Review of Biotreatment of Industrial Effluents by M. Doble and A. Kumar: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Elsevier Inc., Burlington, Mass.; 2005; ISBN 0-7506-7838-0; 322 pp. Price: $79.95.

There is significant need for a unified text focusing on biological treatment of industrial effluents. Knowledge of the vast metabolic capabilities of microbes and plants has grown rapidly in recent years, and there is a need to synthesize this information in the context of the treatment and removal of toxic chemicals. This will help to move the field forward by helping to develop and apply sound engineered approaches for cost-effective treatment of a variety of industrial by-products. Biotreatment of Industrial Effluents takes an important step in accomplishing this by providing a practical and concise overview of the field. This book would be especially useful as a reference for practicing environmental engineers, graduate students, and researchers. One example of biotreatment of industrial effluents is depicted in Fig. 1.

The 322 page book could be divided into three main sub-sections: (1) introduction and the need for industrial effluent treatment (Chapters 1–2); (2) basic conceptual models and reactor design for aerobic and anaerobic treatment (Chapters 3–4); and (3) specific industrial applications (Chapters 5–30). In general, the chapters are concise (approximately 10 pages) followed by a section on additional references and bibliography. A useful index is provided with over 500 entries.

The first chapter provides an overview of the book, the state of the art, and new research frontiers. The second chapter documents recent environmental disasters, including Bhopal, Exxon Valdez, and Chernobyl and sets up a framework for the potential of biological treatment to help address the need for prevention and clean-up. These examples provide a good motivation for the book; however, it would have been more helpful to include additional information on how the clean-up of the disasters was actually implemented and how biotreatment may have helped to improve efficiency and cost.

Chapters 3 and 4 are 24 pages in total and are essentially a super-condensed summary of bioreactor design and mathematical modeling. Reactors covered include both aerobic and anaerobic in the following configurations: CSTR; plug-flow; batch; sequencing batch; trickling filter; rotating disk; airlift; deep-shaft; packed-bed; fluidized-bed; aerobic bubble column; anaerobic fixed-film; upflow anaerobic sludge blanket; membrane bioreactor; rotating drum; pond; and lagoon. Electron acceptors and the attributes of aerobic and anaerobic treatment are discussed in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 focuses on mathematical models and is remarkably thorough in its coverage. Mass balance of suspended growth and biofilm reactors, basic reactor design, kinetics (Michaelis-Menten, inhibition, Monod, rapid growth, Teisser, Moser, and Contois), mass transfer and diffusion, activated sludge design, lagoon design, and soil transport are all discussed. Chapters 3 and 4 are especially useful as a reference for individuals who already have some background in reactor design, kinetics, and modeling. However, these chapters would be extremely challenging for upper-level undergraduates or others who do not already have a sturdy background in these areas. Because of the breadth of the material covered, little room is left for an explanation of how, when, and why the models should be applied.

Finally, Chapters 5 through 30 focus on specific classes of industrial wastes and describe the principles associated with corresponding biological treatment. The topics covered include: treatment of waste from organic chemical industries; chlorinated hydrocarbons and aromatics; dioxins; fluoride removal; biodegradation of pesticides; degradation of polymers; degradation of dyes; textile effluent; tannery effluent; metal processing and electrochemical wastes; semiconductor wastes; nuclear waste; cyanide waste; food and dairy waste; sugar and distillery waste; paper and pulp; paint industry waste; pharmaceuticals; hospital waste treatment; treatment of waste from the explosive industries; petroleum hydrocarbon pollution; biodesulfurization; treatment of solid waste; treatment of municipal waste; groundwater decontamination; dentrification; and gaseous pollutants and volatile organics. Each chapter provides a background and introduction to the problem of the particular waste, an in-depth literature review on various treatment approaches that have been attempted, and, in some cases, summarizes a recommended treatment design. While these chapters are a major strength of the book in that they provide a handy overview to a broad range of wastes, it might have been better to have instead organized the chapters according to classes of waste (e.g., organic, inorganic, chlorinated, radioactive, etc.). Each chapter could then describe in the introduction the applicable industrial effluents (hospital, paint industry, pesticides, etc.) and then focus very specifically on the recommended treatment approach for the particular kind of contaminant. This would help reduce some of the overlap that currently exists between chapters and would help to bring more of the theory of treatment (i.e., as presented in Chapters 3 and 4) into an applied context.

While there are some minor typos and editorial oversights typical of a first edition, the book is fairly easy to read. The figures and tables are of good quality, and, in general, the nomenclature is standard and easy to follow. One criticism is that explanations of bioprocesses throughout the book would have benefited by more frequent reference to contaminants as electron donors, electron acceptors, and/or carbon sources. In its present form, these concepts may not be obvious to an inexperienced reader. There is also an issue in general that the conclusions provided at the end of each chapter are not always strongly supported by the data presented within. Thus, this book will best serve as a reference for those who already have a basic background in the area. Overall the book represents a reasonable attempt to provide a much-needed reference text for biotreatment of industrial effluents.