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ASEAN J. Sci. Technol. Dev., 28(2): 139 -150 Pakistan is facing acute water deficiency, its water resources have been declining day by day on account of diversified environmental and erroneous water management issues. The available water is being contaminated at a deplorable rate owing to the dumping of untreated domestic and industrial effluent together with agricultural/surface runoff into the receiving waterways. Clean drinking water is therefore only accessible to 18% of its population and the rest of the population are getting polluted drinking water, as designated by the required WHO standards (PCRWR 2005). Moreover, it is an admitted truth that Pakistan has a deficient energy sector despite the fact that it has ample potential for its production. The energy supply deficiency also applies to the electricity sector. Bio-gas is however playing a key role in this sector, which is approximately equal to 37% of the total energy production. Since, it's the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly source of energy, it requires more awareness and consideration for it to undertake the resolution of the energy crises Assessment of the Treatment of Textile Mill EffluentUsing UASB Reactor This study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of the treatment of actual textile mill effluent using a upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. The main objective of this study was to generate design aids; in terms of organic loading rate (OLR), hydraulic retention time (HRT) versus chemical oxygen demand (COD) and colour removal in the textile effluent using a UASB reactor at neutral pH and constant mesophilic temperature. The COD, colour and total suspended solids concentration of the textile wastes used in the study were analyzed as 5440 mg/l, 3280 mg/l, 2320 units and 955 mg/l, respectively. The UASB reactor was started up by gradually increasing the OLR from 0.2 kg-COD/m 3 -day to 2.6 kg-COD/m 3 -day in order to prevent an organic shock to the reactor. Similarly, the hydraulic retention time (HRT) was slowly reduced from 58 h to 8 h to prevent the wash-out of sludge from the reactor. It was observed that more than 80% of COD and colour could be effectively removed at an OLR of 2.2 kg-m 3 /d and HRT of 20 h. At optimum operating conditions, the effluent volatile fatty acid concentration was observed to be 430 mg/l. The average biogas production observed during this study was 0.34 l/g-COD removed and it was composed of 58% methane. During the course of maturity of granular sludge, its effective size and settling velocity were observed to increase exponentially as 0.261e 0.051x and 1.91e 0.017x respectively. The overall observed biomass yield (Y obs ) for the experimental period was calculated as 0.049 g-VSS/g-COD rem . This study suggests that the use of a UASB reactor for textile mill effluent is a fairly feasible and viable option.

The present study was conducted in the Plum orchard zone of district Peshawar. The study was aimed to investigate the levels of different micronutrients in the orchard soil and crop in corresponding to non-orchards. For this purpose, samples of soil and seasonal crop (wheat crop) were collected from both orchard and non-orchard fields. The collected samples were analyzed for various metals such as Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni and Co through Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results showed that in orchard soils, mean concentrations of Mn (486.9 mg/Kg), Cu (81.66 mg/Kg), Cd (2.21 mg/Kg), Cr (54.2 mg/Kg) and Ni (27.9 mg/Kg) were observed above their allowable limits. Similarly, in orchard wheat crops, a higher accumulation of Fe (416.1 mg/Kg), Cu (18.6 mg/Kg), Cr (1.5 mg/Kg) and Cd (0.63 mg/Kg) was calculated in the wheat grain/seed part. In non-orchards, all metals were found at safe levels. Analysis of the irrigation water revealed higher limits of Mn (0.06 mg/L), Fe (1.94 mg/L), Cd (1.29 mg/L), Cr (3.14 mg/L) and Ni (1.23 mg/L). Geo-accumulation Index showed a moderate and heavy level of contamination in orchard soils (Igeo. <1, 2). Higher uptakes of Mn (0.81) and Cu (0.87) were calculated in wheat crops of orchards through Transfer Factor (TF). Based on the observations, it is concluded that metals enrichment in orchard fields can be attributed due to excessive applications of fungicide sprays, fertilizers and contaminated water sources that introduce trace-elements into the soil and are subsequently absorbed by plants. Therefore, it is considered important to take appropriate measures to monitor the soils, crops and water for different micronutrients.