Browsing by Author "Pallavi, P."

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Biocatalytic Remediation of Industrial Pollutants
(Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2023) Pallavi, P.; Manikandan, S.K.; Nair, V.
The release of an significant amount of pollutants from various industrial activities pose a serious threat to environmental sustainability and ecological integrity. Toxic pollutants, such as dyes, pesticides, metal ions, plastics, and antibiotics, can cause detrimental diseases to diverse living beings in their ecosystems. Biocatalytic remediation is one efficient method of removing toxic industrial pollutants by applying microorganisms or enzymes. Microorganisms in the environment typically produce a variety of enzymes to immobilize and degrade contaminants by using them as a substrate for growth and development. Biocatalytic remediation has attracted enormous interest worldwide due to its affordability and eco-friendliness. The use of microbial enzymes and microorganisms, especially immobilized biocatalysts, has been established as a flexible approach for the sustainable alleviation of industrial pollutants, in contrast to physical and chemical methods. This chapter presents and discusses recent scientific and technological advancements related to biocatalytic remediation of industrial pollutants. It also considers different biocatalysts and novel methodologies to mitigate various pollutants. This article also examines current trends, challenges, and directions for efficiently removing pollutant using biocatalysis method. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
Effective Usage of Biochar and Microorganisms for the Removal of Heavy Metal Ions and Pesticides
(MDPI, 2023) Manikandan, S.K.; Pallavi, P.; Shetty K, V.; Bhattacharjee, D.; Giannakoudakis, D.A.; Katsoyiannis, I.A.; Nair, V.
The bioremediation of heavy metal ions and pesticides is both cost-effective and environmentally friendly. Microbial remediation is considered superior to conventional abiotic remediation processes, due to its cost-effectiveness, decrement of biological and chemical sludge, selectivity toward specific metal ions, and high removal efficiency in dilute effluents. Immobilization technology using biochar as a carrier is one important approach for advancing microbial remediation. This article provides an overview of biochar-based materials, including their design and production strategies, physicochemical properties, and applications as adsorbents and support for microorganisms. Microorganisms that can cope with the various heavy metal ions and/or pesticides that enter the environment are also outlined in this review. Pesticide and heavy metal bioremediation can be influenced by microbial activity, pollutant bioavailability, and environmental factors, such as pH and temperature. Furthermore, by elucidating the interaction mechanisms, this paper summarizes the microbe-mediated remediation of heavy metals and pesticides. In this review, we also compile and discuss those works focusing on the study of various bioremediation strategies utilizing biochar and microorganisms and how the immobilized bacteria on biochar contribute to the improvement of bioremediation strategies. There is also a summary of the sources and harmful effects of pesticides and heavy metals. Finally, based on the research described above, this study outlines the future scope of this field. © 2023 by the authors.
Optimization and mechanistic study on bioremediation of Cr (VI) using microbial cell immobilized sugarcane bagasse biochar
(Elsevier Ltd, 2024) Pallavi, P.; Manikandan, S.; Nair, V.
Hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)), a highly toxic heavy metal, contaminates water bodies due to its heavy usage in industrial processes. The present study proposes an environmentally friendly strategy for the bioremediation of Cr (VI) from water systems. Bacillus sp. was immobilized onto sugarcane bagasse biochar (BSCB) to remediate Cr (VI). The Cr (VI) removal process was optimized through one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) and response surface methodology (RSM). Results showed that BSCB effectively removed 93.56 % of Cr (VI), with optimum conditions of 100 mg L−1 initial Cr (VI) concentration, 12 h incubation time, 40 °C temperature, pH 7.0, and 0.1 % BSCB dosage. The study also investigated reusability of BSCB across five consecutive cycles for the removal of Cr (VI) under optimized operating conditions, showcasing its consistent high performance compared to both sugarcane bagasse biochar (SCB) and free cells. BSCB maintained an average removal efficiency of 88.2 % across three cycles, outperforming SCB (56.67 %) and free cells (82.24 %). This immobilization approach enables better recovery of bacterial cells from water bodies and presents a sustainable, cost-effective bioremediation solution for Cr (VI) removal. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd