Zulin Zhang

Senior Scientist
Environmental and Biochemical Sciences
T: +44 (0)344 928 5428 (*)
Prof Zulin Zhang is a Senior Environmental Chemist and joined the institute in 2007. He has over 20 years of experience on environmental organic chemistry (Researcher ID: B-2879-2010). Zulin obtained his PhD in 2001 from Xiamen University, China. Before he moved to Aberdeen, he conducted his post doctoral research and worked as an assistant and associate scientist in Tsinghua University at Beijing, and then carried his Marie Curie Fellowship from 2004 to 2007 at the University of Sussex in Brighton.

Research

Zulin is interested in investigating environmental geochemical behaviour (source, transport and fate), removal, effect and risk assessment of organic contaminants including endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and emerging organic contaminants (e.g. pesticides, pharmaceutical and personal care products, PFASs). Also he is interested in developing new analytical and monitoring techniques (e.g. passive sampling, online extraction, chromatography and mass spectrometry) for emerging organic contaminants of different environmental matrices with an emphasis on compounds entering the food chain and having an effect on environmental quality, animal and human health.

Currently, Zulin is leading five pieces of RESAS wok in the different programmes as below.

  • Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), the Scottish Government UK. JHI-D3-1: Healthy Soils for a Green Recovery. £5.5M. 2022-2027. Lead on transport and effect of microplastics and plasticizers in soil and plant systems.
  • Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), the Scottish Government UK. JHI-D2-1: Emerging Water Futures. £3.7M. 2022-2027. Lead on emerging chemical contaminants (PPCPs, estrogens and pesticides) monitoring and proposing their priority list in Scottish waters.
  • Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), the Scottish Government UK. JHI-D4-2: Identifying the causes of biodiversity change with specific references to the IPBES drivers. £1.4M. 2022-2027. Lead on assessing potential effect of chemical pollution on the wild Scottish salmon.
  • Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), the Scottish Government UK. JHI-B5-2: Tools to support healthier, safer, Scottish food produce. £1.3M. 2022-2027. Lead on analytical method development for emerging POPs (PBDEs&PFASs) and assessment of their impact on Scottish food safety
  • Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS), the Scottish Government UK. JHI-B6-1: Flows of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and pathogens through environment to food chain. £1.3M. 2022-2027. Lead on antibiotics analysis in soils.

Publications

The following Publications have not yet been migrated to the James Hutton Institute's Pure service and relate to the research outputs from the two legacy organisations: The Macaulay Land Use Research Institute and The Scottish Crop Research Institute.

Journals

Prior to appointment

  • Zhang Z.L.; Zhou J.L. (2007) Simultaneous determination of various pharmaceuticals in environmental waters by solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry., Journal of Chromatography A, 1154, 205-213.
  • Li, L.S.; Zhu, W.P.; Zhang, P.Y.; Zhang, Q.Y.; Zhang, Z.L. (2006) AC/O3/BAC process for removing refractory and hazardous pollutants in raw water., Journal of Hazardous Materials, 135, 129-133.
  • Li, L.S.; Zhu, W.P.; Zhang, P.Y.; Zhang, Z.L.; Wu, H.H.; Han W.Y. (2006) Comparison of AC/O3-BAC and O3-BAC process for removing organic pollutants in secondary effluent., Chemosphere, 62, 1514-1522.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Hibberd, A.; Zhou, J.L. (2006) Optimisation of derivatisation for the analysis of estrogenic compounds in water by solid-phase extraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry., Analytica Chimica Acta, 577, 52-61.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Yu, G.; Cheng, J.; Wang, X.; Zhang, F.S. (2005) Carbon Isotopic Fractionation during Photolysis of Hexachlorobenzene., Progress in Natural Science, 15, 82-88.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Hong, H.S.; Zhou, J.L.; Yu G. (2004) Phase association of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Minjiang River Estuary, China., Science of the total Environment, 323, 71-86.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Hung, J.; Yu, G.; Hong, H.S. (2004) Occurrence of PAHs, PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in the Tonghui River of Beijing, China., Environmental Pollution, 130, 249-261.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Hong, H.S.; Zhou, J.L.; Huang, J.; Yu, G. (2003) Fate and assessment of persistent organic pollutants at multi-phase from Minjiang River Estuary, Southeast of China., Chemosphere, 52, 1423-1430.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Hong, H.S.; Zhou, J.L.; Dai, M.H.; Maskaoui, K.; Chen, W.Q. (2002) Contamination by Organochlorine Pesticides in the Estuaries of Southeast China., Chemical Research in Chinese Universities,18,153-160.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Dai, M.H.; Hong, H.S.; Zhou, J.L.; Yu, G. (2002) Dissolved insecticides and polychlorinated biphenyls in the Pearl River Estuary and South China Sea., Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 4, 922-928.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Hong, H.S.; Zhou, J.L.; Yu, G. (2002) Occurrence and behaviour of organophosphorus insecticides in the River Wuchuan, Southeast China., Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 4,498-504.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Hong, H.S.; Zhou, J.L.; Yu, G.; Chen, W.Q.; Wang X.H. (2002) Transport and fate of organochlorine pesticides in River Wuchuan, Southeast China., Journal of Environmental Monitoring , 4, 435-441.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Hong, H.S.; Wang, X.H.; Lin, J.Q.; Chen, W.Q.; Xu, L. (2002) Determination and load of Organophosphorus and Organochlorine pesticides at water from Jiulong River Estuary, China., Marine Pollution Bulletin, 45, 397-402.

Books / chapters

  • Zhou J.L.; Zhang, Z.L. (2011) Analysis of hormones in food., In: Nollett, L. (ed.). Analysis of Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Food. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxon, 243-254.
  • Zhou J.L.; Zhang, Z.L. (2009) Pharmaceutical compounds in estuarine and coastal waters., In: Wurl, O. (ed.). Practical Guidelines for the Analysis of Seawater. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 351-367.
  • Zhang, Z.L.; Grover, D.P.; Zhou, J.L. (2009) Monitoring of pharmaceutical residues in sewage effluent., In: Ahuja, S. (ed.). Handbook of Water Quality and Purity. Elsevier Science, New York, 315-342.

Conference papers

  • Dawson, L.A.; Rhind, S.M.; Zhang, Z.L.; Poggio, L.; Kyle, C.E.; Mayes, R.W.; Aalders, I.H.; Osprey, M.; Ross, J.; Cuthbert, A. (2011) Distribution of PAHs across the soils of Scotland., International Network of Environmental Forensics Conference, St John’s College, Cambridge, 24-27 July 2011. Conference Proceedings, pp.18-19.

Conference posters / abstracts

  • Pocar, P.; Fiandanese, N.; Borromeo, V.; Berrini, A.; Rhind, S.M.; Zhang, Z.L.; Fischer, B.; Schmidt, J.S.; Schadlich, K.; Secchi, C. (2011) In-utero and lactational exposure to PCB 101 and 118 results in transgenerational disturbance of reproductive development., Proceedings of the 6th Copenhagen Workshop on Endocrine Disruptors, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, 26-29 April 2011.
  • Thornton, B.; Zhang, Z.; Mayes, R.W.; Midwood, A.J. (2010) Can GC-C-IRMS quantify organics?, Joint Meeting of SIMSUG 2010 and ISO-SIG, Exeter University, 27-30 April 2010.
  • Zhang, Z.; Zhou, J.L. (2007) Determination of estrogenic and pharmaceutical chemicals in sewage effluent and receiving river water by spot and passive sampling., Abstracts of Papers of The American Chemical Society.

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