Abdennaceur Hassen

By Olfa Bouzaiane

Part of the book: Progress in Biomass and Bioenergy Production

By Rim Werheni Ammeri, Yassine Hidri and Hassen Abdenaceur

In recent years, soil contamination with pesticides has become a crucial news issue with serious short- and long-term effects on human health and its environment. Pesticides play a significant role in the success of modern farming and food production. These compounds have potential for toxicity and adverse effects on human health and ecological soil systems. Pentachlorophenol (PCP) is one of the most recalcitrant chemicals polluting the environment for its stable aromatic ring system and chloride content. Nowadays, many sites are contaminated with this substance. In these areas, concentrations may stay high for a long time because of slow degradation in the soil due to the negative effects that PCP has on soil microbial populations. Bioremediation of PCP contaminated sites can be realized introducing directly, into a contaminated system, microorganisms able to consume selectively the target compound (bioaugmentation) or increasing the microbial indigenous population by addiction of nutrients in form of organic and/or inorganic fertilizers and biosolids (biostimulation). In the present chapter, we present an overview of the effect of PCP pesticide contamination on soil microbial populations (density and diversity), enzymatic activity and physicochemical parameters. Additionally, the bioremediation process will be detailed.

Part of the book: Soil Contamination

By Chourouk Ibrahim, Salah Hammami, Eya Ghanmi and Abdennaceur Hassen

In December 2019, there was a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, a city of about 11 million people in Hubei Province. The World Health Organization (WHO), qualified CoVid-19 as an emerging infectious disease on March 11, 2020, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) which spreads around the world. Coronaviruses are also included in the list of viruses likely to be found in raw sewage, as are other viruses belonging to the Picornaviridae family. SRAS-CoV-2 has been detected in wastewater worldwide such as the USA, France, Netherlands, Australia, and Italy according to the National Research Institute for Public Health and the Environment. In addition, the SARS-CoV-2 could infect many animals since it has been noticed in pigs, domestic and wild birds, bats, rodents, dogs, cats, tigers, cattle. Therefore, the SARS-CoV-2 molecular characterization in the environment, particularly in wastewater and animals, appeared to be a novel approach to monitor the outbreaks of viral pandemics. This review will be focused on the description of some virological characteristics of these emerging viruses, the different human and zoonotic coronaviruses, the sources of contamination of wastewater by coronaviruses and their potential procedures of disinfection from wastewater.

Part of the book: Wastewater Treatment