This book delivers an outline to graduate, undergraduate students, and researchers, as well as academicians who are working on lead toxicity with respect to remediation. It covers sources of lead contamination and its impact on human health and on prospective remediation through multi-disciplinary approaches with application of recent advanced biological technology. Lead is among the elements that have been most extensively used by man over time. This has led to extensive pollution of surface soils on the local scale, mainly associated with mining and smelting of the metal and addition of organic lead compounds to petrol. Release of lead to the atmosphere from various high-temperature processes has led to surface contamination on the regional and even global scale. In addition, plants grown on lead-rich soils incorporate lead, and thus, the concentration of lead in crop plants may be increased. Lead enters in the food chain through consumption of plant material. A high concentration of lead has been found to be harmful to vegetation. As the lead concentration increases, it adversely affects several biological parameters and eventually renders the soil barren. This edited book brings together a diverse group of researchers to address the challenges posed by global mass poisoning caused by lead contamination of soil and plants. The book sheds light on this global environmental issue and proposes solutions to contamination through multi-disciplinary approaches. This book contains three sections. The first section describes the different sources and distribution of lead in soil and plant ecosystems. The second section explains the health risks linked to lead toxicity. The third section addresses sustainable lead toxicity mitigation strategies and the potential applications of recent biological technology in providing solutions. This book is a valuable resource to students, academics, researchers, and environmental professionals doing fieldwork on lead contamination throughout the world.

This book aims to predict and model the transport of bioaerosols, identify their transmission characteristics, and assess occupants’ infection risks.

This book aims to predict and model the transport of bioaerosols, identify their transmission characteristics, and assess occupants’ infection risks.

Microbial technology using live, naturally occurring microorganisms in industrial wastewater treatment, is the most effective and innovative method to degrade environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, radionuclides, xenobiotic compounds, organic waste, and pesticides, or to prevent their contamination of the environment. The technology includes several techniques such as biostimulation, biogeneration, bioaccumulation, and biosorption. This book describes the limitations and challenges associated with some generally accepted bioremediation strategies and evaluates the possible applications of these corrective strategies to eliminate toxic pollutants from the environment.

The book provides an overview relevant to various biological mechanisms that regulate carbon exchanges between the major components and their response to climate change. Climate change has a significant impact on people's lives, energy demand, food security, etc. The soil microbial ecology is vital for assessing terrestrial and aquatic carbon cycles and climate feedback. However, the primary concern is the complexity of the soil microbial community and its severely affected functions due to the climate and other global changes. Global warming comprises an assessment of the dynamic interactions and feedback between microbes, plants, and their physical environment due to climate change.

This edited book explores the three interrelated concepts – biomass, bioenergy, and bioeconomy – from the point of view of sustainable advanced conversion processes. It elaborates on processing routes, i.e., how biomass from various sources can be converted into bioenergy like bioethanol, biodiesel, biobutanol, and biogas. Chapters are organized into three sections – “Biomass,” “Bioenergy,” and “Bioeconomy.” The first section very much focuses on biomass-based global research trends and their utilization for future bioenergy options, very particular to microbial activities associated and their practically real-time challenges during lab to land approach.

The edited book brings out a comprehensive synthesis of latest scientific literature covering various important aspects of anaerobic biodigesters for human waste management that ranges from latest understanding on fundamental concepts/mechanisms of anaerobic biodigestion, modern tools and techniques used in process evaluation, current strategies being recruited for the performance enhancement, and case studies/ success stories across the world on applications of biodigesters used in human waste treatment.

This textbook explores the complex nature of soil biological communities and their environments, and covers deserts, rainforests, seasonal tropical forests, dry deciduous forests, and island environments in the tropical zone. It provides essential information on soil biology concepts, ecological processes, plant-soil feedback, trophic structure, and land use effects on soil’s biological properties.

This book covers the basics of animal manure, or animal dung, and highlights its applications in agriculture and biotechnology. The reader is given a comprehensive overview of the different types of animal manure. Although animal manure can cause environmental problems, e.g., when slurry pollutes rivers or burnt dung pollutes air, the book emphasizes the fact that animal dung is by no means a waste product. Animal manure is a valuable organic fertilizer that has a positive impact on soil conditions and helps save on chemical fertilizers. It is also a source of energy and can be either be used as fuel or converted into biogas through methanization. Old-age practices such as the use of dried dung as insulating material, or burnt dung as mosquito repellent are also taken up.

This book covers various aspects of microbial biotechnology to produce bioenergy. It focuses on production of biofuels from plant and microbial biomass including agri-food residues and other wastes. It educates readers about various biomass resources, major aspects of production of renewable energy and fuels based on biochemical conversion routes. There is special focus on the microbial system and biotechnological processes as well as process optimization and industrial scale-up. The book brings together current challenges and potential solutions to enhance biomass to biofuel bioconversion. It is relevant for researchers, academicians, students as well as industry professionals working on biomass-based biorefineries.