College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences

Degrees:

Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences  (2019-2024),  CSIR-National Institute For Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), India

Thesis title: Development of GC-MS/MS based affordable confirmatory analytical methodology for dioxins and PCBs in fish and fish products and exploration of a sustainable decontamination strategy (Work carried out at Environmental Technology Division, Supervisor: Dr. K. P. Prathish)

M.Sc. Chemistry (2013-2015), National Institute of Technology (NIT) Trichy, India

B.Sc. Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry (2010-2013), Kerala University, India

Research Interests:

My research interests lie in the broad field of environmental analytical chemistry, focusing on developing chromatography and mass spectrometry based analytical methods to monitor ultra-trace levels of persistent organic pollutants in various matrices. Additionally, I am interested in applying analytical chemistry principles to understand, monitor, and mitigate various environmental problems. Currently at the Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences department, I am engaged in a Superfund project titled “Bioavailability as a Central Concept in Determining Remediation Goals and Strategies for PCDD/F-Contaminated Superfund Sites” under the supervision of Prof. Brian J Teppen and Prof. Hui Li.

See publications on Google Scholar

Selected publications:

1. [1] P. S. Kirankumar, K. P. Prathish. (2025) "Critical validation of a GC-MS/MS methodology for confirmatory quantification of dioxins and PCBs in fish/fish oil: Integrating a tiered surveillance strategy." Food Chemistry, 487, 144771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.144771

   [2] P. S. Kirankumar, Ramesh Gomathy, A., Edayath Vidyadharan S., Venukumar Radhika, V., & Krishna Pillai, P. (2025). Harnessing coconut shell waste: Innovative utilization of activated carbon for effective quantification and decontamination of dioxins in fish oil. Food Chemistry, 484, 144380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.144380

   [3] P. S. Kirankumar, Lili Tian, Hui Li, Cliff T. Johnston, Stephen A. Boyd, and Brian J. Teppen. "Accelerated solvent extraction of dioxins sequestered in activated carbon: A response surface methodology-based optimization." Chemosphere, Volume 373, 2025, 144176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2025.144176

   [4] P. S. Kirankumar, K. Sanath, S. V. Ajay, Amala Varghese, K. P. Prathish. "Development of a field-deployable analytical workflow for determining current status and indicative human health risks at a historic dl-POPs hotspot." Environmental Pollution, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122161

   [5] Amala Varghese, P. S. Kirankumar, S. V. Ajay, K. P. Prathish. "Foraging animal origin food samples as viable passive indicators of dioxin-like POPs contamination in industry sites: Method development, characterization, and risk assessment." Chemosphere, Volume 357, 2024, 142078. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142078

   [6] S. V. Ajay, P. S. Kirankumar, K. Sanath, K. P. Prathish, A. Haridas. "An experimental simulation study of conventional waste burning practices in India for the assessment and inventorisation of PCDD/F and dl-PCB emissions." Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 303, 2022, 114109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114109

   [7] S. V. Ajay, P. S. Kirankumar, Amala Varghese, K. P. Prathish. "Assessment of dioxin-like POPs emissions and human exposure risk from open burning of municipal solid wastes in streets and dumpyard fire breakouts." Exposure and Health, 2022, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-021-00450-4

   [8] Jiffin Sam, P. S. Kirankumar, K. Sanath, K. P. Prathish. "Development of saleable chloride-free iron oxide from hazardous waste in titanium industries via layered double hydroxide formation." Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 290, 2021, 112566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.112566

   [9] S. V. Ajay, P. S. Kirankumar, K. Sanath, K. P. Prathish, A. Haridas. "First study on the determination of emission factors of dioxins from the open burning of municipal solid waste in India." Journal of Organo Halogen Compounds, 2018, Volume 80, pages 69-72. https://dioxin20xx.org/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/2018/100.pdf

   [10] K. Mohanraju, P. S. Kirankumar, L. Cindrella, O. J. Kwon. "Enhanced electrocatalytic activity of Pt-decorated spinels (M3O4, M = Mn, Fe, Co)/C for oxygen reduction reaction in PEM fuel cell and their evaluation by hydrodynamic techniques." Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, 2017, pages 164-174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2017.04.011