Tariq Siddique, University of Alberta

Research

Oil sands tailings Anaerobic envrionments Biodegradation Cycloalkanes Greenhouse gas emissions Hydrocarbons Iron minerals Mathematical modeling

Latest papers

Methanogenic biodegradation of cyclohexane by microbial consortia from oil sands tailings.
The Science of the total environment · 2025
Pre-treatment with extraction solvent yields higher recovery: Method optimization for efficient determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in organic-rich fine-textured wastes.
Journal of environmental quality · 2025 · senior author
Utilizing surface modified poultry feathers for senary multi-metal water purification: kinetic and thermodynamic behavior of heavy metal-laden biosorbent.
RSC advances · 2025

All 42 publications

Latest funding

Feather keratin based adsorbents for water treatment
NSERC · 2023 · Co-investigator
$120,200
Generation of reduced sulfur compounds, their biogeochemistry and their impact on water quality and gas emissions from oil sands tailings
NSERC · 2022 · Principal investigator
$177,000
Methane production and oxidation in oil sands tailings ponds: Controlling factors and effects on fugitive greenhouse gas emissions
NSERC · 2022 · Co-investigator
$1,230,425

All 13 grants and awards

42 publications.

01

Methanogenic biodegradation of cyclohexane by microbial consortia from oil sands tailings.

Abu Laban NMF, Siddique T, Foght JM

The Science of the total environment2025

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.180929 PMID: 41240497

02

Pre-treatment with extraction solvent yields higher recovery: Method optimization for efficient determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in organic-rich fine-textured wastes.

Guo H, Samadi N, Firoozbakht M, Kuznetsova A, Siddique T

Journal of environmental quality2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1002/jeq2.70033 PMID: 40295172

03

Utilizing surface modified poultry feathers for senary multi-metal water purification: kinetic and thermodynamic behavior of heavy metal-laden biosorbent.

Irfan MF, Siddique T, Ullah A

RSC advances2025

DOI: 10.1039/d5ra02131f PMID: 40677952

04

Microbial interactions with magnetite enhance methane production from hydrocarbon biodegradation.

Afzal I, Kuznetsova A, Foght J, Ulrich A, Siddique T

Journal of hazardous materials2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2025.138082 PMID: 40163993

05

Crystalline iron oxide mineral (magnetite) accelerates methane production from petroleum hydrocarbon biodegradation.

Afzal I, Kuznetsova A, Foght J, Ulrich A, Siddique T

Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125065 PMID: 39366444

06

Uncovering Anaerobic Hydrocarbon Biodegradation Pathways in Oil Sands Tailings from Two Different Tailings Ponds via Metabolite and Functional Gene Analyses.

Mohamad Shahimin MF, Siddique T

Applied biochemistry and biotechnology2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1007/s12010-024-04855-0 PMID: 38376742

07

Aerobic biodegradation of cycloalkanes in non-aqueous extracted oil sands tailings.

Gjini L, Kuznetsova A, Okpala G, Foght JM, Ulrich A, Siddique T

Chemosphere2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.140900 PMID: 38065261

08

Removal of divalent cations and oxyanions by keratin-derived sorbents: Influence of process parameters and mechanistic studies.

Zahara I, Irfan MF, Zubair M, Siddique T, Ullah A

The Science of the total environment2023

DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164288 PMID: 37211135

09

Biodegradation of 2-methylpentane in fluid fine tailings amended with a mixture of iso-alkanes under sulfate-reducing conditions.

Mohamad Shahimin MF, Siddique T

Canadian journal of microbiology2023Senior author

DOI: 10.1139/cjm-2023-0022 PMID: 37235883

10

Methanogenic Biodegradation of iso-Alkanes by Indigenous Microbes from Two Different Oil Sands Tailings Ponds.

Mohamad Shahimin MF, Foght JM, Siddique T

Microorganisms2021Senior author

DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9081569 PMID: 34442648

Feather keratin based adsorbents for water treatment

Co-investigatorNSERC2023Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Ullah, Aman A

Keywords: adsorbents; keratin; prototype; reactor design; treatment; wastewater

$120,200

Generation of reduced sulfur compounds, their biogeochemistry and their impact on water quality and gas emissions from oil sands tailings

Principal investigatorNSERC2022Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Siddique, Tariq T

Keywords: atmospheric emissions; biogeochemistry; end pit lakes; environmental microbiology; hydrocarbon biodegradation; microbial metabolism; oil sands tailings; reclamation; reduced sulfur compounds; sulfate-reducing conditions

$177,000

Methane production and oxidation in oil sands tailings ponds: Controlling factors and effects on fugitive greenhouse gas emissions

Co-investigatorNSERC2022Alliance Grants

Principal investigators: Dunfield, Peter PF

Keywords: biogeochemistry; methane; methanogenesis; methanotroph; oil sands; talings ponds

$1,230,425

Investigating carbon dynamics and process fundamentals to predict greenhouse gas emissions from tailings ponds

Principal investigatorNSERC2020Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Siddique, Tariq

Keywords: biodegradation; hydrocarbons; anaerobic envrionments; oil sands tailings; greenhouse gas emissions; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; cycloalkanes; iron minerals; methanogenesis; mathematical modeling

$258,000

Mitigating GHG emissions from oil sands tailings through redox processes

Principal investigatorNSERC2019Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Principal investigators: Siddique, Tariq

$350,250

Demetallization of bitumen using supercritical carbon dioxide and water

Principal investigatorNSERC2017Engage Grants Program

Principal investigators: Siddique, Tariq

$25,000

Biodegradation of cycloalkanes under different redox conditions

Principal investigatorNSERC2016Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Principal investigators: Siddique, Tariq

$108,500

Soil particle size analyzer for terrestrial ecosystem management

Co-investigatorNSERC2016Research Tools and Instruments

Principal investigators: Quideau, Sylvie

$97,891

Investigating pathways of hydrocarbon biodegradation and metal release in anaerobic environments

Principal investigatorNSERC2015Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Principal investigators: Siddique, Tariq

$110,000

Laboratory studies investigating chemical flux across tailings-cap water zones, simulating an End Pit Lake in the Athabasca oil sands region

Co-investigatorNSERC2014Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Principal investigators: Ulrich, Ania

$585,050

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Renewable Resources
Civil and Environmental Engineering
Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science
Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
Chemical and Materials Engineering

Co-authors at University of Alberta, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Aman Ullah

Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science

5 shared papers, latest 2025

Ania Ulrich

Civil and Environmental Engineering

3 shared papers, latest 2025

William Shotyk

Renewable Resources

3 shared papers, latest 2018

Selma Guigard

Civil and Environmental Engineering

1 shared papers, latest 2014

Rajender Gupta

Chemical and Materials Engineering

1 shared papers, latest 2008

Hao Wang

Mathematical and Statistical Sciences

1 shared papers, latest 2019

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their NSERC grant from 2022

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Oil sands tailings Dear Professor Siddique, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Methanogenic biodegradation of cyclohexane by microbial consortia from oil sands tailings." (2025), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your NSERC-funded project "Generation of reduced sulfur compounds, their biogeochemistry and their impact on water quality and gas emissions from oil sands tailings" (2022), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]