Biography

Prof. Ronen’s primary research interests can be divided into several categories: 1) Bioremediation of contaminated groundwater and soil; 2) Bio-treatment of industrial wastewater; 3) Biodegradation of organic pollutants; 4) Safe reuse of treated effluents. In the framework of the first category, he investigates factors that influence the survival and activity of microorganisms in polluted soil and groundwater from arid zones. A novel approach to utilizing a mixed culture of halophenol-degrading microorganisms has been applied to contaminated soil. In the area of treatment of industrial wastewater, he is interested in the interaction between the inorganic constituents of wastewater, particularly nitrogen, and the microbial constituents, and the ability of microorganisms to degrade the target organic pollutants. His research is now concentrated on elucidating the mechanisms by which high levels of ammonia or nitrate influence the biodegradation of explosives. He also works on understanding the in-situ biodegradation of perchlorate in unsaturated soil as well as studying perchlorate degradation in a novel ion-exchange membrane bioreactor. As for the biodegradation of brominated flame retardants, he was the first to demonstrate the combined treatment of the complete mineralization of TBBPA. Working together with a system biologist, he was able to validate the genome-scale modeling prediction for the actual removal of organic pollutants from soil.