SOIL AND WATER POLLUTION MONITORING, PROTECTION AND REMEDIATION

By LINDA JOHNSON

CONTENTS NANOTECHNOLOGY IN AGRICULTURE, THE FOOD SECTOR, AND REMEDIATION: PROSPECTS, RELATIONS, AND CONSTRAINTS NANOTECHNOLOGY-BASED TREATMENT SYSTEMS FOR ARSENIC SEQUESTRATION IN GROUNDWATER: CONTAMINATION, CHALLENGES AND FUTURE SCOPE OF STUDIES DEVELOPMENT OF POLYHYDROXYALKANOATE (PHA) AND ITS COPOLYMERS AS A POSSIBLE “CURE” FOR THE PLASTIC POLLUTION ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES FOR ECOLOGICAL RECONSTRUCTION AND BIOREMEDIATION OF DEGRADED LAND THE RECENT STRATEGIES EMPLOYED IN CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF CONTAMINATED WATERS, SEDIMENTS AND SOILS AS A PART OF THE REMEDIATION PROCESS: EXTRACTION FLUORIDE REMEDIATION USING MEMBRANE PROCESSES A TWO-STAGE CONSTRUCTED WETLAND DESIGN INTEGRATING ARTI?CIAL AERATION AND SLUDGE MINERALIZATION FOR MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS): SOURCES, TYPES, IMPACTS, AND THEIR REMEDIATION EMERGING MICRO?BER POLLUTION AND ITS REMEDIATION ENVIRONMENT REMEDIATION TOOLS: CHEMOSENSORS AND BIOSENSORS ADSORPTIVE CHROMATOGRAPHY: A SUSTAINABLE STRATEGY FOR TREATMENT OF FOOD AND PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIAL EF?UENTS REMEDIATION OF HEAVY METALS THROUGH GENETICALLY ENGINEERED MICROORGANISM HEAVY METAL REMOVAL PROCESSES BY SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIA BIOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF DIOXINS/FURANS BIOACCUMULATION IN ECOSYSTEMS THE ROLE OF MICROORGANISMS IN REMEDIATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS CAUSES, EFFECTS AND SUSTAINABLE APPROACHES TO REMEDIATE CONTAMINATED SOIL ABSTRACT THE APPLICATIONS AND BENE?TS OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN THE AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SECTOR ARE NOW ESTABLISHED AS A MATTER OF FACT, BUT SCIENTISTS STILL HAVE A PROBLEM TO PROPERLY ACKNOWLEDGE THE IN?UENCE OF NANOCOMPOUNDS ON THE ENVIRONMENT WE ARE STARTING TO USE NANOPESTICIDES AND NANOFERTILIZERS, BUT THE EFFECTS THEY HAVE ON ORGANISMS IN THE ENVIRONMENT CAN BE DIVERSE IN NATURE – RANGING FROM THE BENE?CIAL TO THE HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOME CAN BE STRONGLY MODI?ED BY NANOPARTICLES SOIL MICROBIOMES ARE THE BASIS FOR HEALTHY PLANTS AND CROPS AT THE SAME TIME, THE UNIQUE PROPERTIES OF NANOMATERIALS MAKE THEM PARTICULARLY SUITABLE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION DUE TO THEIR HIGH SURFACE AREA-TO-VOLUME RATIO, WHICH OFTEN RESULTS IN HIGHER REACTIVITY NANOMATERIALS ARE STARTING TO BE USED FOR THE REMEDIATION OF PROBLEMATIC CONTAMINANTS (ORGANIC AND ORGANOPHOS- PHORUS COMPOUNDS, VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, SOME HEAVY METALS, OR HERBICIDES), AND SUCH USE OFFERS SOME VERY PROMISING PROSPECTS THIS CHAPTER PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN GENERAL, INCLUDING A DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN CATEGORIES OF NANOMATERIALS, THE UTILIZATION OF NANOTECHNOLOGY IN THE AGRI- CULTURAL AND FOOD SECTOR, AS WELL AS THE USE OF NANOMATERIALS IN ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION LASTLY, SOME TOXICOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF NANOMATERIALS PRESENT IN THE ENVIRONMENT ARE PRESENTED ON THE BASIS OF THE SCIENTI?C LITERATURE IN THE ?ELD