Employment of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria for assessing wastewater in batch and continuous mode

Anup Gurung,Sang-Eun Oh 한국환경독성학회 2010 한국독성학회 심포지움 및 학술발표회 Vol.2010 No.11

Municipal Solid Waste Management: Challenges and Opportunities in Nepal

Gurung, Anup,Oh, Sang-Eun Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer 2012 한국토양비료학회지 Vol.45 No.3

Nepal is one of the least urbanized countries in the world where more than 80% of the total population live in rural areas. In recent years, the rate of urbanization became rampant which ultimately accelerated immense pressure on municipal services, especially on managing the ever increasing amount of wastes. Due to lack of technology, infrastructure and financial capacity management of increasing amount of solid waste has become a major challenge in municipalities of Nepal. The indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes already affected the urban environment by creating a serious occupational health and environmental hazard to the vicinity of the dumping sites. However, there is great possibility of recovering methane from the landfill sites since the typical Nepalese municipal solid waste contains more than 65% of organic wastes. Despite having enormous potential of generating electricity from hydropower, Nepal is facing acute shortage of energy. Therefore, comprehensive scientific research and development is necessary for making solid waste to environmentally friendly by converting waste to the energy.

Recovery of Sustainable Renewable Energy from Marine Biomass

Anup Gurung,Sang-Eun Oh 한국토양비료학회 2012 한국토양비료학회지 Vol.45 No.2

Marine biomass is considered an important substrate for anaerobic digestion to recovery energy i.e. methane. Nevertheless, marine biomass has attracted little attention by researchers compared to terrestrial feedstock for anaerobic digestion. In this study, biochemical methane potential (BMP) test was used to evaluate generation of renewable energy from starfish. A cumulative biogas yield of 748±67 mL g<SUP>-1</SUP> VS<SUP>-1</SUP> was obtained after 60 days of digestion. The cumulative methane yield of 486±28 mL CH4 g<SUP>-1</SUP> VS<SUP>-1</SUP> was obtained after 60 days of digestion. The methane content of the biogas was approximately 70%. The calculated data applying the modified Gompertz equation for the cumulative CH4 production showed good correlation with the experimental result obtained from this batch study. Since the result obtained from this study is comparable to results with other substrates, marine biomass can be co-digested with food waste or swine wastewater to produce CH4 gas that will help to reduce the gap in global energy demand.

Application of Biocathodes in Microbial Fuel Cells: Opportunities and Challenges

Gurung, Anup,Oh, Sang-Eun Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer 2012 한국토양비료학회지 Vol.45 No.3

The heavy reliance on fossil fuels, especially oil and gas has triggered the global energy crisis. Continued use of petroleum fuels is now widely recognized as unsustainable because of their depleting supplies and degradation to the environment. To become less dependent on fossil fuels, current world is shifting paradigm in energy by developing alternative energy sources mainly through the utilization of renewable energy sources. In particular, bioenergy recovery from wastes with the help of microorganism is viewed as one of the promising ways to mitigate the current global warming crisis as well as to supply global energy. It has been proved that microorganism can generate power by converting organic matter into electricity using microbial fuel cells (MFCs). MFC is a bioelectrochemical device that employs microbes to generate electricity from bio-convertible substrate such as wastewaters including municipal solid waste, industrial, agriculture wastes, and sewage. Sustainability, carbon neutral and generation of renewable energy are some of the major features of MFCs. However, the MFC technology is confronted with a number of issues and challenges such as low power production, high electrode material cost and so on. This paper reviews the recent developments in MFC technology with due consideration of electrode materials used in MFCs. In addition, application of biocathodes in MFCs has been discussed.

Application of Biocathodes in Microbial Fuel Cells

Anup Gurung,Sang Eun Oh 한국토양비료학회 2012 한국토양비료학회지 Vol.45 No.3

The heavy reliance on fossil fuels, especially oil and gas has triggered the global energy crisis. Continued use of petroleum fuels is now widely recognized as unsustainable because of their depleting supplies and degradation to the environment. To become less dependent on fossil fuels, current world is shifting paradigm in energy by developing alternative energy sources mainly through the utilization of renewable energy sources. In particular, bioenergy recovery from wastes with the help of microorganism is viewed as one of the promising ways to mitigate the current global warming crisis as well as to supply global energy. It has been proved that microorganism can generate power by converting organic matter into electricity using microbial fuel cells (MFCs). MFC is a bioelectrochemical device that employs microbes to generate electricity from bio-convertible substrate such as wastewaters including municipal solid waste, industrial, agriculture wastes, and sewage. Sustainability, carbon neutral and generation of renewable energy are some of the major features of MFCs. However, the MFC technology is confronted with a number of issues and challenges such as low power production, high electrode material cost and so on. This paper reviews the recent developments in MFC technology with due consideration of electrode materials used in MFCs. In addition, application of biocathodes in MFCs has been discussed.

Voltage Reversal in Serially Connected Microbial Fuel Cells Operated in Fed-Batch and Continuous Mode

Anup Gurung,Sang-Eun Oh 대한환경공학회 2013 대한환경공학회 학술발표논문집 Vol.2013 No.6

Impacts of Rural Out-migration on Agriculture and Animal Husbandry : A Case Study from Trans-Himalayan Region, Nepal

Anup Gurung,Om Prakash Gurung,Sang-Eun Oh 강원대학교 환경연구소 2010 Journal of the Environment Vol.7 No.-

Agriculture and animal husbandry are important livelihood strategies for a large proportion of the poor rural households in developing countries. However, in recent years, the process of migration has become a major feature of diversification for many rural societies. This paper explores the triangular relationship among agricultural productivity, pastoralism, and rural out-migration by presenting a case study from the trans-Himalayan regions in Nepal. The general findings of the study revealed that rural out-migration affects the responsibilities and tasks among the rural households significantly. The majority of the households diversify their income sources by involving in labor migration both internally and internationally. However, the massive exodus of people has left its toll on the villages. Substantial proportions of agricultural land were abandoned in Sikles and Tangting that ultimately reduced agricultural output significantly in the villages. In addition, animal husbandry, one of the important livelihood strategies in the village is also on the verge of declining. In Sikles, the numbers of livestock including sheep, goats, buffaloes, and cows/oxen decreased by 81.66%, 77.77%, 88.88%, and 88%, respectively. Similarly, in Tangting also, the numbers of sheep, goats, buffaloes, and cows/oxen decreased by 90%, 96.66%, 91.66%, and 95%, respectively. Nevertheless, from the socio-economic point of view, migration is becoming integral part of life for the villagers yet since remittances usually exceed the expenses for hiring additional workforce for agriculture and pastoralism; most people consider migration is profitable and complementary livelihood strategies in the villages.

Municipal Solid Waste Management

Anup Gurung,Sang-Eun Oh 한국토양비료학회 2012 한국토양비료학회지 Vol.45 No.3

Nepal is one of the least urbanized countries in the world where more than 80% of the total population live in rural areas. In recent years, the rate of urbanization became rampant which ultimately accelerated immense pressure on municipal services, especially on managing the ever increasing amount of wastes. Due to lack of technology, infrastructure and financial capacity management of increasing amount of solid waste has become a major challenge in municipalities of Nepal. The indiscriminate dumping of solid wastes already affected the urban environment by creating a serious occupational health and environmental hazard to the vicinity of the dumping sites. However, there is great possibility of recovering methane from the landfill sites since the typical Nepalese municipal solid waste contains more than 65% of organic wastes. Despite having enormous potential of generating electricity from hydropower, Nepal is facing acute shortage of energy. Therefore, comprehensive scientific research and development is necessary for making solid waste to environmentally friendly by converting waste to the energy.

Impacts of Traditional Solid Biomass Combustion on Indoor Air Pollution in Nepal

Anup Gurung,Woo-Chang Kang,Sang-Eun Oh 강원대학교 환경연구소 2013 Journal of the Environment Vol.10 No.1

Recovery of Sustainable Renewable Energy from Marine Biomass

Gurung, Anup,Oh, Sang-Eun Korean Society of Soil Science and Fertilizer 2012 한국토양비료학회지 Vol.45 No.2

Marine biomass is considered an important substrate for anaerobic digestion to recovery energy i.e. methane. Nevertheless, marine biomass has attracted little attention by researchers compared to terrestrial feedstock for anaerobic digestion. In this study, biochemical methane potential (BMP) test was used to evaluate generation of renewable energy from starfish. A cumulative biogas yield of $748{\pm}67mL\;g^{-1}VS^{-1}$ was obtained after 60 days of digestion. The cumulative methane yield of $486{\pm}28mL\;CH_4\;g^{-1}VS^{-1}$ was obtained after 60 days of digestion. The methane content of the biogas was approximately 70%. The calculated data applying the modified Gompertz equation for the cumulative $CH_4$ production showed good correlation with the experimental result obtained from this batch study. Since the result obtained from this study is comparable to results with other substrates, marine biomass can be co-digested with food waste or swine wastewater to produce $CH_4$ gas that will help to reduce the gap in global energy demand.