International Journal of Applied Sciences and Biotechnology

162-170

Authors: Arvind Sinha, Sunil Kumar Khare

Manganese is known to be one of the essential trace elements and has plenty of applications. Inspite of its essential nature, concerns are arising due to its toxic nature at higher concentration. Several methods of removing manganese from environment have been proposed during the last few decades. However, the most favourable option based on cost-effectiveness, performance, and simplicity is still under investigation. The current review summarizes updated information on various technical aspects on manganese, including chemical nature, speciation, toxicity and remediation strategies. The review starts with covering the major sources of manganese, its interaction with biological biomolecules causing toxicity. This is followed by its speciation in environment, describing both biotic and abiotic processes. The biotic processes describe the role of microorganisms in the oxidation/ reduction of various oxidation states of manganese. Whereas, abiotic processes mainly describes the role of pH and oxygen taking thermodynamical aspects. The main part of this review focuses on recent developments on using microbial systems for manganese bioremediation. The updated works on different strategies adopted for the remediation of manganese from the environment have also been summarized.

176-179

Authors: Rajendra Bahadur G.C.

In Nepal, fairly good amounts of different types of minerals have been reported. More than 85 minerals and their varieties have been known in large concentration in Nepal. The minerals which occur in Nepal is sizeable amounts have not been fully exploited. It is believed that there are areas in Nepal which contain plenty of tentalum, niobium, molybdenum, and rare earth metal ores. Nepal may become a major supplier of these metals if their proper execution is made. Alluvian plains of Nepal are known to have placer gold while the middle region contains copper, iron, zinc, nickel, cobalt etc. A few deposits of lead, zinc and iron have been reported in the snow-capped areas. Economic deposits of iron ore are noticed in phulchoki, near Kathmandu valley. This article gives the summary for the occurrence of most important metals in Nepal. Some important applications of these metals are also included here. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijasbt.v1i4.9175