Author(s)

Akanksha Verma, Ramovatar Meena, Anurag Maurya, Usha Singh Gaharwar, Paulraj Rajamani^*

School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India.

Sugarcane burning during harvest and non-harvest season emits various pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs), alkanes, and PAHs (Polyaromatic hydrocarbons) in the surrounding environment. Among these pollutants, PAHs are of uttermost concern due to their high level of toxicity. Burning of sugarcane bagase in sugar mill results in the production of fly ash. Fly ash is produced as a result of sugarcane bagasse burning in sugar mills. In present study, fly ash that comes out from the sugar mill chimney was collected from Western Uttar Pradesh, India and used for further analysis. High temperature and incomplete combustion inside chimney lead to the formation of PAHs. Extraction of PAHs present in fly ash samples was done by ultrasonication method and was identified with GC-FID (gas chromatography-flame ionization detector). Results exhibit the presence of eight PAHs in fly ash samples where the Benzo(a)pyrene and Naphthalene were found to be in high concentration. Furthermore, we have evaluated toxic effects of fly ash and Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (Standard of BaP & Nap) through different methods i.e. MTT, ROS and comet assay. Significant reduction (p < 0.001) in cell viability was noted in cells treated with fly ash as compared to control. Fly ash samples were also found to induce significant oxidative stress in HeLa cells, which ultimately causes DNA damage. Therefore, it may be concluded that the fly ash samples are toxic to the environment due to the presence of PAHs. Hence, the present study plays an important role in determining the harmful effects of PAHs and their source of occurrence.

Sugarcane Fly Ash, Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), DNA Damage, Environmental Toxicity

Verma, A. , Meena, R. , Maurya, A. , Gaharwar, U. and Rajamani, P. (2019) Identification, Quantification and In-Vitro Genotoxicity of Major Polyaromatic Hydrocarbons Produced by Sugarcane Fly Ash Emitted from Sugarmill. Journal of Environmental Protection, 10, 1244-1261. doi: 10.4236/jep.2019.1010074.