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About me

I completed my PhD in 2022 from University of Oulu (Finland). The topic of my thesis was vanadium removal and recovery from liquid waste streams. I mainly focused on the synthesis of bio-based sorbents used for wastewater treatment and valuable metal recovery from the polluted water. I joined Bio and Circular Economy research group (Tampere University) as a post-doctoral researcher in September 2022. The goal of my current research is to eliminate the emerging pollutants from sewage sludge during hydrothermal carbonization process. 

Fields of expertise

Bio-based sorbent development, water purification, valuable materials recovery

Research unit

Bio and Circular Economy

Selected publications

  • Zhang, R., Zhang, B., Leiviskä, T., 2022. Vanadium recovery from spent iron sorbent used for the treatment of mining-influenced water. Resources, Conservation & Recycling 182, 106291 
  • Zhang, R., Lu, J., Dopson, M., Leiviskä, T., 2021. Vanadium removal from mining ditch water using commercial iron products and ferric groundwater treatment residual-based materials. Chemosphere 286, 131817 
  • Zhang, R., Walder, I., Leiviskä, T., 2021. Pilot-scale field study for vanadium removal from mining-influenced waters using an iron-based sorbent. Journal of Hazardous Materials. 416, 125961
  • Zhang, R., Leiviskä, T., 2020. Surface modification of pine bark with quaternary ammonium groups and its use for vanadium removal. Chemical Engineering Journal 385, 123967
  • Zhang, R., Leiviskä, T., Tanskanen, J., Gao, B., Yue, Q., 2019. Utilization of ferric groundwater treatment residuals for inorganic-organic hybrid biosorbent preparation and its use for vanadium removal. Chemical Engineering Journal 361, 680–689 
  • Zhang, R., Leiviskä, T., Taskila, S., Tanskanen, J., 2018. Iron-loaded Sphagnum moss extract residue for phosphate removal. Journal of Environmental Management. 218, 271–279