Dr. Dunca Emilia-Cornelia

Associate Professor · Environmental Engineering and Geology

Author

APID: 11674
ORCID: 0000-0003-1858-9100
Scopus: 55502796600
Google Scholar: 12JpPe8AAAAJ
Location: Petroșani, Hunedoara, Romania
Expertise: Mining environmental engineering and environmental protection, with a focus on ecological rehabilitation of mining-impacted land (tailings/spoil heaps). Circular bio-based solutions for degraded soils, including biomass-to-energy valorisation and the development of biofertilisers based on biochar and digestate. Experience in assessing soil contamination, ecological risk and monitoring indicators to support evidence-based remediation.
Areas of interest: Scalable, hybrid treatment solutions for acid mine drainage, integrating chemical pre-treatment with phytoremediation/nature-based systems. Techno-economic and life-cycle evaluation of circular remediation pathways and decision-support tools (GIS/indicators) for just transition projects in former mining regions.
Member since: December 2025

Biography

Emilia-Cornelia Dunca, PhD (Engineering Sciences), is an Associate Professor and Head of Department at the University of Petrosani (Romania), Department of Environmental Engineering and Geology. Her work addresses mining environmental engineering and environmental protection, focusing on the ecological rehabilitation of mining-impacted land (tailings/spoil heaps), soil quality and contamination assessment, and ecological risk evaluation. She develops circular, bio-based remediation approaches, including biomass valorisation and biochar-digestate-based soil amendments/biofertilisers for restoring soil functions on degraded sites. A further research stream targets acid mine drainage (AMD) mitigation through integrated treatment concepts, including nature-based solutions such as phytoremediation. She has authored/co-authored peer-reviewed publications and is co-inventor of patented solutions related to AMD treatment and heavy-metal stabilisation. She also serves as a peer reviewer for international journals and as an evaluator for national bodies.

Keywords: land rehabilitation; tailings; soil contamination; ecological risk; circular economy; biochar; digestate; biofertilisers; acid mine drainage; phytoremediation.
ORCID: 0000-0003-1858-9100 | ResearcherID: A-9351-2013 | Scopus Author ID: 55502796600