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Development of Bamboo Biodiversity on Mining Degraded Lands: A Sustainable Solution for Climate Change Mitigation.
Ecological restoration of coal fly ash–dumped area through bamboo plantation.
The present study entails the phytoremediation potential of different bamboo species on 5-year-old FA-dumped site near Koradi thermal power plant of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. The selected FA-dumped site was treated with farmyard manure, press mud, and bio fertilizer followed by plantation of six promising species of bamboo namely Bambusa balcooa Roxb., Dendrocalamus stocksii (Munro.) M. Kumar, Remesh and Unnikrishnan, Bambusa bambos (L.) Voss, Bambusa wamin E.G. Camus, Bambusa vulgaris var. striata (Lodd. ex Lindl.) Gamble, and Bambusa vulgaris var. vittata Riviere and Riviere. The experimental results
indicated that the organic input in the FA-dumped site nourished the soil by improving its physico-chemical, and biological characteristics. The results revealed the contamination of the site with different trace elements in varied quantity including Cr (89.29 mg kg−1), Zn (84.77 mg kg−1), Ni (28.84 mg kg−1), Cu (22.91 mg kg−1), Li (19.65 mg kg−1), Pb (13.47 mg kg−1), and Cd (2.35 mg kg−1). A drastic reduction in concentration of heavy metals in FA was observed after 1 year of bamboo plantation as compared to the initial condition. The results showed that bamboo species are good excluders of Ba, Co, Cr, Li, Ni, Mn, and Zn, whereas they are good accumulators of Cd, Pb, and Cu. The values of biochemical parameters, such as pH, total chlorophyll, ascorbic acid (AA), and relative water content of all the bamboo leaves ranged from 5.11–5.70, 1.56-6.33 mg g−1, 0.16-0.19 mg g−1, and 60.23–76.68%, respectively. It is thereby concluded that the bamboo plantation with biofertilizers and organic amendments may indicate adaptive response to environmental pollution on FA-dumped site
Continuous treatability of oily wastewater from locomotive wash facilities by electrocoagulation
The present work focuses on the feasibility of electrocoagulation (EC) process for the treatment of
oil and grease wastewater generated from locomotive wash facilities. Experimental investigations
have shown the influence of various factors affecting EC using continuous reactor. The effect of
various operating parameters, like reaction time, electrode spacing, and applied voltage, was
investigated and optimized using Box-Behnken design method. The optimized value of applied
voltage and electrode spacing were found to be 28 V and 3 cm, and Chemical Oxygen Demand
removal efficiency obtained was 91.9%. As a result, EC process can be an alternative method for
the treatment of oily wastewater
Factors affecting lean, wet-season water quality of Tilaiya reservoir in Koderma District, India during 2013–2017
The reservoir at the Tilaiya Dam constructed on the Barakar river is one of the most important
freshwater resources in the Koderma District in the state of Jharkhand in India. Its water is used
primarily in agriculture, pisiculture, industry, regional thermal power plant, and various domestic
errands viz. cooking, washing, and drinking. The reservoir also supports a wide variety of
flora, fauna, and birds. This work reports the variation in seasonal water quality (pH, turbidity,
DO, TDS, electrical conductivity, total hardness, iron, chloride, calcium, magnesium, alkalinity,
phosphate, sulfate, fluoride, total bacterial count, and fecal coliform count) trends over a 4-year
long period (July 2013–July 2017). Conspicuous dilution effect on water quality was observed
during and just after the monsoon season while concentrations of TDS, electrical conductivity,
iron, chloride, calcium, magnesium, phosphate, sulfate, and fluoride increased during summer.
Principal Component Analysis/Factor Analysis (PCA/FA) identified three factors in the data
structure, explaining about 71.5–77.9% of total variance in dataset. Run-off from catchment
areas was one of the major factors that influenced water quality during the monsoon seasons.
The t test indicated that except between summer and post-monsoon in 2013 and 2014,
seasonal DO values had statistically significant difference. Also, turbidity in summer, postmonsoon
and winter seasons had statistically significant differences while total hardness (TH)
was statistically different in summer over winter but not in summer over post-monsoon. On the
other hand, TDS did not have statistically significant seasonal shifts. Water quality index (WQI),
pollution index (PI), comprehensive pollution index (CPI), computed over the study years
revealed that water quality of the reservoir could be categorized as ‘Good’ but is gradually
deteriorating. This calls for greater attention and proper management of the Tilaiya reservoir in
the interest of environmental and regional sustainability of Koderma
Treatment of mixed industrial wastewater by electrocoagulation and indirect electrochemical oxidation
Treatment of mixed industrial wastewater is a challenging task due to its high complexity. This work
scrutinizes the electrochemical treatment of mixed industrial wastewater, specifically electrocoagulation
and indirect electrochemical oxidation processes through COD and color removal studies. Both processes
are found to be more efficient at the wastewater pH. Monopolar connection was found more effective
than bipolar connection for the removal of COD and color from wastewater. The monopolar connection
removed COD up to 55% and color 56% whereas bipolar connection leads to the removal of 43% and 48%
respectively at wastewater pH with an applied voltage 1.5 V in the course of 1 h of electrolysis.
In the case of indirect electrochemical oxidation process using graphite electrodes, the COD and color
abatement efficiencies of the indirect electrochemical oxidation process were found as 55% and 99.8%,
respectively within 1 h of electrolysis conducted at pH 7.7, applied voltage 4 V, and NaCl concentration
1gL1
. This work also highlights the importance of the presence of electrolytes in the indirect electrochemical oxidation process as the external addition of sodium chloride significantly enhanced both
COD and color elimination efficienc
Stabilized landfill leachate treatment by zero valent aluminium-acid system combined with hydrogen peroxide and persulfate based advanced oxidation process
The toxic leachate generated from landfills is becoming a major nuisance to the environment and has
vital role in groundwater contamination. This study evaluated the potential of zero valent aluminium
(ZVAl) based advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for stabilized landfill leachate treatment. Hydrogen
peroxide (HP) and persulfate (PS) were used to generate additional radicals in aerated ZVAl acid process.
ZVAl-acid system achieved 83% COD removal efficiency under optimized conditions such as acid washing
time of 20 min, ZVAl dose of 10 g L�1 at initial pH 1.5. The highest exclusion efficiencies in terms of TOC,
COD as well as color were 83.52%, 96% and 63.71% respectively in treatment systems showing the following order: ZVAl/H+
/Air/HP/PS > ZVAl/H+
/Air/PS > ZVAl/H+
/Air/HP > ZVAl/H+
/Air > ZVAl/H+
. The involvement of other metals such as Fe and Cu in the process has been found. The reusability study revealed
that ZVAl powder can be effectively used up to three cycles. The 28.48 mg/l of Al3+ residue was observed
in this process which has to be removed before discharge of effluent. The study indicated that the ZVAl
based AOPs is stable and active for the degradation of organic pollutants present in landfill leachate and a
promising solution except for the aluminium discharge which has to be given special care
Optimization of batch electrocoagulation process using Box-Behnken experimental design for the treatment of crude vegetable oil refinery wastewater
The performance of the batch electrocoagulation process for the treatment of real crude vegetable
oil refinery wastewater with high COD using sacrificial aluminum anode was explored in this research.
Effects of operating factors such as electrolysis time (0–60 min), applied voltage (10–20 V) and electrode spacing (2–4 cm) on the COD removal were investigated. Mathematical model relating these
key operating factors and the COD removal was developed using Box-Behnken design. 3-D response
surface plots showed that the COD removal significantly increased with increase in electrolysis time
and applied voltage till the optimum value. COD removal decreased, when very short or excessive
electrode spacing was fixed. Experimental COD removal of 70.8% was attained at the optimized conditions and observed to be in reasonable agreement with the prediction by the Box-Behnken design
Noise pollution in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR): An emerging environmental threat
Noise pollution in urban areas is an emerging environmental threat which local agencies and state
authorities must consider in planning and development.
Excessive noise is becoming a significant problem adversely affecting the physiological and psychological
health of the citizens. Present study was carried out to
assess and quantitatively evaluate ambient noise levels
in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) consisting of 9
cities namely Bhiwandi-Nizampur, Kalyan-Dombivli,
Mira-Bhayandar, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Panvel, Thane, Ulhasnagar and Vasai-Virar. The noise environment
was assessed on the basis of equivalent continuous
sound pressure levels (Leq), day-night noise levels (LDN)
and noise limit exceedance factor (NEF) during day and
night time of working and non-working days in four
different area categories, viz. industrial, commercial,
residential and silence zones. Present study shows that
silence zones have been the worst affected areas where
noise pollution levels and NEF indicate excessive violation of permissible noise limits due to unplanned,
congested and unruly spaces for developmental and
commercial activities, followed closely by residential
and commercial zones. Cities with separate industrial
and commercial zones showed less noisy surroundings
in comparison with those cities where land use pattern of
industrial and commercial zones is around or overlapping each other. It can thus be concluded that appropriate demarcation and planned use of city space is important to avoid exposure to rising noise pollution levels. Based on the noise pollution in (MMR), various control measures are suggested including awareness campaign and strict compliance of the rules and regulations
Modelling Accumulation of Respiratory-CO2 in Closed Rooms Leading to Decision-Making on Room Occupancy
A model predicting time required to attain undesired levels of respiratory-CO2 in closed rooms is described.
The model works under the following assumptions: (1) room air is well-mixed, (2) indoor CO2 does not exchange with
outdoor CO2, (3) there is no effect of individual occupants on CO2 exhalation rate of other occupants, (4) there is no indoor
CO2 sink and all exhaled CO2 end up increasing CO2 concentration in the room, (5) apart from respiration, there is no other
source of indoor CO2, (6) breathing rates of occupants are constant throughout the period of occupation of room. The
model makes use of anthropocentric parameters like body weight, height, du bois surface area, MET levels, etc., to
calculate dedicated individual CO2 exhalation rate and uses room volume and number of occupants to predict time required
to reach user-earmarked levels of CO2. A model run showed that in a closed room of 12 9 12 9 10 m3, respiration by one
person at rest (65 kg body weight, 1.7 m height, basal respiratory quotient of 0.83) would take 4.37 h to reach 2000 ppmV
indoor CO2 when background indoor CO2 level was 380 ppmV. This model would help allocating desired number of
occupants in closed rooms to help avoid building up of undesirable levels of CO2 in poorly ventilated offices, schools,
hospitals or households that might frequently experience high levels of indoor CO2, undermining health and performance
of occupants, patients and workers
Synthesis and applications of various bimetallic nanomaterials in water and wastewater treatment
Bimetallic nanoparticles are the complex combination of two different metal constituents in nanoscale. Water
and wastewater treatment utilizing bimetallic particles is an emerging research area. When two metals are
combined, it can show not only the properties of its constituents but also new and enhanced properties derived
by the synergy of the combination. These properties of bimetallic nanoparticles inevitably depend on the size,
structure, and morphology of the particles. Thus the adopting synthesis strategy is very crucial to achieve desired
results. Here in this review, the various bimetallic synthesis strategies are compared. The bimetallic nanoparticles decontaminate water through adsorption and/or catalysis mechanism. The various degradation pathways, specifically, adsorption, reduction, oxidation, and advanced oxidation processes are discussed in detail in
this review