Solar assisted alkali pretreatment of garden biomass: Effects on lignocellulose degradation, enzymatic hydrolysis, crystallinity and ultra-structural changes in lignocellulose.

A comprehensive study was carried out to assess the effectiveness of solar assisted alkali pretreatment (SAAP) on garden biomass (GB). The pretreatment efficiency was assessed based on lignocellulose degradation, conversion of cellulose into reducing sugars, changes in the ultra-structure and functional groups of lignocellulose and impact on the crystallinity of cellulose, etc. SAAP was found to be efficient for the removal of lignin and hemicellulose that facilitated enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose.

Pretreatment of garden biomass using Fenton's reagent: influence of Fe(2+) and H2O2 concentrations on lignocellulose degradation.

Garden biomass (GB) is defined as low density and heterogeneous waste fraction of garden rubbish like grass clippings, pruning, flowers, branches, weeds; roots. GB is generally different from other types of biomass. GB is mostly generated through maintenance of green areas.

Investigation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in old consumer products in India.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) used extensively over the past 3 decades as flame retardants in most types of polymers, all over the world, have been identified as global pollutants. PBDEs pose various health problems such as thyroid hormone disruption, permanent learning and memory impairment, behavioral changes, hearing deficits, delayed puberty onset, fetal malformations, and possibly cancer. Many measurements of PBDEs in various matrices from Sweden, Holland, Japan, the USA, and elsewhere have been reported, but few measurements are available for India.

Influence of seasonal variation on water quality in tropical water distribution system: is the disease burden significant?

Recent evidence shows that water distribution system (WDS) is a major risk factor in piped water supply system and the degree of contamination of water in WDS is usually influenced by seasonal variation. Risk assessment studies eliminate the effect of seasonality whenever annualized estimate of concentration of contaminants in water is used to determine the risk to health. In tropical climate where strong seasonal variation prevails, the excess risk during dry and hot season, above the annualized risk can be significant.

Prioritizing hazardous pollutants in two Nigerian water supply schemes: a risk-based approach.

Objective: To rank pollutants in two Nigerian water supply schemes according to their effect on human health using a risk-based approach.

Methods: Hazardous pollutants in drinking-water in the study area were identified from a literature search and selected pollutants were monitored from April 2010 to December 2011 in catchments, treatment works and consumer taps. The disease burden due to each pollutant was estimated in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) using data on the pollutant's concentration, exposure to the pollutant, the severity of its health effects and the consumer population.

Additives aided composting of green waste: effects on organic matter degradation, compost maturity, and quality of the finished compost.

The effect of various additives such as fly ash, phosphogypsum, jaggery, lime, and polyethylene glycol on green waste composting was investigated through assessing their influence on microbial growth, enzymatic activities, organic matter degradation, bulk density, quality of finished compost including gradation test, heavy metal analysis, etc. A perusal of results showed that addition of jaggery and polyethylene glycol were helpful to facilitate composting process as they significantly influenced the growth of microbes and cellulase activity. The quality of finished compost prepared from jaggery and polyethylene glycol added treatments were superior to other composts, wherein reduction in C/N ratio was more than 8% in jaggery treatment.

Bio-control of waterborne pathogens using Lactobacillus spp.

Bacteria play a significant role in water contamination. Chemicals are mostly used for the treatment of bacteriologically contaminated water. The use of bacterial interactions is a new approach to limit the pathogens' growth.

Heavy metal pollution of ambient air in Nagpur City.

Heavy metals released from different sources in urban environment get adsorbed on respirable particulate matter less than 10 μm in size (PM(10)) and are important from public health point of view causing morbidity and mortality. Therefore, the ambient air quality monitoring was carried out to study the temporal and special pattern in the distribution of PM(10) and associated heavy metal content in the atmosphere of Nagpur, Maharashtra State, India during 2001 as well as in 2006. PM(10) fraction was observed to exceed the stipulated standards in both years.

Groundwater quality and water quality index at Bhandara District.

The present investigation reports the results of a monitoring study focusing on groundwater quality of Bhandara District of central India. Since, remediation of groundwater is very difficult, knowledge of the existing nature, magnitude, and sources of the various pollution loads is a prerequisite to assessing groundwater quality. The water quality index (WQI) value as a function of various physicochemical and bacteriological parameters was determined for groundwater obtained from a total of 21 locations.

Removal of probable human carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from contaminated water using molecularly imprinted polymer.

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) adsorbent for carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was prepared using a non-covalent templating technique. MIP particles sized from 2 to 5 microm were synthesized in acetonitrile by using six PAHs mix as a template, methacrylic acid as the functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linker. When compared with the non-imprinted polymer (NIP), the MIP showed an excellent affinity towards PAHs in aqueous solution with binding capacity (B(max)) of 687 microg g(-1)MIP, imprinting effect of 6, and a dissociation constant of 24 microM.

Fluorescence spectrophotometer analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in environmental samples based on solid phase extraction using molecularly imprinted polymer.

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized using a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) standard as a template, methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker, and acetonitrile as a porogen. This polymer was used as a solid phase adsorbent for the quantitative enrichment of PAHs in coastal sediments, atmospheric particulates, and industrial effluents. The MIP selective adsorption capacity for PAHs started reducing when the chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total dissolved solids (TDS) was more than 800 mg L(-1) in the targeted environmental samples.

Quantification of transition metals in biological samples and its possible impact on ferro-alloy workers.

Increased risk of ill-health and diseases has been associated with employment in the ferro-alloy factory. Since measurement of transition metals in human blood and hair along with respective exposure rates, provides a means of assessing individual risk, it has been the most important part of the study. In the study majority of the elements in the transition series, such as, vanadium (V), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), cobalt, (Co) nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), molybdenum (Mo) and cadmium (Cd) were considered which are randomly emitted from the source, that is, manganese ore (used during ferro-alloy manufacturing process).

Simulation of impact of oil spill in the ocean--a case study of Arabian Gulf.

To meet the growing energy demand worldwide, oil and gas exploration and production activities have increased rapidly both in onshore and offshore areas. The produced oil from the ocean bed is transported onshore either by ship or pipeline. This has increased the risk of oil spill in the coastal area.

Heavy metal content of potato chips and biscuits from Nagpur City, India.

Heavy metals composition of foods is of immense interest because of its essential or toxic nature. In view of this, we determined concentrations of select heavy metals from food items such as, potato chips and biscuits that were obtained from Nagpur City, India. The present study revealed preferred digestion method for different heavy metal recovery.

Decolorization of azo dyes and simulated dye bath wastewater using acclimatized microbial consortium--biostimulation and halo tolerance.

Anaerobic acclimatization of activated sludge from a textile effluent treatment plant to high concentration of RB5 could effectively decolorize RB5 dye solution. The strains viz. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus circulans and other unidentified laboratory isolates (NAD1 and NAD6) were predominantly present in the microbial consortium.

Assessing spatial occurrence of ground level ozone around coal mining areas of Chandrapur District, Maharashtra, India.

Stratospheric input and photochemical ozone formation in the troposphere are the two main sources determining the ozone levels in the surface layer of the atmosphere. Because of the importance of ozone in controlling the atmospheric chemistry and its decisive role in the heat balance of atmosphere, leading to climate change, the examination of its formation and destruction are of great interest. This study characterized the distribution of Ground level Ozone (GLO) in Chandrapur district is lying between 19 degrees 25'N to 20 degrees 45'N and 78 degrees 50'E to 80 degrees 10'E.