Tag: environment pollution

Industrial wastewater treatment describes the processes used for the treatment of wastewater that is produced by industries as an undesirable by-product. After treatment, the treated industrial wastewater (or effluent) may be reused or released to a sanitary sewer or to a surface water in the environment.

Phytoremediation, or using plants (such as willow) to extract heavy metals can be an effective method to prevent soil pollution.

Silicone coated fiberglass bags are resistant to high temperatures and are able to separate at a temperature range of approximately $-50^oC$ to $+250^oC$. Thus it has excellent weather proof and water repellent properties. It is also resistant to chemicals. It is used to filtering hot gases as it can withstand high temperatures.

A sedimentation tank allows suspended particles to settle out of water or wastewater as it flows slowly through the tank, thereby providing some degree of purification. A layer of accumulated solids, called sludge, forms at the bottom of the tank and is periodically removed.

Minamata disease is a neurological syndrome caused by severe mercury poisoning. Minamata disease was first discovered in Minamata city in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan, in 1956. It was caused by the release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation's chemical factory, which continued from 1932 to 1968. This highly toxic chemical bio accumulated in shellfish and fish in Minamata Bay and the Shiranui Sea, which, when eaten by the local populace, resulted in mercury poisoning.

Compost is organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment. Compost is a key ingredient in organic farming. At the simplest level, the process of composting requires making a heap of wetted organic matter known as green waste (leaves, food waste) and waiting for the materials to break down into humus after a period of weeks or months. 

Deep injection is a liquid waste disposal technology. This alternative uses injection wells to place treated or untreated liquid waste into geologic formations that have no potential to allow migration of contaminants into potential potable water aquifers.

Other methods result into pollution and are not a feasible solution. 

Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gases are emitted during the combustion of various fuels. Carbon monoxide is poisonous, whereas carbon-dioxide is non-toxic in nature. Carbon monoxide is poisonous because it is capable of forming a complex with hemoglobin (carboxyhaemoglobin), which is more stable than the oxygen-haemoglobin complex. The concentration range of 3–4% of  carboxyhaemoglobin decreases the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood. This results in headaches, weak eyesight, nervousness, and cardiovascular disorders. A more increased concentration may even lead to death.

Carbon monoxide when binds to hemoglobin forms a stable compound - carboxyhaemoglobin. Since, oxygen of carbon monoxide binds more readily to hemoglobin than do Oxygen of carbon dioxide, therefore carbon monoxide prevents carbon dioxide from binding to Hb, which means diffusion or exchange of gases won't take place at alveolar site. So, carbon monoxide is more harmful because it prevents oxygen from entering the body.

In situ vitrification (ISV) is a process which uses an electric current to melt soil or other earthen materials at extremely high temperatures and thereby immobilize most inorganics and destroy organic pollutants by pyrolysis. While other methods can be successfully used to dispose hazardous wastes, ISV will cause air and soil pollution.