State-of-the-art Overview of Biological Treatment of Polluted Water from Rice Mills and Imminent Technologies with Green Energy Retrieval

• Published in: Nature environment and pollution technology 2023-12, Vol.22 (4), p.1691-1705
• Main Authors: Singh, R. K., Bajpai, S.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollution; Algae; Alternative energy; Anaerobic biodegradation; Anaerobic microorganisms; Biochemical fuel cells; Biodegradation; Bioelectricity; Biofuels; Biogas; Biohydrogen; Biological treatment; biological treatment, phyco-remediation, green energy, sustainable development; Chemical oxygen demand; Clean energy; Crop production; Effluents; Fossil fuels; Fuel combustion; Fuel production; Fuel technology; Grain; Green energy; Groundwater; Groundwater pollution; Groundwater treatment; Land pollution; Lignin; Microorganisms; Mills; Moisture content; Phenols; Phytoremediation; Pollution; Pollution index; Production methods; Renewable energy; Rice; Rice fields; Sludge; State-of-the-art reviews; Subsurface water; Surface water; Sustainable development; Urbanization; Wastewater; Wastewater discharges; Wastewater treatment; Water pollution; Water quality; Water resources
• ISSN: 2395-3454; 0972-6268; 2395-3454
• DOI: 10.46488/NEPT.2023.v22i04.002

Rice milling involves shelling and polishing paddy grains to produce rice- both raw and parboiled. Parboiled rice production requires a massive quantity of freshwater for soaking, which, in turn, generates a large amount of wastewater. If this wastewater is not properly ameliorated, it can cause tremendous troubles of surface water pollution, land pollution, and, ultimately, groundwater pollution. Therefore, proper treatment of polluted water from rice mills (PWRM) as per the effluent discharge norms is necessary to protect the surface and subsurface water resources for sustainable development. There are two methods for remediating rice mill wastewater- physicochemical and biological. The biological methods produce comparatively less sludge and are cost-effective. Moreover, these processes are capable of retrieving green energy in the form of biomethane, biohydrogen, and bioelectricity to augment bio-fuel production, aiming to meet the ever-increasing fuel demands caused by rapid industrialization, motorization, and urbanization. The focus on green energy production is gaining momentum day by day due to the adverse effects of conventional energy derived from fossil fuel combustion in terms of enhanced Air Pollution Index (API) in the ambient atmosphere. In this paper, anaerobic biodegradation, phytoremediation, phyco-remediation, and microbial fuel cell techniques adopted by various researchers for remediating the polluted water from rice mills have been well addressed and critically discussed. The pros and cons of these biological methods have been well addressed to assess the socio-technoeconomic feasibility of each method.