ABSTRACT
The combination of nanotechnology and biotechnology has emerged as an integrated technology for solid waste management. All over the world, day by day, numerous researches are going on in developing new processes using this nano-biotechnology for sustainable waste management. This nano-biotechnology can be classified into two broad categories in solid waste management. The first is to degrade/reduce the specific toxic compounds to minimize their environmental poisoning, and the other is to generate value-added products from solid wastes. This chapter reviews and addresses the global scenario for effective utilization of nano-biotechnology and the challenges faced when using this integrated technology in solid waste management. Briefly, the aerobic and anaerobic conditions in which the microbial organisms are applied to degrade the toxic chemicals are addressed. On the other hand, an attempt has been made to address the current global scenario of waste-to-energy technology options based on case studies of developed and developing countries. Additionally, our role in solid waste management using nano-biotechnology, especially in two-step biodegradation followed by plasma processing, which is emerging as an advanced technology for effective solid waste management, is addressed.
