Browsing by Author "Vaid, Upma"

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    Adsorption studies for the removal of hexavalent chromium using fly ash of waste to energy power plant
    (Central University of Punjab, 2013) Vaid, Upma; Mittal, Sunil
    Chromium is the most common pollutant discharged in industrial effluent and reported to be present beyond permissible limits causing various health problems like carcinogenicity. Therefore, it must be removed from industrial effluent before its discharge. Several physico-chemical methods have been used for the removal of Cr (VI) from industrial effluents. Adsorption using activated carbon is quite efficient for the removal of Cr (VI) from industrial effluents. However, it is a costly process and the regeneration of activated carbon is difficult. Hence, in the present work, efforts have been made to explore the use of fly ash collected from the ‘Waste to Energy Power Plant’ as a low cost adsorbent. In order to maximize the Cr (VI) removal from simulated aqueous solutions, effects of various parameters (adsorbent dose, contact time, pH and initial metal ion concentration) on Cr (VI) adsorption were investigated by batch adsorption experiments. By optimizing the conditions for Cr (VI) adsorption using the fly ash, removal of hexavalent chromium from the aqueous solution (10 μg Cr/ml) was increased from 4% to approx. 99%. This shows that fly ash of agricultural waste burning can be used as an adsorbent for the removal of Cr (VI) at low concentration.
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    Ground/drinking water contaminants and cancer incidence: A case study of rural areas of South West Punjab, India
    (Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2019-12-26T00:00:00) Kaur, Gursharan; Kumar, Ravishankar; Mittal, Sunil; Sahoo, Prafulla Kumar; Vaid, Upma
    This study was carried out in the rural areas of South West Punjab, India, to evaluate the groundwater quality and cancer incidence. The epidemiological study was carried using standardized questionnaire method, and the groundwater samples were analyzed for heavy metals by ICP-MS and AAS. The results showed that the cancer prevalence was highest in the age group of > 60, followed by >45�60 years old in both males and females. The average cancer rate in females (272 cases/lakh) was ?3 times higher than the India�s national cancer average of 80 cases/lakh. The mean concentration of As (27.59 �g/L), Pb (48.3 �g/L), U (96.56 �g/L), NO3� (67.32 mg/L), and F� (4.7 mg/L) exceeded the drinking water limits of WHO/BIS. Health risk analysis indicated that As, Pb, U, and F� with NO3� are the major groundwater contaminants, which may be one of the potential cause of cancer incidences. Multivariate analyses reveal that anthropogenic activities are source of NO3�, whereas U, As, and F� are mainly of geogenic origin. The carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risk followed in the order of As > Pb and U > F�>NO3�>Cu > Zn, respectively. Further, correlations between cancer incidence and groundwater quality have been discussed. � 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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    Removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution using biomass derived fly ash from Waste-to- Energy power plant
    (Taylor & Francis, 2013) Vaid, Upma; Mittal, Sunil; Babu, J. Nagendra
    Fly ash from the agricultural waste-based Energy Power Plant has been studied for the adsorption of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)]. In order to maximize the Cr(VI) removal from simulated aqueous solutions, effects of various parameters i.e. adsorbent dose (10–40 g/L), contact time (5–90 min), variation in pH (1–5), and initial metal ion concentration (10–80 mg/L) on Cr(VI) adsorption were investigated by batch adsorption experiments. It was observed that adsorption of Cr(VI) on the selected adsorbent was dependent on pH. Before optimization of experimental conditions, the percent removal of Cr(VI) from the aqueous solution (10 mg Cr/L) was approximately 4%, which increased to approximately 99% after optimization of experimental conditions. Maximum adsorption was observed upon adding 10 g/L of adsorbent to a 60 mg Cr/L aqueous solution at pH 1.0 and contact time of 90 min at 200 rpm. Equilibrium adsorption data were well fitted in Langmuir isotherm model which substantiate monolayer adsorption of Cr(VI) on fly ash. Kinetics of Cr(VI) adsorption on fly ash follows pseudo-second-order reaction.
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    Removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solution: a comparative study of cone biomass of “Picea smithiana” and activated charcoal
    (Taylor & Francis, 2016) Mittal, Sunil; Vaid, Upma; Najar, Gh Nabi; Babu, J. Nagendra
    The present work investigates comparative adsorption efficiency of powdered cone biomass of Picea smithiana (PCBP) and activated charcoal (AC) for removal of hexavalent chromium (Cr) (Cr(VI)) from aqueous solution. The study indicates that PCBP has 76% removal efficiency for Cr as compared to AC. Particle size and SEM-EDX analyses were done to determine average particle size, surface morphology and elemental composition of PCBP. BET and FTIR analysis were carried out to elucidate the adsorption mechanism of Cr(VI) on PCBP. Ashing has been proposed as a method for managing waste of loaded PCBP generated in adsorption. Ashing studies showed the ash content of PCBP to contribute only 13% of the ash generated from loaded biomass. Further, a comparative study has been made indicating the adsorption efficiency of PCBP with previously reported bio-waste materials. The results of this study show that PCBP has high adsorption efficiency as compared to other bio-waste materials.
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