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Environmental Chemistry, Contaminants and Characterisation

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Our mission

The Environmental Chemistry, Contaminants and Characterisation team brings together analytically minded chemists with shared expertise in environmental chemistry, contaminant detection and characterisation of complex matrices. 

About the team

Environmental Chemistry, Contaminants and Characterisation was formed in 2026 to formally consolidate a decade of collaborative work in analytical chemistry across Federation University. Embedded in the Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainability, the group maintains strong collaborative links with researchers across the University’s Institutes and Centres. 

The group’s research is centred on analytical chemistry, employing diverse analytical approaches to investigate contamination in materials (such as food and compost), contamination in environmental systems, and the characterisation of materials including plant extracts and fertilisers. 

The E3CG supports local industry and community through process and product development, meeting general environmental duties and protecting ecosystems through investigation of contaminants. Our current projects support local manufacturing (soil organic carbon export products), organics recycling (compost maturation and contaminants), new energy materials as well as protect our communities and ecosystems through engagement with regulators.  

Contact us

If you have any questions about Environmental Chemistry, Contaminants and Characterisation, please contact Dr Benjamin Long on (03) 5327 9452 or Bm.long@federation.edu.au.

Projects and publications

  • Bioaccumulation and Magnification of Pharmaceuticals in Australian Waterways & Terminal Lake Systems ($18,000) 
  • Bioremediation of Pharmaceuticals from Wastewater Streams ($54,000) 
  • Microplastic and Pharmaceutical Bioaccumulation in Australian Little Penguin Populations (Honours) 
  • Commercial and pre-commercial humic substance development 
  • Bioaccumulation of microplastics in edible fish species of Port Phillip Bay (Honours) 
  • Colorimetric sensing arrays for food and beverage analysis 

  • Chemiluminescence for rapid in situ determination of emerging contaminants present in regional, peri-urban and urban environments (2024, $10,000) 
  • Bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals in local biome at Australian marine and riverine outfall locations (2020, $16,500) 
  • Identifying chemical changes during process liquid ageing (2025, $25,000)  
  • Next generation plant biostimulant product development from Victorian brown coal (2022, $300,000).  
  • Thermophilic compost: humic substance transformation and contaminants (Honors, 2024)  
  • Effects of tailored peroxide oxidation on yield and molecular structure of humic substances from Victorian lignite (PhD, 2022)  
  • Assessment and comparison analysis of the quality of Yallourn and Loy Yang coals in relation to their suitability for alternate uses (2021, $15,000)  
  • Humic acid-derived agricultural products: Chemical characterisation of humic substances (2022, $60,000) 
  • Volatile aroma composition resulting from the fermentation of native Australian honey (approx. $8,500, RSC UK) 
  • Environment and CO2 processing implications in amine capture system degradation products (2017, $740,000) 
  • Effects of brown coal fly ash on 30% monoethanolamine CO2 capture systems (PhD, 2019)  
  • The Distribution of Microplastics in an Urban Wetland (Honours, 2025) 
  • Investigating ethanol in non-alcoholic kombucha through infrared spectroscopy and microbial analysis (Honours, 2024) 
  • Can metal concentration be used to detect Fasciola Hepatica infection? (Honours, 2021) 

2026 

  • McIntyre, D. B., Barton, P. S., Preston, S., & Long, B. M. (2026). Microbial succession in decomposing carrion is driven by time, modulated by insects and microbial perturbation. Frontiers in Microbiology, 17, 1773208.  

2025 

  • Harriage, S. J., Schultz, N. L., Barton, P. S., Saaristo, M., & Long, B. M. (2025). The trophic transfer of pharmaceuticals and personal care products: A global systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 139806.  
  • Liu, D. Z., Hassan, S., Long, B. M., Labas, A., Amamcharla, J. K., Yoo, M. J., Hu, X., & Bean, D. C. (2025). pH-Responsive Bacterial Nanocellulose Smart Labels Derived from Acid Whey for Estimating Beef Mince Quality Alterations During Storage. Foods, 14(9), 1544. 
  • McIntyre, D. B., Long, B. M., Dawson, B. M., & Barton, P. S. (2025). Effect of insect exclusion and microbial perturbation on piglet mass loss and total body score. Forensic Sci Int, 367, 112336. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112336  
  • McIntyre, D. B., Pantha, K., Barton, P. S., & Long, B. M. (2025). Effect of trimethoprim on Calliphora stygia (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae growth and detection via liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Journal of Medical Entomology, 62(4), 782-788.  
  • Pantha, K., Schultz, N., Barton, A., & Long, B. (2025). Insights into bioremediation of pharmaceuticals from wastewater streams: A meta-analysis of build type and organism selection. Journal of Environmental Management, 394, 127482.  

2024 

  • Harriage, S., Harasheh, A., Schultz, N., & Long, B. J. M. (2024). Bioconcentration of pharmaceuticals by aquatic flora in an Australian river system. Science of The Total Environment, 946.  

2023 

  • Allwood JG, Wakeling LT, Bean DC. Microbial ecology of Australian commercial rice koji and soybean miso. JSFA Reports. 2023;3(5):207–221. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsf2.112 
  • Allwood, J. G., Wakeling, L. T., Post, L. S., & Bean, D. C. (2023). Food safety considerations in the production of traditional fermented products: Japanese rice koji and miso. Journal of Food Safety, 43(4), e13048. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfs.13048 
  • Dehnavi, S. S., Cembran, A., Mahmoudi, N., Aguilar, L. M. C., Wang, Y., Cheeseman, S., Malagutti, N., Franks, S., Long, B., Lisowski, L., Harvey, A. R., Parish, C. L., Williams, R. J., & Nisbet, D. R. (2023). Molecular camouflage by a context-specific hydrogel as the key to unlock the potential of viral vector gene therapy. Chemical Engineering Journal, 477, 146857. https://doi.org/ARTN 146857 
  • Liu, D., Labas, A., Long, B. M., McKnight, S., Xu, C. L., Tian, J., & Xu, Y. (2023). Bacterial nanocellulose production using cost-effective, environmentally friendly, acid whey based approach. Bioresource Technology Reports, 24, 101629. https://doi.org/ARTN 101629 
  • Long, B. M., Harriage, S., Schultz, N. L., Sherman, C. D., & Thomas, M. (2023). Pharmaceutical pollution in marine waters and benthic flora of the southern Australian coastline. Environmental Chemistry, 19(6), 375-384.

2022 

  • Boyd-Moss, M., Firipis, K., Quigley, A., Rifai, A., Cichocki, A., Whitty, S., Ngan, C., Dekiwadia, C., Long, B., Nisbet, D. R., Kapsa, R., & Williams, R. J. (2022). Hybrid Self-Assembling Peptide/Gelatin Methacrylate (GelMA) Bioink Blend for Improved Bioprintability and Primary Myoblast Response. Advanced NanoBiomed Research, 2(2), 2100106. https://doi.org/ARTN 2100106 
  • Al Balushi, N., Boyd-Moss, M., Samarasinghe, R. M., Rifai, A., Franks, S. J., Firipis, K., Long, B. M., Darby, I. A., Nisbet, D. R., Pouniotis, D., & Williams, R. J. (2022). Self-Assembled Peptide Habitats to Model Tumor Metastasis. Gels, 8(6), 332. https://doi.org/10.3390/gels8060332 

2021 

  • Allwood J, Wakeling L, Bean D. Fermentation and the microbial community of Japanese koji and miso: A review. J Food Sci. 2021; 86:2194–2207. https://doi.org/10.1111/1750-3841.15773 
  • Boyd-Moss, M., Firipis, K., O’Connell, C. D., Rifai, A., Quigley, A., Boer, G., Long, B. M., Nisbet, D. R., & Williams, R. J. (2021). Shining a light on the hidden structure of gelatin methacryloyl bioinks using small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Materials Chemistry Frontiers, 5(22), 8025-8036. 
  • Firipis, K., Boyd-Moss, M., Long, B., Dekiwadia, C., Hoskin, W., Pirogova, E., Nisbet, D. R., Kapsa, R. M. I., Quigley, A. F., & Williams, R. J. (2021). Tuneable Hybrid Hydrogels via Complementary Self-Assembly of a Bioactive Peptide with a Robust Polysaccharide. ACS Biomater Sci Eng, 7(7), 3340-3350. 
  • Hunt, C. P. J., Penna, V., Gantner, C. W., Moriarty, N., Wang, Y., Franks, S., Ermine, C. M., de Luzy, I. R., Pavan, C., Long, B. M., Williams, R. J., Thompson, L. H., Nisbet, D. R., & Parish, C. L. (2021). Tissue Programmed Hydrogels Functionalized with GDNF Improve Human Neural Grafts in Parkinson's Disease. Advanced Functional Materials, 31(47), 2105301. https://doi.org/ARTN 2105301 
  • Johnson, J. B., Steicke, M., Mani, J. S., Rao, S., Anderson, S., Wakeling, L., & Naiker, M. (2021). Changes in Anthocyanin and Antioxidant Contents during Maturation of Australian Highbush Blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) Cultivars. Engineering Proceedings, 11(1), 6. https://doi.org/10.3390/ASEC2021-11155 
  • Kiran, S., Chew, G. S., Johnson, J. B., Mani, J. S., Wakeling, L., Portman, A., & Naiker, M. (2021). Australian ethnomedicinal plant extracts promote apoptosis-mediated cell death in human hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro. Pharmacognosy Communications, 11(4), 210–213. 
  • Wilson, A., Johnson, J. B., Batley, R., Lal, P., Wakeling, L., & Naiker, M. (2021). Authentication Using Volatile Composition: A Proof-of-Concept Study on the Volatile Profiles of Fourteen Queensland Ciders. Beverages, 7(2), 28. https://doi.org/10.3390/beverages7020028 

2020 

  • Hameed, N., Eyckens, D. J., Long, B. M., Salim, N. V., Capricho, J. C., Servinis, L., De Souza, M., Perus, M. D., Varley, R. J., & Henderson, L. C. (2020). Rapid Cross-Linking of Epoxy Thermosets Induced by Solvate Ionic Liquids. ACS Applied Polymer Materials, 2(7), 2651-2657. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsapm.0c00257 
  • Naiker, M., Anderson, S., Johnson, J.B., Mani, J.S., Wakeling, L. and Bowry, V. (2020), Loss of trans-resveratrol during storage and ageing of red wines. Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research, 26: 385-387. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajgw.12449 
  • Puxty, G., Bennett, R., Conway, W., Webster-Gardiner, M., Yang, Q., Pearson, P., Cottrell, A., Huang, S., Feron, P., Reynolds, A., Verheyen, V. (2020). IR Monitoring of Absorbent Composition and Degradation during Pilot Plant Operation. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, acs.iecr.9b05309. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.9b05309  

2019 

  • Chadha, A., Florentine, S. K., Chauhan, B. S., Long, B., & Jayasundera, M. (2019). Influence of soil moisture regimes on growth, photosynthetic capacity, leaf biochemistry and reproductive capabilities of the invasive agronomic weed; PLOS ONE, 14(6). https://doi.org/ARTN e0218191 
  • Chadha, A., Florentine, S., Chauhan, B. S., Long, B., Jayasundera, M., Javaid, M. M., & Turville, C. (2019). Environmental factors affecting the germination and seedling emergence of two populations of an emerging agricultural weed: wild lettuce (Lactuca serriola). Crop & Pasture Science, 70(8), 709-717. 
  • Long, B. M., Wakeling, L., Bean, D., Fotinatos, N., Greenhill, A., Myers, M., Shultz, N., & Louwhoff, S. (2019). The Bush Medicine Project: An authentic cross-discipline, cross-course and cross-campus research project as a learning experience. Proceedings of The Australian Conference on Science and Mathematics Education, 
  • Smith, D. G., Mitchell, L., & New, E. J. (2019). Pattern recognition of toxic metal ions using a single-probe thiocoumarin array. Analyst, 144(1), 230–236. https://doi.org/10.1039/C8AN01747F 
  • Soulsby, L. C., Doeven, E. H., Pham, T. T., Eyckens, D. J., Henderson, L. C., Long, B. M., Guijt, R. M., & Francis, P. S. (2019). Colour tuning and enhancement of gel-based electrochemiluminescence devices utilising Ru(ii) and Ir(iii) complexes. Chem Commun (Camb), 55(76), 11474-11477. https://doi.org/10.1039/c9cc05031k 

2018 

  • Brendel, J. C., Sanchis, J., Catrouillet, S., Czuba, E., Chen, M. Z., Long, B. M., Nowell, C., Johnston, A., Jolliffe, K. A., & Perrier, S. (2018). Secondary self‐assembly of supramolecular nanotubes into tubisomes and their activity on cells. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 57(51), 16678-16682. 
  • Reynolds, A., Joseph, S.D., Verheyen, T.V., Chinu, K., Taherymoosavi, S., Munroe, P.R., Donne, S., Pace, B., van Zwieten, L., Marjo, C.E., Thomas, T., Rawal, A., Hook, J., 2018. Effect of clay and iron sulphate on volatile and water-extractable organic compounds in bamboo biochars. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 133, 22–29. doi:10.1016/j.jaap.2018.05.007  
  • San Seint Aye, R. L., Mitchell Boyd-Moss, B M Long, Sivapryia Pavuluri, Kiara Brugemann, Yi Wang, Colin Barrow, David nisbet, Richard Williams *. (2018). Scaffolds formed via the non-equilibrium supramolecular assembly of the synergistic ECM peptides RGD and PHSRN demonstrate improved cell attachment in 3D. Polymers, 10(7), 690. 
  • Zelong Lim, David G. Smith, Jacek L. Kolanowski, Rebecca L. Mattison, Jonathan C. Knowles, Song-Yi Baek, Wojciech Chrzanowski, Elizabeth J. New; A reversible fluorescent probe for monitoring Ag(I) ions. J R Soc Interface 1 July 2018; 15 (144): 20180346. 

2017 

  • Dhingra, S., Khakharia, P., Rieder, A., Cousins, A., Reynolds, A., Knudsen, J., Andersen, J., Irons, R., Mertens, J., Zahra, M.A., Van Os, P., Goetheer, E. 2017, Understanding and Modelling the Effect of Dissolved Metals on Solvent Degradation in Post Combustion CO2 Capture Based on Pilot Plant Experience, Energies, 10 (629). 
  • Li, R., Boyd-Moss, M., Long, B., Martel, A., Parnell, A., Dennison, A. J. C., Barrow, C. J., Nisbet, D. R., & Williams, R. J. (2017). Facile Control over the Supramolecular Ordering of Self-assembled Peptide Scaffolds by Simultaneous Assembly with a Polysacharride. Sci Rep, 7(1), 4797. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-04643-3 
  • Al-Mahamad, L. L. G., El-Zubir, O., Smith, D. G., Horrocks, B. R., & Houlton, A. (2017). A coordination polymer for the site-specific integration of semiconducting sequences into DNA-based materials. Nature Communications, 8(1), 720. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00852-6 
  • Long, B. M., Pfeffer, F. M., & Barrow, C. J. (2017). Colorimetric semi-quantitative measurement of pyrophosphate by functionalised SPPS resin in biological media. Sensors and Actuators B-Chemical, 243, 761-764. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2016.12.057 
  • Smith, D. G., Topolnicki, I. L., Zwicker, V. E., Jolliffe, K. A., & New, E. J. (2017). Fluorescent sensing arrays for cations and anions. Analyst, 142(19), 3549–3563. https://doi.org/10.1039/C7AN01200D 
  • Taherymoosavi, S., Verheyen, T.V., Munroe, P., Joeseph, S., Reynolds, A. 2017, Characterisation of organic compounds in biochars derived from municipal solid waste. Waste Management, 67, pp. 131-142.  
  • Verheyen, T. V. & Reynolds, A. J. 2017. Yallourn brown coal – the effect of drying conditions of VOC emissions. Fuel Processing Technology, 155, pp. 88-96.  
  • Zwicker, V. E., Yuen, K. K. Y., Smith, D. G., Ho, J., Qin, L., Turner, P., & Jolliffe, K. A. (2018). Deltamides and croconamides: Expanding the range of dual H‐bond donors for selective anion recognition. Chemistry – A European Journal, 24(5), 1140–1150. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.201704388 

The Bush Medicine Project

This cross-course multidisciplinary project looked at medicinal compounds in indigenous Australian plants. It was run in collaboration with the Aboriginal Education Centre and the Wathaurong Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.

Research team

Get involved

We're always keen to partner with local community organisations and industry. If you'd like to collaborate with us on a particular project, email bm.long@federation.edu.au.

Candidate vacancies

If you're interested in applying for a PhD or honours position with Environmental Chemistry, Contaminants and Characterisation, please email bm.long@federation.edu.au or any of the Federation researchers with publications in your area of interest.

Our work

Our facilities

Our analytical facilities are accessible to all members regardless of geographical location. These include:

  • sample preparation (Pressurised Liquid Extraction, Supercritical Fluid Extraction)
  • sample separation (Gas Chromatography, Liquid Chromatography, Ion Chromatography)
  • sample detection (QQQ-MS, QTOF-MS, ICP-MS, MP-AES, Discrete Chemical Analysers)
  • sample visualisation (SEM and fluorescence microscopy)
  • bulk property analysis (TGA, DSC, zetasiser, rheometer).

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