lagoons’, Advances in Environmental Research, 5(3), pp. 169-178, 2016
38. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H. ‘Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology for wastewater treatment and reclamation: membrane fouling’, Membranes, 6(2), 33, 2016
39. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H. ‘Advances in biological systems for the treatment of high-strength wastewater’, Journal of Water Process Engineering, 10, pp. 128-142, 2016
40. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H. ‘Occurrence, impacts and removal of emerging substances of concern from wastewater’. Environmental Technology & Innovation, 5, pp. 161-175, 2016
41. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., ‘Membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology for wastewater treatment and reclamation: membrane fouling’, Membranes, 6(2), 33, 2016
42. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H., ‘Occurrence, impacts and removal of emerging substances of concern from wastewater’, Environmental Technology & Innovation, 5, pp. 161-175, 2016
43. Kasiviswanathan, K.S., He, J., Sudheer, K.P., Tay, J.-H., ‘Potential application of wavelet neural network ensemble to forecast streamflow for flood management’, Journal of Hydrology, 536, pp.161-173, 2016.
44. Wosman, A., Lu, Y., Sun, S., Lee, D.-J., Tay, J.  ‘Effect of operational strategies on activated sludge's acclimation to phenol, subsequent aerobic granulation, and accumulation of polyhydoxyalkanoates’ , Journal of Hazardous Materials, 317, pp. 221-228, 2016
45. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H., ‘Advances in biological systems for the treatment of high-strength wastewater’, Journal of Water Process Engineering, 10, pp. 128-142, 2016
46. Show, K.Y., Yan, Y.G., Lee, D.J., Tay, J.H., ‘Green technologies for industrial wastewater treatment: Sustainable attributes and prospects of anaerobic granulation’, Green Technologies for Sustainable Water Management, pp. 231-254, 2016.
47. Zhang, Y., Tay, J.H., ‘Physiological and functional diversity of phenol degraders isolated from phenol-grown aerobic granules: Phenol degradation kinetics and trichloroethylene co-metabolic activities’, Journal of Environmental Management, 169, pp. 34-45, 2016
48. Zhang, Y., Tay, J.H., ‘Alternated phenol and trichloroethylene biodegradation in an aerobic granular sludge reactor’,  Biochemical Engineering Journal, 106, pp. 1-10, 2016 
49. Liu, Y.Q., Zhang, X., Zhang, R., Liu, W.T., Tay, J.H., ‘Effects of hydraulic retention time on aerobic granulation and granule growth kinetics at steady state with a fast start-up strategy’, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 100(1), pp. 469-477, 2016 
50. Radwan, E. K., Yu, L., Achari, G., & Langford, C. H., Photocatalytic ozonation of pesticides in a fixed bed flow through UVA-LED photoreactor. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1-6, 2016
51. Saeed, A., Hashmi, I., Zare, A., Mehrabani-Zeinabad, M., Achari, G., & Habibi, H. R.. Efficacy of UV-C photolysis of bisphenol A on transcriptome alterations of genes in zebrafish embryos. Journal of Environmental Science and Health, Part A, 51(11), 877-883, 2016
52. Izadifard, M., Langford, C., & Achari, G. Alternative View of Chlorine Oxidation Stimulated by Longer Wavelength Light. ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering, 1943-7870. 2016
53. Mehrabani-Zeinabad, M., Achari, G. & Langford, C.H. Degradation of Bisphenol S using O₃ and/or H₂O₂ with UV in a flow-through reactor. ASCE Journal of Environmental Engineering, 142 (8), 1943-7870, 2016
54. Wang, L., Wang, Y.Y., Liu, X., Tay, J.H., Zhang, Y., Wan, C.L., ‘A comprehensive comparison of bacterial and fungal aerobic granules: Formation, properties, surface modification, and biosorption of metals’, Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Advances, 5 (126), pp. 104062-104070, 2015 
55. Liu, Y.Q., Tay, J.H., ‘Fast formation of aerobic granules by combining strong hydraulic selection pressure with overstressed organic loading rate’, Water Research, 80, pp. 256-266, 2015 
56. Huang, W., Huang, W., Li, H., Tay, J.H., Lee, D.J., ‘Species and distribution of inorganic and organic phosphorus in enhanced phosphorus removal aerobic granular sludge’, Bioresource Technology,  193, pp. 549-52, 2015 
57. Chen, F.Y., Liu, Y.Q., Tay, J.H., Ning, P., ‘Rapid formation of nitrifying granules treating high-strength ammonium wastewater in a sequencing batch reactor’, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology,  99(10), pp. 4445-4452, 2015 
58. Show, K.Y., Lee, D.-J., Tay, J.H., Lee, T.M., Chang, J.-S., ‘Microalgal drying and cell disruption - Recent advances’, Bioresource Technology, 184, pp. 258-266, 2015 
59. Zhang, Y., Tay, J.H., ‘Toxic and inhibitory effects of trichloroethylene aerobic co-metabolism on phenol-grown aerobic granules’, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 286, pp. 204-210, 2015 
60. Wang, L., Liu, X., Chen, X.F., Zhang, Y., Tay, J.H., Wan, C.L., ‘Biosorption of Sr(II) from aqueous solutions using aerobic granules: equilibrium and mechanisms’, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry,  306(1), pp. 193-202, 2015 
61. Wang, L., Wan, C.L., Zhang, Y., Chen, X.F., Tay, J.H., ‘Mechanism of enhanced Sb(V) removal from aqueous solution using chemically modified aerobic granules’, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 284, pp. 43-49, 2015 
62. Hettiaratchi, P., Jayasinghe, P., Tay, J.H., Yadav, S., ‘Recent advances of biomass waste to gas using landfill bioreactor technology - A review’, Current Organic Chemistry, 19(5), pp. 413-422, 2015
63. Huang, W., Cai, W., Huang, H., Tay, J.H., Lee, D.J., ‘Identification of inorganic and organic species of phosphorus and its bio-availability in nitrifying aerobic granular sludge’, Water Research, 68, pp. 423-431, 2015 
64. Mehrabani-Zeinabad, M., Achari, G. & Langford, C.H Degradation of Bisphenol A and Bisphenol S using Advanced Oxidation Processes. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science, 10 (4), 92 -102, 2015. 
65. Saeed, A., Hashmi, I., Habibi, H. R., Yu, L., & Achari, G. Photocatalytic Degradation of 2, 4-D and Transition of Endocrine Disruptive Activity Using Transcriptome Based Bioassay in Zebrafish Embryos. International Journal of Environmental Science and Development, 6(2), 128, 2015
66. Radwan, E.K., Ghafar, H.H.A., Moursy, A.S., Langford, C. H., Bedair, A.H., & Achari, G. Preparation and characterization of humic acid–carbon hybrid materials as adsorbents for organic micro-pollutants. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(16), 12035-12049, 2015 

1. Pishgar, R., Hamza, R.A., Sheng, Z., Tay, J.H., Simultaneous COD and nutrients removal by aerobic granular sludge and the influence of C/N/P ratio, The 4th International conference on Water Resource and Environment (WRE 2018). July 17 - 21, 2018; Kaohsiung City, Taiwan
2. Sheng, Z., Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Kanda, A., Liu, Kent, J.,  Pishgar, R., Tiwari, S.S.,  Vashi, H., Y. Tay, J.H., Key to stability: the role of microbiome diversity in granule health, IWA Biofilms: Granular Sludge System Conference 2018. March 18-21, 2018; Delft, the Netherlands
3. Zaghloul M.S., Hamza R.A., Tay J.H., Simulating COD and Nutrients Removal in an Aerobic Granular SBR with Artificial Neural Networks. IWA Biofilms: Granular Sludge Conference 2018. March 18-21, 2018; Delft, the Netherlands
4. Sheng, Z., Gao, M., Tay, J.H., Liu, Y., Treatment of high organic loading wastewater using aerobic granular sludge bioreactors: Approaches to maintain system stability, National Water and Wastewater Conference. November 5 - 8, 2017; St. John's,  NL
5. Dominic, J.A., Somathilake, P., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H., Novel Solar light mediated, regenerative, photochemical iron redox cycle based treatment process for organic contaminants, Water Research Initiatives, The City of Calgary. June 19, 2017; Calgary, AB
6. Somathilake, P., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. Advanced Oxidative Processes for Degradation of Carbamazepine in Wastewater Effluents: Kinetics and Pathways Water Research Initiatives, The City of Calgary. June 19, 2017; Calgary, AB
7. Hollman, J., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H. Evaluation of Multiple Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) to Degrade Venlafaxine Water Research Initiatives, The City of Calgary. June 19, 2017; Calgary, AB
8. Mehrabani-Zeinabad, M., Achari, G. & Langford, C.H. Advanced Oxidative Degradation of Bisphenol A and Bisphenol S. Water Research Initiatives, The City of Calgary. June 19, 2017; Calgary, AB
9. Vialykh, E., Achari, G. & Langford, C.H. Kinetic Speciation of Metal Nanoparticles In Presence of Biosolids.  Water Research Initiatives, The City of Calgary. June 19, 2017; Calgary, AB
10. Khan, M. F., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H.  Development of an Integrated Technology For The Removal Of Emerging Substances of Concern From Municipal Wastewaters. Water Research Initiatives, The City of Calgary. June 19, 2017; Calgary, AB
11. Somathilake, P.,  Dominic, J. A., Achari, G., Langford, C. H. & Tay, J.H., Advanced Oxidative Processes for Degradation of Carbamazepine in Wastewater Effluents, CSCE 2017, Annual General Conference, 15th International  Conference on Environmental Engineering. May 31 - June 3, 2017; Vancouver, BC
12. Tiwari, S.S., Iorhemen, O.T., Dominic, J.A., Tay, J.H., Naphthenic acids biodegradation using aerobic granular sludge. 10th IWA Micropol & Ecohazard Conference. September 17 - 20, 2017; Vienna, Austria
13. Vashi, H., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H., Treatment of pulp and paper wastewater using aerobic granulation technology. 7th IWA-Aspire Conference 2017 and Water Malaysia Exhibition 2017. September 11 - 14, 2017; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
14. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., Simultaneous organics and nutrients removal in side-stream aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (AGMBR). 8th IWA Specialist Conference on Membrane Technology for Water and Wastewater Treatment. September 5 - 9, 2017; Singapore
15. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., Integration of aerobic granular sludge and membrane filtration for sustainable wastewater reclamation. 11th IWA International Conference on Water Reclamation and Reuse (IWA Reuse 2017). July 23 - 27, 2017; Long Beach, California, US
16. Pishgar, R., Kanda, A., Gress, G., Gong, H., Tay, J.H., Startup of aerobic granulation technology: troubleshooting scale-up issue. Frontiers International Conference in Wastewater Treatment (FICWTM2017). May 21 - 24, 2017; Palermo, Italy.
17. Tavana, A., Tay, J.H., Membrane Bioreactor: Membrane Fouling Control by using Aerobic Granulation. National Water and Wastewater Conference. November 13 - 16, 2016; Toronto, ON.
18. Kanda, A., Tay, J.H., Biological Nutrients Removal Employing Aerobic and Anaerobic Granulation. National Water and Wastewater Conference. November 13 - 16, 2016; Toronto, ON.
19. Pishgar, R., Tay, J.H., Simultaneous nitrogen and phosphorus removal in a continuous-flow granular airlift reactor. National Water and Wastewater Conference. November 13 - 16, 2016; Toronto, ON.
20. Iorhemen, O.T., Tavana, A., Tay, J.H., Membrane bioreactors: membrane fouling control using aerobic granulation. National Water and Wastewater Conference. November 13 - 16, 2016; Toronto, ON
21. Somathilake, P., Hollman, J., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G. & Tay, J.H.  Advanced Oxidation Treatment Methods for Tertiary Treatment of ESOCs in Wastewater Effluents. National Water and Wastewater Conference. November 13 - 16, 2016; Toronto, ON
22. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., Membrane fouling control in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) using granular materials. The 9^th International Conference on Challenges in Environmental Science and Engineering (CESE-2016); November 6 - 10, 2016; Kaohsiung, Taiwan
23. Zaghloul, M., Hamza, R., Tay, J.H., Biological Processes Modeling for Simulation and Control of Aerobic Granulation Advanced Wastewater Treatment Method. 3^rd IWA New Developments in IT & Water Conference. Nov. 1 - 3, 2016, Telford, UK.
24. Gong, H., Zaghloul, M.S., Tay, J.H. Tay., Neural Networks for Wastewater Treatment Process – A Review. 3^rd IWA New Developments in IT & Water Conference. Nov. 1 - 3, 2016, Telford, UK.
25. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Tay, J.H., Biological Technologies for High-strength Wastewater Treatment. IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition. October 9 - 13, 2016, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
26. Pishgar, R., Tay, J.H., Hamza, R.A., Treatment of Wastewater by Lagoon Technology using Granular Sludge. IWA World Water Congress and Exhibition. October 9 - 13, 2016, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
27. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., Utilization of Aerobic Granulation to Mitigate Membrane Fouling in MBRs. The 2016 World Congress on Advances in Civil, Environmental, and Materials Research (ACEM16); August 28 - September 1, 2016; Jeju Island, Korea
28. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Zaghloul, M.S., Pishgar, R., Tay, J.H., Treatment of high-strength wastewater in pond systems. 3^rd IWA Specialized International Conference on Ecotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment (ecoSTP16). June 27 - 30, 2016, Cambridge, UK.
29. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., Enhancing Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) Performance with Aerobic Granulation. 3^rd IWA Specialized International Conference on Ecotechnologies for Wastewater Treatment (ecoSTP16). June 27 - 30, 2016, Cambridge, UK.
30. Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Kanda, A., Pishgar, R., Tay, J.H., Treatment of high-strength wastewater using engineered granular microorganisms (EGMs) in a pond system. 13^th IWA leading edge conference on water and wastewater Technologies: Evaluating Impacts of Innovation. June 13-16, 2016, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
31. Iorhemen, O.T., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., Aerobic Granulation Membrane Bioreactor (AGMBR) for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation. 13^th IWA leading edge conference on water and wastewater Technologies: Evaluating Impacts of Innovation. June 13 - 16, 2016, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
32. Pishgar, R., Tay, J.H., Simultaneous Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal with Granulation Technology for Preservation of Natural Water Resources. Annual Multidisciplinary Conference in University of Calgary Residences. April 2, 2016, Crowsnest Hall, Calgary, AB.
33. Pishgar, R., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., Treatment of Wastewater by Pond Technology using Granular Sludge. 11^th IWA Specialist Group Conference on Wastewater Pond Technologies. March 21 - 23, 2016, Leeds, UK.
34. Lee, J., Tay, J.H., Hamza, R.A., Pishgar. R., Augmenting Canadian Lagoon-Based Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Granular Sludge – Case Studies. 11th IWA Specialist Group Conference on Wastewater Pond Technologies. March 21 - 23, 2016; Leeds, UK
35. Lee, J., Tay, J.H., Pishgar. R., Hamza, R.A, Microbe Granulation Technology: Treating Wastewater and Digesting Sludge at Record Times and Efficiencies. 11^th IWA Specialist Group Conference on Wastewater Pond Technologies. March 21 - 23, 2016, Leeds, UK.
36. Kent, J., Tay, J.H., Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Treatment of emerging substances of concern using aerobic granular sludge. 51^stCentral Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research. February 23 - 24, 2016; Toronto, ON.
37. Zaghloul, M.S., Hamza, R.A., Tay, J.H., Mathematical Modeling of Aerobic Granulation Process for Wastewater Treatment. 51^st Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research. February 23 - 24, 2016; Toronto, ON.
38. Tiwari, S., Tay, J.H., Aerobic Granulation for the Treatment of Alberta Oil Sands Process-Affected Water. 51^st Central Canadian Symposium on Water Quality Research. February 23 - 24, 2016; Toronto, ON.
39. Somathilake, P., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C.H. & Tay, J.H., Efficient Tertiary Treatment Methods to Degrade Carbamazepine in Wastewater Effluents. Western Canada Water, Annual Conference and Exhibition (WCW16), October 4-7, 2016; Calgary, AB, Canada.
40. Somathilake, P., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G., Langford, C.H. & Tay, J.H., Approaches for Modifications in Existing Tertiary Treatment Units to Eliminate Carbamazepine in Wastewater Effluents. Western Canada Water, Annual Conference and Exhibition (WCW16), October 4-7. 2016; Calgary, AB, Canada.
41. Somathilake, P., Hollman, J., Dominic, J.A., Achari, G. & Tay, J.H., Advanced Oxidation Treatment Methods for Tertiary Treatment of ESOCs in Wastewater Effluents. The National Water and Wastewater Conference, November 13-16. 2016, Toronto, ON, Canada,
42. Tay J.H., Sustainable water management by Aerobic Granulation Technology’, Key-note Presentation,  2^nd International Conf on Sustainable Urbanization, 7-9 Jan, 2015, Hong Kong, China.
43. Tay J. H., Rania Hamza, Roya Pishgar., ‘Wastewater Treatment Using Engineered Granular Microorganism’, AWWOA 40^th Annual Seminar, March 9-13, 2015, Banff, Alberta, Canada.
44. Tay J.H., Roya Pishgar, Rania Hamza, ‘Granulation technology: nutrient removal’, IWA Specialist Conference on Nutrient Removal and Recovery: moving innovations into practice’, 18-21 May, 2015, Gdańsk, Poland.
45. Mehrabani-Zeinabad, M., Achari, G. & Langford, C.H., Degradation of Bisphenol A using Advanced Oxidation Processes. Proceedings, CSCE Annual Conference, May 27-30, 2015, Regina, SK, Canada.
46. Tay, J.H., Hamza, R.A., Iorhemen, O.T., Emerging substances of concern in wastewater and prospects for sustainable removal. 9^th IWA (International Water Association) Specialist Conference on Assessment & Control of Micropollutants & Hazardous Substances in Water. November 22 - 25, 2015; Singapore
47. Tay, J.H., Hamza, R.A., Pishgar, R., Biological treatment of high-strength wastewater. National Water and Wastewater Conference. October 25 - 28, 2015; Whistler, BC

"Novel solar light mediated, regenerative, photochemical iron redox cycle based treatment process for organic contaminants": John Albino Dominic, Purnima Somathilake, Cooper H Langford, Gopal Achari and Joo Hwa Tay

"Treatment of high-strength wastewater using anaerobic-aerobic granular bioreactor": Rania Ahmed Hamza, Joo Hwa Tay

"Evaluation of multiple advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) to degrade venlafaxine": Jordan Hollman, John Albino Dominic, Gopal Achari, Cooper H Langford and Joo Hwa Tay

"Development of aerobic granular sludge membrane bioreactor (AGMBR) for wastewater treatment and reclamation": Oliver T. Iorhemen and Joo Hwa Tay

"Emerging contaminant treatment using aerobic granular sludge": J.T. Kent, Joo Hwa Tay

"Development of an integrated technology for the removal of emerging substances of concern from municipal wastewaters": Muhammad Faizan Khan, Gopal Achari, Joo Hwa Tay

"Advanced oxidative degradation of Bisphenol A and Bisphenol S": Mitra Mehrabani, Gopal Achari, Cooper H Langford

"Nutrients, Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P), Removal using Aerobic Granulation Technology": Roya Pishgar, Anrish Kanda, Joo Hwa Tay

"Causes of aerobic granule disintegration under high organic loading and potential approach to maintain granule stability": Zhiya Sheng, Mengjiao Gao, Yang Liu, Joo Hwa Tay

"Napthenic acids and aerobic granulation": S.S. Tiwari, Joo Hwa Tay

"Treatment of pulp and paper wastewater using aerobic granulation": Harsh Vashi, Joo Hwa Tay

"Modelling of aerobic granulation using neural networks and fuzzy logic": Mohamed S. Zaghloul, Heli Gong, Joo Hwa Tay