Emerging and Eco-Friendly Approaches for Waste Management

Rapid industrialization is a serious concernin the context of ahealthy environment. With the growth in the number of industries, the wastegenerated isalso growing exponentially.The various chemicalprocesses operating in the manufacturing industry generate a large number of by-products,which arelargely harmful and toxic pollutants and aregenerally discharged intothe natural water bodies. Once the pollutants enter the environment, they are taken up by different life forms, and because of bio-magnification,they affecttheentirefood chain and have severe adverse effects on all life forms,includingon human health.Although, various physico-chemical and biological approaches are available for the removal of toxic pollutants, unfortunatelythese are often ineffective and traditional clean up practices are inefficient. Biological approaches utilizing microorganisms (bacterial/fungi/algae), green plants or their enzymes to degrade or detoxify environmental pollutants such as endocrine disruptors,toxic metals, pesticides, dyes, petroleum hydrocarbons and phenolic compounds,offer eco- friendly approaches. Such eco-friendly approaches are often more effective than traditional practices, and are safe for both industryworkers as well as environment. This book provides a comprehensive overview of various toxic environmental pollutants from avariety natural and anthropogenic sources, their toxicological effectson the environment, humans, animals and plants as well as their biodegradation and bioremediation usingemerging and eco-friendly approaches (e.g. Anammox technology, advancedoxidation processes,membrane bioreactors,membrane processes, GMOs), microbial degradation (e.g. bacteria, fungi, algae), phytoremediation, biotechnology and nanobiotechnology. Offeringfundamental and advanced information on environmental problems, challenges and bioremediation approaches used for the remediation of contaminated sites, it is a valuable resource for students, scientists and researchers engaged in microbiology, biotechnology and environmental sciences.