Journal of Nanosciences: Current Research

Nanomaterials for adsorption of contaminants in water

Abstract

Y. Vicente-Martínez

Currently, methods of water disinfection, decontamination and desalination can mitigate some of the problems related to water pollution. These treatment methods are generally chemically and energy intensive, so heavy investments are required. In addition, they are not able to eliminate the presence of some pollutants which are in very small concentrations, but that even at these levels involve a risk to society, such as drugs, detergents or heavy metals. Nanotechnology is the potential solution for long-term water forecasting with techniques such as filtration, the use of nanoparticles in catalysis and desalination. Moreover, with the development of nanotechnology, conventional techniques used in water treatment such as adsorption, flocculation and coagulation can be enhanced. Pharmaceuticals are products used in large doses in daily life considered as contaminants of emerging concern. Due to the large amounts of drugs consumed, the hydrogenic sources suffer from contamination processes that give rise to toxicological effects in humans despite its low concentrations. Many medicines considered as emerging contaminants are constantly detected in groundwater, wastewater treatment plants and water supply. The inefficiency of conventional methods used in water treatment plants to remove the contaminant motivates the development of effective methods to treat effluent contamination. Nanoparticles have been employed in recent studies to remove emerging pollutants from different media due to its very small size and high contact surface, thus achieving a high adsorption efficiency. Heavy metals present in water are also easily removed by emulating nanostructured adsorbents.