Environmental Management
G. Saini; P. S. Deepak
Abstract
The entire world is reeling under the worst pandemic of last 100 years. Over 128 million people have been infected with it and 2.8 million deaths have already taken place, till 30th March 2021. The identification of materials positive cases is the first step towards its containment and treatment. However, ...
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The entire world is reeling under the worst pandemic of last 100 years. Over 128 million people have been infected with it and 2.8 million deaths have already taken place, till 30th March 2021. The identification of materials positive cases is the first step towards its containment and treatment. However, testing of individuals is an extensive, expensive and time-consuming exercise. In addition, societal taboos are also associated with infected individuals resulting in very few people volunteering for testing, esp. in the developing and under-developed world. An alternative approach that circumvents individual testing is the wastewater-based epidemiology. A state-of-the-art review of this method is provided in context of its utility for COVID-19 detection. This technique relies on collecting and testing samples from sewers and/or wastewater treatment plants for the presence of pathogens and then using that data to determine and predict the spread of the infection, thereby allowing the provision of appropriate containment and treatment steps. The study covers key aspects of wastewater-based epidemiology application for COVID-19 detection including its need, detailed process of detection and assessment, data analysis, economics and challenges to its application. Findings from a number of case studies are presented to elucidate the utility of this technique. It is clearly seen that WBE-based approach is a much better strategy as compared to individual testing and can be adopted to prevent further spread of Covid-19. The work is expected to further emphasize the application of this method for COVID (and other pandemic) detection and implementing containment strategies. This is clearly a much more economical and non-intrusive approach as compared to the individual testing.
Environmental Engineering
S. Gautam; G. Saini
Abstract
Industrial effluents are a menace to the environment and the fact that their characteristics vary from industry-to-industry only adds to the complex challenge they offer to the engineers and scientists. Resource-efficient and environment-friendly solutions to this hazard are a call of the hour. Coagulation, ...
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Industrial effluents are a menace to the environment and the fact that their characteristics vary from industry-to-industry only adds to the complex challenge they offer to the engineers and scientists. Resource-efficient and environment-friendly solutions to this hazard are a call of the hour. Coagulation, by synthetic chemicals, has been used as a cost-effective and efficient method for managing the effluents generated by a large number of industries. However, the synthetic chemicals themselves are a cause of concern due to their non-native nature, non-degradability, and health conditions associated with their left-over residues. Natural coagulants offer a cost-effective, environment-friendly, and sustainable alternative to the application of synthetic chemicals. Such natural coagulants, despite their demonstrated effectiveness in treating the industrial wastewaters, have their own limitations and are yet to be investigated for large-scale applications. The current work presents a state-of-the-art review of the natural coagulants' application in treating industrial wastewaters and their relative advantages and disadvantages as compared to the chemical coagulants. Future research areas have also been identified that may ultimately lead to the large-scale commercial application of natural coagulants and will result in an environment-friendly and sustainable solution to the problems created by industrial effluents and synthetic chemical coagulants.
