Dr. Balal Yousaf
Interest Areas Carbonaceous Materials for Environmental Applications Plant-mediated Green Nanoparticles: Synthesis, Mechanisms and Environmental Remediation Applications Waste Valorization and Thermochemical Conversion Soil and Water Remediation Biogeochemical Cycling of Environmental Pollutants, their Transformation Mechanism and Fate in Biochar amended System
Curriculum Vitae
E-mail: balal {at} metu.edu.tr
Links: enve.metu.edu.tr
Phone: +90-312-210-5872  Fax: +90-312-210-2646

Education

Professional Membership

• The Intuition of Environmental Sciences-UK (Full Member)
• British Society of Soil Science (Full Member)
• The Energy Institute-UK (Full Member)
• The Geological Society of America (Member)
• Soil Science Society of Pakistan (Full Member)
• International Biochar Initiative (Professional Member)

Awards

• Outstanding Scientific Achievement Award, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (2019)
• Top Reviewers in Environment and Ecology – WOS, September (2019)
• Top Reviewers in Cross-Field – WOS, September (2019)
• Excellent Employee Award, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (2018)
• CAS-Foreign Young Scientist award by Chinese Academy of Sciences (2018)
• Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, China Postdoctoral Foundation (2017)
• Best Ph.D. Dissertation Award, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei (2017)
• CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship for Ph.D, jointly awarded by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and The World Academy of Science (TWAS) (2014)
• M.Sc (Hons) scholarship from Punjab Government, Pakistan (2011)
• B.Sc (Hons) LC&FL Scholarship, Pakistan (2005)

Research/Job Experience

• 01/2020-Present, Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
• 06/2019-Present, Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering (additional post: “Special Associate Researcher”), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
• 06/2017-06/2019, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
• 09/2014-06/2017, CAS-TWAS President’s Research Fellow/Teaching Assistant, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
• 09/2013-08/2014, Deputy Manager (Environmental Protection), Madina Group of Industries, Chiniot, Pakistan
• 09/2011-07/2013, Research Assistant, University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Faisalābād, Pakistan
• 02/2011-07/2011, Intern (R & D), Layllpur Chemical and Fertilizer (pvt) Ltd,, Jarānwāla, Punjab, Pakistan

Teaching Experience

• 06/2019-12/2019, Assistant Professor, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
• EN 783.01: Advances in Environmental Science
• 06/2017-06/2019, Instructor, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
• EN 711.01: Resources and Environmental Protection
• 10/2014-06/2017, Teaching Assistant, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
• EN 06207.01: Introduction to Environmental Science
• GEO 4022.02: Environmental Geochemistry (II)

Editorial Board Membership

• 2019-Present, Editorial Board Member, Current Environmental Engineering
• 2019-Present, Editorial Board Member, Current Chinese Chemistry
• 2019-Present, Editorial Board Member, Current Chinese Engineering Science
• 2014-Present, Editorial Board Member, Environment and Ecology Research
• 2017-Present, Editorial Board Member, Open Journal of Environmental Biology

Journal Reviewer/Verified Reviews (Publons/ Web of Science ResearcherID M-7567-2015)

• Environmental Science and Pollution Research WOS
• Journal of Cleaner Production WOS
• Chemosphere WOS
• Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety WOS
• Environmental Pollution WOS
• RSC Advances WOS
• Science of the Total Environment WOS
• Journal of Environmental Management WOS
• Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research
• Applied Water Science WOS
• Bioenergy Research WOS
• International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology WOS
• Journal of Soils and Sediments WOS
• Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering WOS
• Royal Society Open Science WOS
• Scientific Reports WOS
• International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health WOS
• Journal of Hazardous Materials WOS
• Arabian Journal of Geosciences WOS
• Journal of Molecular Liquids WOS
• Water, Air, & Soil Pollution WOS

Research Projects (PI/Co-PI)

• 01/2020-12/2022, Interfacial Modification of Sewage Sludge Derived-biochar for Enhanced Removal of Organophosphorus Pesticides (OPPs) from Water. The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) (Balal Yousaf: Principal investigator) 3018800₺ (3.0188 Million Turkish Lira=~0.5 Million USD)
• 01/2018-12/2019, Study on Transformation Mechanism and Migration Behavior of Toxic Elements in Biochar-amended Soil System. Youth Innovation Research Fund for Central Universities, China, WK2080000103 (Balal Yousaf: Principal investigator) 1020000元 (Chinese Yuan).
• 06/2017-12/2018, Investigation on factors affecting migration of toxic elements during thermochemical conversion of agricultural waste to biochar. China Postdoctoral Science Foundation Research Fund, 2018M632552 (Balal Yousaf: Principal investigator) 50000元 (Chinese Yuan).
• 09/2016-08/2019, Study on Environmental Chemical Evolution, Mechanism and Historical Emission Inventory of Air Pollutants in Anhui Coal - fired Power Plant. National Key Research and Development Program, China, (Balal Yousaf: Co-Principal investigator) 200000元 (Chinese Yuan).

Languages

• English
• Punjabi
• Urdu
• Chinese

Book Published

• Balal Yousaf, Biochar Vs conventional organic amendments: Potential influences on soil physico-chemical characteristics and carbon sequestration in Cd-Contaminated soil. Publisher: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing (March 7, 2016), ISBN-10: 3659857793, ISBN-13: 978-3659857799

Journal Publications-SCI (Published: 2016-Present)

(#: First/co-first author; *: Corresponding author)

• Qumber Abbas, Balal Yousaf*, Habib Ullah, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Yong Sik Ok, Jörg Rinklebe: Environmental transformation and nano-toxicity of engineered nano-particles (ENPs) in aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 2019, Accepted (IF: 5.980)
• Habib Ullah, Qumber Abbas, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Ayesha Imtiyaz Cheema, Balal Yousaf*, Jorg Rinklebe: Synergistic effects of low-/medium-vacuum carbonization on pysico-chemical properties and stability characteristics of biochar. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2019, 373: 44-57 (IF: 8.355)
• Mudassar Hussain, Abdul Rahman Butt, Faiza Uzma, Rafay Ahmed, Samina Irshad, Abdul Rehman, Balal Yousaf*: A comprehensive review of climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation on environmental and natural calamities in Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 192, 48 (2020) doi:10.1007/s10661-019-7956-4 (IF: 1.959)
• Mudassar Hussain, Abdul Rahman Butt, Faiza Uzma, Rafay Ahmed, Abdul Rehman, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Habib Ullah, Balal Yousaf*: Divisional disparities on climate change adaptation and mitigation in Punjab, Pakistan: local perceptions, vulnerabilities and policy implications. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06262-z (IF: 2.914)
• Yusra Mahfooz, Abdullah Yasar, Muhammad Tayyab Sohail, Amtul Tabinda, Rizwan Rasheed, Samina Irshad, Balal Yousaf*: Investigating the drinking and surface water quality and associated health risks in a semi-arid multi-industrial metropolis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2019, DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-05367-9 (IF: 2.914)
• Mudassar Hussain, Abdul Rahman Butt, Faiza Uzma, Rafay Ahmed, Tahir Islam, Balal Yousaf*: A comprehensive review of sectorial contribution towards greenhouse gases emissions and progress in carbon capture and storage in Pakistan. 2019, Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, 9: 617–636 (IF: 1.693)
• Qumber Abbas#, Guijian Liu#, Balal Yousaf#, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Habib Ullah, Rafay Ahmed: Effects of biochar on uptake, acquisition and translocation of silver nanoparticles in rice (Oryza sativa L.) in relation to growth, photosynthetic traits and nutrients displacement. Environmental Pollution, 2019, 250: 728-736 (IF: 5.714) (co-1st author)
• Qumber Abbas, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Habib Ullah, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Rafay Ahmed, Abdul Rehman: Biochar-assisted surface functionalization and transformation of engineered-cerium oxide nanoparticles: Effect on wheat growth, photosynthetic traits and cerium accumulation. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 2019, 187: 109845 (IF: 4.527)
• Amina, Xiongyuan Si, Kang Wu, Youbin Si, Balal Yousaf. Mechanistic insights into the reactive radicals-assisted degradation of sulfamethoxazole via calcium peroxide activation by manganese-incorporated iron oxide–graphene nanocomposite: Formation of radicals and degradation pathway. Chemical Engineering Journal. 2019 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2019.123360 (IF: 8.355)
• Ayesha Imtiyaz Cheema, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Qumber Abbas, Huihui Zhou: A comprehensive review of biogeochemical distribution and fractionation of lead isotopes for source tracing in terrestrial environment. Science of The Total Environment 2019 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135658 (IF: 5.589)
• Rafay Ahmed, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Qumber Abbas, Habib Ullah, Muhammad Ubaid Ali: Recent advances in carbon-based renewable adsorbent for selective carbon dioxide capture and separation- A review. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2019, 242: 118409 (IF: 5.651)
• Muhammad Irfan Sohail, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Rizwan, Balal Yousaf, Shafaqat Ali, Muhammad Anwar-ul-Haq, Alia Anayat, Aisha A Waris: Efficiency of various silicon rich amendments on growth and cadmium accumulation in field grown cereals and health risk assessment, Chemosphere. 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.125481 (IF: 5108)
• Abdul Rehman, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Muhammad Saqib Rashid, Muhammad Raza Farooq, Zeeshan Javed: Characterizing pollution indices and children health risk assessment of potentially toxic metals in school dust of Lahore, Pakistan. Chemosphere 2019, 190: 110059 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.110059 (IF: 5.108)
• Samina Irshad, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Habib Ullah, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Jörg Rinklebe: Estimating the pollution characteristics and health risks of potentially toxic metal(loid)s in urban-industrial soils in Indus basin, Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2019 191: 748. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7909-y (IF:1.959)
• Yusra Mehfooz, Abdullah Yasar, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Tayyab Sohail, Samina Irshad, Amtul Tabinda, Rizwan Rasheed, Saleha Mahmood, Maryam Khan. An assessment of wastewater pollution, treatment efficiency and management in a semi-arid urban area of Pakistan. Desalination and Water Treatment. Accepted (IF: 1.234)
• Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Guijian Liua, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qumber Abbas, Habib Ullah: Synergistic effects of biochar and processed fly ash on bioavailability, transformation and accumulation of heavy metals by maize (Zea mays L.) in coal-mining contaminated soil. Chemosphere. 2019, 240: 124845 (IF: 5.108)
• Shafaqat Ali, Muhammad Rizwan, Afzal Hussain, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Basharat Ali, Balal Yousaf, Leonard Wijaya, Mohammed Nasser Alyemeni, Parvaiz Ahmad: Silicon nanoparticles enhanced the growth and reduced the cadmium accumulation in grains of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Plant Physiology and Biochemistry. 2019, 10.1016/j.plaphy.2019.04.041 (IF: 3.404)
• Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Habib Ullah, Samina Irshad, Rafay Ahmed, Mudassar Hussain, Audil Rashid: Evaluation of floor-wise pollution status and deposition behavior of potentially toxic elements and nanoparticles in air conditioner dust during urbanistic development. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.11.005 (IF: 7.650)
• Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Habib Ullah, Qumber Abbas, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Samina Irshad: Biomonitoring and health risks assessment of trace elements in various age- and gender-groups exposed to road dust in habitable urban-industrial areas of Hefei, China. Environmental Pollution. 2018, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.084 (IF:5.714)
• Md Manik Mian, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Bioa Fu, Rafay Ahmed, Qumber Abbas, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Ruijia Liu: One-step synthesis of N-doped metal/biochar composite using NH3−ambiance pyrolysis for efficient degradation and mineralization of methylene blue. Journal of Environmental Sciences 2018, DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2018.06.014 (IF: 3.556)
• Faten Khelifi, Houda Besser, Yosra Ayadi, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Samia Harabi, Sana Bedoui, Karim Zighmi, Younes Hamed: Evaluation of potentially toxic elements’ (PTEs) vertical distributionin sediments of Gafsa–Metlaoui mining basin (Southwestern Tunisia)using geochemical and multivariate statistical analysis approaches. Environmental Earth Science. 2019, 78:53 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8048-z (IF: 1.871)
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Qumber Abbas, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Ruwei Wang, Rafay Ahmed, Chengming Wang, Mohammad I. Al-Wabel, Adel R. A. Usman: Operational control on environmental safety of potentially toxic elements during thermal conversion of metal-accumulator invasive ragweed to biochar. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017, 195:458-469 (IF: 6.395)
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Qumber Abbas, Habib Ullah, Ruwei Wang, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Amina, Zhiyuan Niu: Comparative effects of biochar-nanosheets and conventional organic-amendments on health risks abatement of potentially toxic elements via consumption of wheat grown on industrially contaminated-soil. Chemosphere 2018, 192: 161-170 (IF: 5.108)
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Qumber Abbas, Ruwei Wang, Habib Ullah, Md Manik Mian, Amina, Audil Rashid: Enhanced removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous medium using highly stable and magnetically separable rosin-biochar-coated TiO2@C nanocomposite. RSC Advances, 2018, 8: 25983-25996 (IF: 3.049)
• Amina, Xiongyuan Si, Kang Wu, Youbin Si, Balal Yousaf: Synergistic effects and mechanisms of hydroxyl radical-mediated oxidative degradation of sulfamethoxazole by Fe(II)-EDTA catalyzed calcium peroxide: Implications for remediation of antibiotic-contaminated water. Chemical Engineering Journal 2018, 353: 80-91 (IF: 8.355)
• Qumber Abbas, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Habib Ullah, Ruijia Liu: Contrasting effects of operating conditions and biomass particle size on bulk characteristics and surface chemistry of rice husk derived-biochars. Journal of Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis 2018, DOI: 10.1016/j.jaap.2018.06.018 (IF: 3.470)
• Ruijia Liu, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Qumber Abbas: Operating conditions-induced changes in product yield and characteristics during thermal-conversion of peanut shell to biochar in relation to economic analysis. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018, 193: 479-490 (IF: 6.395)
• Zhiyuan Niu, Guijian Liu, Hao Yin, Chuncai Zhou, Dun Wu, Balal Yousaf, Chengming Wang: Effect of pyridine extraction on the pyrolysis of a perhydrous coal based on in-situ FTIR analysis. Journal of the Energy Institute, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joei.2018.05.005 (IF:3.774)
• Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Qumber Abbas, Habib Ullah, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Hong Zhang: Compositional characteristics of black-carbon and nanoparticles in air-conditioner dust from an inhabitable industrial metropolis. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018, 180:34-42 (IF: 6.395)
• Mudassar Hussain, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Rafay Ahmed, Faiza Uzma, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Habib Ullah, Abdul Rahman Butt: Regional and sectoral assessment on climate-change in Pakistan: Social norms and indigenous perceptions on climate-change adaptation and mitigation in relation to global context. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018, DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.272 (IF: 6.395)
• Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qumber Abbas, Habib Ullah: Reply to “Enrichment of Bi-Be-Mo-Cd-Pb-Nb-Ga, REEs and Y in the Permian coals of the Huainan Coalfield, Anhui, China: Discussion”. 2018, Ore Geology Review, DOI: 10.1016/j.oregeorev.2018.04.029 (IF: 3.387)
• Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Rizwan , Hinnan Khalid, Shafaqat Ali, Asif Naeem, Balal Yousaf, Guijian Liu, Muhammad Sabir, Muhammad Farooq: Farmyard manure alone and combined with immobilizing amendments reduced cadmium accumulation in wheat and rice grains grown in field irrigated with raw effluents. 2018 Chemosphere 2018, 199: 468-476 (IF: 5.108)
• Audil Rashid, Ayesha Irum, Ikram Ali Malik, Aniqa Ashraf, Liu Rongqiong, Guijian Liu, Habib Ullah, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Balal Yousaf: Ecological footprint of Rawalpindi; Pakistan's first footprint analysis from urbanization perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production 2018; 170: 362-368 (IF: 6.395)
• Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munira, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qumber Abbas: Enrichment and distribution of trace elements in Padhrar, Thar and Kotli Coals from Pakistan: Comparison to coals from China with an emphasis on the elements distribution. Journal of Geochemical Exploration. 2018, 185: 153-169 (IF: 3.472)
• Habib Ullah, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qumber Abbas, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Md Manik Mian: Developmental selenium exposure and health risk in daily foodstuffs: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 2018, 149: 291-306 (IF: 4.527)
• Ruwei Wang, Guijian Liu, Ruoyu Sun, Balal Yousaf, Rongqiong Liu, Hong Zhang: Emission characteristics for gaseous- and size-segregated particulate PAHs in coal combustion flue gas from circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler. Environmental Pollution, 2018, 238: 581-581 (IF: 5.714)
• Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qumber Abbas, Habib Ullah: Enrichment of Bi-Be-Mo-Cd-Pb-Nb-Ga, REEs and Y in the Permian coals of the Huainan Coalfield, Anhui, China. 2018, Ore Geology Review, 95: 431-455 (IF: 3.387)
• Muhammad Imtiaz, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Shahid Rizwan, Muhammad Amjad Newaz, Muhammad Rizwan, Sajid Mehmood, Balal Yousaf, Yuan Yuan, Allah Ditta, Muhammad Ali Mumtaz, Muhammad Ali, Sammina Mahmood, Shuxin Tu: Vanadium toxicity in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) grown in red soil: Effects on cell death, ROS and antioxidative systems. 2018 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 158:139-144 (IF: 4.527)
• Md Manik Mian, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Biao Fu, Habib Ullah, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qumber Abbas, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Ruijia Liu: Simultaneous functionalization and magnetization of biochar via NH3 ambiance pyrolysis for efficient removal of Cr (VI). Chemosphere 2018. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.06.021 (IF: 5.108)
• Habib Ullah, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qumber Abbas, Chuncai Zhou, Audil Rashid: Hydrothermal dewatering of low-rank coals: Influence on the properties and combustion characteristics of the solid products. Energy 2018, DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.06.052 (IF: 5.537)
• Habib Ullah, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Samina Irshad, Qumber abbas, Rafay Ahmed: A comprehensive review on environmental transformation of selenium: recent advances and research perspectives. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 2018, DOI: 10.1007/s10653-018-0195-8 (IF: 3.252)
• Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Habib Ullah, Qumber Abbas, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir: A systematic review on global pollution status of particulate matter associated potential toxic elements and health perspectives in urban environment. Environmental Geochemistry and Health 2018, (IF: 3.252)
• Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Rizwan, Shafaqat Ali, Asif Naeem, Balal Yousaf, Guijian Liu, Hinnan Khalid, Saifullah, Farhan Hafeez, Muhammad Azhar: A field study investigating the potential use of phosphorus combined with organic amendments on cadmium accumulation by wheat and subsequent rice. Arabian Journal of Geosciences 2018, (IF: 1.141)
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Qumber Abbas, Ruwei Wang, Muhammad Imtiaz, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman: Investigating the uptake and acquisition of potentially toxic elements in plants and health risks associated with the addition of fresh biowaste amendments to industrially-contaminated soil. Land Degradation and Development 2017, 28:2596–2607 (IF: 4.275)
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Qumber Abbas, Ruwei Wang, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Habib Ullah, Ruijia Liu, Chuncai Zhou: Systematic investigation on combustion characteristics and emission-reduction mechanism of potentially toxic elements in biomass- and biochar-coal co-combustion systems. Applied Energy 2017, 208:142-157 (IF: 8.426)
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Ruwei Wang, Qumber Abbas, Muhammad Imtiaz, Ruijia Liu: Investigating the biochar effects on C-mineralization and sequestration of carbon in soil compared with conventional amendments using stable isotope (δ13C) approach. GCB Bioenergy 2017, 9: 1085-1099 (IF: 4.849)
• Muhammad Ubaid Ali#, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf#, Qumber Abbas, Habib Ullah, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Biao Fu:, Pollution characteristics and human health risks of potentially (eco)toxic elements (PTEs) in road dust from metropolitan area of Hefei, China. Chemosphere 2017, 181:111-121 (IF: 5.108)
• Ruwei Wang, Guijian Liu, Ruoyu Sun, Balal Yousaf, Dun Wu, Jian Chen, Hong Zhang: A review of the biogeochemical controls on the occurrence and distribution of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) in coals. Earth-Science Reviews 2017, 171: 400-418 (IF: 9.530)
• Habib Ullah, Guijian Liu, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qumber Abbas, Chuncai Zhou: Combustion characteristics and retention-emission of selenium during co-firing of torrefied biomass and its blends with high ash coal. Bioresource Technology 2017, 245: 73-80 (IF: 6.669)
• Qumber Abbas, Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Syed Arif Husain: Evaluating the health risks of potentially toxic elements through wheat consumption in multi-industrial metropolis of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2017, 24: 26646-26657(IF: 2.914)
• Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Audil Rashid, Balal Yousaf, Atif Kamal: Health outcomes of road-traffic pollution among exposed roadside-workers in the Rawalpindi City Pakistan. Human and Ecological Risk. 2017, 23: 1330–1339 (IF: 2.012)
• Muhammad Imtiaz, Muhammad S Rizwan, Muhammad A Mushtaq, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ashraf, Muhammad Ali, Adnan Yousaf, Muhammad Rizwan, Xiong Shuanglian, Sajid Mehmood, Shuxin Tu: Interactive effects of vanadium and phosphorus on growth, their uptake and biochemical changes in chickpea genotypes under hydroponic conditions. Environmental and Experimental Botany 2017, 134: 72-81 (IF: 3.712)
• Balal Yousaf#, Amina, Guijian Liu, Ruwei Wang, Muhammad Imtiaz, Muhammad Shahid Rizwan, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Abdul Qadir, Youbin Si: The importance of evaluating metal exposure and predicting human health risks in urban-periurban environments influenced by emerging industry. Chemosphere 2016, 150:79-89 (IF: 5.108)
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Ruwei Wang, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Shahid Rizwan, Muhammad Imtiaz, Ghulam Murtaza, Awais Shakoor: Investigating the potential influence of biochar and traditional organic amendments on the bioavailability and transfer of Cd in the soil-plant system. Environmental Earth Sciences 2016, 75:374 (IF: 1.871)
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu, Ruwei Wang, Muhammad Imtiaz, Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba Munir, Zhiyuan Niu: Bioavailability evaluation, uptake of heavy metals and potential health risks via dietary exposure in urban-industrial areas. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2016, 23: 22443–22453 (IF: 2.914)
• Balal Yousaf#, Amina, Guijian Liu, Ruwei Wang, Abdul Qadir, Muhammad Ubaid Ali, Qudsia Kanwal, Bushra Munir, Asmatullah, Zaigham Abbas: Bisphenol A exposure and healing effects of Adiantum capillus-veneris L. plant extract (APE) in bisphenol A-induced reproductive toxicity in albino rats. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2016, 23:11645–11657 (IF: 2.914)
• Ruwei Wang, Balal Yousaf#, Ruoyu Sun, Hong Zhang, Jiamei Zhang, Guijian Liu: Emission characterization and δ13C values of parent PAHs and nitro-PAHs in size-segregated particulate matters from coal-fired power plants. Journal of Hazardous Materials 2016, 318: 487-496 (IF: 7.650)
• Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Rizwan, Shafaqat Ali, Nida Fatima, Balal Yousaf, Asif Naeem, Muhammad Sabir, Hammad R Ahmad: Contrasting effects of biochar, compost and farm manure on alleviation of nickel toxicity in maize (Zea mays L.) in relation to plant growth, photosynthesis and metal uptake. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 2016, 133: 218-225 (IF: 4.527)
• Zhiyuan Niu, Guijian Liu, Hao Yin, Chuncai Zhou, Dun Wu, Balal Yousaf, Chengming Wang: In-situ FTIR study of reaction mechanism and chemical kinetics of a Xundian lignite during non-isothermal low temperature pyrolysis. Energy Conversion and Management 2016, 124:180–188 (IF: 7.181)
• Muhammad Imtiaz, Muhammad Adnan Mushtaq, Muhammad Shahid Rizwan, Muhammad Saleem Arif, Balal Yousaf, Muhammad Ashraf, Xiong Shuanglian, Muhammad Rizwan, Sajid Mehmood, Shxin Tu: Comparison of antioxidant enzymes activities and DNA damage in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes exposed to vanadium. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2016, 23: 19787–19796 (IF: 2.914)
• Muhammad Imtiaz, Muhammad Shahid Rizwan, Muhammad Adnan Mushtaq, Muhammad Ashraf, Sher Muhammad Shahzad, Balal Yousaf, Dawood Anser Saeed, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Azher Nawaz, Sajid Mehmood, Shuxin Tu: Silicon occurrence, uptake, transport and mechanisms of heavy metals, minerals and salinity enhanced tolerance in plants with future prospects: A review. Journal of Environmental Management 2016, 183: 521-529 (IF: 4.865)

Invited Speaker/Conference Presentations

• Balal Yousaf#*: Synergistic effects of Biochar and Conventional Organic Amendments on Degradation of PAHs in Hydrocarbon Contaminated Soil. Belt and Road Form on Green Mining for Sustainable Development, May 29-31, 2019|Xuzhou, China
• Balal Yousaf*#, Qumber Abbas, Guijian Liu: Thermal Conversion of Metal Accumulator Species to Biochar: Sustainable Waste Disposal and Environmental Implications. The 4th Asia Pacific Biochar Conference (APBC 2018), 3-8 Novenber, 2018|Foshan, China
• Balal Yousaf#, Guijian Liu*, Qumber Abbas, Ruwei Wang, Ruijia Liu: Operational Controls on Stable Isotope Compositions of Various Carbon Fractions in Biochar and its Environmental Perspective. The 2nd International Conference on Bioresources, Energy, Environment, and Materials Technology (BEEM2018), June 10 - 13, 2018 | Gangwon Province, Korea
• Balal Yousaf*#, Guijian Liu: Influence of Biomass Thermal Pre-treatment on Transformation Behaviors of Toxic Elements during Co-combustion of Biochar with Coal. USTC-CityU Research Exchange Seminar 2017, 06-10 December 2017 | Hong Kong
• Balal Yousaf*#, Qumber Abbas, Rafay Ahmed, Guijian Liu: Effect of Biochar Amendment on Microbial Carbon Mineralization in Warm-temperate Forest Soils. International Conference on Forestry and Environment: Challenges and Prospects, 21-22 November, 2016| Faisalabad, Pakistan
• Faten Khalifi, Balal Yousaf*: Environmental Transformation of Potentially Toxic Elements in Mining Contaminated Soil-plant System. WREIAN (2019) 23-27 March 2019|Tunisia