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Reduction in the Carbon Footprint of Coal-Fired Thermal Power Plants by Promoting Compact Fluorescent Lamps and Light-Emitting Diodes in Households, Offices, and Commercial Centers
No full textThe electricity consumption of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light-emitting diode (LED) lamps is low, making them a useful tool for minimizing the rapidly increasing demand for electrical energy in India and elsewhere. This chapter aims to project the likely electrical energy conservation in a scenario of complete replacement of existing fluorescent tubes (FTs) by CFLs or LEDs at
the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), including the financial repercussions and
indirect reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases (e.g. CO2, N2O, CH4) and carbon footprint, as well as a few important air pollutants (e.g. SO2, NO, black carbon, suspended particulate matter (SPM), mercury) in a coal-fired thermal power plant. The calculations show that the institute could save around 129,870 and 164,970 kWh of electricity per annum by replacing FTs with CFLs and LEDs,
respectively, thereby saving approximately INR 1357,142 (US27,863.85) in electricity costs per year for CFLs and LEDs,respectively. The use of CFLs and LEDs would be able to minimize approximately 47,127.14 and 59,863.94 kg of CO2–C equivalent emissions over a 100-year time horizon, respectively. Moreover, reductions of approximately 961, 1,039, 10, 390, 19, and 0.55 kg of SO2, NO, BC, SPM, PM10 and Hg emissions per year, respectively, could be achieved in electricity conservation by replacing FTs with CFLs at CSIR-NEERI. Reductions of approximately 1,221, 1,320, 13, 495, 25 and 0.7 kg of SO2, NO, BC, SPM, PM10 and Hg emissions per year, respectively,could be achieved by replacing FTs with LEDs at CSIR-NEERI
Stress Response of Pseudomonas Species to Silver Nanoparticles at the Molecular Level
No full textIn recent years, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been shown to possess broad antibacterial activity. The present study investigated the cytotoxicity of AgNPs to a common soil bacterium, Pseudomonas sp. The molecular mechanism involved in its stress response to AgNPs was also studied. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of AgNPs was found to be 0.2 mg/L. At a sublethal concentration of 0.1 mg/L AgNPs, the protein expression profile of Pseudomonas showed overexpression of stress proteins such as
ribosomal proteins S2 and L9, alkyl hydroperoxide reductase/thiol-specific antioxidant (AhpC/TSA) family protein, and ketohydroxyglutarate aldolase (KHGA). The upregulation of these proteins was further confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results showed increased expression of ribosomal protein S2, KHGA, AhpC/TSA, and ribosomal protein L9 by 1.09-, 3.41-, 1.52-,
and 1.56-fold, respectively (p < 0.05), after AgNP exposure compared with control. The present study clearly demonstrates that AgNPs are toxic to soil bacteria and induce oxidative and metabolic stress
Impact of heavy metal contamination in different soil towards microbial characteristics and nutrient availability
Get PDFAn intensive investigation for detecting source of the heavy metals
contamination in different areas (within industry, at roadside, adjacent
agriculture lands) of various industries located at two sites A & B were
made. Co-relationshipswere determined for specificmetal contamination in
leacheates at sites with total contents of heavy metal at source.At siteA, it
was observed that the leached fractions were highly correlated with the
total contents of all tested heavy metals showing same source of
contamination, whereas at site B relation was obtained only in case of Mn
i.e 0.99, Zn i.e 0.82 and 0.70 for Cu, while, rest had sparse relationship,
showing that the variability in heavy metal contents was caused by the
different sources of contamination. The soil samples showed different
microbial groups (cfu), in the order Bacteria > Fungi > Actinomycetes >
RhizobiumandAzotobacters. The results indicated that the lowavailability
of nutrients (NPK) in soil could be due to the heavy metal contamination
which reduced the beneficial microbes such as Rhizobia and Azotobacters
in contaminated soil
Surface Bespoke Mesoporous Silica for Carbon Dioxide Adsorption
No full textAmine functionalized mesoporous adsorbents were synthesized and evaluated for adsorption of CO2. In the present study the
mesoporous silica surface was treated with a surfactant tetra-n-propyl ammonium hydroxide (TPAOH) with an aim to tailor the characteristics
of mesoporous silica walls. The as synthesized adsorbents were tested for determining equilibrium adsorption capacity using 100% CO2 and
diluted 15% CO2 stream at different temperatures (30, 55, and 75°C). Equilibrium CO2 adsorption capacity of TEPA modified surface-treated
silica was 2.51 and 2.54 mmol=g at 75°C under 15 and 100% CO2 concentration respectively. The as-synthesized adsorbents were also tested
for determining dynamic adsorption capacity using 100% CO2 and diluted (15, 50, and 75%) CO2 stream at different temperatures (30, 55,
and 75°C). Dynamic CO2 adsorption capacity of TEPA modified silica was 1.67 and 4.29 mmol=g at 75°C under 15 and 100% CO2 concentration
respectively. This signifies the role of surfactant treatment affecting the pore characteristics with consequent increase in adsorption
capacity of TEPA modified silica over unaltered matrices, increasing the equilibrium CO2 adsorption capacity by a factor of 32. Consistent
cyclic regeneration indicates excellent practical usability of the adsorbent. Low and wide angle X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron
microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy have been performed to study the morphological properties of the
present adsorbent support
Ambient Noise Level Prediction during Festival Season in Metro City of South East Asian Region
Get PDFPhysical pollutants such as noise, causes so much confusion regarding its effect, often take the back seat when
deleterious effects to the environment are considered. Metropolitan city of South East Asian region was selected
for the study where day and night noise is monitored in higher levels in festival seasons as well as in normal
seasons in all zones. It was found that prescribed noise level were increased 19.23%, 19.33% and 23.08% near
Courts, schools and hospitals respectively under the silent zone. Slum areas are already affected whole year and
noise level in middle class areas recorded 7.69% higher in festival season where as high class residential areas
are found safer than the other two types of areas under the residential zone. Almost 85% areas under
commercial zone are affected by higher noise levels in both the seasons where as in festival season only 4%
readings were increases in day and night. Over all 10.25% and 8.12% day & night noise level were increases
where as hectic city traffic increases 36.58% rapidly in festival season in all the zones. The affects can also be
seen in the form of variety of negative emotions including anger, disappointment, unhappiness, anxiety and
even depression. Therefore to avoid the adverse effects there is an urgent need to control noise pollution by
implementing strict rules and through launching awareness-campaign
Throwing light on platinized carbon nanostructured composites for hydrogen generation
No full textIn the present study, we have synthesised carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) through a relatively simple
process using a hydrocarbon precursor. These synthesised CNPs in the form of elongated spherules
and/or agglomerates of 30–55 nm were further used as a support to anchor platinum nanoparticles.
The broad light absorption (300–700 nm) and a facile charge transfer property of CNPs in addition to
the plasmonic property of Pt make these platinized carbon nanostructures (CNPs/Pt) a promising
candidate in photocatalytic water splitting. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated using ethanol as
the sacrificial donor. The photocatalyst has shown remarkable activity for hydrogen production under
UV-visible light while retaining its stability for nearly 70 h. The broadband absorption of CNPs, along
with the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) effect of PtNPs singly and in composites has pronounced
influence on the photocatalytic activity, which has not been explored earlier. The steady rate of
hydrogen was observed to be 20 mmol h�1 with an exceptional cumulative hydrogen yield of 32.16
mmol h�1 g�1 observed for CNPs/Pt, which is significantly higher than that reported for carbon-based
systems
An insight into spray pulsed reactor through mathematical modeling of catalytic dehydrogenation of cyclohexane
No full textA mathematical model has been developed to study the impact of nozzle-catalyst distance
and bulk gas temperature on the conversion and hydrogen evolution rate in a spray pulse
reactor. The effects of reactor configuration and operating parameters on conversion and
evolution rate were predicted with more than 90% accuracy. Reactor optimization and
sensitivity analysis were carried out and an optimal design of nozzle-catalyst distance 5 cm
and bulk gas temperature of 50 �C were proposed. The optimized design was predicted to
increase the conversion from approximately 32e74%. The model could be in general used
for designing any endothermic heterogeneous catalytic reaction in a spray pulse reactor
Isolation and Characterization of Bacteriophages Infecting Nocardioforms in Wastewater Treatment Plant
Get PDFActivated sludge plants (ASP) are associated with the stable foaming problem worldwide. Apart from the physical and chemical
treatment methods, biological treatment method has been least explored and may prove to be a novel and ecofriendly approach
to tackle the problem of stable foam formation. In ASP Nocardia species are commonly found and are one of the major causes for
forming sticky and stable foam. This study describes the isolation and characterization of three Nocardia bacteriophages NOC1,
NOC2, and NOC3 for the control of Nocardia species. The bacteriophages isolated in this study have shown promising results in
controlling foam producing bacterial growth under laboratory conditions, suggesting that it may prove useful in the field as an
alternative biocontrol agent to reduce the foaming problem. To the best of our knowledge to date no work has been published from
India related to biological approach for the control of foaming
Emission, speciation, and evaluation of impacts of nonmethane volatile organic compounds from open dump site
No full textSurface emission from Dhapa, the only garbage disposal ground in Kolkata, is a matter of concern to the local environment and also fuels the issues of occupational and environmental health. Surface emission of the Dhapa landfill site was studied using a flux chamber measurement for nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs). Eighteen noncarbonyl volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and 14 carbonyl VOCs, including suspected and known carcinogens, were found in appreciable concentrations. The
concentrations of the target species in the flux chamber were found to be significantly higher for most of the species in summer than winter. Surface emission rate of landfill gas was estimated by using two different approaches to assess the applicability for an open landfill site. It was found that the emissions predicted using the model Land GEM version 3.02 is one to two orders less than the emission rate calculated from flux chamber measurement for the target species. Tropospheric ozone formation has a serious impact for NMVOC emission. The total ozone-forming potential (OFP) of the Dhapa dumping ground considering all target NMVOCs was estimated to be 4.9Eþ04 and 1.2Eþ05 g/day in winter and summer, respectively. Also, it was found that carbonyl VOCs play a more important role than noncarbonyl VOCs for tropospheric ozone formation. Cumulative cancer risk estimated for all the carcinogenic species was found to be 2792 for 1 million population, while the total noncancer hazard index (HI) was estimated to be 246 for the
occupational exposure to different compounds from surface emission to the dump-site workers at Dhapa. Implications: This paper describes the real-time surface emission of NMVOCs from an open municipal solid waste (MSW) dump
site studied using a flux chamber. Our study findings indicate that while planning for new landfill site in tropical meteorology, realtime emission data must be considered, rather than relying on modeled data. The formation of tropospheric ozone from emitted NMVOC has also been studied. Our result shows how an open landfill site acts as a source and adds to the tropospheric ozone for the
airshed of a metropolitan city
Efficacy of Three Different Plant Species for Arsenic Phytoextraction from Hydroponic System
Get PDFArsenic (As) is one of the heavy metals which causes acute bio-toxicity even at low concentration and has disastrous effect on environment. In some countries, As contamination has become alarming and increasing day by day as consequences of unsustainable management practices. Many existing physical, chemical and biological processes for As removal from water system are not feasible due to techno-economic limitations. The present study highlights the scope of biological strategy for As removal through phytoextraction. Arsenic uptake and accumulation in the biomass of three plant species and their As tolerance abilities have been investigated to develop an efficient phytoextraction system in combination of these plant species. Three non-crop plant species, Pteris vittata; Mimosa pudica, and Eichhornia crassipus were treated with 0–200 mg/L As in liquid nutrient solution for 14 days. P. vittata accumulated total 9,082.2 mg (8,223 mg in fronds) As/kg biomass and Eichhornia total 6,969 mg (4,517 mg in fronds)/kg biomass at 200 mg/L As concentration, respectively. Bioaccumulation factor (BF) and translocation factor (TF) were estimated to differentiate between excluders, accumula¬tors and accumulation in above ground biomass. Pteris and Eichhornia have highest BF (67 and 17) and TF (64 and 3), respectively. In contrast, Mimosa accumulated up to 174 mg As/kg plant biomass which is low in comparison with other two plants, and both BF and TF were ≤1. This study reveals that Pteris and Eichhornia are As hyperaccumulator, and potential candidates for As removal from water system