ABSTRACT
This study aimed to investigate anaerobic co-digestion of palm oil mill effluent (POME) with cassava peels (CP) and cabbage waste (CW) for biomethane production. The anaerobic digestion (AD) in 10L capacity bioreactors loaded separately with three different ratios (3L/ 520g, 3L/ 600g and 3L/ 680g) of POME/CP, POME/CW and POME only (control) was operated under ambient temperature (25 - 36?C) and pH range of 6.5 - 8.5 for 45 days. Standard methods were adopted in the characterization of the bioreactor feeds and microbiological study. The biomethane content of the biogas was determined using Gas Chromatography (GC). The results showed the presence of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, Pseudomonas sp, Bacillus sp Salmonella sp among others. Fungal isolates identified include Saccharomyces, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Penicillum, and Geotrichum species. The mean cumulative biogas yield recorded in bioreactors charged with POME/ CP 520g, POME/ CP 600g, POME/ CP 680g and POME/CW 520g, POME/CW 600g, POME/CW 680g were 7.08, 5.18, 9.06, 9.13, 9.28 and 8.33 dm3, respectively, whereas POME alone (control) was 4.64 dm3. The best performance in biogas yield was exhibited by POME/CW 600g (9.28dm3), and the highest percentage biomethane content (68.80%). Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant difference (P ? 0.05) in biogas yield in all the treatments compared to control (POME alone) except in POME/CP 3L: 520g and POME/CP 3L: 600g. The results have shown that biogas production and biomethane content could be efficiently improved via co-digestion process, depending on the substrates used as feedstock.
ABSTRACT
Bio medical Waste (BMW) collection and disposal has become major concern for the medical and general Community. Improper waste management is hazardous to health care workers, patients, general Public and largely the environment. i) To evaluate the practices of BMW Management at source of generation and Aims & Objectives: transportation among different patient care areas at Vydehi Hospital ii) To analyze the quantity of waste generates iii)To assess the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices(KAP)among health care personnel regarding waste management. Methodology: It is a direct Observational and cross-sectional study which was conducted for a period of 12 months at VIMS & RC (Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre). It was evaluated under 4 categories, with a checklist of 20 parameters among 40 patient care areas. Simple random sampling technique is used to select the study subjects for the KAP questionnaire. At VIMS & RC, the BMW Results: management mean observation was at the level of “Condition of waste receptacles” were good (95.79%) & least observation noted with “waste transportation” (52.5%). The total Infectious waste generated was 0.135kg/bed/day and the hospital has got separate colour coded bins in each ward for collection of waste. The safety measure taken by health care workers regarding KAP of biomedical waste management was not satisfactory among Class IV Employees and it was not due to unavailability of personal protective measures but because of un-awareness of health hazards which may occur due to improper waste management practices. It is concluded that there should be strict implementation of waste management policy, proper training and Conclusion: motivation regarding BMW management for all health care workers in hospital.
ABSTRACT
Background & objectives: A legislative framework for bio-medical waste management (BMWM) was established in the country more than a decade ago. Though some studies have identified gaps at local levels, no systematic effort was done to collect data from different parts of the country. The objective of this nationwide study was to document existing resources, infrastructure and practices related to BMWM across the study districts. Methods: The study was conducted in 25 districts spread over 20 States of India including urban and rural areas. Primary (n=388), secondary (n=25) and tertiary care (n=24) health facilities from public (n=238) and private (n=199) sector were assessed and scored for the state of BMWM through 9 items representing system capacity, availability of resources and processes in place. Health facilities were assigned into one of the three categories (Red, Yellow and Green) based on the cumulative median scores. Results: Around 82 per cent of primary, 60 per cent of secondary and 54 per cent of tertiary care health facilities were in the ‘RED’ category. Multivariate analysis indicated that charts at the point of waste generation, availability of designated person, appropriate containers and bags, availability of functional needle destroyers, availability of personal protective gears, segregation of waste at point of generation and log book maintenance were independently (OR-between 1.2-1.55; P<0.03 or less) associated with better BMWM system in the health facilities. This was true for both rural-urban and public or private health facilities. Interpretation & conclusions: The study highlighted the urgent need for greater commitments at policy and programme levels for capacity building, and resource investments in BMWM.
ABSTRACT
Background and objectives: Biomedical waste has been a growing concern due to increased awareness in public regarding HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and exposure to other potential infectious diseases. Good BMW disposal practices lead to reduction in medical expenditure, unsightly scenes at various disposal bins and dumping sites. Improper biomedical waste management practices and indiscriminate disposal of hospital waste causes spread of illness leading to financial burden to society. The money saved by reduction in hospital acquired infections is much more than spent on control of hospital acquired infections. Therefore it is necessary to educate the staff, patients and community about the management of the infectious waste. The present study was designed to assess the awareness regarding biomedical waste in health care workers at a tertiary care Government hospital, Dhule (Maharashtra). Methods: Shri Bhausaheb Hire Government Medical College and Hospital is a 545 bedded tertiary care teaching Government hospital situated in rural area of Maharashtra at Dhule where per day approximately 90 Kg biomedical waste is generated .The present cross-sectional study was conducted during 1st August 2011 to 30th September 2011. Knowledge and practices about BMW was assessed among 153 health care workers (81 nursing staff, 35 laboratory technicians and 37 sweepers) handling BMW in the tertiary care Government hospital at Dhule. Results: It was found that only 70.6% of the health care workers were aware of biomedical waste management and 50.3 % had undergone training. 72.5 % of the health care workers were aware of 3 color coded bags used for collection of BMW. In the study only 41.8% of the workers were vaccinated against shepatitis B and 81.7% had received tetanus toxoid vaccine. Conclusion: For proper handling and disposal of BMW, all health care providers must undergo regular training in BMW management.