Biotechnology in wastewater treatment &
reuse
Dr. Sanjay Pal
Sanitation Biotechnology Lab
School of Biotechnology
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(Wo)Manpower is the key to our work
Sanitation Biotech Group
10 Faculty, 10 PhD/Research staff, 10-MSc, 50 BSc
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Acknowledgement
Dr. Bhabatosh Das, THSTI, Faridabad, UP
Dr. Raja Biswas, AIMS, Kochi
Dr. Anilkumar V., AIMS, Kochi
Dr. Arnab Mukhopadhyay, NII, New Delhi
Dr. Khajanchi Lal, IARI, New Delhi
Dr. Ramesh Kanwar, LPU, Panjab
Mr. Midhu SV, Eram Scientific, Kerala
Dr. Shiv Prasher, McGill University, Canada
Dr. Ramesh Rudra, University of Guelph, Canada
Dr. Thor Axel Stenström, Durban University of Technology
Dr. José Antonio Barrios, UNAM, Mexico
Dr. Christian Starkenmann, Firmenich, Switzerland
Dr. Kartik Chandran, Columbia University, USA
Funding agencies:
1. DBT-BIRAC, Govt. of India
2. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
3. DBT-IC-Impacts (Canada)
4. Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
5. TBI-Prayas, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
6. TIGS, University of California at San Diego (UCSD)
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Biotechnology in wastewater treatment is not new
• Activated sludge is 100 years old & remain at the central point of treatment
• Anaerobic digestion with methane as fuel & sludge as biofertilizer is known
• Physical filters are being replaced with “bio-filter”, slow sand filter
• Control of smell (Biofilter)
• New control of infection Is being attempted (chlorination to UV, ozone)
• Reduction of nutrients (activated sludge, constructed wetland)
Modern tools of biotechnology can bring them more efficient
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Great News : Clean India Campaign (Swachha Bharat Abhiyan) success
(On 21st Sep 2019)
Toilet coverage in rural India
Status as on 5 Nov 2017
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But sanitation is more than toilet
1. Wastewater treatment
2. Faecal sludge management
3. Toilet use
90%
of all waste water in
developing countries is
discharged untreated
directly into rivers,
lakes or oceans
New campaign is to make it ODF+, treatment of waste is emphasized
What about sanitation non-domestic sectors?
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Aquaculture
Dairy
Pig farming
Poultry
80% antibiotic use by “factory farm” in developed nations
1. 90% antibiotics are excreted
2. In developing nations, antibiotics usage is less intensive, but less regulated
3. Effluent treatment plant is the breeding ground of AMR in developed
regions
Sanitation is underlying driver in both
Decentralized sanitation system of wastewater
is the key
• Restrict the pathogens locally & treat them.
• Important for both developing & developed nations.
• Most effective ecologically & economically
How to do it?
Microbiome Engineering
Genome Engineering