Assessment and monitoring of leather effluent discharge from Dewas and Ranipet and their computational approach

The swift pace of industrialization, urbanization, and burgeoning populations propel the surge in demand for manufactured goods and infrastructure. The wastewater produced during leather processing comprises a cocktail of organic and inorganic chemical contaminants that have the potential to affect the environment. This study focuses on conducting a comparative physico-chemical, analytical, in vitro, and in silico toxicity assessment and monitoring of leather effluent discharged from two different areas, namely, Dewas and Ranipet. The physicochemical analysis of collected effluents revealed higher levels of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids, total suspended solids, and heavy metals than the permissible limit fixed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The X-ray powder diffraction analysis of both samples identified the existence of crystalline and amorphous phases. The functional composition of compounds was identified through the analysis of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, which revealed the existence of C-H, O-H, N-H, C = O, C=C, and C≡C stretching vibrations. A variety of compound derivatives, including amines, organic acids, organometallic compounds, alcohols, hydrocarbons, esters, aldehydes, ketones, aromatic, and organogermanium, were identified by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. An assessment and monitoring of the phytotoxicity of effluent on the germination of Vigna radiata seeds reveals that (100%) of both Dewas and Ranipet leather effluents inhibited seed germination by 33.34% and 100%. The incorporation of Absorption-Distribution-Metabolism-Excretion-Toxicity (ADMET) analysis improved comprehension of the toxicity profiles of the GC-MS-identified compounds. Moreover, the result of docking studies revealed that cytochrome P450 showed the highest binding affinity towards 1,3-benzodioxol-2-one, hexahydro-cis with an affinity score of - 7.1 kcal/mol. The overall research revealed that the leather effluents from Dewas and Ranipet exhibit significant toxicity, highlighting the necessity of better wastewater management. In the future, innovative treatment methods and environmental friendly processes can be developed to minimize the detrimental effects of leather effluents.