Evaluation of localization of lead and nickel in plant cells of Amaranthus sp. and Brassica sp. absorbed from mine spoil waste

A detailed survey was undertaken in the sewage water contaminated areas of Coimbatore to select the natural hyper accumulators to rehabilitate the contaminated mine spoils. From this experiment the Pb and Ni accumulators, Amaranthus sp. and Brassica sp. were selected for further studies towards remediating the metal contaminated mine spoils. Microtomy of root, stem and leaf of Amaranthus sp. and Brassica sp. showed that the colour development in the plant species is evidence for accumulation of metals in different parts of plants and also tolerance mechanism employed by plant species under metal stress condition. The accumulation of heavy metals from soil to plant did not follow any particular pattern and varied with respect to metals, species and plant parts. However, the maximum Pb localization took place in root portion than in aerial parts. But the Ni accumulation was almost equal or higher in aerial parts (leaf and stem) compared to roots. This study revealed that the Amaranthus sp and Brassica sp stored lead and nickel in roots, leaves and stems. The roots showed more localization of metals followed by leaves and stems

Eco-efficiency measurement and material balance principle:an application in power plants Malmquist Luenberger Index

Incorporating Material Balance Principle (MBP) in industrial and agricultural performance measurement systems with pollutant factors has been on the rise in recent years. Many conventional methods of performance measurement have proven incompatible with the material flow conditions. This study will address the issue of eco-efficiency measurement adjusted for pollution, taking into account materials flow conditions and the MBP requirements, in order to provide ‘real’ measures of performance that can serve as guides when making policies. We develop a new approach by integrating slacks-based measure to enhance the Malmquist Luenberger Index by a material balance condition that reflects the conservation of matter. This model is compared with a similar model, which incorporates MBP using the trade-off approach to measure productivity and eco-efficiency trends of power plants. Results reveal similar findings for both models substantiating robustness and applicability of the proposed model in this paper