Removal and seasonal variability of selected analgesics/anti-inflammatory,anti-hypertensive/cardiovascular pharmaceuticals and UV filters in wastewater treatment plant

Seasonal removal efficiency of 16 pharmaceuticals and personal care products was monitored in a wastewater treatment plant in ?eské Budějovice, Czech Republic, over a period of 1 year (total amount of samples, n?=?272). The studied compounds included four UV filters, three analgesics/anti-inflammatory drugs and nine anti-hypertensive/cardiovascular drugs. In most cases, elimination of the substances was incomplete, and overall removal rates varied strongly from ?38 to 100 %. Therefore, it was difficult to establish a general trend for each therapeutic group. Based on the removal efficiencies (REs) over the year, three groups of target compounds were observed. A few compounds (benzophenon-1, valsartan, isradipine and furosemide) were not fully removed, but their REs were greater than 50 %. The second group of analytes, consisting of 2-phenylbenzimidazole-5-sulfonic acid, tramadol, sotalol, metoprolol, atenolol and diclofenac, showed a very low RE (lower than 50 %). The third group of compounds showed extremely variable RE (benzophenon-3 and benzophenon-4, codeine, verapamil, diltiazem and bisoprolol). There were significant seasonal trends in the observed REs, with reduced efficiencies in colder months.     

Dechlorination of chloroorganics,decolorization, and simultaneous bioremediation of Cr6+ from real tannery effluent employing indigenous Bacillus cereus isolate

A native Bacillus cereus isolate has been employed, for the first time, for simultaneous decolorization, dechlorination of chloroorganics, and Cr⁶⁺ remediation from the real tannery effluent. Most of the physicochemical variables in 3:1 diluted effluent were well above the standard prescribed limits, which decreased substantially upon microbial treatment. The extent of bioremediation was better in diluted (3:1) as compared to undiluted effluent supplemented with nutrients and augmented with B. cereus isolate. Maximum growth, effluent decolorization (42.5 %), dechlorination (74.1 %), and Cr⁶⁺ remediation (34.2 %) were attained with 4.0 % (v/v) inoculum, 0.8 % glucose, and 0.2 % ammonium chloride in 3:1 diluted effluent at natural pH (8.1) within 72 h of incubation. The efficiency of bioremediation in a bioreactor was higher as compared to a flask trial during 72 h of incubation: decolorization (47.9 %) was enhanced by 5.4 %, dechlorination (77.4 %) by 3.3 %, and Cr⁶⁺ removal (41.7 %) by 7.5 % at an initial color of 286 Pt-Co units and initial concentration of 62 mg chloride ions and 108 mg l^?1 Cr⁶⁺. Immobilized biomass of Pseudomonas putida and B. cereus coculture enhanced the extent of Cr⁶⁺ remediation (51.9 %) by 10.2 % compared to the bioreactor trial. Chromate reductase activity and reduced Cr directly correlated and were mainly associated with soluble fraction of B. cereus plus effluent natural microflora. The GC-MS analyses revealed the formation of metabolites such as acetic acid and 2-butenoic acid in bacterially treated effluent. The supplementation of nutrients along with B. cereus augmentation is required for efficient effluent bioremediation.     

Status and Environmental Impact of Emissions from Thermal Power Plants in India

The main emissions from coal combustion at thermal power plants are carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and airborne inorganic particles such as fly ash and soot; CO₂, methane, and CFCs are greenhouse gases. These emissions are considered to be partially responsible for harmful global climate change. This review summarizes the status of thermal power plants in India and their various types of emissions that directly or indirectly produce harmful effects on the environment and human health. Moreover, it focuses on various types of preventive measures used to avoid/minimize emissions.     

Triclosan in Fresh Water Fish Gibelion Catla from the Kaveri River,India, and Its Consumption Risk Assessment

Triclosan is a common antimicrobial agent that is found in significant levels in the aquatic environment and may elicit effects on aquatic organisms through unexpected modes of action. In this study, triclosan was quantified in fish from the Kaveri River, India, by using the gas chromatography and mass spectrometry technique and it was found in the range of 0.73–50 ng/g wet weight (ww). The mean bioaccumulation factor based on water (BAF_w 820) and sediment (BAF_s 2.12) in the Kaveri River showed that triclosan is accumulative in fish, and reflects its feeding behavior. The bioaccumulation indicates triclosan's persistence or prevalence throughout the river stretch. Human risk assessment through dietary intake demonstrated that the triclosan exposure is five orders of magnitude lower than the acceptable daily intake (50 μg/kg bw) and US EPA reference dose (300 μg/kg bw/day). This investigation is the first to report the bioaccumulation of triclosan in freshwater fish from India. Further, the results indicate that this fish acts as a biomarker of exposure for triclosan and thus shall be used to report triclosan pollution in the future.     

Biodiesel production from a free fatty acid containing Karanja oil by a single-step heterogeneously catalyzed process

Karanja oil, containing 6.2% free fatty acids (FFAs), was considered for biodiesel production using a single-step solid-phase acid catalyzed process. Different types of zeolites and Amberlyst15 catalysts were tested and biodiesel was produced. Under similar conditions, the highest biodiesel yield was achieved using an Amberlyst15 catalyst, which contained 3–5% of moisture. The effects of operating parameters of the reaction such as reaction temperature, catalyst amount, and methanol-to-oil ratio were studied. An increase of methanol:oil ratio revealed a non-monotonic increase in biodiesel yields. Similar non-monotonic behavior was observed when Jatropha oil was used. Leaching and catalyst reusability were also considered. No significant effects of leaching were observed and catalyst reusability appeared to be affected by methanol interactions. The presence of a co-solvent, Tetrahydrofuran (THF), increased the biodiesel yield. Furthermore, an optimum amount of THF (THF:methanol volume ratio of 1:2) gave rise to the highest biodiesel yield. A biodiesel yield of 93% was achieved at 120 °C using a single-step process with Amberlyst15 as a catalyst, THF as a co-solvent, and a methanol:oil ratio of 30:1.     

The selective role of nitrite in the PAO/GAO competition

Proliferation of Glycogen Accumulating Organisms (GAOs) accounts as one of the major bottlenecks in biological phosphorus removal systems. GAO outcompeting polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) results in lower P-removal. Thus, finding optimal conditions that favour PAO in front of GAO is a current focus of research. This work shows how nitrite can provide a novel strategy for PAO enrichment. A propionate-fed GAO-enriched biomass (70% Defluviicoccus I, 18% Defluviicoccus II and 10% PAO) was subjected more than 50 d under anaerobic-anoxic conditions with nitrite as electron acceptor. These operational conditions led to a PAO-enriched sludge (85%) where GAO were washed out of the system (<10%), demonstrating the validity of the new approach for PAO enrichment. In addition, the presented suppression of Defluviicocus GAO with nitrite represents an add-on benefit to the nitrite-based systems since the proliferation of non-desirable GAO can be easily ruled out and added to the other benefits (i.e. lower aeration and COD requirements).     

Identification of the hydrogeochemical processes in groundwater using major ion chemistry: a case study of Penna–Chitravathi river basins in Southern India

Hydrogeochemical studies were carried out in the Penna–Chitravathi river basins to identify and delineate the important geochemical processes which were responsible for the evolution of chemical composition of groundwater. The area is underlain by peninsular gneissic complex of Archaean age, Proterozoic meta-sediments, and strip of river alluvium. Groundwater samples were collected covering all the major hydrogeological environs in pre- and post-monsoon seasons. The samples were analyzed for major constituents such as Ca^2?+?, Mg^2?+?, Na^?+?, K^?+?, CO₃ ^???, HCO₃ ^???, Cl^???, SO₂ ^???4, NO₃ ^???, and F^???. The groundwater in general is of Na^?+?–Cl^???, Na^?+?–HCO₃ ^???, Ca^2?+?–Mg^2?+?–HCO₃ ^???, and Ca^2?+?–Mg^2?+?–Cl^??? types. Na^?+? among cations and Cl^??? and/or HCO₃ ^??? among anions dominate the water; Na^?+? and Ca^2?+? are in the transitional state with Na^?+? replacing Ca^2?+? and HCO₃ ^??? Cl^??? due to physiochemical changes in the aquifer and water–rock interactions. The Ca^2?+?–Mg^2?+?–Cl^??? HCO₃ ^??? type water in one third samples suggest that ion exchange and dissolution processes are responsible for its origin. Change in storage of aquifer in a season does not influence the major geochemical makeup of groundwater. Gibbs plots indicate that the evolution of water chemistry is influenced by water–rock interaction followed by evapotranspiration process. The aquifer material mineralogy together with semiarid climate, poor drainage system, and low precipitation factors played major role in controlling groundwater quality of the area.     

Indoor exposure to respirable particulate matter and particulate-phase PAHs in rural homes in North India

In order to evaluate the exposure of the northern India rural population to polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) inhalation, indoor pollution was assessed by collecting and analyzing the respirable particulate matter PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ in several homes of the village Bhithauli near Lucknow, UP. The home selection was determined by a survey. Given the nature of biomass used for cooking, homes were divided into two groups, one using all kinds of biomass and the second type using plant materials only. Indoor mean concentrations of PM_2.5 and associated PAHs during cooking ranged from 1.19 ± 0.29 to 2.38 ± 0.35 and 6.21 ± 1.54 to 12.43 ± 1.15 μg/m³, respectively. Similarly, PM₁₀ and total PAHs were in the range of 3.95 ± 1.21 to 8.81 ± 0.78 and 7.75 ± 1.42 to 15.77 ± 1.05 μg/m³, respectively. The pollutant levels during cooking were significantly higher compared to the noncooking period. The study confirmed that indoor pollution depends on the kind of biomass fuel used for cooking.     

A Time-Dependent System for Evaluating Groundwater Contamination Hazard Rating of Municipal Solid Waste Dumps

In developing countries, several old municipal solid waste dumps (unlined landfills) exist adjacent to large cities, releasing contaminants to the underlying aquifer, thus posing the hazard of groundwater contamination. These uncontrolled waste dumps need to be prioritized in terms of the groundwater contamination hazard posed by them, so that necessary control and remedial measures can be undertaken in a phased manner. This paper presents a time-dependent system for evaluating groundwater contamination hazard rating of municipal solid waste dumps. The system is based on source–pathway–receptor relationships and evaluates the relative value of hazard posed by a site over its entire leaching life, on a scale of 0–1,000. The system parameters have been selected based on literature and expert opinions. The Delphi technique is used to derive the relative importance weights of the system parameters. The proposed system is compared with six selected existing hazard rating systems. The comparison, made by way of score range analysis, shows that the proposed system exhibits a much wider range of hazard scores for various scenarios of site conditions, and hence the proposed system is more sensitive to varied site conditions. The application of different systems to six municipal solid waste dumps located in four cities of India shows that, whereas the existing systems individually produce clustered scores and return the same rank to more than one site, the proposed system produces significantly varying scores and return different ranks to different sites. This demonstrates that the proposed system improves decision making and makes a better basis for prioritization of municipal solid waste dumps for adopting control and remedial measures.