polluters of the environment as these discharge huge amount of highly toxic and
hazardous wastewaters that cause serious soil/water pollution. Industrial effluents
mainly have a characteristic of high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical
oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS),
and a variety of potentially toxic organic and inorganic pollutants which may cause
serious toxicity in human beings upon exposure (Kishor et al. 2018; Goutam et al.
2018; Gautam et al. 2017; Bharagava et al. 2017a, b; Saxena et al. 2016; Saxena and
Bharagava 2017, 2015).
Currently, physicochemical methods are applied to treat and manage such highstrength wastewater to protect the environment and public health. However, these
methods are environmentally destructive as these cause secondary pollution, while
environmental cleanup is costly and disturbs the site to be cleaned. Being a cleangreen approach, bioremediation provides a sustainable solution to effectively treat
and manage industrial effluents to achieve environmental safety and security. Bioremediation is an eco-friendly technique wherein microbes and plants or their
enzymes are used to degrade and detoxify the organic and inorganic pollutants in
contaminated matrix and thus restore the contaminated sites (Bharagava et al. 2017c,
2018; Saxena et al. 2019; Saxena and Bharagava 2016; Chandra et al. 2015). To
date, a lot of advances have been made in the bioremediation technologies to treat
and manage such industrial waste. Therefore, this chapter reviews the progresses,
challenges, and future research prospects in the bioremediation technologies used for
the treatment and management of industrial waste with special reference to tannery
wastewater.
2 Progresses, Challenges, and Future Prospects
in Bioremediation Technologies for Waste Treatment
and Management
Currently, the conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered as
the best examples of bioremediation technologies. Conventional common effluent
treatment plants (CETPs) are viewed as the most feasible option for the effective
treatment and detoxification of wastewaters (Moharikar et al. 2005; Kapley et al.
2007; Moura et al. 2009) and mostly relied on activated sludge treatment process.
Microorganisms (such as bacteria/fungi/microalgae) are considered as the
eco-friendly tools for the degradation and detoxification of organic and inorganic
pollutants in industrial wastewaters (Bharagava et al. 2017a). CETPs primarily relied
on the activated sludge process (a biological treatment process) and are used for the
secondary treatment process. In CETPs, TWW received from nearby tannery industries is aerated with potential microbial populations, which results in the degradation
and detoxification of organic and inorganic pollutants to achieve the high quality of
treated wastewater (Munz et al. 2008). The diversity of microbial populations
growing in the CETP primarily depends on the nature and characteristics of
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R. N. Bharagava and G. Saxena
hazardous wastewaters that cause serious soil/water pollution. Industrial effluents
mainly have a characteristic of high biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical
oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS),
and a variety of potentially toxic organic and inorganic pollutants which may cause
serious toxicity in human beings upon exposure (Kishor et al. 2018; Goutam et al.
2018; Gautam et al. 2017; Bharagava et al. 2017a, b; Saxena et al. 2016; Saxena and
Bharagava 2017, 2015).
Currently, physicochemical methods are applied to treat and manage such highstrength wastewater to protect the environment and public health. However, these
methods are environmentally destructive as these cause secondary pollution, while
environmental cleanup is costly and disturbs the site to be cleaned. Being a cleangreen approach, bioremediation provides a sustainable solution to effectively treat
and manage industrial effluents to achieve environmental safety and security. Bioremediation is an eco-friendly technique wherein microbes and plants or their
enzymes are used to degrade and detoxify the organic and inorganic pollutants in
contaminated matrix and thus restore the contaminated sites (Bharagava et al. 2017c,
2018; Saxena et al. 2019; Saxena and Bharagava 2016; Chandra et al. 2015). To
date, a lot of advances have been made in the bioremediation technologies to treat
and manage such industrial waste. Therefore, this chapter reviews the progresses,
challenges, and future research prospects in the bioremediation technologies used for
the treatment and management of industrial waste with special reference to tannery
wastewater.
2 Progresses, Challenges, and Future Prospects
in Bioremediation Technologies for Waste Treatment
and Management
Currently, the conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are considered as
the best examples of bioremediation technologies. Conventional common effluent
treatment plants (CETPs) are viewed as the most feasible option for the effective
treatment and detoxification of wastewaters (Moharikar et al. 2005; Kapley et al.
2007; Moura et al. 2009) and mostly relied on activated sludge treatment process.
Microorganisms (such as bacteria/fungi/microalgae) are considered as the
eco-friendly tools for the degradation and detoxification of organic and inorganic
pollutants in industrial wastewaters (Bharagava et al. 2017a). CETPs primarily relied
on the activated sludge process (a biological treatment process) and are used for the
secondary treatment process. In CETPs, TWW received from nearby tannery industries is aerated with potential microbial populations, which results in the degradation
and detoxification of organic and inorganic pollutants to achieve the high quality of
treated wastewater (Munz et al. 2008). The diversity of microbial populations
growing in the CETP primarily depends on the nature and characteristics of
532
R. N. Bharagava and G. Saxena