Soft Computing Techniques in Solid Waste and Wastewater Management

By Rama Rao Karri

Soft Computing Techniques in Solid Waste and Wastewater Management is a thorough guide to computational solutions for researchers working in solid waste and wastewater management operations. This book covers in-depth analysis of process variables, their effects on overall efficiencies, and optimal conditions and procedures to improve performance using soft computing techniques. These topics coupled with the systematic analyses described will help readers understand various techniques that can be effectively used to achieve the highest performance. In-depth case studies along with discussions on applications of various soft-computing techniques help readers control waste processes and come up with short-term, mid-term and long-term strategies. 

Waste management is an increasingly important field due to rapidly increasing levels of waste production around the world. Numerous potential solutions for reducing waste production are underway, including applications of machine learning and computational studies on waste management processes. This book details the diverse approaches and techniques in these fields, providing a single source of information researchers and industry practitioners. It is ideal for academics, researchers and engineers in waste management, environmental science, environmental engineering and computing, with relation to environmental science and waste management.

• Provides a comprehensive reference on the implementation of soft computing techniques in waste management, drawing together current research and future implications
• Includes detailed algorithms used, enabling authors to understand and appreciate potential applications
• Presents relevant case studies in solid and wastewater management that show real-world applications of discussed technologies

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Release date: Jul 24, 2021
• ISBN: 9780323859301

Book preview

Soft Computing Techniques in Solid Waste and Wastewater Management

Edited by

Rama Rao Karri

Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Gobinath Ravindran

Department of Civil Engineering, SR University, Warangal, Telangana, India

Mohammad Hadi Dehghani

Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Institute for Environmental Research, Centre for Solid Waste Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Contents

Cover

Title page

Copyright

Dedication

Contributors

About the editors

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Section 1: Soft computing applications in wastewater management

Chapter 1: Wastewater—Sources, Toxicity, and Their Consequences to Human Health

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Review of sources

3. Review of pollutants, toxicity, and their consequences to human health

4. Conclusions and future perspectives

Chapter 2: Wastewater Treatment Processes—Techniques, Technologies, Challenges Faced, and Alternative Solutions

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Wastewater treatment processes

3. Primary treatment

4. Secondary treatment

5. Tertiary or advanced treatment

6. The challenges faced and future perspectives

7. Summary

Chapter 3: Review of Soft Computing Techniques for Modeling, Design, and Prediction of Wastewater Removal Performance

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Evolution of soft computing techniques

3. Different methods of soft computing

4. Different algorithms for achieving process optimization

5. Significant parameters optimized for enhancing adsorbent efficiency

6. Application of soft computing methodologies for process modeling and optimization

7. Analysis of the efficiency of different soft computing techniques

8. Future application of soft computing techniques for wastewater treatment plants

9. Conclusion

Chapter 4: Application of Neural Networks in Wastewater Degradation Process for the Prediction of Removal Efficiency of Pollutants

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Artificial neural network

3. Application of ANN in modeling wastewater treatment processes

4. Hybrid ANN techniques

5. Summary

Chapter 5: Application of Artificial Neural Networks on Water and Wastewater Prediction: A Review

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Artificial neural network (ANN) theory

3. Conclusions

Chapter 6: Application of Bayesian Networks Modelling in Wastewater Management

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Bayesian network

3. Applications of BNs in wastewater management

4. Conclusion and recommendations

Chapter 7: Pareto Multiobjective Bioinspired Optimization of Neuro-Fuzzy Technique for Predicting Sediment Transport in Sewer Pipe

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Method

3. Methodology

4. Results and discussion

5. Conclusions

Chapter 8: Soft Computing Optimization Algorithms and Their Application in Parameter Estimation of a Rigorous Adsorption Kinetics Model

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Simple adsorption kinetic models

3. Homogeneous surface diffusion model (HSDM)

4. Conventional algorithms

5. Introduction to soft-computing

6. Elephant herd optimization

7. Summary and conclusions

Chapter 9: Sustainable Management of Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Survey on recent studies

3. Modeling techniques in the context of wastewater treatment

4. Wastewater treatment processes

5. Artificial neural networks (ANNs)

6. Fuzzy logic (FL)

7. Adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS)

8. Recommendations

9. Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Chapter 10: Modeling Wastewater Treatment Process: A Genetic Programming Approach

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Soft computing methods

3. Case studies

4. Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Section 2: Soft computing applications in solid waste management

Chapter 11: Solid Waste—Sources, Toxicity, and Their Consequences to Human Health

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Health effects due to unsanitary disposal of municipal waste

3. Environmental effects due to unsanitary disposal of municipal wastes

4. Industrial and hazardous waste

5. Radioactive wastes

6. Electronic wastes

7. Health-care wastes

8. Environmental impacts of incinerators

9. Conclusion

Chapter 12: Solid Waste Treatment: Technological Advancements and Challenges

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Solid waste treatment technologies

3. Models in solid waste management

4. Circular economy in waste management

5. Legal framework for solid waste management

6. Conclusion and future perspectives

Chapter 13: Solid Waste Treatment Processes and Remedial Solution in the Developing Countries

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Area of the study

3. Municipal solid waste generation and management globally

4. Conclusion

Acknowledgment

Chapter 14: Soft Computing Applications in Municipal Solid Waste Forecast: A Short Review

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Soft computing techniques in solid waste management

3. Evaluation metrics

4. Results

5. Conclusion

Chapter 15: Dynamic Multi-objective Optimization of Integrated Waste Management Using Genetic Algorithms

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Optimization framework

3. Case study: inputs, results, and discussion

4. Conclusions

Chapter 16: Prediction of Effluent Chemical Oxygen Demand and Suspended Solids From a Domestic Wastewater Treatment Plant Using SVM and ANN

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Literature reviews of artificial intelligence related to wastewater treatment

3. Materials and methods

4. Results and discussion

5. Conclusion

Chapter 17: Artificial Intelligence Models for Forecasting of Municipal Solid Waste Generation

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Artificial intelligence models

3. Application areas

4. Conclusion

Chapter 18: A Design Framework for an Integrated End-of-Life Vehicle Waste Management System in Malaysia

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Materials and methods

3. Results and analysis

4. Conclusion

Acknowledgment

Chapter 19: Effect of Normalization Protocol on Pulping Process Selection Using TOPSIS Multicriteria Decision-Making Method—A Case Study of Palm Oil Empty Fruit Bunches

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Research methodology

3. Results and discussion

4. Conclusion

Chapter 20: Long-Term Solid Waste Quantity Prediction Using AI-Based Models, Considering Climate Change Impact—A Case Study

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Materials and methods

3. Results and discussion

4. Conclusion

Section 3: Application of soft computing techniques for process modeling, optimisation and control of waste water and solid waste

Chapter 21: Process Optimization and Modeling of Hydraulic Fracturing Process Wastewater Treatment Using Aerobic Mixed Microbial Reactor via Response Surface Methodology

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Materials and methods

3. Results and discussion

4. Review of relevant studies

5. Conclusion

Chapter 22: Modeling Undefined Complexities of Wastewater Treatment Processes With Artificial Neural Network

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Artificial neural network fundamentals

3. Application of ANN in modeling wastewater treatment processes

4. Concluding remarks

Chapter 23: Optimization of Process Conditions in Wastewater Degradation Process

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Challenges for water purification across the world

3. Wastewater treatment methods

4. Optimization of process conditions

5. Conclusion and future perspective

Chapter 24: System Control and Optimization in Wastewater Treatment: A Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) Approach

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Concepts of particle swarm optimization and literature reviews

3. Methodologies on multiagent hybrid particle swarm optimization (MAHPSO)

4. Application of MAHPSO for WWTN planning

5. Results and discussion

6. Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Chapter 25: Fuzzy Logic Control of Active Sludge–Based Wastewater Treatment Plants

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. WWTP layout and methodology

3. Evaluation criterion

4. Simulations and results

5. Conclusions

Chapter 26: Development of Smart AnAmmOx System and Its Agile Operation and Decision Support for Pilot-Scale WWTP

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Pilot-scale AnAmmOx SBR system

3. Mathematical modeling and computational analysis

4. Smart AnAmmOx SBR architecture

5. Conclusions and future prospects

Acknowledgments

Chapter 27: Prediction of Ammonium Removal by Biochar Produced From Agricultural Wastes Using Artificial Neural Networks: Prospects and Bottlenecks

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. ANN developed to predict ammonium removal

3. Evaluation of ANN for ammonium prediction

4. Perspective of ANN for the prediction of ammonium by biochar

5. Conclusions and recommendations

Acknowledgments

Chapter 28: Multiscenario Approach for Capturing Uncertainties in Energy-Integrated Autothermal Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion Systems

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Two-stage stochastic optimization

3. Analysis of the possibilities for heat integration of the flows in a conventional ATAD system

4. Determination of heat integration framework

5. Mathematical models describing the heat integration

6. Including the heat integration superstructure within a two-stage stochastic optimization problem

7. Optimization results and discussion

8. Verification of the approach

9. Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Index

Copyright

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Notices

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

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Dedication

I dedicate this book to the memory of my father

Karri Sri Ramulu (10/3/1939–10/12/1989)—Ex. Army

I also dedicate this to my mother Karri Kannathalli, who protected, guided, and supported me in all these years. She was my inspiration for driving me to achieve the best. You are my superwoman and constant inspiration.

I also thank my lovely wife, Soni, without her support this book as well as my research achievements are not possible.

I also dedicate this book to my mentor Dr. Ch. Venkateswarlu, who inspires me to take new challenges.

Dr. Rama Rao Karri

I dedicate this book to my beloved parents Mr. T. Ravindran and Mrs. M. Gowri who had guided me throughout my life, supported me with all they could and made me as a quality researcher.

My sincere thanks to my wife Ms. Rajanimol PR who tirelessly supports me with a smile in all my endeavors, I am sure without her, my life is meaningless.

I would like to mention my kids Natasha RG Nair and Suryadev RG Nair whose smile moves my day in right direction.

I also dedicate this book to my students who made me as a teacher.

Prof. Gobinath Ravindran

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

I am thankful to God Almighty that I succeeded in writing this book with the help of my colleagues.

I dedicate this book to my parents, brothers and sister, who are always praying for me.

I especially appreciate my lovely wife and my children, who contributed to my progress and success with their patience and forbearance.

I also dedicate this book to my colleagues in the Department of Environmental Health Engineering as well as to my dear students who are like my children.

Prof. Mohammad Hadi Dehghani

Contributors

Mohamed Abdallah,     Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

M. Mansoor Ahammed,     Civil Engineering Department, S V National Institute of Technology, Surat, India

Ebrahim Allahkarami,     Mining Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Kumar Anupam

Department of Chemical Engineering, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Sonipat, Haryana, India

Chemical Recovery and Biorefinery Division, Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Kannan Aravamudan,     Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, India

Michael Attia,     Irrigation Engineering and Hydraulics Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

O.O. Ayeleru

Centre for Nanoengineering and Tribocorrosion (CNT), University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg South Africa

Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, Johannesburg, South Africa

Hamed Azimi,     Environmental Research Center, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran

Hani Azzedine,     Faculty of Earth Sciences, Laboratory of Water Resource and Sustainable Development (REED), Annaba University, Annaba, Algeria

Sakaa Bachir

Scientific and Technical Research Center on Arid Areas CRSTRA, Biskra, Algeria

Faculty of Earth Sciences, Laboratory of Water Resource and Sustainable Development (REED), Annaba University, Annaba, Algeria

Aida H. Baghanam,     Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Priya Banerjee,     Department of Environmental Studies, DDE, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, India

Sakina Bombaywala

Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India

CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, India

Hossein Bonakdari,     Department of Soils and Agri-Food Engineering, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

Ha Manh Bui,     Department of Environmental Sciences, Saigon University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Hiep Nghia Bui,     Department of Environmental Engineering, Dayeh University, Changhua, Taiwan

Shreeshivadasan Chelliapan,     Department of Engineering & Technology, Razak Faculty of Technology & Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bing Chen,     Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada

Papita Das,     Department of Chemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India

Mohammad Hadi Dehghani

Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Institute for Environmental Research, Center for Solid Waste Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Khac-Uan Do,     School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

Isa Ebtehaj,     Department of Soils and Agri-Food Engineering, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada

L.I. Fajimi,     Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, Johannesburg South Africa

Mahesh Gadekar,     Civil Engineering Department, S V National Institute of Technology, Surat, India

Bahram Gharabghi,     School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada

Gobinath Ravindran,     Department of Civil Engineering, SR University, Warangal, Telangana, India

Pankaj Kumar Goley,     Engineering and Maintenance Division, Central Pulp and Paper Research Institute, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India

Chaffai Hicham,     Faculty of Earth Sciences, Laboratory of Water Resource and Sustainable Development (REED), Annaba University, Annaba, Algeria

Mona G. Ibrahim

Environmental Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria, Egypt

Environmental Health Department, High Institute of Public Health, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

Ali Jamali,     Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Hesam Kamyab

Department of Engineering & Technology, Razak Faculty of Technology & Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Thirugnanasambandham Karchiyappan,     School of Biotechnology and DCU Water Institute, Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

Rama Rao Karri,     Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

Saif Ullah Khan,     Department of Civil Engineering, Zakir Husain College of Engineering and Technology, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India

Elisaveta Kirilova,     Institute of Chemical Engineering, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

Aman Kumar,     CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

Sunil Kumar,     CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

Tuan Minh Le,     Faculty of Mathematics and Applications, Saigon University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Jung June Lee,     Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Yongin, Republic of Korea

Moonyong Lee,     School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea

Ashootosh Mandpe

Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India

CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, India

Abdulrahman Metawa,     Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

Rahul Mishra,     CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

Roslina Mohammad,     Department of Engineering & Technology, Razak Faculty of Technology & Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Karam Mohamed,     Sanitary Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

S. Murali Mohan,     Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Telangana, India

Aniruddha Mukhopadhyay,     Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India

Mahmoud Nasr

Sanitary Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

Environmental Engineering Department, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Alexandria, Egypt

Alam Nawaz,     School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea

Vahid Nourani,     Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

B.O. Oboirien,     Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, Doornfontein Campus, Johannesburg, South Africa

P.A. Olubambi,     Centre for Nanoengineering and Tribocorrosion (CNT), University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

Ghasem Ali Omrani,     Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Norazli Othman,     Department of Engineering & Technology, Razak Faculty of Technology & Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Vinay Pratap

Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India

CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, India

Zakiya Rahmat-Ullah,     Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

A. Seshagiri Rao,     Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Telangana, India

Atikah Razali,     Faculty of Built Environment & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bahram Rezai,     Mining Engineering Department, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

Abbas Roozbahani,     Department of Water Engineering, College of Aburaihan, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Boudibi Samir,     Scientific and Technical Research Center on Arid Areas CRSTRA, Biskra, Algeria

Koorosh Shakoori,     Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Naresh K Sharma,     Department of Biotechnology, Centre for Water Technology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Tamil Nadu, India

Abdul Gaffar Sheik,     Department of Chemical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal, Telangana, India

Saeed Shojaei,     Department of Arid and Mountainous Regions Reclamation, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Siroos Shojaei,     Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Zahedan, Iran

Amarpreet Singh Arora,     School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Republic of Korea

Ekta Singh,     CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), Nagpur, Maharashtra, India

C Sivapragasam,     Department of Civil Engineering, Centre for Water Technology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Tamil Nadu, India

Rune Storesund,     Center for Catastrophic Risk Management (CCRM), University of California, Berkeley, CA, United States

Seyed Hamed Ashraf Talesh,     Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Natasha Vaklieva-Bancheva,     Institute of Chemical Engineering, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

S Vanitha,     Department of Civil Engineering, Centre for Water Technology, Kalasalingam Academy of Research and Education, Krishnankoil, Tamil Nadu, India

Rayka Vladova,     Institute of Chemical Engineering, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

Ngoc-Thuy Vu,     School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

Anil Yadav,     Department of Chemical Engineering, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Sonipat, Haryana, India

Xudong Ye,     Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada

Choa Mun Yun,     Sherpa Space Inc., Daejeon, Republic of Korea

Baiyu Zhang,     Northern Region Persistent Organic Pollution Control (NRPOP) Laboratory, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada

About the editors

Dr. Rama Rao Karri is a Professor (Sr. Asst.) in Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Brunei Darussalam. He has PhD from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, Masters from IIT Kanpur in Chemical Engineering. He has worked as Post-Doctoral research fellow at NUS, Singapore for about 6 years and has over 17 years of working experience in Academics, Industry, and Research. He has experience of working in multidisciplinary fields and has expertise in various evolutionary optimization techniques and process modeling. He has published around 70 research articles in reputed journals, book chapters, and conference proceedings. He is in editorial board member in 6 renowned journals and peer-review member in more than 50 reputed journals. He is presently holding a position as Editor-in-Chief in International Journal of Chemoinformatics and Chemical Engineering, IGI Global, United States. He is also managing Guest editor for Spl. Issue: Magnetic nano composites and emerging applications, in Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (IF: 4.30), Elsevier and Guest editor for Spl. Issue: Nanocomposites for the Sustainable Environment, in Applied Sciences Journal (IF: 2.474), MDPI (Scopus/SCI). He is co-editor for 5 ongoing Elsevier edited books (1) Sustainable Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation, (2) Soft Computing Techniques in Solid Waste and Wastewater Management, (3) Green Technologies for the Defluoridation of Water, (4) Environmental and health management of Coronavirus (COVID-19), and (5) Pesticides Remediation Technologies From Water and Wastewater: Health Effects and Environmental Remediation.

Prof. Gobinath Ravindran is presently working as Full Professor and Head, Department of Civil Engineering in SR University, Warangal, Telangana, India. He is performing active research in Civil Engineering domain primary focusing on issues related to Environmental Geotechnology, Sustainable Materials, AI Applications in Civil Engineering. He has published more than 170 research papers and several book chapters to his credit. Also, he serves as invited guest editor of several books and reviewer of several journals, also had served as reviewer for several peer-reviewed journals. He is presently holding a position as Managing Editor in International Journal of Chemoinformatics and Chemical Engineering, IGI Global, United States and associate editor in International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology published by Springer. He is presently editorial board member of several journals in environmental domain and editing books related to environmental engineering.

Prof. Dr Mohammad Hadi Dehghani is a Full Professor at the Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), School of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Tehran, Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran. His scientific research interests include the Environmental Science. He is the author of various research studies published at national and international journals, conference proceedings; and he is the head of several research projects at the TUMS. He has authored 8 books and more than 180 full papers published in peer-reviewed journals. He is an editorial board member, Guest editor, and reviewer in many internal and international journals and is member of several international science committees around the world. He is a supervisor and advisor for PhD and MSc theses at the TUMS. Currently, he is also a member of the Iranian Association of Environmental Health (IAEH) and member of the Institute for Environmental Research (IER) at the TUMS. He is co-editor for 4 ongoing Elsevier edited books: (1) Soft Computing Techniques in Solid Waste and Wastewater Management, (2) Green Technologies for the Defluoridation of Water, (3) Environmental and health management of Coronavirus (COVID-19), (4) Pesticides Remediation Technologies From Water and Wastewater: Health Effects and Environmental Remediation.

Foreword

It gives me immense pleasure for writing the Foreword to this book.

Continuous growth of population and industrialization has led to dramatically increase the pollution causing concern to the health of humans, other living species, and natural environment. Management of solid and liquid wastes has become a major issue as the resources are rapidly polluted and the environmental awareness has risen up. A variety of approaches are being used for the solution of environmental problems. Modeling, optimization, and computational techniques can lead to considerable benefits to environmental systems in terms of efficiency improvement, energy reduction, and pollution control. This edited book, entitled Soft Computing Techniques in Solid Waste and Wastewater Management is well organized with the classification of its topics under the titles, soft computing applications in wastewater management, solid waste management, and state of the art techniques. The technological advancements and the problem solving approaches presented in this book will be of immense help to those associated with the management of solid waste and wastewater systems. With its distinguished editors and international team of contributors, this book covers a wide range of classical as well as artificial intelligence and evolutionary techniques for the analysis, design, modeling, and optimization of systems concerning to solid, liquid, and industrial waste management. The extent of knowledge and information covered in this book is beneficial to the students, researchers, and industry professionals to advance their knowledge, and the beginners to get an exposure and pursue with the activities of their interest in this direction. With my knowledge and background in this field, I sincerely hope this book will serve as a useful guide to fulfill the need of a wider class of audience.

I wish all success to this publication.

Dr. Ch. Venkateswarlu

Chief Scientist (Retd.)

Indian Institute of Chemical Technology

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research

India

Preface

The human race is facing unprecedented environmental issues due to several factors, among them primary issue is the resource depletion due to increasing consumption and the other major issue is the management of solid and liquid waste generated from humans and industrial growth. To address these issues, there are continuous discussions going on at various levels to curtail the industrial growth and to provide a holistic approach to reduce waste, increase the effectiveness of waste remediation, and improve the ecosystem. This approach is termed as sustainable development, which focuses on bringing greener solutions for the betterment of society and pushing humans to a new horizon. Among the human’s consumption resources, water plays a vital role being the elixir of life. Deterioration of quality of water and exploiting water resources are becoming enduring challenges in the present era. Also, water has potential of posing a serious threat to sustainable development goals unless it is managed effectively and efficiently through proper protocols and policies. It can play a vital role in synergizing the growth of several industries focusing on societal, economic, and environmental level growth. A large amount of research works is being undertaken by bountiful researchers across the globe, yet dissemination of the research information needs revisiting. Hence, we feel that there is still a need for a comprehensive reading resource focusing on soft computing applications in solid waste and wastewater engineering, the outcome of our brainstorming is this edited book which is a compilation of contributions from researchers across the globe. The primary aim of this book is to serve as a platform to share collective information related to works being done on soft computing applications in water and wastewater treatment, management, utilization, and discharge. This book is designed to be a one-stop reference to introduce the concept of water, wastewater generation, water pollution, solid waste generation and management, related toxicity, soft computing applications in solid waste and wastewater management. Editors are sure that all the chapters of this book will not only inspire the readers to undergo research works related to that topic, but also ensure that they explore newer concepts related to algorithmic applications in water and wastewater management.

For readability, the book is divided into three sections, Section 1: Soft computing applications in wastewater management, Section 2: Soft computing applications in solid waste management, and Section 3: Application of soft computing for process modeling, optimization, and control of wastewater and solid waste. Utmost care is taken to compile the required resources to make this book fully informative and also it covers all necessary information related to soft computing applications related to solid waste and wastewater management.

This book begins with an introductory, in-depth chapter on wastewater—its sources and toxicity to introduce authors about the impact of wastes on human health as starting a chapter is the first section. Chapter 2 covers the techniques, technologies, challenges faced, and alternative solutions, in handling wastewater treatment process. Chapter 3 reviews various soft computing modeling techniques applicable for wastewater removal performance. Neural networks which are used widely for multiple applications and their usage is provided in Chapters 4 and 5 for enhancing the prediction of removal efficiency of pollutants. Chapter 6 covers the application of Bayesian network modeling in wastewater management; Chapter 7 details the prediction of ammonium removal by using biochar from agricultural wastes by the usage of ANN applications. Chapter 8 introduces various optimization algorithms and their application in adsorption kinetic modeling related to wastewater treatment. Chapters 9 and 10 deal with management and modeling of waste water treatment process using AI techniques.

Section 2 focuses on soft computing applications in solid waste management. Chapter 11 presents details about solid waste, their sources, toxicity, and their consequences to human health. Chapter 12 reviews the technological advancements that are occurring in solid waste treatment and depicts the challenges involved. The solid waste treatment process adopted in developing countries is a key challenge faced today and it is dealt with in Chapter 13. Chapter 14 provides a review on soft computing applications in forecasting solid waste generation and Chapter 15 deals with dynamic multi-objective optimization of integrated waste management. Chapter 16 covers application of machine learning techniques like SVM and ANN for prediction of effluent COD and SS removal. Chapter 17 presents the applications of various AI models in solid waste generation forecasting and their relative effectiveness. Chapters 18 and 19 convey about end-of-life vehicle waste management systems used and various normalization protocols used for disposal of palm oil kernels. Chapter 20 is dedicated to long-term solid waste quantity prediction using AI models.

Section 3 of the book gives insights into wide application of soft computing for process modeling, optimization, and control of wastewater and solid waste. In this section, Chapter 21 provides process optimization and modeling methods for hydraulic fracturing process in wastewater treatment using RSM. Chapters 22 and 23 report the complexities involved in the treatment process and optimization of process conditions in wastewater degradation process. Chapter 24 offers information about various systems control and optimization in wastewater treatment using the PSO approach. Chapter 25 provides information about fuzzy logic control of active sludge based wastewater treatment plants. Chapter 26 is about smart ANAMMOX system and agile operation of wastewater treatment plants. Chapter 27 gives details about the bio-inspired optimization of neuro-fuzzy technique for predicting sediment transport through pipes. Finally, Chapter 28 presents the multi-scenario approach for capturing uncertainties involved in aerobic digestion systems.

We acknowledge the extreme efforts of all the authors and their collaborators for contributing their latest research and innovative thoughts in the form of book chapters. Editors also take this opportunity to thank our friends, colleagues, collaborators, students, and family members, who have helped us to bring this book in its current shape and format. Our heartfelt thanks to all the elite reviewers, who spend good quality time reviewing the whole manuscript and giving their valuable suggestions and feedback unbiased and without any conflict of interest. Their professional and timely support has helped the book to match the international standard. Our special thanks to the editorial team of Elsevier (Llewellyn, Peter J, Narmatha Mohan, and others), who supported us in every stage of initiation, operation, and completion of the book, including the production process. Special thanks to Ms. Packowska Aleksandra, for patiently responding to our queries, supporting us round the clock, and guiding us for completing this book with flying colors.

Editors

Rama Rao Karri

Gobinath Ravindran

Mohammad Hadi Dehghani

Acknowledgments

I thank Prof. Zohrah, Vice Chancellor, Universiti Teknologi Brunei and higher management for the support. I also thank my co-editors without their support and co-operation this book is not possible. I also thank all the authors, who contributed chapters consisting of their valuable research.

Dr. Rama Rao Karri

I thank colleagues and management at SR University for their constant support. I also thank my co-editors without their support and co-operation this book is not possible. I also thank all the authors, who contributed chapters consisting of their valuable research. My special thanks to Dr. V. Mahesh and Dr. Archana Reddy who supports me in all my endeavor and motivate me to the core.

Prof. Gobinath Ravindran

This edited book has been supported by the Tehran University of Medical Sciences. I also thank my co-editors especially Dr. Rama Rao Karri, without his support and co-operation this book is not possible. I also thank all the authors, who contributed chapters consisting of their valuable research.

Prof. Mohammed Hadi Dehghani

Section 1: Soft computing applications in wastewater management

Chapter 1: Wastewater—Sources, Toxicity, and Their Consequences to Human Health

Chapter 2: Wastewater Treatment Processes—Techniques, Technologies, Challenges Faced, and Alternative Solutions

Chapter 3: Review of Soft Computing Techniques for Modeling, Design, and Prediction of Wastewater Removal Performance

Chapter 4: Application of Neural Networks in Wastewater Degradation Process for the Prediction of Removal Efficiency of Pollutants

Chapter 5: Application of Artificial Neural Networks on Water and Wastewater Prediction: A Review

Chapter 6: Application of Bayesian Networks Modelling in Wastewater Management

Chapter 7: Pareto Multiobjective Bioinspired Optimization of Neuro-Fuzzy Technique for Predicting Sediment Transport in Sewer Pipe

Chapter 8: Soft Computing Optimization Algorithms and Their Application in Parameter Estimation of a Rigorous Adsorption Kinetics Model

Chapter 9: Sustainable Management of Wastewater Treatment Plants Using Artificial Intelligence Techniques

Chapter 10: Modeling Wastewater Treatment Process: A Genetic Programming Approach

Chapter 1: Wastewater—Sources, Toxicity, and Their Consequences to Human Health

Rama Rao Karria

Gobinath Ravindranb

Mohammad Hadi Dehghanic,d

a    Petroleum and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Brunei, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei

b    Department of Civil Engineering, SR University, Warangal, Telangana, India

c    Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

d    Institute for Environmental Research, Centre for Solid Waste Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Humans, for their development, utilize the natural wealth rapidly; among the resources they consume, water is being used drastically due to uncontrolled and unsustainable consumption. Also, it is very evident that the development of the society relies heavily on technological advancements, but it should not happen by the depletion of the resources, potable water is scantily available, and protecting it is the need of the hour. Due to industrialization and household consumption owing to urbanization, a huge amount of wastewater is being generated across the globe. Nevertheless, this unsustainable growth ended up in releasing of toxic chemicals into the air, water, and land and thus contaminated them to an unprecedented scale. Water pollution is a global environmental concern, and the concentration of toxic pollutants in the water bodies is found to be well above the designated limits established by the World Health Organization and the Environmental Protection Agency in many countries. Among the pollutants released into water bodies, several were found to be causing serious issues to the human health, and analyzing the release mechanism, degradation process, implementing their removal process before discharging into natural water bodies are needed. In this work, authors had made an attempt to analyze the sources of wastewater that arises due to anthropogenic activities and also we reviewed the toxicity of those pollutants focusing on the serious consequences it may cause to human health.

Keywords

wastewater

human health

environmental regulations

toxic pollutants

1. Introduction

Water scarcity is one of the important problems in many parts of the world today; as a result, water pollution is receiving increasing attention both in research and policy level. Water plays a crucial role in accomplishing sustainable development, and achieving clean water is one of the main sustainable development goal. Surging human population and the resource consumption are the two major points human race is trying to address to have a sustainable lifestyle. Water is an essential compound needed for the sustenance of life; however, the available water resources on the Earth are being depleted owing to pollution. Access to clean and reliable water has been considered as one of the basic human needs as well as the most challenging issues being faced in the 21st century. In developing countries, about 80% of the sicknesses are associated with poor water supply as well as hygienic conditions, with about 443 million days lost yearly from the school calendar because of water-related diseases (CorcoranEmily, 2010). Water pollution results once toxic substances penetrate into the water and change the water quality (Francesco, Stefano, Giovanni, Rudy, & Giovanni, 2017). Water pollution emanates from the point and nonpoint sources with some other such as urbanization, industrial, and agricultural processes (Bassem, 2020). The rapid industrialization has brought about the degradation of water quality through the deposition of contaminants into the aquatic water bodies (Xiaolei, Alvarez, & Qilin, 2013). Water pollution could constitute a significant risk to human health, animals, and aquatic water bodies; thus about 3.1% of deaths are caused by the consumption of unsafe, bad-quality water. Water after usage is termed wastewater, yet there are scopes of reusing it and recovering a large chunk of it for further usage.

It is very evident that urbanization and industrialization have resulted in the exploitation of natural resources all over the globe. Pollution of natural water resources with organic (carbohydrates, dyes, fertilizers, oil and grease, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, plasticizers, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, proteins, etc.) and inorganic (heavy metals) pollutants has become a challenging issue to solve in many countries. Primary sources of organic pollutants are untreated or treated domestic and industrial effluents, farm wastes and urban runoff (Nusrat, Sadaf, & Mohammad, 2017). Large quantities of organic wastes are discharged into neighboring freshwater bodies through sewage effluents. Sewage water consists of 99.9% water and only 0.1% solids, of which 70% is organic matter. Almost 70% of the solids present in sewage effluents are made up of organic matter consisting of fats (10%), carbohydrates (25%), and proteins (65%). Organic effluents also bear huge amounts of suspended solids, which hinder the photosynthetic activity of aquatic organisms. Furthermore, the organic wastes of humans and animals may also contain infectious pathogens (Nusrat, Sadaf, & Mohammad, 2017).

Urban and industrial wastewater constitutes the most important contamination sources of surface water bodies, including rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and oceans, and the scenario is aggravated owing to the increasing industrialization. Combined this two phenomena impacted the humanity by surging the demand for potable water which resulted in huge increase in wastewater production too. Every type of wastewater generated is unique according to the raw materials used in the process; wastewater quality can be expressed through physical, biological, and chemical features (Francesco, Stefano, Giovanni, Rudy, & Giovanni, 2017). The assessment of wastewater quality variables such as the potential of hydrogen (pH), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended sediments is critical for the operation and reliability of wastewater treatment plants.

Pollutants of water generally comes from two major sources: natural and anthropogenic; natural pollution of water is caused through several incidents, including floods (Kalantari et al., 2019; Viet-Ha et al., 2020), erosion due to water (Nasiri, Shirokova, Zareie, & Shojaei, 2017; Salesa & Cerdà, 2020), wind erosion (Saeed, Hakimzadeh, Hamid, Mohammad, & Fakhreddin, 2019; Shojaei, Ali, Hakimzadeh, & Sodaiezadeh, 2019), etc. However, they are not that much destructive to pose a severe threat to human or aquatic life. On the other hand, it is very evident that only human activities cause an imbalance in the self-purification cycle of water by the earth, and nature may not decrease or control this amount of pollution made by humans (Abbott et al., 2019; Owa, 2013).

Since there is a water shortage in the world, wastewater treatment and water reuse have become significant. Also, three factors play a key role in this case: the rapid growth of population, inefficient agriculture, and mismanagement. They emanate because of water shortage and misuse of water resources, which is referred to as the water crisis.

• Water scarcity: One of the consequences of climate change is water scarcity. Global warming has caused more periods of drought in different parts of the globe. Water scarcity is an issue that has been paid more attention in recent days and has to be addressed.

• New technologies: Nowadays, sewage has become very valuable. Engineers and designers are going to build, apply new technologies concerned with wastewater reuse and wastewater treatment. The development of new wastewater treatment technologies is of given with high importance in many countries.

• Wastewater recycling and economy: Wastewater collection and its reuse are one of the most important problems in the wastewater industry. Costs and required technologies to collect and optimize wastewater are some of the most important issues in this regard.

• Monitoring automation: Permanent monitoring of the output wastewater is an important point in using wastewater treatment, which should be done automatically.

• Wastewater analysis: It is essential to have accurate measurement tools in order to control and neutralize the chemical composition of wastewater. Nowadays, one of the challenges facing the sewage industry is the lack of accurate measuring equipment and their accuracy in different conditions.

• Reduction of toxicity: The removal or reduction of heavy metal elements could be regarded as a problem in the water and wastewater industry. Removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater requires state-of-the-art technologies that can remove these metals in treated water.

• Training in water treatment technologies: Training people of all ages and levels of education is one of the issues that should be cared about in the field of development of water treatment technologies.

Water, after being used for any purpose, industrial or household, gets polluted and contaminated with various organic/inorganic substances/microorganisms which is termed wastewater. In general, it is generated from different sources such as domestic, commercial, and industrial sources, and wastewater quality depends upon the quality of source water and the unit processes and operations used in different industries. Further, wastewater from different sources gets mixed when it is transported through the conduits that result in great variations in its composition and characteristics. Also, during the past few decades, water and wastewater treatment requirements have become more stringent due to various regulations to ensure environmental and human health quality. Increased attention has been made to achieve improvements in treated wastewater quality via new ideas, approaches, and designs focusing on efficiency both economically and technologically. The advancement tends to reduce the cost while increasing the efficacy of the treatment processes.

Wastewater from different sources contains a variety of different pollutants, including several chemical, biological processes that are used for the removal of these contaminants. These pollutants include organic and inorganic substances such as toxic metals, dyes, nutrients, and organic micropollutants. Due to the growth of water scarcity over the world, the management of natural resources, especially water, is an important subject of recent researcher works undertaken globally. Discharge of industrial wastes into the ecosystem is an important problem that human beings face due to the contamination of the environment by different types of toxic substances released by wastewater. Most of these impurities are highly water-soluble, carcinogenic agents, and well-known toxics such as nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), and so on. They can cause serious diseases like nervous system damage, organ damage, cancer, and in extreme cases, death.

Waste streams containing heavy metals are generated in different industries. Discharge of industrial wastes into the ecosystem is an important problem due to the contamination of the environment by different types of toxics. A significant amount of metals like cadmium, lead, nickel, chromium, zinc, platinum, vanadium, silver, titanium, and platinum result from processes like electroplating, electrolysis depositions, anodizing–cleaning, etching, and milling industries. Printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing units may produce metals such as nickel, lead, and tin. Other industries such as petroleum refining producing catalysts with high concentrations of nickel, chromium, and vanadium; photographic operations generating films contaminated with silver and ferrocyanide; and inorganic pigment manufacturing generating pigments containing cadmium sulfide and chromium compounds produce hazardous sludge, residues, and waste streams. Their increased release in the ecosystem will finally result in an increased concentration of heavy metals in the human body, aquatic creatures, and animals. They can be caused by serious diseases like nervous system damage, organ damage, cancer, and in extreme cases, death.

Most of these impurities are highly water-soluble, carcinogenic agents, and well-known toxics such as nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), gold (Au), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), tin (Sn), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), molybdenum (Mo), manganese (Mn), and aluminum (Al). Also, pesticides, paints, chemical solvents, oil, engine oil, antifreeze, and other harmful chemicals must not be spilled on the ground or in sewers. In addition, special care must be taken on using phosphate-free cleaners and detergents, natural fertilizers instead of chemical ones, garbage collection, and disposal in order to prevent chemical and microbial pollution of surface and groundwater.

Water shortage in tandem with water quality regulations has become an important issue for sustainable development because the available water resources are not free from anthropogenic influences of organic (viruses/bacteria, pesticides, and anhydrous phase liquids) and inorganic pollutants (salts, metals, and radioactive materials). Environmental pollution with heavy metal pollutants is a global dilemma due to its persistent and nondegradable nature (Ashita, Mandeep, Kaur, & Kaur, 2016). Human exposure to heavy metals can lead to acute and chronic diseases. Unprecedented growth in population coupled with industry development (and expansion) has led to the addition of new pollutants in the soil–plant–environment continuum (Korashy et al., 2017). The wastewater is generated by the urban community, and the industry is considered a major transporter of these pollutants and must be managed and disposed properly. The need to control the harmful pollutants present in the wastewater (organic/inorganic pollutants) and complex compounds has attracted direct attention for research. The use of effective technologies for the treatment of these compounds is one of the main ways to enhance water quality and to enhance quality water supply.

Contaminated water has a major impact on community health, water ecosystems, environmental sustainability, societal economy, and social well-being. For instance, it is analyzed that scarce water supply, along with poor hygiene, is responsible for around 30,000 deaths in a day around the world (Kumar, Shamik, Pankaj, & Chitresh, 2020). An 80% of these cases are found in rural areas and are most common among infants. Today, the demand for availability of clean and hygienic water is growing tremendously, however, finding the source of fresh water is diminishing. To meet the requiriment, strategic decision administrators suggesting to reusing of wastewater for non-drinking purposes.

It is clearly proved via several research works that the impact owing to pollutants could differ by form and source. For example, dyes, heavy metals, as well as other organic contaminants have really been pinpointed as carcinogens, pharmaceutical, hormonal, beauty products, and cosmetic wastes are referred to as endocrine obstructive chemicals (Adeogun, Ibor, Adeduntan, & Arukwe, 2016). The pollutants present a serious challenge to humans and the water bodies, whereas significant population growth stimulates climate change (Palmate, Pandey, Kumar, Pandey, & Mishra, 2017). For example, several anthropogenic activities and also the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by industries significantly cause global warming, planetary temperature increase, as well as air quality reduction (Adejumoke et al., 2018). More so, they destroy fishes, molluscs, seaweeds, marine birds, crustaceans, as well as other marine organisms that can be used as food (Mehtab et al., 2017). Such pollutants, which penetrate into the water bodies via diverse sources, primarily due to human activities, have now become a key problem for the researchers owing to their numerous environmental hazards. Among all the water contaminants, pesticides, radioactive materials, heavy metals, and toxic chemicals are considered as the contaminants of priority due to their toxicity (Amoatey & Baawain, 2019; Maurya, Malik, & Sharma, 2019). Thus there is a need to discuss these contaminants in the subsequent sections. Though numerous reviews have been carried out on the removal of some emerging pollutants from aquatic water bodies, yet not sufficient research has been done in providing a detailed overview of the removal of toxic chemicals, heavy metals, radioactive materials, and pesticides from aquatic water bodies using green nanocomposites.

This chapter briefly reviews the various sources of wastewater, types of pollutants, and their toxicity to human and aquatic animals. Also, the consequences of drinking polluted water and their ill effects on human health are discussed in detail.

2. Review of sources

Pollutants are substances that are present in undesirable level and also create adverse effects once discharged into the environment. They could induce mild or severe effects depending on their concentration. Over time such pollutants persist in the atmosphere and thus create environmental issues whenever their concentration rises above the maximum absorbance in the environment (Chaudhry & Malik, 2017). The major factors that trigger water pollution are the disposal of industrial and domestic wastes, water tank leakages, sewage dumping close to water sources, as well as the emission of particulate matter and nuclear wastes (Mehtab et al., 2017). Fig. 1.1 shows sources of the pollutants that emanate from human habitat and Fig. 1.2 shows the source of the pollutants that arises from industrial area and also depicts how they enter the water bodies. The point sources of major pollutants that are commonly seen in the aquatic bodies and soil are listed in Table 1.1.

Figure 1.1   Source of the pollutants from human habitat.

Figure 1.2   Source of the pollutants from industrial area.

Table 1.1

3. Review of pollutants, toxicity, and their consequences to human health

Wastewater streams containing pollutants are generated from various process industries that are discharging huge quantum of wastewater into surface water bodies. Discharge of industrial wastes into the ecosystem either treated or untreated is posing a major issue to the ecosystem and human health. Wastewater released from different sources contaminates the underground, surface water, and soil, which further contaminate the food and drinking water, as shown in Fig. 1.3. By consuming the contaminated water and food, human health is affected seriously causing major health issues, including epidemics.

Figure 1.3   Transmission of pollutants (via wastewater released from different sources) contaminated food and drinking water. (Reproduced with permission from Ahmadzadeh, S., Asadipour, A., Pournamdari, M., Behnam, B., Rahimi, H. R., & Dolatabadi, M. (2017). Removal of ciprofloxacin from hospital wastewater using electrocoagulation technique by aluminum electrode: Optimization and modelling through response surface methodology. Process Safety and Environmental Protection, 109, 538–547. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2017.04.026.)

Wastewater from different sources like domestic, industrial, hospitals, and industrial farming generally ends up in water bodies all over the world mostly without pretreatment. This wastewater contains various types of pollutants that generally segregated as suspended, floating matter, and dissolved mater, as shown in Fig. 1.4. Among these pollutants, floating and dissolved matters pose a severe threat to the ecosystem. Wastewater discharged from oil and gas industries consists of lubricant mixture, cutting oils, heavy metals, oil fluids, grease, heavy and light hydrocarbons, lubricants, and other hazardous contaminants (Asha & Thiruvenkatachari, 2008). Oily wastewater is discharged from different sources such as textile, vegetable oil, food, domestic sewage, leather industries, vehicles, kitchens, and metal (Santander, Rodrigues, & Rubio, 2011). The oil concentration in wastewater released from industrial activities may reach 40,000 mg/L (Sincero & Sincero, 2000). Furthermore, these oil spills have adverse environmental impacts that are directly accountable for the devastation of marine species as consequent interaction between lipophilic hydrocarbons and lipid layers of flora an fauna results in the intoxication that may even lead to death. Indeed, the oil reduces the contact area between atmosphere and water that consequently affects the BOD and COD, thus respiration of aerobic organisms and photosynthesis by aquatic plants is disturbed (Kingston, 2002).

Figure 1.4   Classification of wastewater streams containing pollutants.

A significant amount of metals like nickel (Ni), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), mercury (Hg), gold (Au), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), tin (Sn), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), molybdenum (Mo), manganese (Mn), and aluminum (Al) are commonly observed among various industrial effluent. Their increased release in the ecosystem will finally result in an increased concentration of heavy metals among aquatic life, animals, and finally, in the human body (Sahu, Zabed, Rama Rao Karri, & Shahriar Shams, 2019).

Contamination of water bodies due to anthropogenic activities like pesticide waste discharge reduces the normal functioning of the ecosystem and also possesses the risk to human health (Amin, Reza, & Ali, 2019). These anthropogenic pollutants can harm the characteristics of water to such an extent that it cannot be used for drinking purpose and affect the plants and animals available near these water bodies (Ekubo & Abowei, 2011). Nowadays, pesticides are used in the backyard of the garden as well as in agricultural lands to increase the yields in agriculture by controlling insect-borne diseases and pests (Rekha, Naik, & Prasad, 2006). They are categorized on the basis of their roots and family of pests. Chemical pesticides are contributing greatly to their use in applications of agricultural fields. The percentage of sprayed pesticides on agriculture fields to reach their target is less than 10% (Tanweer et al., 2010) and the rest can enter into the water bodies by surface drainage, spray drift, run-off, and leaching and adversely affect the environment and human health because of their accumulation in soil. However, the regular use of pesticides does not only lead to consequences to human health but it also affects food quality.

Radioactive materials are wastes generated from radionuclides that are by-products of nuclear reaction, fuel processing plant, and research and hospital activities (Palmer). Radioactive waste is the waste containing radioactive substances, like unused liquids from radiotherapy or laboratory research, contaminated glassware, packages or absorbent paper, urinary discharge of patients undergoing thyroid treatment, and excreta from patients treated with unsealed radionuclides. Water bodies, when contaminated with these wastes, pose a severe threat to the environment and humans. Radioactive wastes from a nuclear weapon and defensive activities constitute a great risk toward environmental protection for both future and present generations (Greenberg et al., 2019). The effects of radioactive wastes can be short and long ranges. The short-range effects are ephemeral and they include subcutaneous bleeding, loss of nails and hairs, distortion of blood cells, and metabolism, while the range effects can last for months or years (Prakash, Gabani, Chandel, Ronen, & Singh, 2013).

The maximum contaminated level (standards) for the most important contaminants categorized under types like inorganic chemical, organic chemical, and radionuclides is given in Table 1.2.

Table 1.2

Units: picocuries per liter—pCi/L; millirems per year—mpy.

Source: Data from EPA. (2009). National primary drinking water regulations; arsenic and clarifications to compliance and new source contaminants monitoring.

The prominent pollutants that are heavily found in wastewater streams are presented in detail.

3.1. Heavy metals

Heavy metals are metallic elements with densities that are five times greater than that of water (5.0 g/cm³). The major sources of heavy metal released globally are mining, manufacturing, waste disposal, and pesticide/fertilizer applications (Zhou et al., 2020). Heavy metals in wastewater are of great concern due to their carcinogenic and hazardous nature when compared to other contaminants like dyes, pesticides, inorganic, and organic substances (Sushovan, Somnath, & Susmita, 2018). Nnaji, Ebeagwu, & Ugwu, (2016) pointed out that heavy metals are pollutants of priority owing to their persistence in the environment and their high mobility. A geometric increase in the industrial usage of metals together with its discharge in water bodies has unavoidably brought about an increase of metallic substances in water bodies. These metals accumulate in the soil, air, and water, thus interfering with the normal functioning of the ecosystem.

Heavy metals accumulated in the environment can be transferred to humans by the consumption of contaminated water and accidental ingestion of soil, inhalation of polluted air, as well as consumption of plants grown on contaminated soil (see Fig. 1.5). Elevated levels of heavy metals have been detected in edible parts of plants (Vongdala, Tran, Xuan, Teschke, & Khanh, 2018). Studies have reported the gradual buildup of heavy metals in the environment and in humans.

Figure 1.5   Sources of heavy metals contamination in groundwater, crop irrigation, plants, animals and transfer to the human being. (Reproduced with permission from Afonne, O. J., & Ifediba, E. C. (2020). Heavy metals risks in plant foods – Need to step up precautionary measures. Risk Assessment in Toxicology, 22, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cotox.2019.12.006.)

A significant amount of heavy metals present in the ecosystem will finally result in an increased concentration of heavy metals in aquatic creatures, animals, and finally, in the human body (Sahu, Zabed, Rama Rao Karri, & Shahriar Shams, 2019). The role of heavy metal in the human body and their biological effects due to deficiencies and overexposure are presented in Table 1.3. The prominent heavy metals that are commonly found in wastewater streams are presented here.

Table 1.3

Source: From Paithankar, J. G., Saini, S., Dwivedi, S., Sharma, A., & Kar Chowdhuri, D. (2021). Heavy metal associated health hazards: An interplay of oxidative stress and signal transduction. Chemosphere, 262, 128350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128350.

Copper is a naturally occurring element (Yargıç, Yarbay, Özbay, & Önal, 2015). It is a prevalent heavy metal, and it has been extensively utilized in areas like manufacturing, mechanical, electrical, and public safety (Belén et al., 2017). Due to its enormous use in daily activities, traces of copper are commonly found in aquatic water bodies (Ugwu & Agunwamba, 2020). Since ancient ages, drinking water in copper utensils is found to have good benefits for health. However, it will have an immensely negative effect on the pancreas, heart, kidney, skin, and liver when consumed in higher doses (Gupta & Gogate, 2016).

Zinc is ranked as the fourth important trace element (Ugwu & Agunwamba, 2020). The health implications of zinc-polluted water for humans, as well as other organisms, are of serious concern due to its mobility and nonbiodegradability (Zamani, Yunus, Samsuri, Mohd Salleh, & Asady, 2017; Karri & Sahu, 2018a). Zn²+ continues to permeate the food chain, thereby inducing long-lasting detrimental health effects (Karri & Sahu, 2018b).

Chromium occurs both as a natural trivalent ion [Cr(III)] and a hexavalent ion [Cr(IV)] which is formed during certain industrial processes (Karri, Sahu, & Meikap, 2020). The presence of trivalent chromium ions majorly harms plants, owing to its oxidizing capacity as well as high permeability. Hexavalent form of chromium is termed a carcinogenic compound and easily travels downstream from discharges to the sources of drinking water. However, hexavalent chromium is