Environmental Science
M. Kamaraj; P. Kamali; R. Kaviya; K. Abishek; B. Navinkumar; T.G. Nithya; L.S. Wong; J. Aravind
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and organic dye pollution is associated with an increased risk of toxicity, hazard, and cancer due to their widespread use. Exogenous endocrine disruptors are responsible for interfering with reproduction and development because they ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals and organic dye pollution is associated with an increased risk of toxicity, hazard, and cancer due to their widespread use. Exogenous endocrine disruptors are responsible for interfering with reproduction and development because they can either stimulate or decrease endogenous hormone responses. This work explores the feasibility of human hair biochar as a potential adsorbent for possible solid waste management processes to minimize environmental pollution. Malachite green and bisphenol-A were selected as model pollutants, and the response surface methodology was used to identify the maximal removal of these hazardous substances.METHODS: Samples of human hair waste are collected and processed. After air drying for 24 hours, it was carbonized in a hot air oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 3 hours to obtain the human hair biochar. The biochar was subjected to various instrumental analyses to ascertain the characteristics of the biochar. Both malachite green and bisphenol-A adsorption experiments are performed in a batch method. Initial pollutant concentration (100 milligrams per liter), the volume of pollutant solution (50 milliliters), temperature (37 degrees Celsius), and agitation speed of orbital shaker (150 rotation per minute) are established as constants in this investigation. Data obtained from an Ultra Violet-Visible spectrophotometer was used to design expert software to calculate adsorption efficiency. Data variables A, B, and C included the potential of hydrogen (3, 6, 9), duration (60, 150, 240 minutes), and adsorbent dose (0.1, 0.3, 0.5 gram per liter) in the Response Surface Methodology experiment.FINDINGS: The human hair biochar is characterized by analytical methods, and Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller analysis revealed that it has a porous nature and extensive surface area, an amorphous structure, and various functional groups. The efficiency of adsorbent investigated over Malachite green and bisphenol-A in a batch experiment and performance variation of three parameters: A: potential of hydrogen (3, 6, 9), B: duration (60, 150, 240 minutes), and C: Human hair biochar dose (0.1, 0.3, 0.5 gram per liter) were evaluated via box-behnken design. Through analysis of variance and numerical expectation, the optimal potential of hydrogen, duration, and Human hair biochar dose was predicted as 3, 150 minutes, and 0.5 grams per liter, which resulted in a maximum removal of 96 percent for malachite green and 83 percent for bisphenol-A.CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated the facile heat-assisted development of biochar from human hair waste as a potential candidate for environmental remediation. The topography, structure, surface area, and functional group analysis of human hair biochar were carried out using analytical techniques that reveal the biochar has the potential for adsorbent characteristics. The adsorption efficiency of human hair biochar was demonstrated for malachite green (96 percent) and bisphenol-A (83 percent) response surface methodology under optimal conditions. The results suggested the model's relevance for the sorption of dyes and contaminants. The current study concludes that biochar can be prepared using a less expensive method and can be an alternate option to remove the dyes and other emerging contaminants in the aqueous matrix.
K. Kumaresan; R. Balan; A. Sridhar; J. Aravind; P. Kanmani
Abstract
Organic fraction of solid waste, which upon degradation produces foul smell and generates pathogens, if not properly managed. Composting is not a method of waste disposal but it is a method of waste recycling and used for agricultural purposes. An integrated approach of composting methodology was tested ...
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Organic fraction of solid waste, which upon degradation produces foul smell and generates pathogens, if not properly managed. Composting is not a method of waste disposal but it is a method of waste recycling and used for agricultural purposes. An integrated approach of composting methodology was tested for municipal solid waste management. Solid waste first was composted and after 22 days, was further processed by vermicomposting. Samples were routinely taken for analysis of carbon, nitrogen, moisture content, pH and temperature to determine the quality of composting. Decrease in moisture content to 32.1 %, relative decrease in carbon and nitrogen content were also observed. Among the different types of treatment, municipal solid waste + activated sludge integration showed promising results, followed by vermicomposting municipal solid waste + activated sludge combination, compared to the combinations of dried activated sludge, municipal solid waste + activated sludge semisolid and municipal solid waste + sewage water. Thus, windrow composting followed by vermicomposting gave a better result than other methods. Thus this method would serve as a potential alternative for solid waste management.
J. Aravind; P. Kanmani; G. Sudha; R. Balan
Abstract
The current investigation presents the role of gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus) seeds as an effective biosorbent for remediating chromium (VI)), a toxic heavy metal pollutant commonly found in effluents from tanneries and relevant industries. Biosorption was affected by pH, temperature and initial metal ...
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The current investigation presents the role of gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus) seeds as an effective biosorbent for remediating chromium (VI)), a toxic heavy metal pollutant commonly found in effluents from tanneries and relevant industries. Biosorption was affected by pH, temperature and initial metal concentration. Furthermore, there is a need to understand the holistic effect of all variables to ascertain the best possible conditions for adsorption, therefore, these factors were considered and a total of 17 trials were run according to the Box Behnken design. Quadratic model had maximum R2 value (0.9984) and larger F value (1109.92). From the Analysis Of Variance table and R2 value, quadratic model was predicted to be the significant model with the best fit to the generated experimental data. The optimal parameters obtained from the contour plot for the maximum removal of chromium(VI) were initial metal concentration of 60 mg/L, pH value of 2, and temperature of 27°C. Under these conditions, maximum removal of 92% was obtained. Thus this biosorbent substantially eliminates chromium(VI) under optimized conditions, enabling its use in larger scale.
J. Aravind; G. Sudha;; P. Kanmani; A.J. Devisri; S. Dhivyalakshmi; M. Raghavprasad
Abstract
Gooseberry seed (Phyllanthus acidus) was used as an adsorbent to determine its feasibility for the removal of Cr(VI). Various parameters such as pH, temperature, contact time, initial metal concentration and adsorbent dosage were investigated to determine the biosorption performance. Equilibrium was ...
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Gooseberry seed (Phyllanthus acidus) was used as an adsorbent to determine its feasibility for the removal of Cr(VI). Various parameters such as pH, temperature, contact time, initial metal concentration and adsorbent dosage were investigated to determine the biosorption performance. Equilibrium was attained within 60 minutes and maximum removal of 96% was achieved under the optimum conditions at pH 2. The adsorption phenomenon demonstrated here was monolayer represented by Langmuir isotherm with R2 value of 0.992 and the Langmuir constants k and q0 was found to be 0.0061 (L/mg) and 19.23 (mg/g). The adsorption system obeyed Pseudo second order kinetics with R2 value of 0.999. The results of the present study indicated that gooseberry seed powder can be employed as adsorbent for the effective removal of hexavalent chromium economically.
J. Aravind; T. Saranya; P. Kanmani
Abstract
Inorganic polyphosphates (PolyP) are linear polymers of few to several hundred orthophosphate residues, linked by energy-rich phosphoanhydride bonds. Four isolates had been screened from soil sample. By MALDI-TOF analysis, they were identified as Bacillius cereus, Acinetobacter towneri, B. megaterium ...
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Inorganic polyphosphates (PolyP) are linear polymers of few to several hundred orthophosphate residues, linked by energy-rich phosphoanhydride bonds. Four isolates had been screened from soil sample. By MALDI-TOF analysis, they were identified as Bacillius cereus, Acinetobacter towneri, B. megaterium and B. cereus. The production of PolyP in four isolates was studied in phosphate uptake medium and sulfur deficient medium at pH 7. These organisms had shown significant production of PolyP after 22h of incubation. PolyP was extracted from the cells using alkaline lysis method. Among those isolates, Acinetobacter towneri was found to have high (24.57% w/w as P) accumulation of PolyP in sulfur deficient medium. The media optimization for sulfur deficiency was carried out using Response surface methodology (RSM). It was proven that increase in phosphate level in the presence of glucose, under sulfur limiting condition, enhanced the phosphate accumulation by Acinetobacter towneri and these condition can be simulated for the effective removal of phosphate from wastewater sources.