School of Chemistry & Physics

Prof Brenda Moodley

Associate Professor in Analytical and Applied Chemistry and Academic Leader of Teaching and Learning

  • 031 260 2796
  • moodleyb3@ukzn.ac.za
  • PhD, MSc, BScHons, BSc
  • Chemistry
  • Westville Campus

Professor Moodley’s research interests lie in analytical environmental chemistry where she is involved in analyzing for organic pollutants in environmental matrices. Her research also focuses on developing synthetic and bioadsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and has graduated over 10 Masters and PhD students and published over 50 papers in this field. Due to her expertise she was approached by 50/50 to carry out analysis of environmental samples close to a waste treatment site in Hillcrest which was emitting noxious odours. Professor Moodley is a well versed lecturer with over 15 years of experience in teaching and research

Research interests

  • Investigation into organic pollutants present in environmental matrices such as sediment, soil and water.
  • Organic pollutants such as pesticides (mirex, endrin, DDT and its metabolites, etc), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), as well as emerging contaminants such as illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals (including their metabolites) and personal care products (PPCPs) are some of the types of pollutants we have investigated
  • In addition my research also focuses on developing adsorbent materials (both synthetic and from agrowaste) for the remediation of these pollutants.
  • Use of chromatography and mass spectrometry for the analysis of organic polllutants
  • Nanotechnology Centre

Research profiles

ResearchGate
Publons
ORCID
Scopus

Research overview

Professor Moodley’s research interests lie in analytical environmental chemistry where she is involved in analyzing for organic pollutants in environmental matrices. Her research also focuses on developing synthetic and bioadsorbents for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater. She holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of KwaZulu-Natal and has graduated over 10 Masters and PhD students and published over 50 papers in this field. Due to her expertise she was approached by 50/50 to carryout analysis of environmental samples close to a waste treatment site in Hillcrest which was emitting noxious odours. Professor Moodley is a well versed lecturer with over 15 years of experience in teaching and research.

Current projects

Investigation into organic pollutants present in environmental matrices such as sediment, soil and water. Organic pollutants such as pesticides (mirex, endrin, DDT and its metabolites, etc), polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs),as well as emerging contaminants such as illicit drugs, pharmaceuticals (including their metabolites)and personal care products (PPCPs) are some of the types of pollutants we have investigated. In addition her research also focuses on developing adsorbent materials (both synthetic and from agrowaste) for the remediation of these pollutants. Use of chromatography and mass spectrometry for the analysis of organic pollutant

Associations/ Affiliations

  • Member of SETAC and SACI

Collaborators

  • Prof G Birungi (Mbarara University of Technology)
  • Prof P Ndungu (UJ)
  • Dr V Tembu (TUT)
  • Industrial collaborators: Umgeni Water, Eskom

Media

Sampling along the Umgeni River