Nanotechnology for Sustainable Water Resources

Ajay Kumar Mishra is a full Professor at the Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability Research Unit at College of Science, Engineering & Technology, University of South Africa. He received his MPhil and PhD degrees in 2003 and 2007 respectively from The University of Delhi, India. He is also working as an Adjunct Professor at Jiangsu University, China. His research interests include synthesis of multifunctional nanomaterials, nanocomposites, biopolymers, smart materials, CNT and graphene-based composite materials and water research. He has authored more than 100 scientific journal articles and edited several books. C.M. Hussain is an Adjunct Professor, Academic Advisor and Lab Director at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, USA.

Preface xix

Part I Nanotechnology for Natural Resources

1 Application of Nanotechnology in Water Treatment, Wastewater Treatment and Other Domains of Environmental Engineering Science –A Broad Scientific Perspective and Critical Review 3
SukanchanPalit

1.1 Introduction 4

1.2 The Vision of the Study 5

1.3 The Need and the Rationale of the Study 6

1.4 The Scope of the Study 7

1.5 Environmental Sustainability, the Vision to Move Forward and the Immense Challenges 7

1.6 Water and Wastewater Treatment – The Scientific Doctrine and Immense Scientific Cognizance 7

1.6.1 Nanotechnology and Drinking Water Treatment 8

1.6.2 Nanotechnology and Industrial Wastewater Treatment 8

1.7 The Scientific Vision of Membrane Science 9

1.7.1 Classification of Membrane Separation Processes 9

1.7.2 A Review of Water Treatment Membrane Technologies 9

1.8 Recent Scientific Endeavour in the Field of Membrane Separation Processes 11

1.9 Recent Scientific Pursuit in the Field of Application of Nanotechnology in Water Treatment 11

1.10 Scientific Motivation and Objectives in Application of Nanotechnology in Wastewater Treatment 15

1.11 Desalination and the Future of Human Society 16

1.11.1 Recent Scientific Endeavour in the Field of Desalination Procedure 16

1.11.2 Scientific Motivation and Objectives in Desalination Science 18

1.12 NanofiltrationTechnologies, the Future of Reverse Osmosis and the Scientific Vision of Global Water Issues 19

1.13 Recent Advances in Membrane Science and Technology in Seawater Desalination 19

1.14 Recent Scientific Endeavour in the Field of Nanofiltration, Reverse Osmosis, Forward Osmosis and Other Branches of Membrane Science 20

1.14.1 Scientific Motivation and Technological Objectives in the Field of Nanofiltration, Reverse Osmosis and the Innovative World of Forward Osmosis 21

1.15 Current and Potential Applications for Water and Wastewater Treatment 22

1.15.1 Vision of Adsorption Techniques 22

1.15.2 Potential Application in Water Treatment 22

1.15.3 The Avenues of Membranes and Membrane Processes 23

1.15.4 The Science of Disinfection and Microbial Control 23

1.15.5 Potential Applications in Water Treatment 24

1.16 Water Treatment Membrane Technologies 24

1.17 Non-Traditional Advanced Oxidation Techniques and its Wide Vision 25

1.17.1 Ozonation Technique and its Broad Application in Environmental Engineering Science 25

1.17.2 Scientific Motivation and Objectives in Ozonation Technique 26

1.18 Scientific Cognizance, Scientific Vision and the Future Avenues of Nanotechnology 26

1.18.1 The True Challenge and Vision of Industrial Wastewater Treatment 26

1.19 Advanced Oxidation Processes, Non-Traditional Environmental Engineering Techniques and its Vision for the Future 27

1.19.1 Scientific Research Endeavour in the Field of Advanced Oxidation Processes 27

1.20 Environmental Sustainability, the Futuristic Technologies and the Wide Vision of Nanotechnology 30

1.20.1 Vision of Science, Avenues of Nanotechnology and the Future of Industrial Pollution Control 30

1.20.2 Technological Validation, the Science of Industrial Wastewater Treatment and the Vision Towards Future 31

1.21 Integrated Water Quality Management System and Global Water Issues 31

1.21.1 Groundwater Remediation and Global Water Initiatives 31

1.21.2 Arsenic Groundwater Remediation, the Future of Environmental Engineering Science and the Vision for the Future 32

1.21.3 Scientific Motivation and Objectives in the Field of Arsenic Groundwater Remediation 32

1.21.4 Vision of Application of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Tackling Global Groundwater Quality Issues 33

1.21.5 Heavy Metal Groundwater Contamination and Solutions 33

1.21.6 Arsenic Groundwater Contamination and Vision for the Future 34

1.22 Integrated Groundwater Quality Management System and the Vision for the Future 34

1.23 Membrane Science and Wastewater Reclamation 34

1.24 Future of Groundwater Heavy Metal Remediation and Application of Nanotechnology 35

1.25 Future Research and Development Initiatives in the Field of Nanotechnology Applications in Wastewater Treatment 36

1.26 Futuristic Vision, the World of Scientific Validation and the Scientific Avenues for the Future 36

1.27 Future Research and Development Needs 37

1.28 Conclusions 37

References 37

2 Nanotechnology Solutions for Public Water Challenges 41
Ankita Dhillon and Dinesh Kumar

2.1 Introduction 42

2.2 Application of Nanotechnology in Water and Wastewater Treatment 44

2.2.1 Photocatalysis 45

2.2.2 Nanofiltration 49

2.2.3 Nanosorbents 53

2.3 Effects of Nanotechnology 57

2.4 Conclusions 58

Acknowledgements 59

References 59

3 Nanotechnology: An Emerging Field for Sustainable Water Resources 73
Pradeep Pratap Singh and Ambika

3.1 Introduction 73

3.2 Classification of Nanomaterials for Wastewater Treatment 74

3.2.1 Nanoadsorbents 74

3.2.2 Nanocatalysts 75

3.2.3 Nanomembranes 75

3.3 Synthesis of Nanomaterials 77

3.3.1 Conventional Approach for the Production of NPs 77

3.3.2 Precipitation of Nanoparticles 77

3.3.3 Nanoparticles from Emulsions 77

3.3.4 Green Approach for the Synthesis of Nanoparticles 78

3.4 Application of Nanotechnology in Wastewater Treatment 78

3.4.1 Nanoadsorbents 78

3.4.2 Nanocatalysts 81

3.4.3 Nanomembranes 86

3.4.4 Miscellaneous Nanomaterials 88

3.5 Risk of Nanotechnology 89

3.6 Conclusions 89

References 90

4 Removal of Hazardous Contaminants from Water or Wastewater Using Polymer Nanocomposites Materials 103
Felycia Edi Soetaredjo, Suryadi Ismadji, Kuncoro Foe and Gladdy L. Woworuntu

4.1 Introduction 103

4.2 Adsorption of Heavy Metals 104

4.3 Adsorption of Dyes 106

4.4 Adsorption of Antibiotics and Other Organic Contaminants 111

4.5 Processing of Polymer-Based Nanocomposites as Adsorbents 113

4.5.1 Exfoliation Adsorption 113

4.5.2 Melt Intercalation 114

4.5.3 Template Synthesis 115

4.5.4 In-Situ Polymerization 115

4.6 Clay–Polymer Nanocomposites 116

4.7 Carbon Nanotube Polymer Nanocomposites 119

4.8 Magnetic Polymer Nanocomposites 119

4.9 Adsorption Equilibrium Studies 120

4.9.1 Langmuir Isotherm 120

4.9.2 Freundlich Isotherm 126

4.9.3 Dubinin Radushkevich 126

4.9.4 Temkin Adsorption Equation 128

4.9.5 Sips Isotherm Equation 129

4.9.6 Toth Adsorption Equation 130

4.10 Adsorption Kinetic Studies 130

4.11 Summary 132

Acknowledgment 133

References 133

5 Sustainable Nanocarbons as Potential Sensor for Safe Water 141
Kumud Malika Tripathi, Anupriya Singh, Yusik Myung, TaeYoung Kim, and Sumit Kumar Sonkar

5.1 Introduction 141

5.2 Recent Advancement in Sustainable Nanocarbons 144

5.3 Sustainable Nanocarbons for Safe Water 149

5.3.1 Sensing of Toxic Metal Ions 150

5.3.2 Sensing of Inorganic Pollutants 156

5.3.3 Sensing of Organic Pollutants 161

5.3.4 Sensing of Nanomaterials 165

5.3.5 Sensing of Byproducts 166

5.4 Concluding Remarks and Future Trend 166

Acknowledgment 167

References 167

Part 2 Nanosensors as Tools for Water Resources

6 Nanosensors as Tools for Water Resources 179
Ephraim Vunain and A. K. Mishra

6.1 Introduction 180

6.1.1 Water Resources Contamination Due to Heavy Metals 181

6.1.2 Water Resources Contamination Due to Nutrients 182

6.2 Contaminant Monitoring Procedures 183

6.2.1 Electrochemical-Based Sensors 184

6.2.2 Graphene and Carbon Nanotubes (CNTs)-Based Sensors 188

6.2.3 Biosensors 189

6.2.4 Nanoparticles- and Nanocomposites-Based Sensors 189

6.3 Conclusions and Future Perspectives 190

References 191

7 Emerging Nanosensing Strategies for Heavy Metal Detection 199
S. Varun and S.C.G. Kiruba Daniel

7.1 Introduction 199

7.2 Recent Trends in Nanosensing Strategies: An Overview 201

7.2.1 Nanosensors Based on Biosensing Principle 201

7.2.2 Nanoparticle-Mediated Electrodes 208

7.2.3 Interference Sensing: A New Paradigm 213

7.3 Microfluidic Nanotechnology: Emerging Platform for Sensing 214

7.3.1 Microfluidic Sensors 214

7.3.2 Paper-Based Microfluidic Sensors 214

7.4 Summary and Outlook 220

Acknowledgement 220

References 220

8 Capture of Water Contaminants by a New Generation of Sorbents Based on Graphene and Related Materials 227
Ana L. Cukierman and Pablo R. Bonelli

8.1 Introduction 228

8.2 Characterization of Physicochemical, Mechanical, and Magnetic Properties of Graphene-Based Materials 229

8.3 Removal of Inorganic and Water-Soluble Organic Contaminants with Graphene-Based Sorbents 231

8.3.1 Removal of Inorganic Contaminants: Heavy Metal and Nonmetal Ions 232

8.3.2 Removal of Water-Soluble Organic Contaminants: Dyes and Pharmaceuticals 241

8.4 Cleanup of Oil Spills and Other Water-Insoluble Organic Contaminants 255

8.5 Summary and Outlook 267

Acknowledgment 268

References 269

9 Design and Analysis of Carbon-Based Nanomaterials for Removal of Environmental Contaminants 277
Yoshitaka Fujimoto

9.1 Introduction 277

9.2 Methodology 278

9.2.1 First Principles Total Energy Calculation 278

9.2.2 Formation Energy 279

9.2.3 Adsorption Energy 280

9.2.4 Charge Density Difference 280

9.2.5 Work Function 280

9.2.6 Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Image 280

9.2.7 Computational Details 281

9.3 Substitutionally Doped Graphene Bilayer 281

9.3.1 Structure 281

9.3.2 Energetics 282

9.3.3 Energy Band Structure 284

9.3.4 Work Function 285

9.3.5 Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Image 285

9.4 Gas Adsorption Effect 287

9.4.1 Structure and Energetics 287

9.4.2 Energy-Band Structures and Electron States 289

9.4.3 Total Charge Density 291

9.4.4 Work Function 293

9.4.5 Scanning Tunnelling Microscopy Image 294

9.5 Conclusions 295

Acknowledgment 295

References 296

10 Nanosensors: From Chemical to Green Synthesis for Wastewater Remediation 301
Priyanka Joshi and Dinesh Kumar

10.1 Introduction 302

10.2 Synthesis of Nanomaterials 303

10.2.1 Physical Methods 303

10.2.2 Chemical Method 305

10.3 Biological Methods 309

10.3.1 Biomolecule 309

10.3.2 Microorganism 310

10.3.3 Plant Materials 311

10.4 Application of Nanoparticles 311

10.5 Conclusions and Future Prospects 315

Acknowledgment 316

References 316

11 As-Prepared Carbon Nanotubes for Water Purification: Pollutant Removal and Magnetic Separation 329
Jie Ma, Yao Ma and Fei Yu

11.1 Introduction 330

11.2 Experimental Method 331

11.2.1 Materials 331

11.2.2 Preparation of Magnetic Carbon Nanotube 331

11.2.3 Batch Adsorption Experiments 333

11.2.4 Characterization Method 335

11.3 Removal of Dye from Aqueous Solution by NaClO-Modified Magnetic Carbon Nanotube 336

11.3.1 Characterization of Adsorbents 336

11.3.2 Adsorption Properties 340

11.4 Removal of Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene from Aqueous Solution by KOH-Activated Magnetic Carbon Nanotube 343

11.4.1 Characterization of Adsorbents 343

11.4.2 Adsorption Properties 348

11.5 Removal of Organic Pollutants from Aqueous Solution by Chitason-Grafted Magnetic Carbon Nanotube 358

11.5.1 Characterization of Adsorbents 358

11.5.2 Adsorption Properties 359

11.6 Summary and Outlook 367

Reference 367

12 Nanoadsorbents: An Approach Towards Wastewater Treatment 371
Rekha Sharma and Dinesh Kumar

12.1 Introduction 372

12.2 Classification of Nanomaterials as Nanoadsorbents 375

12.3 Importance of Nanomaterials in the Preconcentration Process 376

12.4 Properties and Mechanisms of Nanomaterials as Adsorbents 377

12.4.1 Innate Surface Properties 377

12.4.2 External Functionalization 378

12.5 Nanoparticles for Water and Wastewater Remediation 379

12.5.1 Nanoparticles of Metal Oxide 379

12.5.2 Metallic Nanoparticles 380

12.5.3 Magnetic Nanoparticles 381

12.5.4 Carbonaceous Nanomaterials 382

12.5.5 Silicon Nanomaterials 383

12.5.6 Nanofibers (NFs) 384

12.6 Applications in Aqueous Media 384

12.6.1 Nanoparticles 385

12.6.2 Nanostructured Mixed Oxides 387

12.6.3 Carbonaceous Nanomaterials 388

12.6.4 Silicon Nanomaterials 389

12.6.5 Nanofibers (NFs) 391

12.7 Conclusions 391

12.8 Future Scenario 392

Acknowledgment 393

References 393

Part 3 Nano-Separation Techniques for Water Resources

13 Hybrid Clay Mineral for Anionic Dye Removal and Textile Effluent Treatment 409
Fadhila Ayari

13.1 Introduction 410

13.2 Experimental 411

13.2.1 Clay Adsorbent 411

13.3 Result and Discussion 413

13.3.1 Characterizations of Collected Clay 413

13.3.2 Characterizations of Hybrid Material 420

13.3.3 Adsorption Studies 436

13.3.4 Application to Natural Effluent 451

13.4 Conclusions 452

References 456

14 Nano-Separation Techniques for Water Resources 461
Pashupati Pokharel and Mahesh Joshi

14.1 Current Progress in Nanotechnologies for Water Resources and Wastewater Treatment Processes 462

14.2 Nanomaterials in Nano-Separation Techniques for Water Treatment Process 464

14.3 Biochar-Based Nanocomposites for the Purification of Water Resources and Wastewater 467

14.3.1 Surface Chemistry and Functionalization of Biochar Material 468

14.3.2 Pretreatment of Biomass Using Iron/Ion Oxide, Nanometal Oxide/Hydroxide, and Functional Nanoparticles 468

14.3.3 Post-Treatment of Biochar Using Iron Ion/Oxide, Functional Nanoparticles, Nanometal Oxide/Hydroxide 470

14.3.4 Adsorption of Heavy Metals 470

14.3.5 Interaction of Biochar-Based Nanocomposites with Organic Contaminants 471

14.3.6 Adsorption of Inorganic Contaminants Other than Heavy Metals 472

14.3.7 Adsorption and Instantaneous Degradation of Organic Contaminants 472

14.4 Conclusions 473

References 473

15 Recent Advances in Nanofiltration Membrane Techniques for Separation of Toxic Metals from Wastewater 477
Akil Ahmad, David Lokhat, Yang Wang, Mohd Rafatullah

15.1 Introduction 478

15.2 Membrane Technology 480

15.3 Nanofiltration Membrane for Metal Removal/Rejection 483

15.4 Summary and Outlook 492

Acknowledgment 493

References 493

16 Bacterial Cellulose Nanofibers for Efficient Removal of Hg2+ from Aqueous Solutions 501
Emel Tamahkar, Deniz Turkmen, Semra Akgonullu, Tahira Qureshi and Adil Denizli

16.1 Introduction 502

16.2 Experimental Method 508

16.2.1 Materials 508

16.2.2 Production of BC Nanofibers 508

16.2.3 Preparation of Cibacron Blue F3GA Attached-Bacterial Cellulose (BC–CB) Nanofibers 508

16.2.4 Characterization Studies 509

16.2.5 Batch Adsorption Studies 509

16.2.6 Competitive Adsorption Studies 510

16.2.7 Desorption and Reusability Studies 510

16.3 Results and Discussion 511

16.3.1 Characterization of Bacterial Cellulose Nanofibers 511

16.3.2 Effect of pH 512

16.3.3 Effect of Initial Concentration of Hg2+ 512

16.3.4 Competitive Adsorption 515

16.3.5 Regeneration of BC–CB Nanofibers 515

16.4 Conclusions 516

References 518

Part 4 Sustainable Future with Nanotechnology

17 Nanotechnology Based Separation Systems for Sustainable Water Resources 525
Susmita Dey Sadhu, Meenakshi Garg and Prem Lata Meena

17.1 Introduction and Background 526

17.2 Nanotechnology in Water Treatment 530

17.3 Nanofiltration—A Membranous Technique 533

17.3.1 What is Filtration? 533

17.3.2 Membrane Filtration Technology 533

17.3.3 Nanofiltration 534

17.3.4 Role of Nanofiltration 535

17.3.5 Different Polymers and Their Membranes in Nanofiltration 536

17.4 Nanoadsorbents 539

17.4.1 Types of Adsorbents 539

17.4.2 Heavy Metal Removal from Wastewater 540

17.4.3 Organic Waste Removal 541

17.5 Nanoparticles 547

17.5.1 Dendrimer 548

17.5.2 Metals and Their Oxides 549

17.5.3 Zeolites 550

17.5.4 Carbaneous and Carbon Nanotubes 551

17.6 Recent Researches in Nanoseparation Techniques of Wastewater 552

17.6.1 Graphene from Sugar and its Application in Water Purification 552

17.6.2 Understanding the Degradation Pathway of the Pesticide, Chlorpyrifos by Noble Metal Nanoparticles 552

17.6.3 Measuring and Modelling Adsorption of PAHs to Carbon Nanotubes Over a Six Order of Magnitude Wide Concentration Range 553

17.6.4 “SOS Water” Mobile Water Purifier 553

17.6.5 An Electrochemical Carbon Nanotube Filter for Water Treatment Applications 554

17.6.6 High Speed Water Sterilization System for Developing Countries 554

17.6.7 Metal Nanoparticles on Hierarchical Carbon Structures: New Architecture for Robust Water Purifiers 554

17.7 Conclusions 555

References 555

Index 559