Department Of Environmental Science And Technology
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Item Distribution and concentration pathway of particulate pollution during pandemic-induced lockdown in metropolitan cities in India(Institute for Ionics, 2023-06-12T00:00:00) Anand, A.; Garg, V.K.; Agrawal, A.; Mangla, S.; Pathak, A.To characterize the pollutant dispersal across major metropolitan cities in India, daily particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) data for the study areas were collected from the National Air Quality Monitoring stations database provided by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. The data were analysed for three temporal ranges, i.e. before the pandemic-induced lockdown, during the lockdown, and after the upliftment of lockdown restrictions. For the purpose, the time scale ranged from 1st April to 31st May for the years 2019 (pre), 2020, and 2021 (post). Statistical distributions (lognormal, Weibull, and Gamma), aerosol optical thickness, and back trajectories were assessed for all three time periods. Most cities followed the lognormal distribution for PM2.5 during the lockdown period except Mumbai and Hyderabad. For PM10, all the regions followed the lognormal distribution. Delhi and Kolkata observed a maximum decline in particulate pollution of 41% and 52% for PM2.5 and 49% and 53% for PM10, respectively. Air mass back trajectory suggests local transmission of air mass during the lockdown period, and an undeniable decline in aerosol optical thickness was observed from the MODIS sensor. It can be concluded that statistical distribution analysis coupled with pollution models can be a counterpart in studying the dispersal and developing pollution abatement policies for specific sites. Moreover, incorporating remote sensing in pollution study can enhance the knowledge about the origin and movement of air parcels and can be helpful in taking decisions beforehand. � 2023, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Iranian Society of Environmentalists (IRSEN) and Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University.Item Minerals and trace elements status of blood serum of lactating goats in a semi-arid region of southwest of Haryana State, India(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2022-10-05T00:00:00) Singh, Mahavir; Yadav, Poonam; Garg, V.K.; Sharma, Anshu; Singh, BalvinderPresent study was undertaken to determine Beetal breed goats� serum minerals and trace elements levels which were reared in an organized farm in semi-arid region of south-west of�Haryana State,�India. Ruminants selected�for this study were of 2�6�years�age group in post-calving lactation stage. For the quantification of minerals and trace elements, flame photometry and flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry were used, respectively. The results reported that average minerals (Na, K) concentration in goats� serum was lesser but Ca levels�were higher than the reference values. Average trace elements (Zn and Cu) concentration in serum�was higher than reference values. For the descriptive statistics of the studied variables in goat serum, ORIGIN software package was used. With positive skewness values K, Ca and Zn had distribution towards higher range while Na, Fe and Cu with negative skewness values presented distribution in lower range. Zn represented leptokurtic distribution and also the right clustered scores. Copper with lower inter-quartile range was found to be the sole element which had data points clustered around the mean value. Almost equal arithmetic and geometric mean values of trace elements and minerals in goats� serum suggested lesser spatial variation in the data. � 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.Item Vermicomposting technology for organic waste management(Elsevier, 2022-09-16T00:00:00) Sharma, Kavita; Garg, V.K.Present chapter reports vermicomposting technology for the treatment of non-toxic biodegradable wastes. These wastes generated from domestic, commercial, agricultural and industrial activities. Several methods are used for the waste management but still huge quantities of organic wastes remain unattended which is a cause of concern. Therefore, scientific and sustainable interventions are needed for the management of organic wastes. Vermicomposting is one such technique which is economically viable and has manifold advantages over other non-scientific waste disposal techniques. Vermicomposting has been well addressed in recent years and several researchers have investigated the effectiveness of vermitechnology to treat organic wastes. Although organic wastes are heterogeneous in nature but its biodegradable nature offers an immense opportunity for vermicomposting. Combined action of earthworm and microbes mineralize organic waste and transformed it into manure that has potential to solve several soil fertility and pollution related issues. Vermicomposting can also potentially be used as a bioremediation technique. Use of vermicomposting for waste treatment and bioremediation on one hand ensure agricultural and environmental sustainability and on the other hand manure is provided. Earthworms, a product of vermicomposting, can be used as feed in aquaculture and poultry industry. � 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Item A novel CaO nanocomposite cross linked graphene oxide for Cr(VI) removal and sensing from wastewater(Elsevier Ltd, 2022-04-27T00:00:00) Singh, Simranjeet; Naik, T.S. Sunil Kumar; Anil, Amith G.; Khasnabis, Sutripto; Nath, Bidisha; U, Basavaraju; Kumar, Vineet; Garg, V.K.; Subramanian, S.; Singh, Joginder; Ramamurthy, Praveen C.A novel green nanocomposite has been prepared by immobilizing CaO nanoparticles (CaO NPs) on the surface of graphene oxide. Biogenic CaO-NPs were synthesized from Lala clamshells. Morphological and structural characterizations of the nanocomposite were studied extensively. The adsorption capacity (qmax) of the nanocomposite for removing Cr(VI) was 38.04 mg g?1. In addition to this, the adsorption data were adequately simulated with Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and pseudo-second-order models, suggesting that the adsorption process was the combination of external mass transfer and chemisorption. Electrostatic interaction was the dominant mechanism for Cr(VI) removal. In addition, the synthesized nanocomposites also serve as an excellent sensor for Cr(VI) sensing, with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.02 ?M utilizing electrochemical methods. Therefore, this green nanocomposite can simultaneously serve as an adsorbent and sensor for Cr(VI)removal from aqueous solutions. � 2022 Elsevier LtdItem Sequestration of heavy metals from contaminated water using magnetic carbon nanocomposites(Elsevier B.V., 2022-03-30T00:00:00) Kataria, Navish; Chauhan, Amit Kumar; Garg, V.K.; Kumar, ParmodHeavy metals are toxic to flora, fauna and human beings. This study focused on removing toxic metals from an aqueous medium using magnetic carbon (Fe3O4@Carbon) nanocomposites. The biogenic green synthesis approach was used to fabricate the magnetic nanocomposite using low-cost poplar sawdust powder. The characterization of the nanocomposites was done using FESEM, TEM BET and FTIR. The sequestration of Pb (II), Cu (II) and Cr (VI) from water by Fe3O4@Carbon nanocomposites were studied under batch mode. The adsorption capacities for Pb (II), Cu (II) and Cr (VI) were 151.5, 48.08, and leaves49.29 mg/g respectively. The removal of metals by magnetic composites was studied in a mono, binary and tertiary network of metal ions. Adsorption isotherms studies indicated the chemosorption of Cu (II) and Cr (VI) onto the surface of nanocomposites. The thermodynamic analysis revealed that removal of studied metals ions is spontaneous and feasible. In this study, the effectiveness of magnetic nanocomposites is also explored for the removal of other heavy metals from tap water and simulated water sample. The heavy metal removal efficiency of the nanocomposites was not affected up to thrice reuse of adsorbent. � 2022Item Sequestration of heavy metal ions from multi-metal simulated wastewater systems using processed agricultural biomass(Elsevier Ltd, 2022-02-21T00:00:00) Bansal, Manjeet; Garg, Rajni; Garg, V.K.; Garg, Rishav; Singh, DiwanIndustrial effluents generally contain several metals, so during adsorptive treatment, they may influence the removal of each other. It is essential to explore the effect of co-cations on metal removal in multi-metal solutions. The present study examined the possibility of processed rice husk and saw dust to remove Cr6+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Cd2+ and Zn2+, from the single, binary and multi-component aqueous solutions. A substantial lesser removal of metal ions was observed in the presence of co-ions. This study revealed antagonistic effect on the removal of a particular metal ion, from the industrial effluent, even at optimum process parameters if other metal ions are present in the effluent. Although, a higher concentration of one metal ion than others in effluents increased its removal due to a greater number of ions as compared to other for the biosorption, yet presence of other ions influences the uptake of individual ions. In case of industrial effluents, maximum adsorption was obtained at pH 2.0 for Cr6+, 5.0 for Ni2+ and Cd2+ and 6.0 for Zn2+ and Cu2+. The study confirms the beneficial use of the studied biosorbents in water remediation. � 2022 Elsevier LtdItem A comprehensive physico-chemical quality and heavy metal health risk assessment study for phreatic water sources in Narora Atomic Power Station region, Narora, India(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2022-01-07T00:00:00) Singh, Manbir; Garg, V.K.An investigation of water quality and heavy metal distribution in the groundwater samples collected from the vicinity of Narora Atomic Power Station (NAPS), Narora, India, was conducted for the metals including Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Cd, Pb, and Fe. A total of 16 water quality parameters were measured for all the groundwater samples, and TDS, TH, Mg2+, Ca2+, F?, and turbidity were found to be on the higher side in comparison to the prescribed limits of Indian standards. Geometrical mean concentrations for these heavy metals were found to be 0.049, 0.213, 0.23, 0.135, 0.017, 0.061, and BDL for Cu, Fe, Zn, Pb, Cd, Co, and Ni, respectively. Pb and Cd were more than the permissible limits (0.01�mg/L for Pb and 0.003 for Cd) prescribed for safe drinking water while Cu and Fe were exceeding the permissible limits of 0.05�mg/L and 0.3�mg/L in 32% and 36% samples, respectively. Health risk assessment was done by calculating total hazard quotient (THQ), and the values for all the metals were below the threshold value of 1.0 beyond which they may pose a significant risk. � 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.Item COVID-19 lockdown: a rare opportunity to establish baseline pollution level of air pollutants in a megacity, India(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2021-02-22T00:00:00) Sahoo, P.K.; Salom�o, G.N.; da Silva Ferreira J�nior, J.; de Lima Farias, D.; Powell, M.A.; Mittal, S.; Garg, V.K.This paper analyses air quality data from megacity�Delhi, India, during different periods related to the COVID-19, including pre-lockdown, lockdown and unlocked (post-lockdown) (2018�2020) to determine what baseline levels of air pollutants might be and the level of impact that could be anticipated under the�COVID-19 lockdown�emission scenario. The results show that air quality improved significantly during the lockdown phases, with the most significant changes occurring in the transportation and industrially dominated areas. A pronounced decline in PM2.5 and PM10 up to 63% and 58%, respectively, was observed during the lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown period in 2020. When compared to 2018 and 2019, they were lower by up to 51% and 61%, respectively, dropping by 56% during unlock. Some pollutants (NOx and CO) dropped significantly during lockdown, while SO2 and O3 declined only slightly. Moreover, when compared between the different phases of lockdown, the maximum decline for most of the pollutants and air quality index occurred during the�lockdown phase 1; thus, this period was used to report the�COVID-19 baseline threshold values�(CBT; threshold value is the upper limit of baseline variation). Of the various�statistical methods used median + 2 median absolute deviation (mMAD)�was most suitable, indicating CBT values�of 143 and 75 ug/m3 for PM10 and PM2.5, respectively. This results although preliminary, but�it�gives a positive indication that temporary lockdown can be considered as a boon to mitigate the damage we have done to the environment. Also, this baseline levels can be helpful�as a first line of information�to set future�target limits�or to�develop effiective management policies for achieving better air quality in urban centres like Delhi. � 2021, Islamic Azad University (IAU).Item Management of banana crop waste biomass using vermicomposting technology(Elsevier Ltd, 2021-01-20T00:00:00) Mago, Monika; Yadav, Anoop; Gupta, Renuka; Garg, V.K.This study reports the vermicomposting of banana crop waste biomass by Eisenia fetida. Cow dung has been used as bulking agent in this study. The experiment was conducted in six vermireactors containing different ratios of banana leaf waste biomass (BL) and cow dung (CD) for 105 days. Earthworm activity significantly reduced pH, TOC, C:N and C:P ratio of the wastes. Whereas macronutrients and micronutrients content increased after vermicomposting. TOC content of wastes reduced by 40�64% and C:N ratio of the vermicomposts was in the range of 8.9�24.3. The benefit ratio for heavy metals (Cu, Fe, Zn, Cd, Pb, Mn and Cr) was in the range of 0.23�3.44. The results indicated that the growth and fecundity of the earthworms was best in the vermireactors having 20�40% BL. Finally, it was concluded that vermicomposting can be included in the overall scheme of banana crop waste management. � 2021 Elsevier LtdItem COVID-19 pandemic: An outlook on its impact on air quality and its association with environmental variables in major cities of Punjab and Chandigarh, India(Bellwether Publishing, Ltd., 2020-10-31T00:00:00) Sahoo, Prafulla Kumar; Chauhan, Amit Kumar; Mangla, Sherry; Pathak, Ashok Kumar; Garg, V.K.The present study aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on air quality and to explore the association of daily COVID-19 confirmed cases with meteorological parameters and criteria pollutants in the major cities of Punjab and Chandigarh, India during the different phase of pre-lockdown (March 1 to March 24), lockdown (1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0; March 25 to May 31), and unlock (1.0, 2.0; > June 1) in 2020. Our results show that the COVID-19 lockdown has drastically improved the quality of air in major cities of Punjab and Chandigarh. Compared to pre-lockdown, maximum reduction of PM2.5 and PM10 levels (up to ?52 and ?53.5%, respectively) was witnessed during lockdown 1.0, but their levels were rising again during the last phase of lockdown and unlock phases. This is due to more relaxation and traffic returned on the road. Among other pollutants, NO2 also reduced during lockdown 1.0, but remained variable between cities and different phases of lockdown and unlock periods. However, surface-level ozone resulted in an overall increase trend during the lockdown and unlock phases. Regarding the relationship between COVID-19 and meteorological parameters, Spearman correlation test shows that ambient temperature is positively correlated with COVID-19 daily confirmed cases (r < 0.77, p < 0.01). This result indicates that the study region�s hot tropical weather is less effective in controlling the spread of COVID-19. Relative humidity and wind speed are also weakly correlated with COVID-19. Furthermore, among criteria pollutants, PM2.5 and PM10 are positively correlated (r < 0.55, p < 0.01) with COVID-19 pandemic, especially in Jalandhar and Ludhiana, suggesting that these pollutants could lead to the spreading of the virus. However, further in-depth studies are required to validate this finding. The results of this study can contribute to the understanding of the role of environmental factors in the transmission of COVID-19 in tropical and sub-tropical countries like India, Brazil, etc. This study also indicates that the temporarylockdown like COVID-19 can be emerged as an effective way to control environmental imbalancein the study area, as well as in other areas. � 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.