Chapter 7
Natural Biological Treatment of Effluent
and Sludges to Combat the Burden of Waste
Deachen Angmo, Rahil Dutta, Soubam Indra Kumar, and Angelika Sharma
Abstract A huge amount of effluents and sludge (waste) are generated from
different industrial, commercial, and domestic sectors, which are being discharged
on land or into watercourse. These wastes are characterized by high concentrations
of xenobiotic compounds, heavy metals, pesticides, high biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), which is responsible for
degradation of environment and causes death of millions of people annually. It is
very important to treat these wastes before being released into the environment. If the
waste discharge is in liquid form, then it is called effluents, and if in solid form, it is
called sludge. The process for the removal of impurities contained in waste can be
done by conventional and natural treatment method. Majority of the conventional
methods hold some limitations due to which natural treatment method is considered
and proven to be one of the most prefer methods to deal with the waste generated due
to its eco-friendly features. Natural treatment methods involve diverse microbes and
plant to treat the waste. Degradation of waste is highly determined by the microbial
and plant activity. The process that primarily relies on microbial population either to
reduce or to transform the pollutant concentration to an innocuous state is called
bioremediation. On the basis of site of treatment, there are two types of bioremediation: ex situ and in situ. Phytoremediation depends upon the plant to carry out the
activity to treat the waste. There are several mechanisms involved in
phytoremediation that depends on the type of pollutant (elemental or organic). It
has been proven that sludge contains a good amount of nutrients, which makes it
suitable for agricultural application.
Keywords Pollutants · Heavy metals · Effluents · Sludge · Bioremediation ·
Phytoremediation
D. Angmo · R. Dutta · S. I. Kumar
Department of Botanical and Environmental Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar,
India
A. Sharma (*)
Department of Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jammu, Jammu, India
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
S. A. Bhat et al. (eds.), Earthworm Assisted Remediation of Effluents and Wastes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4522-1_7
107
Natural Biological Treatment of Effluent
and Sludges to Combat the Burden of Waste
Deachen Angmo, Rahil Dutta, Soubam Indra Kumar, and Angelika Sharma
Abstract A huge amount of effluents and sludge (waste) are generated from
different industrial, commercial, and domestic sectors, which are being discharged
on land or into watercourse. These wastes are characterized by high concentrations
of xenobiotic compounds, heavy metals, pesticides, high biochemical oxygen
demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), which is responsible for
degradation of environment and causes death of millions of people annually. It is
very important to treat these wastes before being released into the environment. If the
waste discharge is in liquid form, then it is called effluents, and if in solid form, it is
called sludge. The process for the removal of impurities contained in waste can be
done by conventional and natural treatment method. Majority of the conventional
methods hold some limitations due to which natural treatment method is considered
and proven to be one of the most prefer methods to deal with the waste generated due
to its eco-friendly features. Natural treatment methods involve diverse microbes and
plant to treat the waste. Degradation of waste is highly determined by the microbial
and plant activity. The process that primarily relies on microbial population either to
reduce or to transform the pollutant concentration to an innocuous state is called
bioremediation. On the basis of site of treatment, there are two types of bioremediation: ex situ and in situ. Phytoremediation depends upon the plant to carry out the
activity to treat the waste. There are several mechanisms involved in
phytoremediation that depends on the type of pollutant (elemental or organic). It
has been proven that sludge contains a good amount of nutrients, which makes it
suitable for agricultural application.
Keywords Pollutants · Heavy metals · Effluents · Sludge · Bioremediation ·
Phytoremediation
D. Angmo · R. Dutta · S. I. Kumar
Department of Botanical and Environmental Science, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar,
India
A. Sharma (*)
Department of Environmental Sciences, Central University of Jammu, Jammu, India
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to
Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
S. A. Bhat et al. (eds.), Earthworm Assisted Remediation of Effluents and Wastes,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4522-1_7
107