Bioremediation of Emerging Contaminants from Soils: Soil Health Conservation for Improved Ecology and Food Security

Dr. Prasann Kumar, assistant professor cum research intensive faculty in theDepartment of Agronomy, School of Agricultural (ICAR-Accredited), LovelyProfessional University, Punjab, specializes in stress physiology, plant tissue culture,physiology of plant?microbe/pathogen interaction, and biodiversity management.Dr. Kumar has completed the International Agricultural Rural DevelopmentProgramme from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, United States. He hasreceived a doctorate from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He also hasauthored 40 books published by national and international publishers, which finda place in national as well as various Overseas Institutions’ libraries. He hasguided 19 MSc students for their thesis.

Prof. Veena Chaudhary is working as an associate professor in the Departmentof Chemistry at Meerut College, Meerut, affiliated with CCS University, Meerut.Dr. Chaudhary is deeply attached to chemistry, with a specialization in environmentalchemistry. She has to her credit more than 50 research papers, 2 bookchapters, and 20 abstracts. She received numerous awards, including a YoungScientist Award, a Fellow Scientist Award, and numerous others, for her contributionsto the environmental field for the advancement of the social, welfare, andagricultural sectors. She is a life member of several scientific societies. She alsovisited abroad several times to attend international conferences and seminars forthe purpose of gathering and sharing scientific knowledge. She is handling severalresearch projects funded by DST, UP-CST, and higher education in UttarPradesh.

Eric D. van Hullebusch is a full professor in biogeochemistry of engineered ecosystems at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, France. His research is currently focusing on the implementation of biohydrometallurgical approaches for the recovery of technology critical elements (including selenium and tellurium) as well as polluted soils (bio)remediation with a particular focus on poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Dr. Rosa Busquets is currently working as an Associate Professor in the Schoolof Life Sciences, Pharmacy and Chemistry, Faculty of Health Science Social Careand Education, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road Campus, Kingston uponThames, United Kingdom. She works toward pushing the barriers of analyticalchemistry and achieving significant improvements in monitoring molecules ofspecial environmental relevance. Rosa is a specialist in chromatography-mass spectrometry andin the analysis of complex matrices. She is particularly interested in environmental monitoring andremediation. She carries out research to remove contaminants that pose a majorthreat to ecosystems due to their toxicity and high mobility and can therefore contaminatefresh water and affect our health. Nanoparticles, pesticides, plastic degradationproducts, and pharmaceuticals are among these contaminants.xxx About the editorsKumar-BECS-

Dr. Arun Lal Srivastav is working as Assistant Professor at Chitkara University School of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Himachal Pradesh, India. He has obtained his PhD from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India on the adsorption of nitrate and fluoride from water. Also, he has done post-doctoral research at National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan. He is currently involved in the teaching of Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Disaster Management and Design Thinking to the undergraduate engineering students. His research interests include water quality surveillance, climate change, water treatment, river ecosystem, soil health maintenance, engineering education, phytoremediation and waste management. He has published > 86 research papers in various prestigious journals (Elsevier, Springer, IWA, Taylor & Francis etc.) including some book chapters and conferences. He is also the editor of 20 books with Elsevier, Springer, NOVA and Wiley. Additionally, he is also one of the series editors of Elsevier and Nova publisher on energy sustainability and e-waste management, respectively. Further, in his credit, 12 patents have been granted by the Government of India on multidisciplinary topics. He is also working on 04 Government sponsored projects (worth ~16 million INR) on phytoremediation, adsorption, capacity building, organic farming, leachate treatment, agro-waste management etc.