Application of isolated bacterial consortium in UMBR for detoxification of textile effluent: comparative analysis of resultant oxidative stress and genotoxicity in catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis) exposed to raw and treated effluents

Coconut coir-derived nanocellulose as an efficient adsorbent for removal of cationic dye safranin-O: a detailed mechanistic adsorption study

Coconut (Cocos nucifera) coir is an abundant agricultural waste prevalent worldwide. Utilization of this waste has been carried out in this study by obtaining nanocellulose (NC) fibres for wastewater remediation purposes. Nanocellulose was obtained from coconut coir using bleaching and acid-alkali treatments followed by ultrasonication and lyophilization. The structural, compositional, surface and thermal properties of the synthesized material were identified using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), N2 adsorption/desorption, differential thermal (DT) and derivative thermogravimetric (DTG) analyses. These analyses confirmed the synthesized NC with enhanced thermal stability and porosity which was further used for adsorption process. After synthesis, NC was used for the removal of cationic dye safranin-O from water under ambient conditions through batch adsorption studies. The batch adsorption studies revealed that at 10 ppm of dye concentration, above 99% removal was achieved by 100 mg dosage of NC within 4.5 h at room temperature with qe (maximum adsorption capacity at equilibrium) value of around 83 mg g-1. The corresponding adsorption process fitted well with Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order kinetics. The primary mode of adsorption from the thermodynamic studies was found to be chemisorption. The adsorption process was achieved through response surface methodology (RSM) study which revealed that at optimized conditions of temperature 35 °C with a dose of 137.50 mg and contact time of 180 min, above 99% of dye (conc. 0.01 mg mL-1) was removed. In addition, the adsorbent can be recycled up to six cycles without any significant loss of its adsorption capacity. The present comprehensive study revealed that a greener eco-friendly synthesis of NC from waste material coconut coir was an effective nanoadsorbent for dye removal with high efficacy. This surely opens up opportunities to develop sustainable protocols for efficient environmental remediation.

Environmental pollution, toxicity profile, and physico-chemical and biotechnological approaches for treatment of textile wastewater

Textile industries discharges a huge quantity of unused synthetic dyes in wastewater leading to increased environmental pollution and pose a great risk to human health. Thus, a significant improvement in effluent quality is required before it is discharged into the environment. Although, several physicochemical methods have been practiced for the efficient color and dyes removal from textile effluents, these approaches have some drawbacks of greater use of expensive chemicals, low sensitivity, formation of excess sludge which also have secondary disposal problem. Thus, there is still a need for energy efficient, affordable, effective, and environmentally friendly treatment technologies. Bioremediation has been considered as a promising an upcoming active field of research for the treatment of unwanted color and target compounds from the contaminated environment. In order to efficient treatment of textile effluent, the main objective of the present study was to isolate and characterize the indigenous microbial isolates from textile industry effluents and sludge samples and investigate their dye removal and decolorization ability along with the influence of various process parameters on effluents decolorization that draining into the open environment.

Protocol to select efficient microorganisms to treat coffee wastewater

The coffee processing wastewater (CPWW) requires treatment before being disposed of in the environment or reused due to its high organic and inorganic composition and a low pH. The indigenous microbiota from CPWW is highly diverse and could be selected as inoculums in treatment waste plants. Considering the physico-chemical characteristics of wastewater coffee, we elaborate on steps to select the microbial consortium that showed positive impact via decreasing the pollutant parameters of this effluent. The effectiveness was confirmed using wastewater from different origins with different chemical characteristics. A bacterial consortium composed by Serratia marcescens CCMA 1010 and CCMA 1012, Corynebacterium flavescens CCMA 1006, and Acetobacter indonesiensis CCMA 1002 was selected as the inoculums-based phenotypic assays. The mixed inoculum showed a highly active population (11.18 log CFU mL^-1), promoting an 85% decrease in biochemical oxygen demand and a 60% decrease in chemical oxygen demand. There was also an 80% reduction in phosphorus and nitrogen. The final pH changed from 6.0 to 7.5. Additionally, the eco-toxicity using Daphnia similis was reduced by more than 59%. The microbial inoculum was efficient in the biological treatment in CPWWs, demonstrating the efficiency and robustness of the selected strains, independent of the physico-chemical characteristics of wastewater.

Assessment on the decolourization of textile dye (Reactive Yellow) using Pseudomonas sp. immobilized on fly ash: Response surface methodology optimization and toxicity evaluation

This study focuses on the investigation of removal of textile dye (Reactive Yellow) by a combined approach of sorption integrated with biodegradation using low cost adsorbent fly ash immobilized with Pseudomonas sp. To ensure immobilization of bacterial species on treated fly ash, fly ash with immobilized bacterial cells was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and fluorescence microscopy. Comparative batch studies were carried out using Pseudomonas sp, fly ash and immobilized Pseudomonas sp on flyash and were observed that immobilized Pseudomonas sp on flyash acted as better decolourizing agent. The optimized pH, temperature, and immobilized adsorbent dosage for highest percentage of dye removal were observed to be pH 6, 303 K, 1.2 g/L in all the cases. At optimum condition, the highest percentage of dye removal was found to be 88.51%, 92.62% and 98.72% for sorption (flyash), biodegradation (Pseudomonas sp) and integral approach (Pseudomonas sp on flyash) respectively. Optimization of operating parameters of textile dye decolourization was done by response surface methodology (RSM) using Design Expert 7 software. Phytotoxicity evaluation with Cicer arietinum revealed that seeds exposed to untreated dye effluents showed considerably lower growth, inhibited biochemical, and enzyme parameters with compared to those exposed to treated textile effluents. Thus this immobilized inexpensive technique could be used for removal of synthetic dyes present in textile wastewater.

Exposure of composite tannery effluent on snail, Pila globosa: A comparative assessment of toxic impacts of the untreated and membrane treated effluents

Effluent from tannery industries can significantly affect the aquatic environment due to the presence of a variety of recalcitrant components. The present study focuses on a comparative assessment of the toxic impacts of an untreated tannery effluent and membrane treated effluents using snail, Pila globosa as an aquatic model. Composite tannery effluent collected from a common effluent treatment plant was selected as the untreated effluent. To investigate the effect of treated effluents on the aquatic organism the effluent was treated by two ways, viz. a single stage microfiltration (MF) using ceramic membrane and a two-step process involving MF followed by reverse osmosis (RO). The whole body tissue, gonad and mantle of P. globosa were subjected to enzyme assays like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-GPx), glutathione S- transferase (GST), etc. for assessing toxic impact. Changes in the biochemical parameters like protein, carbohydrate and amino acid were observed including histological studies of gonad and mantle tissue upon treatment with tannery effluents. To examine potential DNA damage due to the exposure of the effluent, comet assay was conducted. The study revealed that with an exposure to the untreated effluent, activity of the antioxidant enzymes increased significantly while the protein and carbohydrate content reduced largely in the whole body tissue, gonad as well as mantle tissues of P. globosa. Histological study indicated considerable damage in the gonad and mantle tissues following exposure to the untreated effluent. Comet assay using hemolymph of P. globosa following exposure to tannery effluent, showed significant genotoxicity. Interestingly, compared to the untreated effluent, damaging effect was reduced in molluscs tissues when exposed to MF treated effluent and even lesser when exposed to MF+RO treated effluent. Apart from the reduced activities of oxidative stress enzymes, the protein, amino acid and carbohydrate content of molluscs exposed to both of the treated effluent were found close to that of control. Comet assay revealed no damage in the DNA for MF and MF+RO treated effluent indicating that the membrane based treatment procedure restores environmental condition to control level.

Treatment of cosmetic effluent in different configurations of ceramic UF membrane based bioreactor: Toxicity evaluation of the untreated and treated wastewater using catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis)

Extensive usage of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) and their discharge through domestic sewage have been recently recognized as a new generation environmental concern which deserves more scientific attention over the classical environmental pollutants. The major issues of this type of effluent addressed in this study were its colour, triclosan and anionic surfactant (SDS) content. Samples of cosmetic effluent were collected from different beauty treatment salons and spas in and around Kolkata, India and treated in bioreactors containing a bacterial consortium isolated from activated sludge samples collected from a common effluent treatment plant. Members of the consortium were isolated and identified as Klebsiella sp., Pseudomonas sp., Salmonella sp. and Comamonas sp. The biotreated effluent was subjected to ultrafiltration (UF) involving indigenously prepared ceramic membranes in both side-stream and submerged mode. Analysis of the MBR treated effluent revealed 99.22%, 98.56% and 99.74% removal of colour, triclosan and surfactant respectively. Investigation of probable acute and chronic cyto-genotoxic potential of the untreated and treated effluents along with their possible participation in triggering oxidative stress was carried out with Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch). Comet formation recorded in both liver and gill cells and micronucleus count in peripheral erythrocytes of individuals exposed to untreated effluent increased with duration of exposure and was significantly higher than those treated with UF permeates which in turn neared control levels. Results of this study revealed successful application of the isolated bacterial consortium in MBR process for efficient detoxification of cosmetic effluent thereby conferring the same suitable for discharge and/or reuse.

Optimization and modelling of synthetic azo dye wastewater treatment using Graphene oxide nanoplatelets: Characterization toxicity evaluation and optimization using Artificial Neural Network

Azo dyes pose a major threat to current civilization by appearing in almost all streams of wastewater. The present investigation was carried out to examine the potential of Graphene oxide (GO) nanoplatelets as an efficient, cost-effective and non-toxic azo dye adsorbent for efficient wastewater treatment. The treatment process was optimized using Artificial Neural Network for maximum percentage dye removal and evaluated in terms of varying operational parameters, process kinetics and thermodynamics. A brief toxicity assay was also designed using fresh water snail Bellamya benghalensis to analyze the quality of the treated solution. 97.78% removal of safranin dye was obtained using GO as adsorbent. Characterization of GO nanoplatelets (using SEM, TEM, AFM and FTIR) reported the changes in its structure as well as surface morphology before and after use and explained its prospective as a good and environmentally benign adsorbent in very low quantities. The data recorded when subjected to different isotherms best fitted the Temkin isotherm. Further analysis revealed the process to be endothermic and chemisorption in nature. The verdict of the toxicity assay rendered the treated permeate as biologically safe for discharge or reuse in industrial and domestic purposes.

Mathematical modelling and optimization of synthetic textile dye removal using soil composites as highly competent liner material

Soil is widely used as adsorbent for removing toxic pollutants from their aqueous solutions due to its wide availability and cost efficiency. This study investigates the potential of soil and soil composites for removal of crystal violet (CV) dye from solution on a comparative scale. Optimisation of different process parameters was carried out using a novel approach of response surface methodology (RSM) and a central composite design (CCD) was used for determining the optimum experimental conditions, as well as the result of their interactions. Around 99.85 % removal of CV was obtained at initial pH 6.4, which further increased to 99.98 % on using soil and cement composite proving it to be the best admixture of those selected. The phenomenon was found to be represented best by the Langmuir isotherm at different temperatures. The process followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and was determined to be spontaneous chemisorption in nature. This adsorbent can hence be suggested as an appropriate liner material for the removal of CV dye.