Background:
Industrialization plays an important role in the growth of a nation. But it is also one of the causes for the deteriorating condition of our ecosystem. The pollution, be it aquatic, terrestrial or air -borne, has affected our environment drastically and industrial and domestic wastewater plays a major role in it. As the Earth transforms into an urban sprawl, industries flourish, pollution increases and the natural resources deplete. Recently nano-engineering based technologies have been explored for the purpose of wastewater treatment which help in the detection and remediation of the pollutants present in wastewater. Various nano-material based technologies deployed in wastewater treatment are discussed in this article.
Methods:
A thorough survey of literature was effectuated, and study was focused mainly upon the different types of nano-materials applied for the purpose of wastewater management and the diverse treatment methods related to them. Literature were also studied to confirm the functionalization of nano-materials as pollution sensors.
Results:
There are four main kinds of nano-materials employed for the purpose of wastewater remediation i.e. metallic nano-materials, carbon based nano-materials, nanocomposites and dendrimers. The treatment technologies utilizing these materials are nanofiltration, nano-adsorption, nano-photocatalysis and disinfection.
Conclusion:
Nano-materials are quite efficient in removing the pollutants from different kinds of wastewater. But drawbacks such as expenditure and effect of the materials in the environment make it difficult for real-time utilization. Since the nano-scaled elements behave differently than their standard sized counterparts, the consequence of these materials in human life cycle is unknown. This knowledge gap should be filled so that these materials can be adopted worldwide.
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