Cellulose Based Electrospun Nanofilters: Perspectives On Tannery Effluent Waste Water Treatment

Development of nanofilters with the capability to remove toxic metal ions from effluent wastewater will be of immense help to the leather industry. In this study, fibrous nanofilter (FNF) was prepared using micro cellulosic fiber (MCF) and tea leaves microparticles (TLM) blended in poly (vinyl) alcohol (PVA). FNF was analysed for its efficacy to remove hazardous metals from tannery effluent wastewater. The FNF had promising traits of tensile strength (19.24+0.05 Mpa), elongation at break (22.31+0.12 %), flexibility (10.88+0.05 %), water absorption (37.86+0.14 %) and desorption (32.54+0.33 %). The metal adsorption studies clearly reflected the removal of toxic Cr (VI) ions from the effluent water by FNF. The study establishes an economically feasible and highly efficient way to remove hazardous metal ions from effluent wastewater.

DECOLORIZATION OF DISTILLERY EFFLUENT WASTE BY MICROBIAL CONSORTIUM

<p><strong>Aim</strong>: The effluent discharged from sugarcane molasses based distilleries causes environmental pollution due to its large volume and dark brown colour. The effluents also acifidys soils and causes harmful effects on agriculture crops. The objective of this work was the decolourization of molasses waste water from Doiwala sugar industry, Dehradun was done using different microbial consortiums. <strong>Methodology and Results</strong>: The microbial strains used in this study were obtained from IMTECH, Chandigarh. They were designated as A is E. coli, B is Pseudomonas aeruginosa, C is Staphylococcus aureus, D is Serritia odoriferae, E is Proteus vulgaris and F is Candida albicans. A total of six combinations were prepared using these strains i.e A+B, C+D, E+F, A+B+C, D+E+F and A+B+C+D+E+F. These consortiums were subjected to decolorization experiment of molasses waste water from Doiwala Sugar Factory, Dehradun, India at regular time interval by measuring the optical density. It was observed that at 7th day incubation in each case all consortiums showed maximum decolorization after which the percentage of decolorization was stable. It was also observed that the bacterial consortiums showed higher decolorization than the mixture of bacteria and fungi. Consortium C+D showed highest decolorization i.e. 89%. <strong>Conclusion, significance and impact study</strong>: it is recommended that industry should work with this consortium for decolorization of molasses containing wastewater to solve this environmental problem.</p><p> </p>

Antimicrobial Properties of Cooked African Locust Beans (Parkia biglobosa) Effluent with and without Its Chaff

Aim: This study aim to determine the antimicrobial properties of the Parkia biglobosa (Jacque Benth.) effluents (waste water from the preparation of Parkia biglobosa). The effluents were tested against some typed and clinical pathogenic microorganisms for their antimicrobial properties using the conventional antibiotics as the control. Study Design: Effluent with and without chaff is to serve as agents used to determine its antimicrobial properties on the clinical and typed isolates. Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out between November- 2015 and July- 2016 at the Department of Microbiology Laboratory, Federal University of Technology Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. Methodology: Locust beans bought from “Oja Oba” market, Ikare-Akoko, Ondo state were cooked until the coat was soft and the effluent (waste water from the locust beans) was decanted, cooked again and the effluent with chaffs was also decanted. Both effluents (with and without chaffs) were used against the test and clinical microorganisms using agar well diffusion method. The Minimum inhibitory concentration was carried out using tube dilution method using Mueller Hinton broth. Results: The typed pathogenic microorganisms were subjected to antimicrobial tests using the P. biglobosa effluents at 100mg/mL; the effluents were able to inhibit S. pyogenes (ATCC 29212) S. aureus (ATCC 43300), S. typhi (ATCC 35240) and E. coli (ATCC 35218) while P. aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and K. pneumonia (ATCC 48891) were resistant to the effluents. E. coli (ATCC 35218) had the lowest susceptibility at 6.33 ± 0.58bmm and S. pyogenes (ATCC 29212) had the highest susceptibility with 13.00 ± 1.73amm zones of inhibition for the locust beans effluent. For the clinical isolate, the effluent (waste water from the boiled locust beans) and effluent containing chaffs were also able to inhibit S. aureus, S. typhi, E. coli and S. pyogenes. For the effluent containing chaffs, S. aureus had the lowest susceptibility at 2.33 ± 0.58a mm while S. pyogenes had the highest susceptibility at 9.33 ± 0.58a mm. P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to the effluents. Conclusion: This study has provided useful information on the antimicrobial activities of the effluents against clinical and typed microorganisms used in this study.

A novel textile wastewater treatment using ligninolytic co-culture and photocatalysis with TiO2

Textile industries produce effluent waste water that, if discharged, exerts a negative impact on the environment. Thus, it is necessary to design and implement novel waste water treatment solutions. A sequential treatment consisting of ligninolytic co-culture with the fungi Pleurotus ostreatus and Phanerochaete crhysosporium (secondary treatment) coupled to TiO2/UV photocatalysis (tertiary treatment) was evaluated in the laboratory in order to discolor, detoxify, and reuse textile effluent waste water in subsequent textile dyeing cycles. After 48 h of secondary treatment, upto 80 % of the color in the waste water was removed and its chemical and biochemical oxygen demands (COD, and BOD5) were abated in 92 % and 76 %, respectively. Laccase and MnP activities were central to color removal and COD and BOD5 abatement, exhibiting activity values of 410 U.L-1 and 1 428 U.L-1, respectively. Subjecting waste water samples to 12h of tertiary treatment led to an 86 % color removal and 73 % and 86 % COD and BOD5 abatement, respectively. The application of a sequential treatment for 18 h improved the effectiveness of the waste water treatment, resultingin 89 % of color removal, along with 81 % and 89 % COD and BOD5 abatement, respectively. With this sequential treatment a bacterial inactivation of 55 % was observed. TiO2 films were reused continuously during two consecutive treatment cycles without thermic reactivation. Removal percentages greater than 50 % were attained. Acute toxicity tests performed with untreated waste water led to a lethality level of 100 % at 50 % in Hydra attenuata and to a growth inhibition of 54 % at 50 % in Lactuca sativa. Whereas sequentially treated waste water excreted a 13 % lethality at 6.25 % and aninhibition of 12 % at 75 % for H. attenuata and L. sativa, respectively. Finally, sequentially treated waste water was reused on dyeing experiments in which 0.86 mg.g-1 adsorbed dye per g of fabric, that is equivalent to 80 % of dye adsorption.