The data on growth and reproduction of composting earthworms may be beneficial for large scale earthworm production. The growth and reproduction of Perionyx excavatus were assessed in limited supplies of four experimental diets-cow dung alone and its mixture with acacia (Acacia auriculiformis) leaf litter, bamboo (Bambusa polymorpha) leaf litter and terrestrial weed Mikania micrantha under laboratory conditions to select suitable diet from our locally available resource for vermiculture. Growth performance of Perionyx excavatus was significantly (P<0.05) higher in cow dung (maximum weight mg worm-1 629 and growth rate mg worm-1 day-1 22.91). The rate of reproduction (0.3 cocoons worm-1 day-1 and 3.31 juveniles adult-1 week-1) was significantly higher (P<0.05) in acacia-cow dung mixture. The cocoon production was maximum on the 30th day in all experimental diets (cow dung, acacia-cow dung, bamboo-cow dung, mikania-cow dung). All the diets showed a maximum peak of juvenile production on the 45th day. The lowest rate of biomass increase as well as the rate of reproduction were observed in mikania-cow dung mixture. Present result indicates that cow dung and acacia leaf litter can be used as vermiculture substrate for P. excavatus.

Most of the textile and dying process industries in Tirupur region do not have proper wastewater treatment plants and they discharge the effluents in unlined channels and streams. Due to the issue, the groundwater in Tirupur is highly polluted. For analysing groundwater condition, groundwater modelling is used. For groundwater hydrologist, groundwater models are a vital tool. Nowadays, a lot of computer programs have been used for modelling groundwater. Visual MODFLOW software uses a finite difference method for solving the complexity. They can be used for simulating the behaviour of composite aquifers as well as the effects of irregular boundaries and different processes such as solute transport and groundwater flow. This paper evaluates the impact of industrial effluent in groundwater value in Tirupur region by five different scenarios.

The impact of compost prepared from sewage sludge in addition/alteration to chemical fertilizer makes a unique direction for effective waste management with high crop productivity. The study aims to compare the quality, agronomic parameters of sugarcane amended by sewage sludge compost with that using optimum chemical fertilizer (NPK 150-50-90 kg/ha) in the two random fields near sewage treatment plant (STP) of our institute and also to predict the soil quality in that field before sowing and after ripening. Dimensional analysis, Brix, Pol, Purity, Sugar recovery and other necessary quality analysis were estimated for the sugarcane samples. Similarly, soil physico-chemical parameters such as pH, electrical conductivity, forms of nitrogen, organic carbon and other nutrients were also monitored. Obtained sugarcane purity of 89.2% from sludge derived compost (SDC) over the 82.8% using chemical fertilizer amendment leads to the sustainable management system. The % recovery of 12.23 of cane shows the optimum value for the compost amendment. The results scientifically reveal the suitability of sludge compost to the replacement of chemical fertilizers in terms of productivity and soil quality.

This paper presents the performance of Hybrid Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (HUASB) reactor in treating combined real sugar industry and synthetic sago effluents. Sugar industry is one of the most important agricultural industries which discharge the effluent in a huge quantity that creates environmental problems. The disposal of untreated sugar industry effluent in soils and water bodies has received much attention since decades ago. So, in this study, it was decided to inoculate the HUASB reactor with seed sludge from the existing anaerobic digester treating sago wastewater and then it was started by using synthetic sago wastewater, and then it was fed with the combined real sugar industry and synthetic sago wastewater. The reactor was fed with the combined effluents of a real sugar industry and synthetic sago wastewater at different mixing ratios having the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) ranging from 4450 to 5360 mg/L with HRT of 24 hours. The pH, COD removal, volatile fatty acid (VFA), alkalinity and biogas production were monitored for various inlet of COD values. The inlet and outlet pH was between the range of 5.62 to 7.36 and 7.53 to 8.18 respectively. The VFA and alkalinity varied from 36 to 84 mg/L and 926 to 998 mg/L respectively. The biogas production varied from 10.6 to 13.2 L/d. The maximum COD removal of 94.4% and the biogas production of 13.2 L/d was reported at pH 8.11 at the mixing ratio of 60/40 (sago/sugar industry wastewater).

Metal oxide nanoparticles have captivated scrupulous research interest because of its major relevance in the field of medicine, catalysis, pigment, electronics, biotechnology, sensors, optical devices, adsorption, DNA labelling, drug delivery, kinetics, spintronics and piezoelectricity. Nanoparticles (NPs) became more significant for its reasonable property as a heterogeneous non-toxic catalyst with environmental reimbursement. The biogenic innovation of metal oxide NPs is an enhanced alternative owing to eco-friendliness. In the biological field, the probable efficacy of NPs has been reported by scores of scholars in the treatment of cancer. Owed to munificent returns, NPs explored as a powerful catalyst for several organic transformations. This section unlocks with a short course on to synthesize metal oxide NPs on a natural scale.

The epilithic diatoms of a periurban watercourse of Casablanca city (Bouskoura stream) were studied from samples taken in 8 stations (distributed in the upstream-downstream direction) for two years (August 2015-July 2017). The recorded diatomic flora consists of 54 species corresponding to 27 genera and belonging to 5 main families: Monoraphids, Naviculaceae, Nitzschiaceae, Araphids and Surirellaceae. This flora is predominantly alkaliphile and characterizes ?-mesosaprobe to polysaprobes and eutrophic to hypereutrophic media. Responses assemblage to natural and anthropogenic disturbances were analyzed. Diatom assemblages structure analysis shows that downstream of this watercourse, where pollution is intense, the abundances of pollosensitive taxa such as Achnanthes minutissima, Cymbella affinis are low or even nulls and we are witnessing the appearance of polysaprobe forms such as Nitzschia palea, Nitzschia capitellata and Nitzschia frustulum that tolerate rich environments in organic matter or highly polluted. Spatial variation in species diversity could not highlight changes in water quality at the prospected sites; on the other hand, the change in the percentage of pollutant-tolerant taxa (PTV) revealed the full extent of the alteration due to gradual nutrient and organic matter inputs into the Bouskoura watercourse. In addition, the correlation obtained between this index and the organic pollution index (IPO) is highly significant. Principal component analysis (PCA) highlighted taxonomic differences between stations. The results obtained in this work have emphasized the importance of diatoms as a bioindicator of the health status of this periurban watercourse.

In India, festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Puja form an integral part of its rich and diverse cultural heritage. The ritual of idol worshipping and immersion into water bodies signifies the cycle of creation and dissolution, acknowledging the rhythm of nature that all things come from nature and go seamlessly back to it for a cycle to begin. But, in recent times the practice of immersing Plaster of Paris (POP) made idols along with other decorative material into natural water bodies has immensely raised the severe issue of water pollution and creating an uncongenial aquatic ecosystem. In this purview, a pilot project for chemical disintegration of POP idols during Ganesh festival was run in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India to study the effective application of a chemical method developed by CSIR-NCL, Pune by using ammonium bicarbonate. Water samples were collected before and after idol immersion activity from the tank. The detailed chemical analysis of the aqueous phase was carried out to study the effect on various parameters and application of residues. The analytical results reveal that the method has its practical utility as both the products of the reaction can further be used in chalk making and as fertiliser with dilution. The concentration of heavy metals was found minimal and in the limits in the treated aqueous phase. This paper also supports the sustainable management of such functions rather than the use of artificial materials.

In the phytoremediation process, there is an interaction between plants and microorganisms in the soil. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of mercury-resistant bacteria on phytoremediation of soil contaminated with small-scale gold mine tailings that contain mercury. Two isolates of mercury resistant bacteria (Brevundimonas vesicularis and Nitrococcus mobilis) were applied to Paspalum conjugatum as a mercury accumulator plant that was grown for 70 days on gold mine tailing-contaminated soil. Ammonium thiosulfate was used as a chelating agent to stimulate mercury extraction by the plant. After P. conjugatum was harvested (60 days), the remaining soil in the pot was planted with maize until the maximum vegetative period. The results showed that the application of mercury-resistant bacteria and ammonium thiosulfate increased 157-162% of P. conjugatum biomass compared to that without the application of mercury-resistant bacteria. The application of mercury-resistant bacteria with ammonium thiosulfate in soil phytoremediation with P. conjugatum reduced 18% and 20% mercury content in the soil contaminated with small-scale gold mine tailings containing mercury. The decrease in mercury content in the soil due to the application of B. vesicularis and N. mobilis in soil phytoremediation with P. conjugatum increased biomass production of a maize plant by 131% and 145%, respectively.

Surface mining method enormously affects the environment in terms of fugitive dust emission than underground mining method. All the several sources of dust emission from opencast mining, haul road transportation system are the main source of fugitive dust. In this research article, a biodegradable polyacrylamide (PAM) was used to suppress dust generation from haul road of mine. It improves the moisture carrying capacity of haul road than the water. PAM has been synthesized by free radical polymerization process using ceric ammonium nitrate initiator. It was characterized by 1H NMR, IR & intrinsic viscosity measurements, whereas size distribution of haul road dust was measured by sieve analysis. Laboratory work has been carried out to investigate the water holding capacity of haul road dust particles using PAM solution and compared with only water for 8 hours duration. The temperature of the chamber was kept constant at 35°C while relative humidities (RH) varied from 40% to 70%. It was observed that moisture retention of dust with the application of PAM solution and only water were 25.65% and 20.4% at 70% RH and 7.14% and 1.65% at 40% RH, respectively after 8 hours.

This study explored Microbially Induced Calcite Precipitation (MICP) technology to improve the engineering properties [i.e., unconfined compressive strength (UCS)] of granite residual cemented-soil through calcite precipitation. The influence of age and cement mixing ratio on strength, stiffness and the stress-strain relationship of MICP induced calcite precipitation in granite residual cemented-soil was investigated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to analyse the microstructure characteristics of the cemented-soil. Based on the results, the cemented granite residual soil reinforcement mechanism was proposed. The following conclusions were obtained: (1) MICP technology can significantly enhance and improve the engineering properties such as strength, stiffness and toughness of cemented-soil. Compared with the control group, the maximum growth rate of the test group was 87.5%, and the maximum growth rate of the elastic modulus was 141.18%; (2) Soil particles were cemented through MICP technology, making the cemented-soil surface denser; (3) The MICP technology makes the cemented-soil treatment method more sustainable for its use in improving the stability of geo-structures.