DR NAKHLA'S research interests lie in the general area of environmental engineering and water and soil pollution control. The main areas of expertise are biological municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, biological nutrient removal processes, biological detoxification of hazardous contaminants, soil and ground water bioremediation, and landfill leachate treatment.

Dr. Nakhla’s recent research activities included the development of biological nutrient removal processes for the treatment of high strength industrial wastes including rendering wastewater, poultry processing wastes, tomato processing waste, and various food processing wastes. Dr. Nakhla has also developed process designs for various municipal wastewater treatment systems including the first Communal Biological Nutrient Removal System in Ontario. He’s working with other researchers on further development of a novel wastewater treatment system to provide the functions of organics removal, nitrification, denitrification, and solids removal in a single reactor. Dr. Nakhla’s research activities in this area have significantly expanded to include optimization of biological treatment processes, process modeling, and use of biosurfactants to enhance performance of biological wastewater and sludge treatment processes. He has developed and patented a novel fluidized bed process for nutrient removal from municipal wastewaters. He has also patented a membrane bioreactor system for biological nutrient removal from wastewaters. Recent research projects focus on membrane fouling, advanced oxidation pretreatment of biosolids, anaerobic digestion of biosolids and food wastes, and biological hydrogen generation from industrial wastes and leachates.