Chitta Ranjan Panda

Assessment of Water Quality Index in Mahanadi and Atharabanki Rivers and Taldanda Canal in Paradip Area, India

Abstract An assessment of the water quality of Mahanadi and its distributary rivers and streams, Atharabanki river and Taldanda Canal adjoining Paradip was studied in three different seasons namely summer, premonsoon and winter. Four parameters namely pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Biochemical Oxygen Demand and Fecal Coliform were considered to compute Water Quality Index based on National Science Foundation studies. Our findings highlighted the deterioration of water quality in the rivers due to industrialisation and human activities.

Bioreduction of hexavalent chromium by Exiguobacterium indicum strain MW1 isolated from marine water of Paradip Port, Odisha, India

ABSTRACT Hexavalent chromium-tolerant (1500 mg/L) bacterium MW1 was isolated from harbour water of Paradip Port and evaluated for Cr(VI) reduction potential. The isolate was identified as Exiguobacterium indicum by biochemical and 16S rRNA gene sequence methods. Salt tolerance of the bacterium was evaluated in a wide range of NaCl concentrations (0.5–13%, w/v). The Cr(VI) reduction of the strain was evaluated and optimised with varied Cr(VI) concentrations (100–1000 mg/L), pH (5.0–9.0), temperature (30–40°C) and shaking velocity (100–150 rpm) in two different minimal media (M9 and Acetate). Under optimised conditions, after 192 h of incubation nearly 92%, 50% and 46% reduction in the M9 minimal medium and 91%, 47% and 40% reduction in the acetate minimal medium were observed for 100, 500 and 1000 mg/L of Cr(VI), respectively. The exponential rate equation for Cr(VI) reduction yielded higher rate constant value, that is, 1.27 × 10−2 h−1 (M9) and 1.17 × 10−2 h−1 (Acetate) in case of 100 mg/L and became lower for 500 and 1000 mg/L Cr(VI) concentrations. Further, the association of bacterial cells with reduced product was ascertained by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, UV–Vis–DRS and field-emission scanning electron microscope–energy-dispersive X-ray analyses. The above study suggests that the higher reducing ability of the marine bacterium E. indicum MW1 will be suitable for Cr(VI) reduction from saline effluents.

B anana Peduncle Biochar: Characteristics and Adsorption of Hexavalent Chromium from Aqueous Solution

Aims: Biochar produced from different waste biomass has been documented as an adsorbent for heavy metal removal from contaminated water . In present study, Banana peduncle which considered as waste, but abundantly available and have high biomass was selected for production of biochar to investigate its adsorption capacity for hexavalent chromium. Place and Duration of Study: Environment and Sustainability Department, CSIR - Institute of Miner als and Materials Technology (CSIR - IMMT), Bhubaneswar, India, between April 2014 and October 2014. Methodology: Banana peduncle pyrolysed at 300 ° C and 500 ° C temperature and characterized by proximate, total carbon, FE - SEM, FTIR and XPS analysis. The adsorp tion of Cr (VI) studied through the batch experiment at different pH, adsorbent dose, and initial concentration. Results: The banana pedun cle biochar yield was 66 and 40 % at 300 ° C and 500 ° C respectively.

Extraction of aluminium as aluminium sulphate from thermal power plant fly ashes

Abstract Valuable metal extraction technology from thermal power plant fly ash is limited. In the present study, aluminium is extracted from fly ash as highly pure aluminium sulphate (>99.0%) by leaching with sulphuric acid, followed by pre-concentration and successive crystallization. Two types of fly ashes from different sources, i.e., Talcher Thermal Power Station (TTPS) and Vedanta Aluminium Company Limited (VAL) were chosen for comparative study on the extraction of aluminium as aluminium sulphate. The product is characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Purity of aluminium sulphate was also investigated by inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP–OES). The extraction efficiency of aluminium depends on the varied solid-to-liquid ratio (fly ash : 18 mol/L H 2 SO 4 , g/mL) and particle size of fly ashes. Physico-chemical analysis indicates that the obtained product is Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 ·18H 2 O, having low iron content (0.08%).

Biodetoxification of Toxic Heavy Metals by Marine Metal Resistant Bacteria- A Novel Approach for Bioremediation of the Polluted Saline Environment

Heavy metal contamination of the environment is a serious threat to our biological ecosystem due to their toxicity, carcinogenicity and mutagenicity. In recent years, increased mining, industrialisation and urbanisation activities have increased the flow of toxic metal ions to the environment. Toxic heavy metals such as Cr(VI), Cd(II), Pb(II), As(III/V), etc. are harmful for the environment when present above the critical values. Hence, their removal and detoxification in the environment should be done with utmost priority which can be achieved either by conventional physico-chemical or by bio-detoxification techniques. There are several disadvantages for the conventional physico-chemical metal detoxication techniques such as high cost, production of secondary toxic wastes, inconvenience in treating industrial effluents having low metal concentration, etc. which leads to the emergence of bio-detoxification techniques. Bio-detoxification, a cost-effective, environmental friendly and value added technique, can be used as an alternative treatment technology to overcome the drawbacks of conventional methods. Bio-detoxification of toxic heavy metals includes either transformation of metals from its toxic valency state to less toxic form using biological agents or their removal from the environment by using biosorption techniques. Bacteria from metal polluted habitats are adapted and possess a multiple metal tolerant capacity towards high metal concentration which can be the potential candidates for bio detoxification. Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS) of bacterial cell wall plays an important role in heavy metal detoxification. EPS comprising of different components such as peptidoglycan, teichoic and teichuronic acids, phospholipids, lipopolysaccharides and various proteins are responsible for metal binding and transportation across membrane. Most of the industrial effluents are saline in nature and bioremediation of the toxic metals present in such saline environments is a major challenge because it cannot be treated by non-halotolerant microbes due to their growth hindrance in saline rich environments. Metal-resistant and salt tolerant marine bacteria are most efficient agents for rapid adaptation and metal bioremediation from the polluted high saline environment as they are inhabited to the adverse marine environments. Hence, salt tolerant and metal resistant bacteria from marine environment are more suitable for bio-detoxification of heavy metals. The present chapter emphasizes the use of salt tolerant bacteria from different marine habitat for bioremediation of various toxic metals in saline environment.