Photo-degradation of Di Azo Dye Bismarck Brown by Advanced photo-Fenton Process: Influence of Inorganic Anions and Evaluation of Recycling Efficiency of Iron Powder

The present research work has demonstrated the usage of zero valent metallic iron (ZVMI) in the photo-Fenton process under UV light as a promising and novel technique for the complete degradation of di azo dye Bismarck Brown (BB) in aqueous medium. The influence of various reaction parameters like concentration of oxidants/dye/iron powder and pH of the solution was investigated and optimum conditions are reported. Ammonium persulfate (APS) proved to be better oxidant in comparison with hydrogen peroxide for enhancing the degradation rate and effectively inhibited the precipitation of iron hydroxides at higher dosages of iron powder which is attributed to the acidity provided by APS which is crucial for Fenton process. The rate constant for the kinetics of degradation using various oxidation processes follows the order: Fe0/APS/UV > Fe0/H2O2/UV > Fe0/APS/dark > Fe0/UV > Fe0/H2O2/dark > Fe0/dark > H2O2/UV > APS/UV. The effects of inorganic anions that are commonly found in the industrial effluents like NaCl, KNO3, Na2SO4, Na2CO3 and NaHCO3 at different concentrations on the degradation rate were studied in detail. The degradation was followed by UV-vis and GC-MS techniques

Institutional Partnerships and Policy Process to Boost Productivity of Rainfed Agriculture in Karnataka, India : A Case Study of Bhoochetana

The vast majority of farmers in the developing world are smallholders. An estimated 85 per cent o f them farm less than 2 hectares (World Bank, 2008). Moreover, 75 per cent of poor people live in rural areas, of which 2.1 billion survive on less than $2 a day and 880 million on less than$1 a day. Most of them depend on agriculture for their livelihoods (World Bank, 2009). Thus, promoting integrated sustainable agriculture farming systems to meet food and nutrition needs is imperative for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of halving poverty and hunger by 2015 (United Nations, 1995). This requires complementary knowledge from formal agricultural R8cD (research and development) and support from policies and other institutions. Therefore, in order to accelerate sustainable agricultural development, it is essential to link formal and informal knowledge and innovation. Innovations need to involve technologies, organisations, institutions or policies for significant improvement in performance..

BHOOCHETANA: Innovative Institutional Partnerships to Boost Productivity of Rainfed Agriculture in Karnataka, India (Research Report No. 59)

Although there has been a considerable development in public-private partnership in developing countries, there are very few examples of multi-institutional partnership for transferring agricultural technologies to smallholders. This paper discusses the example of innovative partnership in Karnataka, where the consortium of state and non-state actors helping to transform subsistence dryland agriculture into a sustainable business model through promoting pro-poor agricultural technologies for bridging the yield gaps. The paper demonstrated the usefulness of the partnership concept in guiding investments to support the development of agricultural technology and helping to halve the poverty. It also shows effective convergence of funds and various schemes of federal and state governments besides utilizing semi-skilled manpower as local extension agents. The paper concludes that with a strong partnership between global scientific organizations and state and nonstate actors can offer a route to equitable growth in developing countries. This approach has enabled scale-up of this program to neighboring two states of South India

Influence of various aromatic derivatives on the advanced photo Fenton degradation of Amaranth dye

The photo degrdn. of Amaranth (AR) dye by advanced photo Fenton process in the presence of sym. peroxides like hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and ammonium persulfate (APS) are investigated. The influence of various reaction parameters like the effect of iron dosage, concn. of H2O2/APS, initial dye concn., effect of pH and the influence of various arom. derivs. were studied and optimum conditions are reported. The efficiency of the oxidant was strongly influenced by the nature of arom. photoproducts formed during the course of the degrdn. reaction. To study their effect on the rate of degrdn. these arom. derivs. were added in known concn. (10 ppm)​. The influence of various arom. derivs. on the degrdn. kinetics shows the following order: hydroquinones > chlorophenol > dichlorobenzene > arom. carboxylic acids > anilidine > nitrophenol. The addn. of these derivs. did not influence the degrdn. pathway although it altered the reaction rate. The percentage COD and TOC removal were detd. in presence of arom. derivs. to evaluate the complete removal of the pollutant. Based on the intermediates obtained in the UV-​vis and GC-​MS spectroscopic techniques probable degrdn. mechanism has been proposed

Policies and institutions for increasing benefits of integrated watershed management programs

One of the most challenging policy issues for a long time has been conservation and management of land and water resources for sustainable agriculture and poverty reduction, specifically in rainfed areas. Rainfed agriculture contributes 60% of world’s staple food and is being practiced on 80% of the world’s agricultural area (FAOSTAT 2005). Water is a limiting factor in achieving food production (crop growth) in semi-arid and dry subhumid zones (SEI 2005). Nearly two-thirds of India’s agriculture is based on rainfed areas and contributes about 9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)1. As the source of growth in irrigated areas declines, rainfed agriculture must increase to fill the gap..........

Impact of natural resource management interventions on water resources and environmental services in different agroecological regions of India

Natural resource management is critical for addressing issues of water scarcity, land degradation and poor agricultural and livestock productivity especially in rainfed ecologies. This study was conducted in 13 Gram panchayats (cluster of villages) of three states in India representing different agroecological regions. Natural resource management works undertaken through the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) covering water harvesting, pasture land and orchard development were evaluated between November 2015 and January 2016. Density of water harvesting varied from 10 to 250 m3 h

Sensing beyond Senses: An Overview of Outstanding Strides in Architecting Nanopolymer-Enabled Sensors for Biomedical Applications

Nano-enabled sensing is an expanding interdisciplinary field of emerging science with dynamic multifunctional detecting capabilities, equipped with a wide range of multi-faceted nanomaterial having diverse dimensions and composition. They have proven to be highly robust, sensitive, and useful diagnostic tools ranging from advanced industrial processes to ordinary consumer products. As no single nanomaterial has proved to be unparalleled, recent years has witnessed a large number of nanomaterial-based sensing strategies for rapid detection and quantification of processes and substances with a high degree of reliability. Nano-furnished platforms, because of easy fabrication methods and chemical versatility, can serve as ideal sensing means through different transduction mechanisms. This article, through a unified experimental-theoretical approach, uses literature of recent years to introduce, evaluate, and analyze significant developments in the area of nanotechnology-aided sensors incorporating the various classes of nanomaterial. Addressing the broad interests, the work also summarizes the sensing mechanisms using schematic illustrations, attempts to integrate the performance of different categories of nanomaterials in the design of sensors, knowledge gaps, regulatory aspects, future research directions, and challenges of implementing such techniques in standalone devices. In view of a dependency of analysis and testing on sustained growth of sensor-supported platforms, this article inspires the scientific community for more attention in this field