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Heavy metals contamination is increasing gradually in the environment as a result of industrial and agriculture works. Meerut region is one the most fertile land of India for the agriculture and many sugar mills are present in the region along with industries. Effluent having  heavy metals contaminate both surface water and ground water. A case study is conducted to physico-chemically analyze the heavy metals in the effluent of sugar mills of Meerut region, Uttar Pradesh, India. The effluent collected from outlet/drain of sugar mills. Often Sugar mill effluent is very contaminated with many heavy metals, hazardous inorganic/organic chemicals and several microorganisms. The amounts of Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Lead, Mercury and PH were measured by Indian Standard (IS) methods and the analyzed values of these are Arsenic (As 0.003 mg/l), Cadmium (Cd 0.1 mg/l), Chromium (Cr  0.31 mg/l), Copper (Cu 0.45 mg/l), Lead (Pb 0.04 mg/l), Mercury (Hg 0.02 mg/l) and PH (7.54). The WHO approved permissible limits of heavy metals and PH in drinking water are Arsenic ( As 0.01mg/l), Cadmium (Cd 0.003 mg/l), Chromium (Cr  0.05 mg/l), Copper(Cu 2.0 mg/l), Lead (Pb 0.01 mg/l), Mercury (Hg 0.001 mg/l) and PH (6.5 to 8.5). This sugar mill effluent is mainly contaminated with Cadmium, Chromium,  Copper and Mercury. Thus, these Sugar mill effluents cannot be used directly for industrial, irrigation or domestic purpose. It must be treated before its use. Exposure to these increased levels of heavy metals can cause several fatal diseases such as skin, lung, prostate cancer, neurological, respiratory, urinary, and cardiovascular diseases etc. We use different type of plants to exclude different heavy metals from polluted water and soil systems. Standard permissible parameters of irrigation water for trace elements suggested by Food and agriculture organization of UN Rome, 1985 (FAO) are As (0.1 mg/l), Cd (0.01 mg/l), Cr (0.1 mg/l), Cu (0.2 mg/l), Pb (0.1 mg/l).  This paper is to analyze the contamination levels of Heavy-Metals present in the sugar mill effluent of the Meerut region, India and usefulness of phytoremediation  in the heavy metals removal.

This research is to find out the heavy metals contamination level in sugar mill effluents of Sugar Mills of Meerut region, India and related to Ph.D.

A study was conducted to analyse the effect of different concentration of sugar mill effluent on seed germination of African marigold (Tagetes erecta L ). As the sugar mill effluent percentage increase in seed germination experiments, shoot length, root length, seed germination %, fresh weight and dry weight of the growing plants decrease sharply. PH, seed vigour index, tolerance index, phytotoxicity percentage are also measured. Sugar effluent normally contain excessive amount of magnesium Mg (286mg/l), iron Fe (16 mg/l), calcium  Ca, Sulphate (290 mg/l), carbonate, bicarbonate, nitrogen (1250 mg/l), Nitrate, Chloride, acidity, bleaching agents, organic chemicals, grease and oil (19gm/l) and small amount of copper Cu (0.42 mg/l), lead Pb (0.52 mg/l), zinc Zn (0.89 mg/l), manganese Mn(0.068 mg/l), etc in comparison to the limits presented by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board. WHO in 2004 reported that polluted water in developing countries become reason for 80% diseases and 1/3 deaths. Ministry of environment and forest India categorized three types of industries  like- Red industries (highly polluting), Orange industries (polluting) and green industries ( tolerable polluting). Sugar industries come under red industry. Thus it release large amount of hazardous chemicals in environment and increase pollutants load in environment. [1]

In developing countries about 884 ML people do not have access to reliable drinking water. [4]

There are several remediation methods for heavy metal contamination. Some remediation methods are adsorption, ion exchange, phytoremediation, ultra-filtration, flocculation, electrochemical, precipitation, heating process, chemical process and coagulation methods [6].The study of environmental pollution is alarmingly very essential at global level because it adversely affect our ecosystem thus damage the health of animal, plants and human being.[7]. Heavy metals (Hg, Pb, Cr, Ni, Cd) are very poisonous in both elemental and combined state. They are sufficiently soluble in water bodies. Heavy metals have tendency to accumulate in plant and human body. Nearby areas around the source badly affects most.  [8].

Removal of heavy metals from large quantity of water and soil sources cannot be done economically by most of the remediation processes because they are very costly, time consuming and produce secondary pollution. There are several remediation processes like- ion exchange, flocculation, electrochemical, precipitation, heating process, chemical process and coagulation methods etc. Removal of heavy metals by phytoremediation process is very cheap, less time consuming and produce no secondary pollution if done up to extraction stage of heavy metals from ashes of the used plants. After phytoremediation, we dry the used plants and then burn them. From the ashes of burnt plants, we get different heavy metals[9]. Toxicity of HM mainly depends upon route of exposure, dose or duration of exposure and nature of compounds. Toxicity of HM also depends upon nutritional level, genetics, age, gender and immunity level of individuals. HM like- As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Hg are considered systemic toxicants which trigger several organ disorder. Environmental protection agency (EPA) of US and international agency for research on cancer consider these HM as carcinogenic in nature above prescribed limits [10].When Cu¹⁺ oxidize to Cu²⁺, we get free radicals. Polymerization of acrylamide initiate with CuCl solution. The substance which stop Cu¹⁺ formation then polymerization decrease [11]. This produced free radical is carcinogenic can damage body parts.

Toxic Effects of HM Found in Sugar Mill Effluent

Cadmium: It is non-essential transition metal. So when it is in the body it behave as toxic metal. Its exposure happen with food, water, cigarette smoking and  inhalation. It accumulate in animals and plants body with half life of about 28 years. It may cause lung, pancreas, breast cancer [12]. It affect nervous system. It can destroy DNA. It can destroy immune system. It can enhance a cancer level. Smell sense loss, taste sense loss, respiratory disease, hypertension, cardiovascular disease[4]. People get Cadmium through food, cadmium oxide fumes, polluted water etc. high dose and long term exposure affect lungs, liver and kidney badly. It cause hematopoietic, immunity and cardiovascular problem. Acute Cd exposure cause itai-itai, a pain in bone disease and cancer [6]

Chromium:Exposure of chromium happen through eating, drinking, breathing and skin contact. Cr³⁺ found in vegetables,fruits and grains and it has less solubility and less harmful. Cr⁶⁺ is very harmful for humans specially who works in textile and steel industries. It cause dermatitis, ulcer, lung cancer, shortness of breath,  brain damage, liver necrosis, kidney disease and premature death. It is mutagenic and carcinogenic in humans [6].

Copper: Copper (Cu) is an essential co-factor in oxidative stress related enzymes like-catalase, superoxide dismutase, peroxidase and ferroxidase. It is used in haemoglobin formation, carbohydrate metabolism, cross linking of collagen and hair keratin. Copper can cycle  between Cu(I) and Cu(II) states  in redox reactions which is used by cuproenzymes. This property of copper generate hydroxyl and superoxide radicals thus make it very toxic. It cause Wilson disease in humans because of cellular damage [10]. When Cu¹⁺ oxidize to Cu²⁺, we get free radicals. Polymerization of acrylamide initiate with CuCl solution. The substance which stop Cu¹⁺ formation then polymerization decrease [11]. This produced free radical is carcinogenic can damage body parts.

Lead: It come in the environment throughdisposal lead acid batteries, Contaminated dust from source, leaching of lead from rock or ore stock, smelter discharge, old lead plumbing [3,5].

It present naturally as PbS, PbCO₃ and PbSO₄ etc. Urban waste incineration produce Lead pollution  in environment [6].It is used in solders, cable covering, pigments, paints, caulking, bearings, plumbing, ammunition [6] and alloy formation.

It exist from Pb(0) to Pb(IV). It works as cumulative body poison.  It causes  kidney disease, central nervous system disorder, mental retardation, gastrointestinal tract disease. Children below age 6 years are at high impact. In humans, it cause nausea, insomnia, memory loss, anorexia, reproduction  disability,  reduced heam synthesis and tumor disease. Lead poisoning cause Encephalopathy disease which involve coma, headache, convulsion, tremor and vertigo [6].

Mercury

Exposure of mercury happen when people live or work near gold amalgam undergo roasting [4], oremining process[4], paints, pulp and paper, rubber, Chloro-alkali, oil refining, batteries, fertilizer,pesticides, pharmaceuticals thermometer and fluorescent tube light industries [6].It is very toxic metal found in the environment and methyl mercury is very dangerous compound  for humans and it causedeformities in children. It badly affect central nervous system, mental retardation, convulsions, breaking of chromosome in genetic defects, kidney, dyspnoea and defects in pulmonary function [6].

Study Area

There are several sugar industries are situated in Meerut region.  The climate of Meerut is categorized as warm and temperature. In this area, rainfall is in the summer end from June to September while winter comes after rainy season from October to mid March and summer season is observed from mid March to  mid October. Its latitude position is  28⁰59’4.7184” N  while longitude is 77⁰42’21.4416” E  [13]. The average annual temperature is 24.1 °C and rainfall is around 886 mm in Meerut [14].

Sugar Mill Effluent Sampling: The  contaminated sugar mill effluent samples were collected from out let/drain of sugar mills of Meerut UP, India and stored in PET 5-kg bottles. The samples were collected from the mid of drain/outlet of sugar mills. The samples were stored at local ordinary room temperature.

Sugar mill Effluent samples were got tested for Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Lead, Mercury and PH levels according to prescribed measures of  IS standards. Heavy metal quantities in this sugar mill effluent samples were found as -As (0.003 mg/l), Cd (0.1 mg/l), Cr (0.31 mg/l), Cu (0.45 mg/l), Hg (0.02 mg/l), Pb (0.04 mg/l) and PH 7.54.

When a field was irrigated by waste water ( having Hg 0.82 µg/l, Cd 0.18 µg/l, Pb 1.5µg/l, As 8.02µg/l)  in Tianjin (China), it is found that irrigated water was not contaminated beyond China surface water quality standard. But waste water irrigated soil accumulate heavy metals, thus, it damage soil quality [22]. Heavy metals badly affect cellular system process like-damage repairing process, retard growth and apoptosis [23]. Arsenic enter in our body through skin, nails, breath and food where it accumulate in skin, nails, hair and muscles. It causes keratosis, lung cancers, cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, IQ & memory loss and  hyperpigmentation [24].

Increased population and industrialization along the river Adyar (Chennai) making it polluted [25].

 The analysis of heavy metals and PH of sugar mill effluents show that the effluent contain heavy metals like-Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, lead, mercury etc with other organic and inorganic substances. Some of these HM present above the prescribed limits of WHO, BIS and CPCB parameters as shown in the table-1.

These contaminants and hazardous chemicals make the effluent unfit for irrigation, industrial and domestic purpose. There are many devastating and detrimental effects of high concentration of HMs.

Phytoremediation is the only best method to decontaminate the polluted effluent  because it is of low cost, convenient and economically feasible. There are many aquatic and soil plants which remove different heavy metals and other hazardous organic and inorganic substances in different capacity. In phytoremediation, one plants absorb /adsorb specific heavy metal/metals or specific organic substance while second plants absorb /adsorb other heavy metal /metals or organic substance. Thus, specific plant is used to Phyto remediate a specific heavy metal or organic substance. pH of Sugar mill effluent is 7.54 which is normal value of pH. The analyzed values of heavy metals of Sugar mill effluent are Arsenic ( As 0.003mg/l), Cadmium (Cd  0.1 mg/l), Chromium (Cr  0.31 mg/l), Copper(Cu 0.45 mg/l), Lead (Pb  0.04 mg/l), Mercury (Hg 0.02 mg/l). The WHO approved limits of heavy metals and pH in drinking water are Arsenic ( As 0.01mg/l), Cadmium (Cd 0.003 mg/l), Chromium (Cr  0.05 mg/l), Copper(Cu  2 mg/l), Lead (Pb  0.01 mg/l), Mercury (Hg 0.001 mg/l) and PH ( 6.5 to 8.5 ). The main pollutants of sugar mill effluent are Cadmium, Chromium, lead and mercury when compared with WHO’s drinking water permissible limits. Thus, this water should not be used for drinking purpose for animals. Concentrations of Arsenic and Copper are below toxic levels when compared with WHO parameters.  When Meerut sugar mill effluent’s experimental values are compared with FAO-UN and BIS standard parameters for irrigation water, The result show that this effluent contain Cadmium, Chromium and Mercury above prescribed limits. Arsenic and Lead are below prescribed values of AFO-UN and BIS parameters thus not in toxic level.  EPA natural waters value of mercury for irrigation is 0.002 mg/l (7). In this respect, this sugar mill effluent is also contaminated with mercury in toxic level concentration and not suitable for irrigation purpose. Thus, it is highly recommended to treat/purify the sugar mill effluent before its use in irrigation, industrial or domestic purpose. Phytoremediation is a very promising technique to eliminate heavy metals contaminants (HMC) from water and soil bodies. Special plant is used to remove particular heavy metal. Treatment of water and soil body with biochar before phytoremediation and mycorrhizal assistance increase absorption area for heavy metals [26].There are several conventional techniques to treat polluted sources like- adsorption, ion exchange, ultra-filtration, flocculation, electrochemical, precipitation, heating process, chemical process and coagulation methods [27].

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