Sustainable and eco-friendly approach for controlling industrial wastewater quality imparting succour in water-energy nexus system

Abstract

Water pollution has become the biggest threat for the present as well as the next generation of flora and fauna. The increase in number of industries for nation's technological developments are also the producer of tons of wastewater with toxic elements posing high risk to the lives of living entities in/above water. The step towards development is nowadays becoming a threat to the natural environment which eventually affects the living organisms. This problem is advancing exponentially and needs an urgent solution which is sustainable and eco-friendly in nature. The deteriorating water quality has captivated the attention of the social workers, individuals and the government. Numerous steps have been taken by the municipal authorities in the terms of schemes and policies. These policies govern the quality of water, sets the permissible limits of toxic elements in the industrial effluents, create awareness among people, and restore the water bodies. The need arose as the presence of chemicals and toxic elements in water changes its composition beyond the safe limits assigned by the healthcare organization. The paper frames the statistical status of industrial effluents, major contributors of water pollution, permissible limits of discharge in water bodies, framed policies, discussed previous research carried out for elimination of contaminants, their experimental work considering various plant species and eventually the utilization of this approach in the water-energy nexus system. This research article proposes a biological technique named as “Rhizo-filtration” as a mode to control the water quality. Its long term process is capable of eliminating toxins using the plant species. After successful completion of removal of toxic element from water, the plant species can be harvested and further utilized as biofuel briquette replacing woods and other fuel. Later on, the remaining ashes can be further used as fertilizers for maintaining the fertility of the soil. This research article defines a cost effective and eco-friendly approach for controlling the water contamination due to industrial effluents and saving the lives of aquatic animals and human beings. Though this technique dates back to 1980s but its implementation is highly the need of hour in the growing technological environment. In today's time the technological environment has to go hand in hand with the natural environment for the well-being of the living organisms and successfully accomplish the restoration process of the already deteriorated natural resources.