Research Symposium-2011

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Browsing Research Symposium-2011 by Subject "Biodiversity"

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    Investigating Properties of Rice Husk for Contaminant Removal from Polluted Water
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2011) De Silva, T.D.K.; Nanayakkara, K.G.N.
    Note: See the PDF Version Contamination of ground and surface water by different pollutants is a major environmental problem. These pollutants are discharged by sources such as industries into natural water streams. Water pollutants are toxic to most aquatic organisms, human body and may cause denaturing of protein, tissue erosion, and paralysis of the central nervous system and also damage the kidneys, liver and pancreas. Most of the pollutants are toxic even at very low concentrations. Therefore, designing effective strategies to remove pollutants from water is of practical interest (Zhang et al., 2011). Utilization of one waste material to control pollution caused by another is of high significance in the remediation of environmental problems. Rice husk is an abundantly available agricultural waste. The compositions of rice husk are 32% cellulose, 21% hemicellulose, 22% lignin and 15% mineral ash (Nakbanpote et al., 2007). Rice husks can be used as a low cost adsorbent (Tarley and Arruda, 2004). This research aimed to chemically modifying surface properties of rice husk to be used in waste water treatment. It would help to increase the volume of purified consumable water.
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    Investigating Variation of Microbial Biomass in Plantation Forests with Age
    (Uva Wellassa University of Srilanka, 2011) Premetilake, M.M.S.N.; Rathnayake, R.R.; Kulasooriya, S.A.; Perera, G.A.D.
    Note: See the PDF Version Soil organic carbon is the basis of sustainable agriculture and is important for chemical, physical and biological fertility. Consequently, carbon soil fertility could be improved more via sequestering. The role of microorganisms is important for carbon sequestration in soil compared to other factors. Thus, by increasing the activity of microorganisms we can increase carbon sequestration and soil fertility. Plantation forests were originally established in Sri Lanka to provide industrial timber and fuel wood. There are also other uses such as wind protection, bee keeping and oil extraction and moreover they provide invaluable ecosystem services. At present, sites available for reforestation in Sri Lanka are generally poor in nutrients and fertilizer application is required for better growth of seedlings. A novel approach of research at the IFS is the application of beneficial microbial consortia as biofilm biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture (Seneviratne et al., 2011). These are low cost and are eco-friendly. The shifts in composition and function of the microbial community in response to different stages of forest regeneration play an important role in determining rates of C changes (loss or gain) in the soil (Plante at al., 2005). Hence the long term goal of this study is to produce biofilm bio fertilizer for forest plantations to improve their yields. This would be more beneficial, less expensive and have no detrimental effects to the ecosystems. The biofilm bio fertilizer will be prepared using the microorganisms that have the capability of sequestering more carbon than the others. In this process, identification of the microorganisms and the factors affecting them is a crucial component. There are no studies conducted on this regard in Sri Lankan plantation forests yet. In the current study we investigated how the microbial biomass carbon (MBC) varies in Eucalyptus grandis forests in Sri Lanka with their age. Improved Carbon sequestration in forests would deliver better yields and would assist in minimizing climate change and support in obtaining foreign currency via carbon trading.
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    Screening of Wood Rotting Basidiomycetes Fungi for Bioremediation Ability of Textile Dye Effluents
    (Uva Wellassa University of Sri Lanka, 2011) Hapuarachchi, H.A.V.T.P.; Wijesekara, K.B.; Premathilake, S.N.
    Note: See the PDF Version Sri Lanka is considered to be one of the world’s leading apparel producers. The textile industry utilizes large volumes of water in its processing operations and generates substantial quantities of dye containing waste water which is usual I y discarded into water bodies mostly without feather treatments. About I 0- I 5% of all dyes are directly lost to wastewater in the dying process and removal of color front effluent is one of the major problems that the textile industry faces. The presence of color in water tinder’s the absorption of solar radiation, thus reducing the natural photosynthetic activity, causing changes in aquatic biota. Furthermore, textile dyes pose serious health threats to humans due to their carcinogenicity and lead to mutagenic and toxic effects on organisms. Amongst many classes of synthetic dyes, triphenyl methane group of dyes such as crystal violet and malachite green are the most used iii the textile and dyeing industries (Bumps and Brock, 1988).The decolonization and degradation of textile dye effluent does not occur when treated with conventional effluent treatment systems (Murugesan et at., 2007). Use of microorganisms to remove dyes from industrial effluents or bioremediation is inexpensive and the end products of complete mineralization are nontoxic. Basidiomycete fungi produce an array of extracellular enzymes helpful in removing synthetic dyes from industrial effluents (Asana duct ml., 2005). This study investigates the ability of some selected Basidiomycete fungi to decolonize malachite green.