Demonstration of acid and water recovery systems: Applicability and operational challenges in Indian metal finishing SMEs.

Diffusion dialysis, acid retardation and nanofiltration plants were acquired from Europe and demonstrated in several Indian metal finishing companies over a three year period. These companies are primarily small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Free acid recovery rate from spent pickling baths using diffusion dialysis and retardation was in the range of 78-86% and 30-70% respectively. With nanofiltration, 80% recovery rate of rinse water was obtained. The demonstrations created awareness among the metal finishing companies to reuse resources (acid/water) from the effluent streams. However, lack of efficient oil separators, reliable chemical analysis and trained personnel as well as high investment cost limit the application of these technologies. Local manufacturing, plant customization and centralized treatment are likely to encourage the uptake of such technologies in the Indian metal finishing sector.

Efficient water use in industries: cases from the Indian agro-based pulp and paper mills.

Agro-based pulp and paper mills in India are one of the most polluting industries; in addition, they are high consumers of raw water. Growing scarcity of high quality freshwater as well as stringent regulatory standards is compelling these units to explore appropriate water management options. Based on data obtained through a questionnaire survey and plant visits, this work provides an overview of the water use and effluent treatment status in Indian agro-residue and recycled pulp and paper mills. The challenges faced by this sector are reviewed and practices adopted by progressive units to minimize freshwater use are illustrated through case studies.

Performance of Uscana mukerjii (Mani) for the control of Callosobruchus maculatus (Fab.) and allied bruchid species.

Investigations have been carried out on the relative preference of U. mukerjii to four common species viz., C. maculatus, C. analis, C. chinensis and Zabrotes subfasciatus of store bruchids. Results show correspondence between the acceptance/contact ratio and the total number of eggs laid by the parasitoid for Callosobruchus species. U. mukerjii shows maximum preference on C. maculatus followed by C. analis, C. chinensis and Z. subfasciatus in the decreasing order. Z. subfasciatus has been the least preferred host having 2-3% parasitization in choice situation. Percentage emergence of the adults and females differ insignificantly from each other in Callosobruchus species. In no choice experiments, U. mukerjii laid sufficient number of eggs in the eggs of C. chinensis and Z. subfasciatus but less number of eggs in a choice situation due to competition with the preferred host. As is evident, U. mukerjii gives the first preference to primary host C. maculatus. Moreover, the congeneric species i.e C. analis and C. chinensis are given more preference than Z. subfasciatus.

Preconcentration of lead with Amberlite XAD-2 and Amberlite XAD-7 based chelating resins for its determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

Four chelating matrices prepared by coupling Amberlite XAD-2 with chromotropic acid (AXAD-2-CA or 1), pyrocatechol (AXAD-2-PC or 2) and thiosalicylic acid (AXAD-2-TSA or 3) through azo spacer and impregnation of Amberlite XAD-7 with xylenol orange (AXAD-7-XO or 4) have been studied for enrichment of lead(II). All the four resins quantitatively sorb Pb(II) at pH 3.0-8.0 when the flow rate is maintained between 2 and 10 mlmin(-1). HNO(3) (0.5-4.0 M) instantaneously elutes Pb(II) from all the four chelating resins. The sorption capacity is in the range 16.0-186.0 mumolg(-1) and loading half time (t(1/2)) between 3.2 and 15.5 min. The tolerance limits of electrolytes (NaCl, NaBr, NaNO(3), Na(2)SO(4), Na(3)PO(4)) and cations (Ca and Mg) are reported. Phosphate interferes in the sorption with 3 and 4. The limit of detection and limit of quantification have been found to be in the ranges 2.44-7.87 and 2.76-8.64 ngml(-1), respectively. Lead has been determined in river (RSD approximately 2.6-12.8%) and tap (RSD approximately 1.8-7.2%) water samples.

Synthesis, characterization and applications of pyrocatechol modified amberlite XAD-2 resin for preconcentration and determination of metal ions in water samples by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS).

A new chelating resin is prepared by coupling Amberlite XAD-2 with pyrocatechol through an azo spacer, characterized (by elemental analysis, IR and TGA) and studied for preconcentrating Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), Ni(II) and Zn(II) using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) for metal monitoring. The sorption is quantitative in the pH range 3.0-6.5, whereas quantitative desorption occurs instantaneously with 2 M HCl or HNO(3) The sorption capacity has been found to be in the range 0.023-0.092 mmol g(-1) of resin. The loading half time (t(1/2)) is 1.4, 4.8, 1.6, 3.2, 2.3 and 1.8 min, respectively for Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn. The tolerance limits of electrolytes NaCl, NaBr, NaNO(3), Na(2)SO(4) and Na(3)PO(4) in the sorption of all the six metal ions (0.2 mug ml(-1)) are reported. The Mg(II) and Ca(II) are tolerable with each of them (0.2 mug ml(-1)) up to a concentration level of 0.01-1.0 M. The enrichment factor has been found to be 200 except for Fe and Cu for which the values are 80 and 100, respectively. The lowest concentration of metal ion for quantitative recovery is 5, 10, 20, 25, 10 and 10 mug l(-1) for Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn, respectively. The simultaneous determination of all these metal ions is possible and the method has been applied to determine all the six metal ions in tap and river water samples (RSD

Amberlite XAD-7 impregnated with Xylenol Orange: a chelating collector for preconcentration of Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Ni(II), Zn(II) and Fe(III) ions prior to their determination by flame AAS.

A new chelating resin, Xylenol Orange coated Amberlite XAD-7, was prepared and used for preconcentration of Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), Ni(II) and Zn(II) prior to their determination by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The optimum pH values for quantitative sorption of Cd(II), Co(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), Ni(II) and Zn(II) are 4.5-5.0, 4.5, 4.0-5.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 5.0-7.0, respectively, and their desorptions by 2 mol L(-1) HCl are instantaneous. The sorption capacity of the resin has been found to be 2.0, 2.6, 1.6, 1.6, 2.6 and 1.8 mg g(-1) of resin for Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni and Zn, respectively. The tolerance limits of electrolytes, NaCl, NaF, NaI, NaNO3, Na2SO4 and of cations, Mg2+ and Ca2+ in the sorption of the six metal ions are reported. The preconcentration factor was between 50 and 200. The t1/2 values for sorption are found to be 5.3, 2.9, 3.2, 3.3, 2.5 and 2.6 min for the six metals, respectively. The recoveries are between 96.0 and 100.0% for the different metals at preconcentration limits between 10 to 40 ng mL(-1). The preconcentration method has been applied to determine the six metal ions in river water samples after destroying the organic matter (if present in very large amount) with concentrated nitric acid (RSD < or = 8%, except for Cd for which it is upto 12.6%) and cobalt content of vitamin tablets with RSD of approximately 3.0%.

Thiosalicylic acid-immobilized Amberlite XAD-2: metal sorption behaviour and applications in estimation of metal ions by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.

Thiosalicylic acid (TSA)-modified Amberlite XAD-2 (AXAD-2) was synthesized by coupling TSA with the support matrix AXAD-2 through an azo spacer. The resulting chelating resin was characterized by elemental analyses, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and infrared spectra. The newly designed resin quantitatively sorbs CdII, CoII, CuII, FeIII, NiII and ZnII at pH 3.5-7.0 when the flow rate is maintained between 2 and 4 ml min-1. The HCl or HNO3 (2 mol l-1) instantaneously elutes all the metal ions. The sorption capacity is 197.5, 106.9, 214.0, 66.2, 309.9 and 47.4 mumol g-1 of the resin for cadmium, cobalt, copper, iron, nickel and zinc, respectively, whereas their preconcentration factor is between 180-400. The breakthrough volume of HCl or HNO3 for elution of these metal ions was found to be 4-8 ml. The limit of detection (LOD) for CdII, CoII, CuII, FeIII, NiII and ZnII was 0.48, 0.20, 4.05, 0.98, 1.28 and 3.94 micrograms l-1, respectively, and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was found to be 0.51, 0.29, 4.49, 1.43, 1.58 and 4.46 micrograms l-1, respectively. The loading half time, t1/2, for the cations was found to be less than 2.0 min, except for nickel for which the value was 13.1 min. The determination of each of these six cations is possible in the presence of other five, if their concentration is up to 4 times. All six metals were determined in river water (RSD approximately 0.7-7.7%) and tap water samples (RSD approximately 0.3-5.7%). The estimation of Co was made in the samples of multivitamin tablets (RSD < 2.3%). The results agree with those quoted by manufacturers.

Menarcheal age among Oraon and Munda girls of Ranchi.

PIP: Data were collected from 2 tribal groups, 70 Oraon and 70 Munda girls inhabiting the 3 villages of the Kanke Development Block of Ranchi district, Bihar in an effort to determine the age at menarche among Indian girls. The girls were between the ages of 9-16 years in October 1964. The common age at marriage in both groups is generally between 14-16; the average family size is 6. The age at menarche among Oraon and Munda girls living in the same ecozone is 12.80+0.40 and 12.76+0.35, respectively. The difference between the 2 groups was not significant. The study indicates that the age at menarche is possibly affected by environmental and ecological factors. The analysis of age at menarche in various tribes of India indicates that Singhpo show the lowest mean value, whereas the highest mean value is observed among the tribes of the central region. The Adi, Zemi, Chenchus, Yanadi, and the tribes of the central region show a mean value about age 14. At 1% level of significance Oraon and Munda can only be differentiated from Yanadi and the tribes of the central region, respectively.^ieng

Morphological distance between Rastogis and certain other caste groups of Uttar Pradesh, India.

150 male Rastogis from Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) have been investigated anthropometrically. The results are compared with those obtained in some other population samples from Uttar Pradesh. The T2 test showed that Rastogis are nearest to Pasis and at the largest distance from Brahmin and Chattri. This is in conformity with the results of blood group analysis. The possible reasons for these morphological distance differences are discussed.