Margaret Busse’s research spans photochemistry and photobiology, drinking water treatment technologies, the water-energy-food nexus, decarbonization, socio-techno-economic assessment, and international development. Her work combines fundamental photochemistry, optics, experimental fluid dynamics, system design, and system analysis tools to develop innovative ultraviolet disinfection (UV) technologies that improve human health and support decarbonization and sustainability. Her expertise includes UV disinfection kinetics, small-system water treatment design, and multi-faceted approaches to socio-techno-economic assessments, including stakeholder mapping and complex issue framing, focus groups, surveys, interviews, technoeconomic assessment (TEA), life cycle assessment (LCA), and emission quantification.
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Recent Publications
Benchmarking greenhouse gas emissions from US wastewater treatment for targeted reduction
El Abbadi, S. H., Feng, J., Hodson, A. R., Amouamouha, M., Busse, M. M., Polcuch, C., Zhou, P., Macknick, J., Guest, J. S., Stokes-Draut, J. R. & Dunn, J. B., Oct 2025, In: Nature Water. 3, 10, p. 1133-1143 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Impact of geothermal expansion and lithium extraction in the Salton Sea known geothermal resource area (SS-KGRA) on local water resources
Busse, M. M., McKibben, M. A., Stringfellow, W., Dobson, P. & Stokes-Draut, J. R., Oct 1 2024, In: Environmental Research Letters. 19, 10, 104011.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Model-Based Control of Water Treatment with Pumped Water Storage
Mauery, R., Busse, M. & Kovalenko, I., Oct 1 2024, In: IFAC-PapersOnLine. 58, 28, p. 1073-1078 6 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Conference article › peer-review
Electrocoagulation of high-salinity produced water: lessons learned from its early applications in unconventional reservoir plays
Seth, K., Busse, M., Jang, G., Joag, S., Kim, K., Pankratz, T., Sahu, D., Sharma, R., Stokes-Draut, J., Tsouris, C. & Chellam, S., Dec 2023, In: Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering. 42, 100952.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Comparative Life Cycle Assessment of Water Disinfection Processes Applicable in Low-Income Settings
Busse, M. M., Hawes, J. K. & Blatchley, E. R., Nov 15 2022, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 56, 22, p. 16336-16346 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Responses of Salmonella typhimurium LT2, Vibrio harveyi, and Cryptosporidium parvum to UVB and UVA radiation
Busse, M. M., Becker, M., Applegate, B. M., Camp, J. W. & Blatchley, E. R., Sep 1 2019, In: Chemical Engineering Journal. 371, p. 647-656 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Density- and viscosity-matched Newtonian and non-Newtonian blood-analog solutions with PDMS refractive index
Brindise, M. C., Busse, M. M. & Vlachos, P. P., Nov 1 2018, In: Experiments in Fluids. 59, 11, 173.Research output: Contribution to journal › Letter › peer-review