Muhammad Arslan, PhD, PBiol

Contact Overview Announcements Publications

Contact

Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Engineering - Civil and Environmental Engineering Dept

Email: marslan@ualberta.ca

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Treatment Wetlands Nature-based Solutions Environmetnal Microbiology Contaminant Fate & Transport Sustainable Water Management

About

Dr. Muhammad Arslan is an environmental scientist specializing in aquatic systems, environmental impact assessment, and nature-based remediation of industrially impacted landscapes. He earned his PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) from RWTH Aachen University (Germany) and has over a decade of international research and professional experience spanning academia, government, and industry.

His work focuses on the restoration of water resources affected by large-scale resource extraction, including oil sands tailings, produced water, and contaminated watersheds. He has led multidisciplinary projects integrating Indigenous ecological knowledge with Western science to develop climate-resilient reclamation strategies and sustainable water management solutions.

Dr. Arslan has produced over 50 peer-reviewed outputs (including publications in top-tier journals such as Nature Sustainability and Cell Reports Sustainability) and has collaborated with major stakeholders, including government agencies and energy-sector partners. He currently holds adjunct academic appointments while advising on environmental sustainability initiatives aligned with global development goals.

Research

Dr. Arslan’s research investigates the biogeochemical processes controlling contaminant behavior in natural and engineered aquatic environments. His work emphasizes sustainable closure of industrial water bodies, including oil sands pit lakes, through nature-based treatment systems such as constructed wetlands and biofiltration technologies.

He has an advanced understanding of dissolved organic matter dynamics, naphthenic acids transformation, PFAS removal mechanisms, and microbial processes influencing water quality in cold-region environments. His projects include large-scale demonstration studies on tailings reclamation, produced water treatment, and ecosystem recovery of disturbed watersheds.

Combining field investigations, laboratory experiments, and advanced data analytics, his research supports evidence-based environmental management and regulatory decision-making. A central theme of his work is the integration of Indigenous ecological knowledge into environmental assessment and restoration frameworks to enhance long-term sustainability and community resilience.

Teaching

Dr. Muhammad Arslan teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in environmental engineering and science, with a focus on integrating theory, field practice, and real-world case studies from large-scale environmental projects. His teaching philosophy emphasizes problem-based learning, interdisciplinary thinking, and the application of scientific principles to sustainable development challenges.

Courses taught include:

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EnvE 302)
• Physical and Chemical Processes in Wastewater Treatment (CivE 622)

He adopts innovative teaching approaches such as flipped classrooms, project-based assignments, and the use of real environmental datasets. Dr. Arslan also supervises graduate and undergraduate research projects in areas including water treatment technologies, wetland restoration, and environmental monitoring.

Announcements

• Opportunities available for collaborative research on nature-based solutions, industrial water treatment, and environmental assessment.
• Students interested in interdisciplinary projects combining environmental science, engineering, and sustainability are encouraged to contact for potential co-supervision and research internships.

Featured Publications

Insights into microbial and sorptive regulation of chlorpyrifos-bispyribac dissipation in floating treatment wetlands

Kashaf Farooq, Muhammad Arslan, Samina Anwar, Maryam Noor, Muhammad Afzal

Biochemical Engineering Journal. 2026 March; 10.1016/j.bej.2025.110045

Neglect or Instrumentalization of Social Impact Assessment in Pakistan? Reflections on the 2025 Madni Mosque Demolition Case

Saman Liaqat, Muhammad Arslan

2025 October; 10.20944/preprints202510.0519.v1

Metal sulfides in aged-coarse sands tailings facilitate naphthenic acids removal from oil sands process water

Muhammad Arslan, Muhammad Usman, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Water Research. 2025 May; 10.1016/j.watres.2025.123253

Extreme thermophilic microbial inoculation for reducing NH3 and N2O emissions in hyperthermophilic aerobic composting of refinery waste activated sludge

Xinge Fu, Hui Zuo, Zhouhao Wang, Pengyin Shang, Zhuoyu Li, Jin Li, Yali Zhan, Qinghong Wang, Muhammad Arslan, Mohamed Gamal El-Din, Chunmao Chen

Journal of Environmental Management. 2025 April; 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.124870

Fate of dissolved organics in oil sands process water during long-term storage: Mechanistic insights into toxicity removal and microbial processes

Jia Li, Muhammed Arslan, Lingling Yang, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Journal of Environmental Management. 2025 April; 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125050

Survival strategies and assembly mechanisms of microbial communities in petroleum-contaminated soils

Wenyi Lu, Yi Zheng, Yi Wang, Jiayu Song, Yibin Weng, Wenfeng Ma, Muhammad Arslan, Mohamed Gamal El-Din, Dingyuan Wang, Qinghong Wang, Chunmao Chen

Environmental Research. 2024 December; 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119857

Residual Assessment of Emerging Pesticides in Aquatic Sinks of Lahore, Pakistan

Hafiza Hira Iqbal, Abdul Qadir, Sajid Rashid Ahmad, Muhammad Ahsan Riaz, Ayesha Riaz, Naeem Shahid, Muhammad Arslan

Sustainability. 2024 October; 10.3390/su16219257

Impact of truncated modified basalt fibers on aerobic granular sludge stability and pollutant removal in piggery wastewater treatment

Yun Zhou, Xiaochun Wang, Muhammad Arslan, Xiangtong Zhou, Zhiren Wu, Jianxun Liu, Xueyan Li, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Chemical Engineering Journal. 2024 September; 10.1016/j.cej.2024.153475

Desorption and migration of dissolved organics from oil sands tailings to capped water: Demonstration pit lake

Foroogh Mehravaran, Muhammad Arslan, Xiaoying Fan, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Chemical Engineering Journal. 2024 August; 10.1016/j.cej.2024.152595

Empowering indigenous resilience with treatment wetlands

Muhammad Arslan, Chelsea Benally, Jochen A. Müller, Muhammad Usman, Jerry Hanna, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Cell Reports Sustainability. 2024 August; 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100149

Molecular and microbial insights towards anaerobic biodegradation of anionic polyacrylamide in oil sands tailings

Jia Li, Muhammad Usman, Muhammad Arslan, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Water Research. 2024 July; 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121757

Exploring nature's filters: Peat-mineral mix for low and high-strength oilfield produced water reclamation

Muhammad Arslan, Muhammad Usman, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Water Research. 2024 May; 10.1016/j.watres.2024.121502

A nature-based closed-loop wastewater treatment system at vehicle-washing facilities: From linear to circular economy

Muhammad Afzal, Muhammad Arslan, Salman Younus, Jochen A. Müller, Muhammad Usman, Momina Yasin, Muhammad Aamer Mehmood, Tanveer Mehdi, Ejazul Islam, Muhammad Tauseef, Samina Iqbal

iScience. 2024 April; 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109361

A protocol to establish low-cost floating treatment wetlands for large-scale wastewater reclamation

Muhammad Arslan, Samina Iqbal, Ejazul Islam, Mohamed Gamal El-Din, Muhammad Afzal

STAR Protocols. 2023 December; 10.1016/j.xpro.2023.102671

Full-Scale Floating Treatment Wetlands in Pakistan: From Performance Evaluation to Public Acceptance

Muhammad Arslan, Kamran Siddique, Jochen A. Müller, Razia Tahseen, Samina Iqbal, Ejazul Islam, Saddam Akber Abbasi, Muhammad Usman, Mohamed Gamal El-Din, Muhammad Afzal

ACS ES&T Water. 2023 November; 10.1021/acsestwater.3c00228

Fate of dissolved organics and generated sulfate ions during biofiltration of oil sands process water pretreated with sulfate radical advanced oxidation process

Muhammad Arslan, Soliu O. Ganiyu, Dustin M.E. Lillico, James L. Stafford, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Chemical Engineering Journal. 2023 February; 10.1016/j.cej.2023.141390

Operational parameters optimization for remediation of crude oil-polluted water in floating treatment wetlands using response surface methodology

Scientific Reports. 2022 December; 10.1038/s41598-022-08517-1

Spatial characterization of microbial sulfur cycling in horizontal-flow constructed wetland models

Phuong Minh Nguyen, Muhammad Arslan, Uwe Kappelmeyer, Ines Mäusezahl, Arndt Wiessner, Jochen A. Müller

Chemosphere. 2022 December; 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136605

Microplastics as vectors of environmental contaminants: Interactions in the natural ecosystems

Rashid Iqbal, Muhammad Tahir Khan, Hazrat Bilal, Muhammad Mahran Aslam, Imtiaz Ahmed Khan, Shameem Raja, Muhammad Arslan, Phuong Minh Nguyen

Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal. 2022 October; 10.1080/10807039.2022.2120846

Low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio digestate from high-rate anaerobic baffled reactor facilitates heterotrophic/autotrophic nitrifiers involved in nitrogen removal

Bioresource Technology. 2022 September; 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127346

Combined solar activated sulfate radical-based advanced oxidation processes (SR-AOPs) and biofiltration for the remediation of dissolved organics in oil sands produced water

Chemical Engineering Journal. 2022 April; 10.1016/j.cej.2022.134579

Enhanced wastewater treatment by modified basalt fiber bio-carriers: Effect of etching and surface functionalization

Journal of Cleaner Production. 2022 April; 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130927

Aerobic naphthenic acid-degrading bacteria in petroleum-coke improve oil sands process water remediation in biofilters: DNA-stable isotope probing reveals methylotrophy in Schmutzdecke

Science of The Total Environment. 2022 April; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151961

Biochar immobilized petroleum degrading consortium for enhanced granulation and treatment of synthetic oil refinery wastewater

Bioresource Technology Reports. 2022 February; 10.1016/j.biteb.2021.100909

Constructed and Floating Wetlands for Sustainable Water Reclamation

Muhammad Arslan, Muhammad Afzal, Naser A. Anjum

Sustainability. 2022 January; 10.3390/su14031268

Heterotrophic nitrification and aerobic denitrification process: Promising but a long way to go in the wastewater treatment

Science of The Total Environment. 2022 January; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150212

Influences of humic-rich natural materials on efficiencies of UASB reactor: A comparative study

Bioresource Technology. 2021 December; 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.125844

Removal of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) by wetlands: Prospects on plants, microbes and the interplay

Science of The Total Environment. 2021 December; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149570

Establishing and Optimizing a Bacterial Consortia for Effective Biodegradation of Petroleum Contaminants: Advancing Classical Microbiology via Experimental and Mathematical Approach

Water. 2021 November; 10.3390/w13223311

Bioaugmentation-Enhanced Remediation of Crude Oil Polluted Water in Pilot-Scale Floating Treatment Wetlands

Water. 2021 October; 10.3390/w13202882

Treatment of printing and dyeing wastewater in biological contact oxidation reactors comprising basalt fibers and combination fillers as bio-carriers: Elucidation of bacterial communities and underlying mechanisms

Science of The Total Environment. 2021 September; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147272

Bacterial diversity in petroleum coke based biofilters treating oil sands process water

Science of The Total Environment. 2021 August; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146742

Application of basalt fibers in a biological contact oxidation reactor for the treatment of landfill leachate

Journal of Cleaner Production. 2021 May; 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126648

Treatment of high-load organic wastewater by novel basalt fiber carrier media

Science of The Total Environment. 2021 March; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143760

Enhanced remediation of Cr6+ in bacterial‐assisted floating wetlands

Aysha Akram, Nain Tara, Muhammad Asaf Khan, Saddam Akber Abbasi, Muhammad Irfan, Muhammad Arslan, Muhammad Afzal

Water and Environment Journal. 2020 December; 10.1111/wej.12551

Extensive use of face masks during COVID-19 pandemic: (micro-)plastic pollution and potential health concerns in the Arabian Peninsula

Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 2020 December; 10.1016/j.sjbs.2020.09.054

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via fecal-oral and aerosols–borne routes: Environmental dynamics and implications for wastewater management in underprivileged societies

Muhammad Arslan, Bin Xu, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Science of The Total Environment. 2020 November; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140709

High-rate nitrogen removal from carbon limited wastewater using sulfur-based constructed wetland: Impact of sulfur sources

Science of The Total Environment. 2020 November; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140969

Low-current electro-oxidation enhanced the biodegradation of the recalcitrant naphthenic acids in oil sands process water

Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2020 November; 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2020.122807

Aerobic sludge granulation in shale gas flowback water treatment: Assessment of the bacterial community dynamics and modeling of bioreactor performance using artificial neural network

Bioresource Technology. 2020 October; 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123687

Bacterial Augmented Floating Treatment Wetlands for Efficient Treatment of Synthetic Textile Dye Wastewater

Sustainability. 2020 May; 10.3390/su12093731

Biofiltration of oil sands process water in fixed-bed biofilm reactors shapes microbial community structure for enhanced degradation of naphthenic acids

Lei Zhang, Yanyan Zhang, Jordan Patterson, Muhammad Arslan, Yanjun Zhang, Mohamed Gamal El-Din

Science of The Total Environment. 2020 May; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137028

Immobilization of metribuzin degrading bacterial consortium MB3R on biochar enhances bioremediation of potato vegetated soil and restores bacterial community structure

Abdul Qadeer Wahla, Samina Anwar, Jochen A. Mueller, Muhammad Arslan, Samina Iqbal

Journal of Hazardous Materials. 2020 May; 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121493

Cyperus laevigatus L. Enhances Diesel Oil Remediation in Synergism with Bacterial Inoculation in Floating Treatment Wetlands

Sustainability. 2020 March; 10.3390/su12062353

Phragmites australis in combination with hydrocarbons degrading bacteria is a suitable option for remediation of diesel-contaminated water in floating wetlands

Chemosphere. 2020 February; 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124890

Effective plant-endophyte interplay can improve the cadmium hyperaccumulation in Brachiaria mutica

Muhammad Tayyab Ahsan, Razia Tahseen, Abida Ashraf, Abid Mahmood, Muhammad Najam-ul-haq, Muhammad Arslan, Muhammad Afzal

World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology. 2019 December; 10.1007/s11274-019-2757-z

RNA-Seq analysis of soft rush (Juncus effusus): transcriptome sequencing, de novo assembly, annotation, and polymorphism identification

BMC Genomics. 2019 December; 10.1186/s12864-019-5886-8

Floating treatment wetlands as biological buoyant filters for wastewater reclamation

International Journal of Phytoremediation. 2019 November; 10.1080/15226514.2019.1633253

Remediation of textile bleaching effluent by bacterial augmented horizontal flow and vertical flow constructed wetlands: A comparison at pilot scale

Zahid Hussain, Muhammad Arslan, Ghulam Shabir, Mumtaz Hasan Malik, Muhammad Mohsin, Samina Iqbal, Muhammad Afzal

Science of The Total Environment. 2019 October; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.414

Phragmites australis — a helophytic grass — can establish successful partnership with phenol-degrading bacteria in a floating treatment wetland

Hamna Saleem, Muhammad Arslan, Khadeeja Rehman, Razia Tahseen, Muhammad Afzal

Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. 2019 September; 10.1016/j.sjbs.2018.01.014

Floating treatment wetlands as a suitable option for large-scale wastewater treatment

Muhammad Afzal, Muhammad Arslan, Jochen A. Müller, Ghulam Shabir, Ejazul Islam, Razia Tahseen, Muhammad Anwar-ul-Haq, Amer J. Hashmat, Samina Iqbal, Qaiser M. Khan

Nature Sustainability. 2019 August; 10.1038/s41893-019-0350-y

Potentialities of floating wetlands for the treatment of polluted water of river Ravi, Pakistan

Munazzam Jawad Shahid, Muhammad Arslan, Muhammad Siddique, Shafaqat Ali, Razia Tahseen, Muhammad Afzal

Ecological Engineering. 2019 August; 10.1016/j.ecoleng.2019.04.022

Removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products using constructed wetlands: effective plant-bacteria synergism may enhance degradation efficiency

Phuong Minh Nguyen, Muhammad Afzal, Inaam Ullah, Naeem Shahid, Mujtaba Baqar, Muhammad Arslan

Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2019 July; 10.1007/s11356-019-05320-w

On-site performance of floating treatment wetland macrocosms augmented with dye-degrading bacteria for the remediation of textile industry wastewater

Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019 April; 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.258

Integrated perspectives on the use of bacterial endophytes in horizontal flow constructed wetlands for the treatment of liquid textile effluent: Phytoremediation advances in the field

Zahid Hussain, Muhammad Arslan, Mumtaz Hasan Malik, Muhammad Mohsin, Samina Iqbal, Muhammad Afzal

Journal of Environmental Management. 2018 October; 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.07.057

Insights into Brevibacillus borstelensis AK1 through Whole Genome Sequencing: A Thermophilic Bacterium Isolated from a Hot Spring in Saudi Arabia

Amjad B. Khalil, Neelamegam Sivakumar, Muhammad Arslan, Hamna Saleem, Sami Qarawi

BioMed Research International. 2018 January; 10.1155/2018/5862437

Novel Anoxybacillus flavithermus AK1: A Thermophile Isolated from a Hot Spring in Saudi Arabia

Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering. 2018 January; 10.1007/s13369-017-2622-z

Removal of hexadecane by hydroponic root mats in partnership with alkane-degrading bacteria: bacterial augmentation enhances system's performance

International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. 2018 January; 10.1007/s13762-018-2165-1

Treatment of the textile industry effluent in a pilot-scale vertical flow constructed wetland system augmented with bacterial endophytes

Science of the Total Environment. 2018 January; 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.163

Novel Anoxybacillus flavithermus AK1: A Thermophile Isolated from a Hot Spring in Saudi Arabia

Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering. 2017 January;

Plant–bacteria partnerships for the remediation of persistent organic pollutants

Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 2017 January; 10.1007/s11356-015-4935-3

Persistent organic pollutants in Pakistan: Potential threat to ecological integrities in terms of genotoxicity and oxidative stress

Human and Ecological Risk Assessment. 2017 January; 10.1080/10807039.2017.1292843

Seasonal variations, environmental parameters, and standing crop assessment of benthic foraminifera in eastern Bahrain, Arabian Gulf

Geological Quarterly. 2016 January; 10.7306/gq.1242

Cr-resistant rhizo- and endophytic bacteria associated with Prosopis juliflora and their potential as phytoremediation enhancing agents in metal-degraded soils

Muhammad U. Khan, Angela Sessitsch, Muhammad Harris, Kaneez Fatima, Asma Imran, Muhammad Arslan, Ghulam Shabir, Qaiser M. Khan, Muhammad Afzal

Front. Plant Sci.. 2015 January; 10.3389/fpls.2014.00755

Accumulation of heavy metals in edible organs of different meat products available in the markets of Lahore, Pakistan

Pakistan Journal of Scientific and Industrial Research Series B: Biological Sciences. 2015 January;

Nutrients Can Enhance the Abundance and Expression of Alkane Hydroxylase CYP153 Gene in the Rhizosphere of Ryegrass Planted in Hydrocarbon-Polluted Soil

Muhammad Arslan, Muhammad Afzal, Imran Amin, Samina Iqbal, Qaiser M. Khan

PLoS ONE. 2014 October; 10.1371/journal.pone.0111208

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