Catherine NIU, PhD


 Catherine NIU, PhD 
Assistant Professor
Biosorption
 Contact Points:

Degrees:

  • Ph.D. Chemical Engineering,  McGill University, Montreal, Canada (2001) 

  • M.Sc. Engineering, Chengdu University of Science and Technology (1992) 
  • B.Sc. Engineering, Chengdu University of Science and Technology (1989)
Research Project at McGill:   "Biosorption of Anionic Metal Complexes"
           Biosorption process has been shown as a potent and most cost-effective means of  safely removing toxic heavy metals  from  aqueous environments.  While some anionic metal species and their complexes  often pose a serious health hazard (Cr, As, Se, V, etc.), others are precious (Au).  New biosorbent materials were examined for their anion uptakes and the sequestration mechanisms were studied.  Mathematical process models were proposed to accelerate further work and aid in the biosorption process scale up and applications.

Current Research Interests:
            My research is in the area of Environmental Biotechnology.  Currently I actively focus on the study of biosorption which targets the industrial effluent treatment and metal recovery. My projects include developing new biomaterials effective for cation and anion adsorption, identifying biosorption mechanism, demonstrating the characteristics of targeted species biosorption and optimizing the biosorption process in a packed-column through predicting its performance by using a mathematical process model.
 There are openings for graduate students and research fellows at the U. of Saskatchewan.

Selected Recent Publications:

  • Niu, H. and Volesky, B. (2003) Characteristics of anionic metal species biosorption with waste crab shells. Hydrometallurgy. 71(1-2): 209-215.

  • Niu, H. and Volesky, B. (2003) Biosorption mechanism for anionic metal species with waste crab shells. The European Journal of Mineral Processing and Environmental Protection. 3(1):75-87.

  • Niu, H. and Volesky, B. (2001) Gold adsorption from cyanide solution by chitinous materials. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. 76(3): 291-297.

  • Volesky, B., Yang, J. and Niu, H. (2001) Biosorption of metal cations and anions. Ion Exchange and Solvent Extraction. Vol.14 (SenGupta, A. K., Marcus, Y. and Marinsky, J. A., eds.), Marcel Dekker, Inc., NY, 119-168.

  • Niu, H. and Volesky, B. (2001) Biosorption of anionic metal species. Process Metallurgy, 11B: 189-197.

  • Yun, Y-S, Niu, H. and Volesky, B. (2001) The effect of impurities on metal biosorption. Process Metallurgy, 11B: 181-187.

  • Niu, H. and Volesky, B. (2000) Gold-cyanide biosorption with L-cysteine. Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology. 75(6): 436-442.