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ThesisItem Open Access Feasibility assessment of biological hydrogen production from organic fraction of municipal solid waste using facultative anaerobic bacteria(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2017-09) Sharma, Preeti; Melkania, UmaThe rapid consumption of non-renewable fossil fuels has resulted in the environmental pollution and severe energy crisis, which emphasize the importance of renewable biofuel production. Biological hydrogen is a carbon-free renewable energy carrier, with high energy density. Biological hydrogen production methods are less energy intensive, environmental-friendly and sustainable compared to the current energy production methods. Anaerobic digestion is an effective means of organic waste utilization and hydrogen production. At the same time, waste disposal is a problem of the modern times. Most of this waste is dumped in open areas creating severe environmental problems. The organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is highly degradable, thus anaerobic fermentation of OFMSW can be one of the promising methods to generate hydrogen as it is abundant and free of cost. It provides an eco-friendly solution to organic waste by converting waste to biofuel. The present study investigates the feasibility assessment of biological hydrogen production from organic fraction of municipal solid waste. Co-culture of two facultative anaerobic bacteria viz. E. coli and Enterobacter aerogenes were applied for the investigation. Culture conditions were optimized to gain maximum hydrogen production. Various chemical compounds such as surfactants, antifoaming agents, biochar, ferric species etc were applied to improve hydrogen production. Some inhibitors such as furan derivatives, phenolic compounds and heavy metals were also analyzed for their effect on hydrogen production and yield. From the present investigation it can be concluded that proper optimization of fermentation conditions can significantly improve hydrogen production and yield. Based on the findings of the present study it is recommended to further investigate the effect of different substrates and microbial cultures on hydrogen production in order to increase the hydrogen yield.ThesisItem Open Access Use of biowaste for electrical energy production through microbial fuel cells(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2017-07) Rashmi; Srivastava, R.K.Waste is a common term for all kind of unwanted materials generated during the extraction and processing of raw materials to get intermediate and final products. There are different sources of biowaste generation, which includes agriculture, industrial, domestic waste, municipal solid waste, commercial and institutional etc. Municipal solid waste is mainly generated from domestic kitchen waste and commercial complexes. With the increase of urbanization and change in socio-economic system, lifestyle and food habits, the amount of municipal solid waste has been increasing rapidly over years and its composition is getting changed. Poor collection and incomplete transportation are responsible for the accumulation of MSW at every nook and corner. In India, about 10% of the collected MSW is openly burnt and is caught in landfill fire. Such open burning of MSW and landfill fires together releases 22,000 tons of pollutants into the lower atmosphere. A major portion of the total solid waste in developing countries is an organic waste, and it is not properly treated for resource recovery. Organic waste treatment is also a top priority in the developing countries. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are an alternative energy technology that has the capacity to simultaneously treat organic waste and generate electricity. The aim of present study was to manage the solid waste and generation of electricity by using microbial fuel cell (MFC).MFCs is used to generate electricity while accomplishing the biodegradation of organic matters by microbes. The objective of present work was generation of electricity by mixture of different biowaste as a substrate in MFC. The experimental study was carried out by using biowaste (Kitchen waste, cow dung and poultry waste), zinc and copper plates of dimension length=15 cm and width 4.5 cm with potassium ferricyanide used as an oxidizing agents. In all the setup maximum electricity generation was measured between 321 to 736.66 mV by using mixture of kitchen waste with cow dung waste and poultry waste. In all setup maximum electricity generation of 736.66 mV was recorded by using only 100% poultry waste. Overall, this study has shown that the fabricated microbial fuel cell can be used for the generation of electricity from different kinds of biowaste at a larger scale in series with continuous feeding of biowaste and it can be considered as eco-friendly system for solid waste management.ThesisItem Open Access Estimation of carbon stock using remote sensing and GIS: A case study of Rajaji National Park(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2017-07) Rawat, Sampda; Melkania, UmaThe present study was carried out at three different sanctuaries namely Motichur, Rajaji and Chilla sanctuary that comes under the Rajaji National park, Uttarakhand, India during 2016-17.The sampling in the forest region was carried out within the plots (size 10 x 10 m) in a random fashion. The sampling was done for determining the soil parameters like soil organic carbon and to design a plant inventory comprising of plant height, DBH, wood density and plant density in the plot. The forest of the study area were natural forest but had some patches of plantation forest also. In the naturally growing forest Sal was the dominant tree species whereas in the planted region Eucalyptus and teak trees were more common. The plant density was generally high; the diameter and height of the plant varied in accordance with the age and species of the plant. The carbon content of the soil pool was ranging between medium to high level of carbon. Remote sensing and GIS technology tools were used for forest carbon stock determination. The software like ENVI 4.7 was utilized in the preprocessing of the satellite image, whereas, ArcGIS was use to prepare shape file of the study region. The vegetation carbon pool was 50% of biomass estimated for the forest. Total vegetation carbon was 0.7915 mt, 2.0046 mt and 1.2692 mt in Motichur, Rajaji and Chilla sanctuary respectively. Motichur, Rajaji and Chilla forests were having soil organic carbon 0.5029, 1.354 and 0.9969 mt respectively. Total (aboveground, belowground and soil) carbon pool of Rajaji National park was about 6.9191. These results reveal that relatively an evergreen forest (Chilla sanctuary) sequester more carbon into vegetation biomass as well as soil organic carbon.ThesisItem Open Access Lead phytoextraction efficiency of Sesbania aculeata and Pennisetum purpureum in soil, inoculated with tolerant bacteria(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2017-07) Gururani, Akansha; Rai, J.P.NThe study was conducted to assess the effect of plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPB) inoculation on lead phytoremediation. Metal tolerant bacteria were isolated from a lead contaminated site and the isolated strains were screened for plant growth promoting properties. Based on it a metal tolerant and growth promoting bacterium was selected. Its potential was further checked with pot experiments for two plants; Sesbania aculeata and Pennisetum purpureum at 100 ppm and 200 ppm concentration of lead. The efficiency of phytoextraction was indicated by the increased accumulation of lead in shoot and root of inoculated plants. Also, increase in growth parameters and activation of stress relievers like proline and catalase suggested the effectiveness of the assistance provided by PGPB. Other physiological parameters like total chlorophyll content and protein content values were also affirmative of the enhancement of phytoremediation on bacteria inoculation. The reported data imply that PGPB imparts tolerance against metal toxicity to plants. Out of the two plants, Sesbania aculeata showed better results than Pennisetum purpureum with or without inoculation in terms of lead accumulation, growth enhancement and metabolic functioning. However, the effect of PGPB was similar in both the plant species over absolute control and over control supplemented with lead. Therefore, it can be deduced from our study that inoculating a metal tolerant-plant growth promoting bacteria can enhance the efficiency of phytoremediation.ThesisItem Open Access Evaluation of heavy metals for ground water quality near pulp and paper industry Kashipur(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2017-07) Chauhan, Akanksha; Melkania, UmaWater is one of the most indispensable resources and is the exilier of life. Water pollution is a very serious problem in our country. The water quality index (WQI) and heavy metal pollution index (HPI) is an important parameter for determining the groundwater quality for the users. The study for the same has been carried on the ground water by collecting ground water samples from industrial area Kashipur, India. In order to develop WQI the samples were analyse to physico-chemical parameters i.e., pH, conductivity, total alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, chloride, nitrate, sulfate, total dissolved solids, dissolve oxygen, BOD. To calculate the HPI, some heavy metals like arsenic, chromium, cadmium, lead, copper and zinc were determined using AAS. Geographical information system and global positioning system (GPS) had been used to map the studied area. The WQI index for the study area had been calculated and the values ranged between 71.50 to 170. Only one sample comes under the poor water quality category (50-70) and the three sample of ground water comes under the category of very poor quality (75-100). Whereas, the six samples of potable water were unsuitable for the drinking purpose (>100). As per the calculation the heavy metals pollution index for the various samples range between the 59.7 to 119.6. Only one sample comes under the poor water quality category (5070) with the WQI 59.7 and the five sample of ground water comes under the category of very poor quality (75-100). Whereas, the four samples of ground water were unsuitable for the drinking purpose (>100). The high computed value shows that the ground water is contaminated with industrial effluent. The study area is surrounded by pulp and paper mill. The result reveal that samples are not suitable for the drinking purpose and need proper treatment before consumption and needs proper measures for further contamination.ThesisItem Open Access Energetics and carbon footprint of University Dairy Farm(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2016-06) Shalini; Singh, VirThesisItem Open Access Bioelectricity generation through biological photovoltaic employing mosses(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2016-06) Kukshal, Prachi; Singh, VirThesisItem Open Access Utilization of solid wastes for production of energy through microbial fuel cells(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar - 263145 (Uttarakhand), 2016-06) Chhimwal, Monika; Srivastava, R.K.ThesisItem Open Access Role of soil amendments dissipation and leaching behavior of some pesticides used in vegetable crops(G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (Uttarakhand), 2017-01) Suyal, Archana; Srivastava, Anjana