Skip to Content
Apply Donate

Paul Van Geel

Professor in Environmental Engineering

  • B.A.Sc., Ph.D. (Waterloo), P.Eng.
  • Canal Building, Carleton University
  • 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6
  • Email Paul Van Geel

Prof. Van Geel’s mailbox is located in room 3432 C.J. Mackenzie Building, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6 Canada

Teaching Assignments 2024-2025

Previous Teaching Assignments

Research Interests

Hydrogeology and solid waste management. Flow and transport in the saturated and unsaturated zone; applications vary from gasoline spills to biological clogging of biofilters to natural attenuation and redox-dependent biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons and solvents.  Impacts of real world soil/NAPL wettability on migration, distribution and remediation of NAPL-contaminated sites. Fate and transport of PFAS in groundwater and competitive adsorption on in-situ colloidal activated carbon. Waste Management issues including optimization of landfills operating in northern climates to waste-to-energy alternatives.

Application

Fate and transport applications vary from gasoline spills to biological clogging of biofilters to natural attenuation and redox-dependent biodegradation of petroleum hydrocarbons and solvents; remediation of PFAS-contaminated sites. Waste management applications are focused on the optimization of landfills operating in northern climates to maximize utilization of landfill airspace and the production of landfill gas to produce energy and offset greenhouse gas emissions.

Activities

Dr. Van Geel currently serves as the Chair of the Independent Geoscience Advisory Group for the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). The mandate of the group is to review and provide advice related to the research activities of the CNSC and the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) in support of a potential future deep geological repository for the long-term management of high level nuclear waste.

Journal Articles

Carey, G., Hakimabadi, S.G., Singh, M., McGregor, R., Woodfield, C., Van Geel, P.J. and Pham, A.L. (2022) Longevity of colloidal activated carbon for in situ PFAS remediation at AFFF-contaminated airport sites, Remediation, DOI: 10.1002/rem.21741

Gunn, P., Gunay, H.B., Van Geel, P.J. and Baldwin, C. (2022) Development of resistor-capacitor and finite difference models to evaluate green roof thermal performance, Building and Environment 226

Salama, A., Van Geel, P.J., Kou, J. and Husein, M.M. (2022) Investigation of the Different Regimes Associated with the Growth of an Interface at the Exit of a Capillary Tube into a Reservoir: Analytical Solutions and CFD Validation, Langmuir, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.2c01620

Berquist, C.S. and P.J. Van Geel (2020) Simulating temperature-dependent biodegradation-induced settlement at a landfill with waste lifts placed under frozen conditions, Waste Management.

Megalla, D., P.J. Van Geel, and J.T. Doyle (2016) Simulating the heat budget for waste as it is placed within a landfill operating in a northern climate, Waste Management, 55, 108-117.

Van Geel, P.J, and K.E. Murray (2015) Simulating settlement during waste placement at a landfill with waste lifts placed under frozen conditions, Waste Management, 46, 352-361.

Puentes Jacome, L.A., and P.J. Van Geel (2014) Comparative study of the impacts of soil wettability during entrapped LNAPL removal by surfactant flooding in two different sand media, Journal of Soil Sediments, DOI 10.1007/s11368-014-0949-6

Harris, K., C. Samson, and P.J. Van Geel (2013) Characterization of Waste Density in a Bioreactor Landfill via Microgravity and Settlement Analysis, Journal of Environmental & Engineering Geophysics, Vol. 18, No.3, p157-168

Puentes Jacome, L.A., and P.J. Van Geel (2013) An initial study on soil wettability effects during entrapped LNAPL removal by surfactant flooding in coarse-grained sand media, Journal of Soil Sediments, DOI 10.1007/s11368-013-0673-7

Bonany, J.E., P.J. Van Geel, H.B. Gunay and O.B. Isgor (2013) Simulating waste temperatures in an operating landfill in Quebec, Canada, Waste Management & Research, Vol. 33, No. 7, pages 692-699.

Bonany, J.E., P.J. Van Geel, H.B. Gunay and O.B. Isgor (2013) Heat Budget for a waste lift placed under freezing conditions at a landfill operated in a northern climate, Waste Management, Vol 33. Pages 1215-1228.

Honours and Awards

Graduated Research Students

This site uses cookies to offer you a better browsing experience. Find out more on how we use cookies and how you can change your settings.