Personal home page
E-mail:George.sorial@uc.edu
Office  :765G Baldwin Hall
Phone :(513)-556-2987
Fax     :(513)-556-2599

Areas of Interest

Dr. Sorial has 24 years of experience in bench scale and pilot scale research and chemical analysis with various analytical instruments.  His research interests include: air biofiltration, electrochemical processes for destruction of organic contaminants, activated carbon adsorption (micropollutant removal from drinking water, adsorption of micropollutants by activated carbon and alternative adsorbents, characterization of adsorbent materials and natural organic matter, interactions between micropollutants and humic substances), modeling of adsorption systems (equilibrium and dynamics), remediation of contaminated soils, modeling of mercury speciation and chemical interactions in sediments and aquatic systems, development of analytical methods for analysis, and development of protocols for US EPA in effectiveness of surfactants on oil spills.  At the University of Cincinnati, Professor Sorial teaches graduate courses in the field of Advanced Topics in Environmental Chemistry, Chemical Principles of Environmental Systems, and a graduate laboratory course on Environmental Instrumentation.  He also teaches an undergraduate course on Environmental Material Balances and coordinates in the undergraduate Capstone Course “Integrated Design Sequence”.

Publications

• Noroozi, B., Sorial, G.A., Bahrami, H., and Arami, M., “Equilibrium and Kinetic Adsorption Study of a Cationic Dye by a Natural Adsorbent – Silkworm Pupa,” Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2007, 139 (1, 2), 167-174.

• Kim, D., and Sorial, G.A., “Role of Biological Activity and Biomass Distribution in Air Biofilter Performance,” Chemosphere, 2007, 66(9), 1758-1764.

• Esperanza, M., Suidan, M.T., Marfil-Vega, R., Gonzalez, C., Sorial, G.A., McCauley, P., and Brenner R., “Fate of Sex Hormones in Two Pilot-Scale Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants: Conventional Treatment,” Chemosphere, 2007, 66(8), 1535-1544.

• Kim, D., Cai, Z., and Sorial, G.A., “A Novel Integrated Scheme for Stabilizing Biological Oxidation Process Performance in Treating Waste Gas Streams,” Journal of Advanced Oxidation Technologies, 2007, 10(1), 151-156.

• Cai, Z., Kim, D., and Sorial, G.A., “Biological Oxidation of Gaseous VOC Mixtures in a Trickle-Bed Air Biofilter,” Journal of Advanced Oxidation Technologies, 2007, 10(1), 144-150.

• Zhang, K., Choi, H., Dionysiou, D., Sorial, G., and Oerther, D.B., “Identifying Pioneer Bacterial Species Responsible for Biofouling Membrane Bioreactors,” Environmental Microbiology, 2006, 8(3), 433-440.

• Cai, Z., Kim, D., and Sorial, G.A., “Performance and Microbial Diversity of Trickle-Bed Air Biofilter under Interchanging Contaminants,” Engineering Life Sciences, 2006, 6(1), 37-42.

• Choi, H., Zhang, K., Dionysiou, D.D.,  Oerther, D. B.,  and Sorial, G.A., “Effect of activated sludge properties and membrane operation conditions on fouling characteristics in membrane bioreactors,” Chemosphere, 2006, 63(10), 1699-1708.

• Huang, H. and Sorial, G.A., “Statistical Evaluation of an Analytical IC Method for the Determination of Trace Level Perchlorate,” Chemosphere, 2006, 64(7), 98-104.

• Kim, D., Cai, Z., and Sorial, G.A., “Determination of Gas Phase adsorption Isotherms – A Simple Constant Volume Method,” Chemosphere, 2006, 64(8), 1362-1368.

• Cai, Z., Kim, D., and Sorial, G.A, “Performance of Trickle-Bed Air Biofilter under Adverse Operating Conditions: A Comparative Study of A Hydrophilic and a Hydrophobic Contaminant, Journal of Water, Air, and Soil Pollution Focus, 2006, 6(1-2), 57-69.

• Chandrasekar, S., Sorial, G.A., and Weaver, J.W., “Dispersant Effectiveness on Oil Spills – Impact of Salinity,” ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2006, 63 (8), 1418-1430.

Research Projects and Grants

• “Development of Novel Combined Treatment Technologies for Decontaminating Polluted Air,” funded by National Science Foundation, $325,000, 

• “RET Site: Summer Research Experiences for Seventh to Twelfth Grade Teachers in Civil Infrastructure Renewal and Rehabilitation,”, Feb 06 –Jan 09, $357,372, CoPI (effort 18%).

• “Impact of Nanomaterials on the Fate of Organic Pollutants,” Shaw Environmental, Inc., Oct 06 – May 07, $38,791 (PI).

• “Biodegradability and Toxicity of Commercial and Reconstituted Canola and Palm Oils,” U.S. EPA, March 05 – March 06, $150,000 (Co-PI), Effort 10%.

• “A Comparative Study for Treatment of Organic Contaminants Using Advanced Oxidation Processes,” funded by Shaw Environmental Inc, $50,000, April 03- March 04.

• “EDC and PCB Material Balances & Removals in Pilot-Scale Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants,” U.S. EPA, Task Order 66, Jan 04 – Nov 04 (Co-PI with M.T. Suidan), $192,000, Effort 20%.

• “Material Balances on EDCs in Pilot Scale Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants,” funded by U.S. EPA (Co-PI with Makram Suidan), $300,000, Jan 03 – Dec 03.