Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences
Title : | Development of an in-situ remediation process for the removal of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) from wastewater |
Area of research : | Earth, Atmosphere & Environment Sciences |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Sonam Paliya, Indian Institute Of Technology (IIT) Indore, Madhya Pradesh |
Timeline Start Year : | 2022 |
Timeline End Year : | 2024 |
Contact info : | sonampaliya140@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are listed as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by the Stockholm Convention and are used in the products we use in our day-to-day life. The BFRs are highly persistent and bio-accumulative in nature, leading to their global spread even to remote and pristine environments. Furthermore, the grasshopper effect of BFRs has led to their global transport and presence in several environmental matrices; therefore, the treatment of these hazardous chemicals has emerged as a global problem. Concerted efforts have been made to develop analytical methodologies for extremely sensitive detection of these pollutants; however, studies on removing these pollutants from environmental metrics, including soil, water, and sewage sludge (SS), are scarce. BFRs in the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been reported worldwide, and they continue to enter the WWTPs owing to the cleaning and washing of carpets, rags, laundry and human waste. Due to their unique physico-chemical properties like low solubility, limited biodegradability and higher hydrophobicity, the maximum amount of BFRs perceived in influent wastewater are amassed in the SS. Considering the Indian context, scarcity of data regarding contamination status and remediation technologies for BFRs can be observed due to reasons like unavailability of policies concerning the production and management of BFRs and lack of awareness among the common masses regarding the dissipation of these hazardous pollutants and the risk pose by it on human health and the environment. Hence, there is an urgent need to develop treatment approaches for the purgation of these organic pollutants. The present study will be the first of its kind in the Indian context in which an in-situ remediation process will be developed for the removal of selected BFRs from the wastewater. Furthermore, optimization of culture conditions for maximal degradation of selected BFRs and BOD removal from wastewater will be done using the response surface methodology. The assessment of the degradation efficiency of the developed remediation process will also be carried out. Purgation of these pollutants from municipal WWTP through a microbes-based strategy can be a technically feasible and economically viable solution to this problem. Additionally, this study will also result in a greater understanding of the microbial transformation process for the degradation of pollutants into less toxic and harmful by-products in the environment. |
Organizations involved