Karthiyayini Sridharan (Eds.) - Emerging Trends of Nanotechnology in Environment and Sustainability - A Review-Based Approach

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Karthiyayini Sridharan Editor
Emerging Trends
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in Environment
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A Review-Based
Approach
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Karthiyayini Sridharan
Editor
Emerging Trends
of Nanotechnology
in Environment
and Sustainability
A Review-Based Approach
123
Editor
Karthiyayini Sridharan
General Science
BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus
Dubai
UAE
ISSN 2191-5547 ISSN 2191-5555 (electronic)

SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science
ISBN 978-3-319-71326-7 ISBN 978-3-319-71327-4 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4
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Preface
The book is about the nanotechnology aspects of benefits and risks on environment.
It is broadly divided into three parts: Part I Nanotechnology in sustainability, Part II
Nanotechnology in toxicological impacts and Part III Nanotechnology in water
remediation and adsorbents. There are totally 14 chapters on the nanotechnology
aspects under the above said three broad parts.
The crucial challenge of sustainability in various environmental aspects at pre-
sent is a global problem. Hence, applied nanotechnology in sustainability of food,
clean environment, removal of greenhouse gases, raw materials extraction, manu-
facturing and transport fall under the purview of Part I, which has seven chapters.
A tremendous growth in the production of nanomaterials in many applications is
definitely commendable. However, on the other hand, we should also be concerned
about the impact of the toxic effects it leaves behind. Therefore, nanotoxicity
research in many areas like human body and medicine, industry and agriculture,
etc., are reviewed separately. The toxic nature of widely used nanomaterials is
described in the three chapters of Part II. Yet, nanomaterials are enormously used in
environmental remediation due to some of their distinct properties. The four
chapters in Part III, showcase the highly reactive and adsorbent properties of
nanomaterials that enable them to be a competent agent in water and pollutants
remediation.
The first chapter elaborates on the utility of Nanotechnology to sustain a clean
environment. The numerous pollutants generated by humans, industries, etc., are
removed from air and water by many nanomaterials. The uses of a few nanoma-
terials in various processes to sustain a clean environment are reviewed and also the
application of nanoscience in detecting the pollution in air and water is further
explained. Future research directions in this context are given in the conclusion.
The second chapter is about the impacts of greenhouse gases. The gases causing
this effect and the risks due to it in global warming, ocean acidification, smog and
ozone pollution, and the ozone layer depletions, etc., are discussed. The solutions
and recommendations to overcome this effect in nanotechnology are explained.
Nano-coating, nanocatalysts, and nanosensors with nanomaterials have been taken
as examples to suggest solutions to reduce the greenhouse effect.
v
vi Preface
The third chapter explicates the production of food and agriculture. Both solu-
tions to and recommendations for are discussed in precision farming for maxi-
mizing crop yield, smart delivery system where nanoscale sensors are used for the
requirement and quantity of pesticide and manure for better yield. Nanotechnology
in water requirement for agriculture, safe food packaging, and food processing
yielding maximum efficiency and minimum wastage are elaborated upon.
The fourth chapter explains how nanotechnology is used for sustainable raw
mineral extraction. The use of nanomaterials in modern technology of mineral
extraction is explained with the method of gold extraction. Following which the
uranium extraction process is elucidated including the ultrafiltration.
Nanotechnological processes of extracting chromium, copper and nickel and the
separation of europium and yttrium is also described. The sensor-based extraction is
also mentioned with the future research directions.
The fifth chapter discusses the role of nanotechnology in facing the challenges of
sustainable manufacturing. The challenges such as cost and waste management are
analyzed with some possible solutions.
The sixth chapter covers about the production of energy by eco-friendly method.
Energy from vibration and solar panel are explained in conjunction. The present use
and future benefits of nanomaterial are covered broadly.
In the seventh chapter, the importance of biodiversity is introduced and
explained which goes into a discussion on nanotechnology to sustain biodiversity in
agriculture and forest preservation.
In Chap. 8, the applications of quantum dots are discussed showcasing the
different kinds of toxicity in quantum dots. The chapter concludes with the routes
and exposures.
The ninth chapter discusses the nanomaterials applications in pharmacies. The
characterization of nanomaterials in drugs, like size, dosage, components, etc., is
explained. Following this, certain specific nanosystems like liposomes, dendrimers,
etc., are individually discussed.
The Chap. 10 reads about the sources and exposures where some of the medical
uses of nanomaterials like drug delivery and therapy techniques are discussed. The
authors explain the enroutes of nanoparticles in human body and their toxicity of a
few specific nanomaterials are separately enlisted. Carbon systems, metals, and
inorganic nanomaterials are few groups explained in this chapter.
The eleventh chapter is solely about the role of adsorbents in water remediation.
Here the removal of harmful chemicals and heavy ions by nanomaterials as
adsorbents are elaborated upon. The method and adsorbent for each harmful
material are mentioned separately.
The Chap. 12 begins with explaining about the nanofiltration membranes and
nanopolymers in desalination as filtration. Various nanoparticle catalysts are listed
with their properties and methods incorporated by them.
The thirteenth chapter elaborates on the magnetic nanoparticles for water
treatment and remediation for purifying water. The materials used for this treatment
are mentioned and discussed. Further, the nanomaterials used for disinfection and
microbial control are also explained.
Preface vii
The Chap. 14 elucidates the effects and interactions of some metallic nanoma-
terials on microorganisms. The antibacterial activities and interactions of copper,
gold and silver nanomaterials have been further stressed upon.
This book is the compendium of project articles of my students in the course,
“Nanotechnology for renewable energy and Environment.” A few topics were
included for the sake of completeness under the relevant topic. It is thus, mainly
intended for researchers and students to acquire a thorough knowledge of nan-
otechnology dominance in sustainability challenges faced at present. Further, this
work intends to give the anticipatory governance of nanomaterials in society and
environment. First, I appreciate all the support and encouragement given by our
Director, Prof R.N. Saha. I would like to thank my friends and colleagues, Dr.
Kavita Jerath, Dr. Amaranath, and Dr. Manoj Kannan for not only contributing the
chapters but also for their constant encouragement and critical analysis. I am highly
indebted to my friend, Dr. R. Sugaraj Samuel for not only contributing in chapters
but also for his brilliant ideas in illustrations of all chapters. I sincerely acknowl-
edge the appropriate help rendered by Mr. Giridhar Kesavan in methodical
development of this book. I would like to acknowledge Ms. Reetika Jerath and Mr.
Mukarram Ahmed for their continuous help rendered in the preparation of the
manuscript. All the technical support rendered by Mr. Raja Selvaraj is greatly
appreciated. The tolerance of my friends and our family members is also greatly
appreciated.
Dubai, UAE Karthiyayini Sridharan

Contents
Part I Nanotechnology in Sustainability

1 Nanotechnology to Sustain a Clean Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Shanelle Govekar, Ravi Kumar, Rajesh Suresh
and Karthiyayini Sridharan
2 Reducing the Impacts of Greenhouse Gases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
T. Vuday Sankar, Dhruvil Patel, R. Sugaraj Samuel
and G. Amaranath
3 Nanotechnology in the Food Industry—And the Benefits
and Improvements in Food Processing and Packaging
Brought About by it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
H. Kasi Viswanathan, Nikhil Reji Thomas and G. Amaranath
4 Nanotechnology for Sustainable Raw Mineral Extraction
and Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Kritin Chugh, Ashish Kapur and Kavita Jerath
5 Nanotechnology in Energy Harvesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
R. Sugaraj Samuel, Shabeeb Razak, K. Venkatesh Prabhu,
Mohammed Shaheem and Kavita Jerath
6 Nanotechnology to Overcome Challenges in Sustainable
Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Shyam Krishna and Kavita Jerath
7 Nanotechnology to Sustain Biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Manoj Kannan, Shradha Sheeba Baiju, Shartaz Alam Hazarika
and Aneek Javed
ix
x Contents
Part II Nanotechnology in Toxicological Impacts

8 Toxicological Impacts of Quantum Dots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Manoj Kannan, Arzan Ali, Megha Matoo and Prajin Jacob
9 Nanotechnology in Pharmaceuticals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Shalin Shaji, Sarath Haridas, Jacob Siby Jacob and Manoj Kannan
10 Toxicological Impacts of Nanoparticles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Amith Baby, Salman Nazeerudeen, Shiva Ranganath
and R. Sugaraj Samuel
Part III Nanotechnology in Water Remediation and Adsorbents

11 Nanomaterials-Based Adsorbents for Water and Wastewater
Treatments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Iris Gopalakrishnan, R. Sugaraj Samuel and Karthiyayini Sridharan
12 Water Remediation by Nanofiltration and Catalytic
Degradation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
R. Sugaraj Samuel and Karthiyayini Sridharan
13 Magnetic Nanomaterials and Their Use in Water Treatment . . . . . 109
Kavita Jerath
14 Effects and Interaction of Some Metallic Nanomaterials
on Micro-organisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Ahmad Shumayal, Rohan Saha and Manoj Kannan
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
Part I
Nanotechnology in Sustainability
Chapter 1
Nanotechnology to Sustain a Clean
Environment
Shanelle Govekar, Ravi Kumar, Rajesh Suresh

and Karthiyayini Sridharan
1.1 Introduction
Pollution levels have increased rapidly due to the numerous industrial processes and
human activity. It had caused the pollutants like carbon monoxide (CO),
chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), heavy metals (arsenic, chromium, lead, cadmium,
mercury, and zinc), hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, organic chemicals (volatile
organic compounds, known as VOCs, and dioxins), sulfur dioxide to hamper the
environment [1, 2]. Nitrogen and sulfur oxide in the air produces acid rain which is
harmful to human, plant, and aquatic life. Some natural processes such as volcanic
action and decay of soil bacteria also pollute the environment. Water pollution is
caused by numerous factors, including sewage, oil spills, leaking of fertilizers,
herbicides, and pesticides from land, by-products from manufacturing, and
extracted or burned fossil fuels. Moreover, contaminants are mostly found as
mixtures. Hence, it is now very essential that these environmental pollutions are
monitored and reduced if not treated completely by some technologies like nan-
otechnology which is versatile to all remedial requirements. This chapter aims at
studying the various applications of nanotechnology in order to prevent, reduce,
sense, and treat environment contamination.
1.2 Background
Evolution of a new branch of science known as nanoscience has completely

replaced the previous technologies due to the following reasons [2]:
S. Govekar R. Kumar R. Suresh K. Sridharan (&)

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
e-mail: karthiyayini@dubai.bits-pilani.ac.in
© The Author(s) 2018 3

K. Sridharan (ed.), Emerging Trends of Nanotechnology in Environment
and Sustainability, SpringerBriefs in Environmental Science,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_1
4 S. Govekar et al.
(i) Nanomaterials are incorporated to completely mineralize most of the

organics and are inexpensive.
(ii) Organic matter from polluted water is completely eradicated by
semiconductors.
(iii) Nanophotocatalyst are nontoxic, noncorrosive, and stable chemically and
thermally.
(iv) Photocatalysts are easily available, inexpensive, and stable to corrosion in the
presence of water and chemicals.
Environmental remediation is known as the cleanup or removal of contaminants
from the environment. This involves various techniques or methods to remove or
breakdown (degrade) environmental contaminants in polluted soils, surface waters,
groundwater, as well as in sediments. This involves both [2]: in situ and ex situ
techniques,
– ex situ techniques: removal of the contaminated soil, sediment, or water from
the polluted sites and then treating the pollution above the ground,
– in situ techniques: cleanup the contamination while it is still in the ground.
The remediation technique varies from site to site and depends on site-specific
conditions (e.g., hydrology, nature of contaminant etc.) as well as performance,
cost, and environmental impacts of the potential cleanup technologies.) New nan-
otechnologies seemed poised to enhance environmental protection and improve
pollution detection and remediation.
The overall objective of environmental remediation is to reduce environmental
and/or human health risks due to environmental pollution through one or several
remediation methods. Nanotechnology is making significant improvements in
technologies for protecting the environment. Nanoscale devices are being used for
enhanced sensing, treating, and remediating environmental contaminants.
1.3 Main Chapter
Nanomaterials with their physical and chemical properties and being environmen-
tally friendly are responsible for a flood of products in the market. For example,
Semiconductor nanostructures are used in developing smart materials to simulta-
neously sense and destroy harmful chemical contaminants from our environment [3].
1.3.1 Nanomaterials and Their Environmental Applications
Remediation technology involves (1) transport of the aqueous phase to the con-
taminated zone; (2) attachment to soils in the contaminated zone; (3) reaction with
the target contaminant. Applications of a few nanomaterials, Fig. 1.1, are discussed.
1 Nanotechnology to Sustain a Clean Environment 5
Fig. 1.1 Nanomaterials and their applications
1. Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)

Semiconductor photocatalysts for water treatment must be performed at room
temperature or pressure. A complete mineralization without secondary pollution
with repetitive cycles is essential. Further the operations must cost low. These are
all fulfilled by TiO2 photocatalyst [4]. The charge separation is a photo-induced
phenomenon that occurs on the TiO2 surface. It is a very high reactive oxygen
species that can cause microbial inactivation and organic mineralization without
secondary pollution. With a range of 3.0–3.2 eV band gap of TiO2, wavelength is
about 400 nm. Thus, when TiO2 is irradiated with UV light below 400 nm, its
surface is likely to achieve heat higher than 30,000 °C, and this extremely high
temperature oxidizes all materials. Therefore, organic compounds are decomposed
completely into water and carbon dioxide. This nanoparticle has the advantages of
readily available, inexpensive, and low toxicity [5].
2. Iron-Based Nanoparticles
Iron Nanoparticles have great potential for environmental analysis and remediation
of a wide range of organic and inorganic pollutants because of their low cost, ease
6 S. Govekar et al.
of manufacture, and ease of modification. They could provide very high flexibility
for both in situ and ex situ remediations for the treatment of contaminated soils,
sediments, and solid wastes. Recent studies [6] showed that arsenic and 12 other
metals (V, Cr, Co, Mn, Se, Mo, Cd, Pb, Sb, Tl, Th, and U) could be simultaneously
removed by the iron oxide nanoparticles in soil. Effluent concentrations were less
than 10% for six out of the 12 metals. Iron oxide nanoparticles are used in situ
water/soil remediation processes their prominent absorption capacity for toxins and
their environmentally friendly characteristics. Such main targets are Cu2+, Cr6+,
Ni2+, Pb2+, Cr3+, Zn2+, As+5, and As+3. Magnetite and hematite nanoparticles were
considered suitable candidate for the removal of arsenic in sandy soil possibly
through in situ techniques because of strong adsorption, large retardation factor, and
resistant desorption. Alternatively, they can be anchored onto a solid matrix such as
carbon, zeolite, or membrane for enhanced treatment of water, wastewater, or
gaseous process streams [7]. It had also been reported that direct subsurface
injection of nanoscale iron particles, whether under gravity-feed or pressurized
conditions, effectively degrade chlorinated organics such as trichloroethylene, to
environmentally benign compounds [3]. Goethite (a-FeOOH, needle-like,
200 nm 50 nm), hematite (a-Fe2O3, granular, 75 nm), amorphous hydrous Fe
oxides (particles, 3.8 nm), maghemite (c-Fe2O3, particle, 10 nm), and magnetite
(Fe3O4, particles, around 10 nm) are iron oxide nanoparticles used for the water/
wastewater remediation from heavy metals [6].
3. Bimetallic Nanoparticles
It was recently reported [8], that Palladiumon-gold bimetallic nanoparticles exhibit
superior catalyst activity and improved deactivation resistance. This new type of
material is significant in the development of a viable hydrodechlorination catalysis
technology. Bimetallic particles were made with nZVI with microscale iron.
Bimetallic particles are made with corrosive metal like iron or zinc with noble metals
like palladium, platinum, nickel silver, or copper. The noble metals are the catalysts.
The noble metals lower the activation energy and thus increase the reaction for
remediation. Thus recent studies found out that palladized iron can completely
dechlorinate many chlorinated aliphatic compounds to hydrocarbons [9].
Another metal acting as a catalyst is nickel, Ni(II). This metallic catalyst could
prevent the formation of toxic by-products by dehalogenation of chlorinated
compounds via hydrogen reduction rather than electron transfer. Another synthetic
bimetallic nanoparticle is Pd/Au, which reduced the chlorinated compounds from
water and groundwater.
Bimatallic particles like iron-palladium are used for treatment of contaminated
water and industrial wastes [1].
4. Nanoscale Zerovalent Iron (nZVI)
nZVI is one of the most commonly used engineered nanomaterials for environ-
mental remediation such as subsurface contaminants. Generally, in remediation
technology, the formation of daughter products are more toxic than the parent
compounds. Although hydrogenolysis can be an important dehalogenation pathway
for many chlorinated solvents, the formation of vinyl chloride (VC) following the
hydrogenolysis of chlorinated ethenes like perchloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene
(TCE), and cis dichloroethene (cis-DCE) is undesirable. But TCE may be degraded
by ZVI [9].
Its use for in situ remediation has received increased levels of attention in the
past decade, attributed to several factors. nZVI is emerging as a new option for the
treatment of contaminated soil and groundwater targeting mainly chlorinated
organic contaminants (e.g., solvents, pesticides) and inorganic anions or Metals
[9, 10].
Nickel (Ni2+) and lead (Pb2+), common pollutants of electroplating industry,
may be removed by nZVI via reduction to Ni0 and Pb0 and by adsorption as Ni2+
and Pb2+.
nZVI may provide faster cleanup compared to conventional techniques due to
increased contaminant degradation rates. nZVI can be used on a wide range of
environmental contaminants (such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
[11], pesticides, heavy metals, and various other chemical pollutants), and hence
has broad applicability. These nanoparticles may potentially be able to reach
hard-to-access areas for in situ use. It has often been cited to be potentially more
cost-effective compared to alternative techniques.
5. Nanoscale Calcium Peroxide
Nanoscale calcium peroxide has recently been used for the cleanup of oil spills [12].
Nanosized calcium peroxide is used as an oxidant in the remediation of soils
containing various organic contaminants, such as gasoline, heating oil, methyl
tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), ethylene glycol, and solvents. Nanoscale calcium
peroxide is also used in enhanced bioremediation because it effectively removes
aromatics. Calcium peroxide (CaO2) with water gives out oxygen which leads to an
aerobic environment that supports natural bioremediation by aerobic organisms
present in the soil.
As an environmentally persistent and bio-accumulative pollutant, chlorophenols
(CPs) including 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP) have attracted increasing attention
due to their potential risk to environment and public health. Contamination of CPs
is widely found in soils, sediments, and groundwater. CaO2 is found to overcome
the rapid dissipation of H2O2. Hence, the large surface area of CaO2 nanoparticles
enables the reaction rate of CaO2 with target compounds for sites remediation.
6. Micelles (Self-assembled surfactants)
Micelles are self-assembled surfactant materials in a bulk solution [3]. Surfactants
or “Surface active agents” are usually organic compounds that are amphipathic.
Thus they contain both hydrophobic groups (tails) and hydrophilic groups (heads),
soluble in both organic solvents and water.
Surfactant-enhanced remediation is used for the removal of polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbon (PAHs) pollutants in the soil [3]. Increasing their concentration
increases the effectiveness in the extraction of NAPLs (nonaqueous phase liquids)
and PAHs. At high concentrations, surfactant solutions improve the formation of
8 S. Govekar et al.
pollutant emulsions that are hard to extract from the sample. But surfactant solu-
tions with low concentrations are not very effective in solubilizing the pollutants.
Research is being done on surfactant that minimizes their losses and the develop-
ment of surfactant recovery and recycling techniques. Amphiphilic polyurethane
(APU) nanonetwork polymer particles were tested for the removal of hydrophobic
pollutant (phenantrene) from a contaminated sandy aquifer material. APU particle
emulsion with its wide range of concentration can be used in soil remediation. It
extracted up to 98% of the phenanthrene adsorbed on the aquifer material with
extremely low loss of particles.
7. Dendrimers
Dendrimers are novel nanostructure materials that possess a unique three-
dimensional molecular configuration. Their design enables them to form cages
and thus trap metal ions and zerovalent metals, making them soluble in certain
media or able to bind to certain surfaces.
Dendrimers functionalized with long aliphatic chains were employed to remove
organic impurities such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from water. They have
high adsorption capacities of heavy metals [3, 13]. Dendrimer-conjugated magnetic
nanoparticles are employed for effective removal and recovery of Zn(II).
A water-soluble benzoylthiourea modified ethylenediamine core-polyamidoamine
dendrimer was made for the selective removal and enrichment of toxicologically
relevant heavy metal ions.
8. Nanometer-Sized zeolites
Porous crystalline solids zeolites or aluminosilicate molecular sieves are
well-defined structures widely used for separations and catalysis. Nanometer-sized
zeolites (10–100 nm) are used to selectively oxidize hydrocarbons like toluene to
benzaldehyde. Nanostructured zeolites are environmentally safe for two reasons.
First, the visible light initiates oxidation reaction, which reduces energy con-
sumption. Second, using visible light accesses low-energy reaction pathways that
help eliminate wasteful secondary photoreactions and increase the yield of the
desired product [14].
1.3.2 Nanoscience Used in Pollution Detection
– Air pollution: Nanotechnology is used for air pollution remediation. It is done

using nanocatalysts [14]. They transform the harmful vapors into harmless by
chemical reactions. Manganese oxide nanofiber catalyst removes volatile organic
compounds from industrial smokestacks. Nanosensors are used for detecting
microbes, humidity, and toxic pollutants at very minute levels. Nanostructured
membranes are also used that have pores small enough to separate methane or
carbon dioxide from exhaust. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are used for trapping
greenhouse gas emissions which are hundred times faster than other methods.
– Water pollution: Nanofiltration (NF) membranes are used in water and

wastewater treatment. NF membranes are pressure-driven membranes with pore
sizes between 0.2 and 4 nm. NF membranes remove turbidity, microorganisms and
inorganic ions such as Ca and Na [15]. They are used for removal of dissolved
organic matter and trace pollutants from surface water, for wastewater treatment
and for pretreatment in seawater desalination. Carbon nanotubes have been arran-
ged to form a hollow monolithic cylindrical membrane, which was efficient for the
removal of bacteria or hydrocarbons and that can easily be regenerated by ultra-
sonication or autoclaving.
Scientists are working on nanotechnology solution for radioactive waste
cleanup, specifically the use of titanate nanofibers as absorbents for the removal of
radioactive ions from water. Titanate nanofibers with two formulas, Na2Ti3O7 and
Na1.5H0.5Ti3O7, respectively, exhibit ideal properties for removal of radioactive and
heavy metal ions in wastewater, such as Sr2+, Ba2+ (as a substitute of 226Ra2+), and
Pb2+ ions [15, 16]. They are fabricated using titania and caustic soda. Their
structures are such that TiO6 octahedra join each other to form layers with negative
charges. Within the interlayer regions there exist sodium cations and are
exchangeable. These selectively adsorb the bivalent radioactive ions and heavy
metal ions from water through ion exchange process. Considerable deformation of
the layer structure is induced which trap the toxic bivalent cations and are safely
deposited. It is also reported that titanate nanotubes and nanofibers make superior
materials for removal of radioactive cesium and iodine ions in water.
1.4 Green Nanotechnology [17]
Green nanotechnology must manufacture products with less energy, it must be

recycled after use and must be produced using eco-friendly materials
• In the manufacturing process, Nanotechnology must effectively reduce waste. It
must increase efficiency by nanocatalysts. It must eliminate the use of toxic
materials and generation of undesirable by-products and effluents. The effec-
tiveness of catalytic converters in vehicles can be increased by applying cat-
alytically active precious metals in the nanoscale size range, and nanoporous
particle filters are being developed to reduce emissions in motor vehicles.
• In water treatment, Nanomaterial-based adsorbents, catalysts must replace the
conventional chemicals that are used. Nanotechnology must also create
eco-friendly solutions for water treatment.
• Energy solutions must be tackled by nanotechnology in renewable energy.
Nanotechnology must enable man to harness solar energy by solar cells made of
nanoparticles such as titanium dioxide, cadmium telluride, quantum dots, and
silver with a polymer that can absorb solar energy. Plastics with CNTs as
10 S. Govekar et al.
coatings on the rotor blades of wind turbines make these lighter and increase the
energy yield. Nanotechnologically optimized lithium-ion batteries have an
improved storage capacity as well as an increased lifespan and find use in
electric vehicles for example
• In Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation and Waste Management,
degradation of pollutants like volatile organic compounds and nitrous oxidesare
done by solar photocatalysis using titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Nano tita-
nium dioxide must replace organic biocides in paints in buildings. Green nan-
otechnology applications might involve a clean production process, such as
synthesizing nanoparticles with sunlight or the recycling of industrial waste
products into nanomaterials, such as turning diesel soot into carbon nanotubes.
• Soil remediation using nano zero valent iron and iron oxides for environmental
benefits.
• The Role of Nanotechnology in Chemical Substitution by nanoparticles of sil-
icon dioxide, titanium dioxide, magnesium oxide, or zinc oxide that could
replace chemical flame retardants such as bromine, which is considered to have
high toxicity.
• In Environmental Concerns with Nanotechnology, an important concern is
about the fate and transport of nanomaterials once they are released into the
environment. Hence, it is essential that consumers are well educated, to make
sure nanowaste streams are under control or at least well understood. To cleanup
oil spills in seawater, nanoparticles with iron can be added to the streak of oil
within the contaminated water, and then magnets can be used to separate the oil
from the water [18].
1.5 Conclusion
It is essential that in producing nanomaterials for all applications must be without

harming the environment or human health. Also, the manufacturing processes are
more environmentally friendly. Further, the products developed by nanotechnology
must be beneficial to the environment either directly or indirectly. Nanotechnology
must enhance the environmental sustainability. Also, it must produce new
nanoproducts that are more environmentally friendly throughout their lifecycle.
Nanoparticles, in particular, will have important impacts on various fields of
environmental technology and engineering. However, we should always keep in
mind that the property of nanomaterials could be problematic under certain con-
ditions and pose a risk to the environment. A careful weighing up of the oppor-
tunities and risks of nanotechnology with respect to their effects on the environment
is, therefore, needed.
References
1. Diallo M, Jeffrey Brinker C (2010) Nanotechnology for sustainability: environment, water,

food, minerals, and climate. In: Rocco MC, Mirkin CA, Hersam MC (eds) Nanotechnology
research directions for societal needs in 2020: retrospective and outlook. Elsevier,
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nanotechnology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Annual Review of Nano Research, vol 2.
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Chem 19:1761–1769
5. Barakat MA, Kumar R (2016) Photocatalytic activity enhancement of titanium dioxide
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10.1002/jctb.2002
9. O’Carroll D et al (2013) Nanoscale zerovalent iron and bimetallic particles for contaminated
site remediation. Adv Water Resour 51:104–122; Mueller NC et al (2012) NZVI modifications
and types used for soil and groundwater remediation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19:550–558
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zero-valent iron. Ground Water 32:958–967
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binding to ethylene diamine core poly(amidoamine) dendrimers in aqueous solutions.
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Chapter 2
Reducing the Impacts of Greenhouse
Gases
T. Vuday Sankar, Dhruvil Patel, R. Sugaraj Samuel

and G. Amaranath
2.1 Introduction
The greenhouse effect is caused when gases like methane (CH4), carbon dioxide
(CO2) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) trap heat in the atmosphere. The greenhouse
effect is considered to increase the earth’s average temperatures by 1.5–5 °C during
the next century, leading to changed regional climates, increase global rainfall and a
rise in sea levels up to 50 cm [1].
2.2 Background
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the greenhouse gases. It consists of one carbon
atom with two oxygen atom each bonded to it on either side. When its atoms are
bonded tightly together, the carbon dioxide molecule can absorb infrared radiation
and the molecule starts to vibrate until it emits the radiation again. It will most
probably be absorbed by yet another greenhouse gas molecule. This absorption-
emission-absorption cycle serves to keep the heat near the surface, effectively
insulating the surface from the cold of space. Similarly, water vapor (H2O),
methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and a few other gases are also greenhouse
gases. These molecules composed of more than two component atoms, bound
loosely enough together which vibrates by the absorption of heat. Thereby, con-
T. Vuday Sankar D. Patel G. Amaranath

R. Sugaraj Samuel (&)
The New College, Chennai, India
e-mail: sugarajsamuel@yahoo.com

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_2
14 T. Vuday Sankar et al.
trolling the amount of heat retained by the atmosphere. The two-atom molecules,
Nitrogen (N2) and oxygen (O2) being the major components of the atmosphere are
too tightly bound to vibrate. Hence, they do not absorb heat and contribute to the
greenhouse effect [2].
2.3 Global Warming
One of the main effects of increased greenhouse gas emissions is global warming.
All greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere as a part of the greenhouse
effect. Actually, without the greenhouse effect, the Earth’s average global tem-
perature would be much colder and life on Earth would not be possible. Increasing
amounts of greenhouse gas emissions were created by humans [3]. This was due to
the growth in human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, new industrial
processes, deforestation and more extensive agriculture. All these caused global
warming including ocean acidification, smog pollution, and ozone depletion.
2.3.1 Causes of Global Warming
Greenhouse gas levels increased drastically over the last few decades with
increasing levels of greenhouse gases being added daily, it is now enhanced to the
point where too much heat is being kept in the Earth’s atmosphere. The heat trapped
(Fig. 2.1) by carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases has increased surface
temperatures by 0.75 °C (1.4 °F) over the last 100 years [4].
Global warming is harming the environment in several ways including [4]:
• Desertification
• Increased melting of snow and ice
• Sea level rise
• Stronger storms and extreme events.
2.3.2 Ocean Acidification
Atmospheric CO2 have increased from approximately 280–387 parts per million
(ppm) from our industrial and agricultural activities. It is expected to continue to
rise further. The ocean has absorbed about one-third of anthropogenic carbon
emissions. This absorption has benefited humankind by significantly reducing
greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, thereby minimizing global warming. But
mean ocean surface water pH decreased by about 0.1 units.
2 Reducing the Impacts of Greenhouse Gases 15
Fig. 2.1 Greenhouse gases trap heat in atmosphere
The CO2 absorbed reacts with the water to form carbonic acid. This gives a
bicarbonate ion and a hydronium ion, thus increasing ocean acidity (H+ ion con-
centration). Thus, as the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises, the
acidification of the ocean also increases [4].
2.3.3 Smog and Ozone Pollution
Over the last century, global background ozone concentrations have become two
times larger due mainly to increases in methane and nitrogen oxides caused by
human emissions. People are sensitive to common air pollutants such as particulates
and ground-level ozone. Air pollution can cause acid rain. It contains the precipi-
tation of harmful amounts of nitric and sulfuric acids. These acids fall to the Earth
either as wet precipitation (rain, snow, or fog) or dry precipitation (gas and par-
ticulates). In the environment, acid rain damages trees and causes soils and water
bodies to acidify, making the water unsuitable for some fish and other wildlife.
Smog can make it difficult for some people to breathe, triggering lung diseases such
as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis [5].
2.3.4 Ozone Layer Depletion
The ozone layer protects life on earth from strong ultraviolet radiation that comes
from the sun. Ultraviolet rays are harmful rays which are likely to cause skin
cancer, cataracts and damage the immune system. Ultraviolet rays are also capable
of destroying single cell organism, terrestrial plant life, and aquatic ecosystems. UV
can also damage sensitive crops, such as soybeans, and reduce crop yields. ozone
layer depletion is specifically by, man-made chemicals like chlorofluorocarbons,
hydrochlorofluorocarbons, and halons. Nitrous oxide also damages the ozone layer
[4, 5].
2.4 Solutions and Recommendations
These greenhouse gases have been known to inflict irreparable damage to the ozone
layer, quality of life, environment, and health. The various strategies (Fig. 2.2)
which can be adopted to combat global warming are by Lightweight nanocomposite
materials—Any effort to reduce emissions in vehicles by reducing their weight, in
turn, decreasing fuel consumption can have an immediate and significant global
impact. It is estimated that a 10% reduction in weight of the vehicle corresponds to
a 10% reduction in fuel consumption, leading to a proportionate fall in emissions.
Further research is continuing worldwide in exploring weight reduction in auto-
mobiles through use of novel materials. For example, use of lighter, stronger, and
stiffer nanocomposite materials is considered to have the potential to significantly
reduce vehicle weight [5].
2.4.1 Nano-Coatings
Nanotechnology coatings are considered to have an immediate effect in reducing

emissions and producing clean energy production. For example, nano-coatings can
Fig. 2.2 Few strategies to reduce greenhouse effect

be applied to aircraft, which can make aircraft’s smoother, reducing drag and also
protect the materials from the special conditions of the environment where they are
used instead of bulk steel. Since equal amount of CO2 is emitted by fuel burned in
aircraft. Hence, by making the airplane lighter amount of CO2 is emitted may be
reduced. Hydrophobic nano-coatings can also improve the energy produced from
solar panels [6].
2.4.2 Nanocatalysts
In a recent research [7], Nanocatalyst were synthesized by biomass which is very

eco friendly. It is also an economic approach for making biofuels by agriculture
waste. Production of biofuel by algae by nanocatalyzed reaction has solved the
problem of greenhouse gas emission. Nanocatalysts are used for converting
methane into carbon and hydrogen. This approach can be used for anaerobic
digestion to produce electricity from biogas fuelled electricity. Enormous research
is being done on conversion of biomass into biofuels by nanocatalyzed reaction.
Major studies is done on application of nanocatalysts for production of biodiesel
and glycerol from vegetable oils or animal fats. This makes production of biodiesel
by vegetable oils or animal fats much easier in comparison to other conventional
methods. Also, this process can be recovered and recycled which are not possible in
conventional methods.
Biomass and biofuels are used for sustainable production of liquid fuels and high
value-added chemicals. Nanostructured photocatalytic solid materials are utilized in
the selective transformation of lignocellulosic biomass to high value-added chem-
icals. Biomass, the most versatile renewable resource, could be turned into a wide
range of chemicals and derivatives by means of photocatalysis [8].
Photocatalytic reforming is a process can be driven by sunlight and performed at
room temperature used for hydrogen production. Producing hydrogen by photo-
catalytic reforming of renewable biomass may also be more practical and viable
than that of photocatalytic water splitting due to its potentially higher efficiency.
Also, the recombination reaction between photogenerated electrons and holes are
relatively of very less efficiency.
Recently, H2 production from the photocatalytic reforming of glucose (a model
compound of cellulose) have also been performed.
Selective photo-oxidation of biomass can provide a wide range of high
value-added chemicals including some of the so-called platform molecules. Platform
molecules are generally compounds with various functionalities that can be turned
into a plethora of chemicals and products through different catalytic transformations
including oxidations, hydrogenations, amidations, and esterifications.
2.4.3 NanoStructured Materials
Nanostructured materials, such as aerogels, a nanoporous superinsulating material

with extremely low density, greatly reduce heat transfer through building elements
and air conditioning heating systems. Silica aerogel is the lightest solid material
with excellent thermal insulating properties, high-temperature stability, very low
dielectric constant, and high surface area [6].
2.4.4 Improved Renewables
Smart Grid and Nanotechnology is one of the solutions for reducing greenhouse
gases. The idea of the Smart Grid is “computerizing” the power grid. The electric
grid is traditionally divided into three stages: generation, transmission, and distri-
bution. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s report [9] reported mechanisms by
which the Smart Grid can reduce energy use and carbon impacts associated with
electricity generation and delivery. There are direct and indirect reduction impacts:
direct reductions are Smart Grid functions that themselves produce savings in
energy and/or emissions consumed or by reducing generation requirements. Indirect
reductions of Smart Grid functions are related to cost savings. Car growth is
enormous worldwide. Hence, to meet the future mobility needs, reduce climate
emissions, and reduce on oil, a more efficient and environmentally friendly alter-
native technology is required. Electric vehicles (EV) have been identified as being
such a technology. Fuelling is done through EV charging. It also provides green-
house gas reductions. Nanotechnologies applied photovoltaics would produce solar
panels with double or triple the output by 2020. Wind turbines are to be improved
to give high-performance through nanomaterials like graphene, a nanoengineered
one-atom thick layer of mineral graphite, that is 100 times stronger than steel [9].
Nanotechnology will enable light and stiff wind blades that spin at lower wind
speeds than regular blades. In battery, nanotechnology could play a major role. For
example, coating the surface of an electrode with nanoparticles increases the surface
area, thereby allowing more current to flow between the electrode and the chemicals
inside the battery [10]. Superior batteries would complement renewables by storing
energy economically.
Enercat, a third generation nanocatalyst developed by Energenics, uses the
oxygen-storing cerium oxide nanoparticles to promote complete fuel combustion,
which helps in reducing fuel consumption. Further reducing friction can lower the
fuel consumption by about 2% results in cutting down CO2 emissions. Tires made
using silica, are capable of attaining the best rating, the green category A. Cars with
category A tires consume approximately 7.5% less fuel than those with tires of the
minimum standard (category G) [9].
Electrical wires using carbon nanotubes that can carry higher loads and transmit
without power losses even over hundreds of kilometers are being investigated. It
would increase the efficiency of generating power where the source is easiest to
harness. Semiconductor devices, transistors, and sensors will benefit from nan-
otechnology especially in size and speed.
Sensors for the Smart Grid to detect issues are being used instead of the con-
ventional chemical sensors for transformers. Energy efficiency is essentially the
growth of energy consumption. It can be considered the most efficient way to
combat climate change and improve the greenhouse effects [6, 9].
2.5 Conclusion
Some of the harmful effects of greenhouse gases in atmosphere are global warming,
climate change, ozone depletion, sea level rise, adverse effects on biodiversity, etc.
A number of human activities process and consumptions produce these greenhouse
gases that are harmful to the environment. Each one-degree rise of temperature of
the world’s ocean is equivalent to 1.4 billion one Megatron atom bomb [11].
However, it is not too late to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions by some
effective ways to reduce emissions. For example, they are to use cleaner fuels, use
energy efficient machines and develop alternative sources of energy and to plant
more trees [12].
Acknowledgements We would like to thank Dr. Karthiyayini for her continuous guidance and
assistance and also Prof. Saha, Director, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus for the undying support.
Special thanks to the mechanical department.
References
1. Wallington TJ, Srinivasan J, Nielsen OJ, Highwood EJ. Greenhouse gases and global
warming. In: Environmental and ecological chemistry, vol I. Encyclopedia of Life Support
Systems (EOLSS)
2. Chapter 2—B2. Greenhouse effect: atmosphere energy absorption. http://www.soest.hawaii.
edu/mguidry/Unnamed_Site_2/Chapter%202/Chapter2B2.html
3. U.S. National Research Council (2010) Advancing the science of climate change. National
Academies Press, Washington, D.C.
4. Science Policy Briefing 37—Impacts of ocean acidification. Aug 2009. http://archives.
esf.org/fileadmin/Public_documents/Publications/SPB37_OceanAcidification.pdf; Effects of
increased greenhouse gas emissions. https://whatsyourimpact.org/effects-increased-green
house-gas-emissions
5. Patrick DL et al, Health & environmental effects of air pollution. http://www.mass.gov/eea/
docs/dep/air/aq/health-and-env-effects-air-pollutions.pdf; Quantifying the effect of nanotech-
nologies on CO2 emissions. Cientifica 2007
6. 7 ways nanotechnology could provide the solutions to combat climate change, Segunda-Feira,
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7. Bharati R, Suresh S (2017) A review on nano-catalyst from waste for production of
biofuel-via-bioenergy. In: Suresh S, Kumar A, Shukla A, Singh R, Krishna C (eds) Biofuels
and Bioenergy (BICE2016). Springer Proceedings in Energy. Springer, Cham; Prakash E,

Nagendran N, Suresh R, Gayathri N, Karthick N (2017) An experimental investigation of
IC-engine using nano material dispersed biodiesel. JCHPS Special Issue 2:259–263. 2 Feb
2017
8. Colmenares JC et al (2009) Nanostructured photocatalysts and their applications in the
photocatalytic transformation of lignocellulosic biomass: an overview. Materials 2:
2228–2258
9. Markovic DS, Branovic I, Popovic R (2015) Smart Grid and nanotechnologies: a solution for
clean and sustainable energy. Energy Emission Control Technol 3:1–13
10. Peter Reinecke P (2013) When energy technology goes on steroids: the nano-energy interface.
Policy Horizons Canada
11. Sharma PD (2008) Global warming, greenhouse gases and their harmful effects—urgent
reduction of these are essential to save our environment. 31 Oct 2008
12. Chan K, Jauristo L (2008) Greenhouse effect. Atmos Chem
Chapter 3
Nanotechnology in the Food Industry—
And the Benefits and Improvements
in Food Processing and Packaging
Brought About by it
H. Kasi Viswanathan, Nikhil Reji Thomas and G. Amaranath
Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the global food system.

Nanotechnologies can play an important role in increasing production and
improving the quality of food. Nanotechnology provides efficiency in food pro-
duction for the growing population. Novel agricultural and food safety systems,
disease-treatment delivery methods, tools for molecular and cellular biology, sen-
sors for pathogen detection, pesticides, packaging materials, environmental pro-
tection, and education of the public and future workforce are examples of the
important impact that nanotechnology could have on the science and engineering of
agriculture and food systems [1].
Then the science of water nanoparticles was recognized, allowing for drug
delivery systems at microscopic levels, even nutrient delivery in the form of cap-
sules allowing for boosted vitality but of course, the insatiable hunger.
Currently, the Agrifood Nanotechnology Industry is the most prominent area of
interest for sustainability in food processing, as the field focuses on working with
Agrifood Nanotech in their R&D developments to define newer ways of intro-
duction into general foodstuffs [2].
3.1 Nanotechnology in Food Industry
The number of food-related Nanoproducts is increasing rapidly, and examples

include [3, 4].
• Nanoparticles of carotenoids that can be dispersed in water, allowing them to be
added to fruit drinks providing improved bioavailability.
H. Kasi Viswanathan N. R. Thomas G. Amaranath (&)

e-mail: amaranath@dubai.bits-pilani.ac.in

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_3
22 H. Kasi Viswanathan et al.
• A synthetic lycopene has been affirmed GRAS (“generally recognized as safe”)

under US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) procedures [5].
• Nanosized micellar systems containing canola oil that are claimed to provide
delivery systems for a range of materials such as vitamins, minerals, or
phytochemicals.
• A wide range of nanoceutical products containing nanocages or nanoclusters
that act as delivery vehicles, e.g., a chocolate drink claimed to be sufficiently
sweet without added sugar or sweeteners [5]. Nanoceuticals are nutrients that
have been manufactured into nanoparticles using nanotechnology.
• Nano-based mineral supplements, e.g., a Chinese nanotea claimed to improve
selenium uptake by one order of magnitude [4].
• Patented “nanodrop” delivery systems, designed to administer encapsulated
materials, such as vitamins, transmucosally, rather than through conventional
delivery systems such as pills, liquids, or capsules.
Montmorrillionite: The chemical nature of these Environmental Nano Pollutants
(ENPs) were generally inorganics or organics, with most notable options being
Bentonite Clay or montmorrillionite, a certain Nanoclay that was obtained from
volcanic ash and was a highly agglomerate packaging molecule. It is used in cat/
dog food and it provides healing for stomach and improves the overall efficiency of
the digestive system. It strengthens both natural and acquired immunity thus sealing
off preventable infections and reducing allergies to foods and drugs. It also elim-
inates heavy metals and other toxins from the body.
Apart from the Nanobiotics area, several technologies are used in the food
industry, Fig. 3.1, today which is focused on the production and packaging of food,
we will now elaborate on the various nanotech-based technologies we use in the
Food Industry [6].
• Precision Farming:
Precision farming is to maximize crop yields while minimizing input like fer-
tilizers, pesticides, herbicides. Localized environmental conditions are moni-
tored using computers, satellite, and remote sensing. Every process of
agriculture like seeding, fertilizer, chemical, and water use are found using
centralized data and precisely identifying the nature and location of problems. It
also reduces agricultural waste thereby decreasing environmental pollution.
Nanosensors are devised to monitor the bacterial contaminant and other unde-
sired targets. Smart sensors with accurate data, will thus help farmers to improve
productivity [7].
• Smart Delivery Systems:
Nanodevices are used to deliver insecticides and pesticides in a controlled
manner to the plants according to the environmental changes monitored by
smart surveillance systems. Nanosystems for the delivery of fertilizers as per the
requirement of the crops are being investigated. Recent investigations in this
field target make the plants utilize water, pesticides, and fertilizers more com-
petently to curtail pollution and endorse environment-friendly agriculture [8].
3 Nanotechnology in the Food Industry … 23
Fig. 3.1 Applications of nanotechnology in food industry
• Interactive food: Interactive food is to modify food to add micronutrients like

vitamins, lycopene and omega 3 fatty acids more efficiently to cells, without
affecting the color or taste of food. Nanotechnologists intend to change the
existing system of food processing and to ensure the safety of food products,
creating a healthy food culture. Quality food is manufactured to ensure that the
body digests and absorbs food [7].
• Packaging and Food Safety:
Nanotechnology wide provide solutions for packaging systems. To preserve
oxygen, carbon dioxide, flavor ingredients as well as, water vapor in the packed
food, Nanoclay polymer composites are used for packing. Bio-nanocomposites
suitable for the use in packaging usually include derivatives of starch and cel-
lulose, poly(butylene succinate), poly(lactic)acid, to prolong the shelf life of
food items [9]. Nanosensors are being developed instantly reveal the toxicity of
food compounds or bacteria.
The following six priority in food sciences were given by Denmark’s Centre for
Advanced Food Studies (LMC), and Danish institutions [9].
24 H. Kasi Viswanathan et al.
➢ basic understanding of food and animal feed for intelligent innovation

➢ systems biology in food research
➢ biological renewal in the food sector/biological production
➢ technology development
➢ nutrigenomics
➢ consumer needs-driven innovation and food communication.
They also produce nanosensors and nanofluidic technology with functional prop-
erties. Further to develop intelligent packaging materials, making it possible to
monitor the condition of products during transportation or in display counters, and
bio-based packaging techniques [1].
3.1.1 Nanotechnology in Agriculture
Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize in agricultural for increased

worldwide food production. Nanotechnology provided solution for (a) increase
productivity, (b) improve quality of soil, (c) to stimulate plant growth, and
(d) nanosensors for smart monitoring, to improve agriculture [8]. All these could be
achieved by precision agriculture. Farmers should readily adopt modern tech-
nologies for increased yield. New techniques should be implemented for discovery
and control of diseases in plants. Soil fertility is essential for food crop. Hence,
fertilizers for natural soil fertility with required nutrients is essential for food pro-
duction. Further, the soil conditions like fertility, soil moisture changes due to
climatic conditions and contaminants must be meticulously monitored using
nanosensors. These sensors may also be used to measure the amount of water used
or required. To maintain high water content in the plant tissues, water coolers in the
form of nanocapsules are provided to plants for absorption. This also helps them to
tolerate temperature stress. Development of nanoscale water reservoirs that can
conserve rainwater in the soil for plant use in times of need, that is, under drought
conditions as in desert areas are required. Thus, nanosensors should be used for
controlled release of encapsulated pesticides, fertilizers, water requirement, etc., in
food crop production. Recent investigations were focused on plants to utilize water,
pesticides, and fertilizers more competently for reduced pollution and ensure
environment-friendly agriculture.
3.2 Conclusion
Nanotechnology is a very strong tool to enhance and improvise all the aspects
involved in creating, testing, and producing the best quality foods with utmost
flexibility [10]. Promising results and applications have already been developed in
the areas of food packaging and food safety. The incorporation of nanomaterials
3 Nanotechnology in the Food Industry … 25
into food packaging will improve the barrier properties of packaging materials and
should thereby help to reduce the use of valuable raw materials and the generation
of waste, and the development of Nanosensors to detect microorganisms and
contaminants is a particularly promising application of food nanotechnology.
Research in nanotechnology has extremely high potential to benefit society through
applications in agricultural and food systems. All these measures will lead to a
significant agricultural production at low cost and will further reduce agricultural
waste and environmental pollution. Food and Cosmetic Companies are working
together to develop new mechanisms to deliver vitamins directly to the skin. As
public awareness increases, so will interest in the understanding of nanotechnology
and new applications in all the domains will be found. It is very critical to inform
the public about the advantages and challenges of nanotechnology.
Acknowledgements First, we would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Prof. R. N. Saha,

Director, BITS Pilani, Dubai Campus, who has given us an opportunity to apply and understand
our engineering concepts in a practical atmosphere. We are grateful to Dr. Karthiyayini, for
assisting us by providing the required information about the Project.
References
1. Mousavi SR, Rezaei M (2011) Nanotechnology in agriculture and food production. J Appl
Environ Biol Sci 1(10):414–419
2. Boye JI, Arcand Y (2013) Current trends in green technologies in food production and
processing. Food Eng Rev 5(1):1–17
3. Samantarai SK, Achakzai AKK (2014) Application of nanotechnology in agriculture and food
production: opportunity and challenges. Middle-East J Sci Res 22(4):499–501
4. Nanotechnology and food. IUFoST Scientific Information Bulletin, Aug 2010 Update
5. Ravichandran R (2010) Nanotechnology applications in food and food processing: innovative
green approaches, opportunities and uncertainties for global market. Int J Green Nanotechnol
Phys Chem 1:P72–P96
6. Montmorillonite clay—an amazing gift from the Earth by Dr. Al Plechner, DVM
7. Abd-Elrahman SH, Mostafa MAM (2015) Applications of nanotechnology in agriculture: an
overview. Egypt J Soil Sci 55(2):197–214; Dunn J (2004) A mini revolution. Food Manuf, 1
Sep 2004. http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/472/A_mini_revolution.
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release, 01-09-2005, www.lmc.dk
10. Singh PK, Jairath G, Ahlawat SS (2016) Nanotechnology: a future tool to improve quality and
safety in meat industry. J Food Sci Technol 53(4):1739–1749
Chapter 4
Nanotechnology for Sustainable Raw
Mineral Extraction and Use
Kritin Chugh, Ashish Kapur and Kavita Jerath
4.1 Introduction
In 2000, the nanotechnology research agenda was primarily focused on the dis-
covery, characterization, and modeling of nanoscale material and phenomenon. As
nanotechnology continues to advance, the agenda is increasingly focused on
addressing key questions related to sustainability over the next 10 years.
• How can nanotechnology help address the challenges of improving global
sustainability?
• Can nanotechnology for raw mineral extraction be developed in a sustainable
manner?
The application of nanotechnology to mineral discovery, mining, extraction, and
processing has thus far received little attention. Most of the current research
activities regarding nanotechnology are focused on bacteria-mediated synthesis of
nanoparticle and environmental impact of engineered nanomaterials.
In recent years, nanoscale supramolecular hosts that can serve as high capacity
selective and recyclable ligands and sorbents are being used for extracting valuable
metal ions and rare earth elements from solutions and mixtures.
4.2 Background
Evolution of a new branch of science known as nanoscience has completely

replaced the previous technologies due to the following reasons:
K. Chugh A. Kapur K. Jerath (&)

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, India
e-mail: kavita@dubai.bits-pilani.ac.in

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_4
28 K. Chugh et al.
(i) Nanomaterials completely mineralize most of the organics and are

inexpensive
(ii) Nanoparticles can be used in many areas such as food, agriculture, medicine,
etc.
(iii) Engineered nanoparticles are less toxic, noncorrosive, and stable chemically
and thermally.
(iv) In mineral extraction, they can be used to extract minerals from rocks, water
bodies, asteroids, etc.
Over the last 10 years, nanotechnology has advanced in the field of mineral ex-
traction. The nanoparticles used for mineral extraction are engineered in a way that
provides greener extraction of minerals. Also, a greener synthesis of these
nanoparticles is desired. Various techniques are employed to extract minerals such
as adsorption, filtration, detection of minerals passing of UV light, etc. A variety of
raw minerals can be extracted ranging from metal ions to rare earth elements.
4.3 Mineral Extraction
Rising prices for raw materials and energy, coupled with the increasing awareness
of consumers, are responsible for a flood of products on the market that promise
certain advantages for mineral extraction. Nanomaterials exhibit special physical
and chemical properties that make them interesting for novel, environmentally
friendly products. Also, it plays an important role in developing smart materials that
can simultaneously sense and destroy harmful chemical contaminants that can harm
the environment.
4.3.1 “Nanotechnology Gold Rush”—New Nontoxic

Method for Extracting Gold
This green method extracts gold from crude sources and leaves behind other metals
that are often found mixed together with the crude gold. The new process also can
be used to extract gold from consumer electronic waste. Current methods for gold
recovery involve the use of highly poisonous cyanides, often leading to contami-
nation of the environment. Nearly all gold-mining companies use this toxic gold
(Au) leaching process to sequester the precious metal.
Two test tubes were taken containing aqueous solutions—one is the starch-
derived alpha-cyclodextrin, the other is a dissolved gold salt (called aurate)—and
mixed them together in a beaker at room temperature. The needles, composed of
straw-like bundles of supramolecular wires, emerged from the mixed solutions in
less than a minute.
4 Nanotechnology for Sustainable Raw … 29
Fig. 4.1 Different complexes of KAuBr4 and KAuCl4
Six different complexes were screened—cyclodextrins composed of rings of six

(alpha), seven (beta) and eight (gamma) glucose units, each combined with aqueous
solutions of potassium tetrabromoaurate (KAuBr4) or potassium tetrachloroaurate
(KAuCl4) [1]. It is found that it was a cyclic starch fragment composed of six
glucose units that isolates gold best of all (Fig. 4.1).
Alpha-cyclodextrin is best for isolating gold from anything in a green way.
Alkali metal salt waste from this new method is relatively environmentally benign,
while waste from conventional methods includes toxic cyanide salts and gases. The
Northwestern procedure is also more efficient than current commercial processes.
Fig. 4.2 Isolation of gold by Alpha-KAuBr4

30 K. Chugh et al.
The supramolecular nanowires, each 1.3 nm in diameter, assemble spontaneously

in a straw-like manner. In each wire, the gold ion is held together in the middle of
four bromine atoms, while the potassium ion is surrounded by six water molecules;
these ions are sandwiched in an alternating fashion by alpha-cyclodextrin rings.
Around 4000 wires are bundled parallel to each other and form individual needles
that are visible under an electron microscope [2].
4.3.2 The Uranium Extraction Process
Uranium, which naturally occurs in seawater and in the Earth’s crust, is the fuel for
nuclear power. For decades, scientists have sought a more economical and efficient
way to remove it from the ocean, as the terrestrial supply is dwindling and envi-
ronmentally unfriendly to mine. Mining uranium from land is a very dirty,
energy-intensive process, with a lot of hazardous waste produced. If we eliminate
land mining by mining from the ocean, we not only clean up the ocean but also
eliminate all of the environmental problems with terrestrial mining.
To develop an adsorbent, biodegradable material made from the compound
chitin, which is found in shrimp shells and in other crustaceans and insects is used [3].
The researchers have developed transparent sheets, or mats, comprised of tiny chitin
fibers, modified for the task. When suspended beneath the ocean’s surface, the mats
are designed to withdraw uranium.
4.3.2.1 Ultrafiltration of Uranium
Hybrid membranes are used in many applications. A noteworthy application is on

separations of ultratrace elements from water. It is reported [4], activated carbon
particles (AC) have been added to cellulose triacetate (CTA) in order to produce the
composite, activated carbon cellulose triacetate membranes (AC-CTA), which is a
low-cost material that improves physical (mechanical, optical, electrical, and thermal)
properties. Particle addition changes the characteristics of the membrane due to the
electrostatic interaction between the polymer and the particle surface. Uranium ad-
sorption by activated carbon has been studied by a number of authors. Hence, this
process for uranium removal is desired. It was found that the adsorption of uranium
from 1200 ppm solution saturates the AC. In the SEM-EDX analysis, AC samples
provided by the adsorption of 120 and 1200 ppm uranium solution showed the
presence of C, O, S, Al, Fe, Si, K, Ca, and U. Some of these elements (Al, Si, K, and
Ca) could come from carbon ash. Uranyl removal was 35 ± 7%. Chemical speci-
ation indicates the presence of (UO2)2CO3(OH)−3 , UO2CO3, UO2(CO3)2− 2 , and
Fe2O3(s) as main compounds in the dissolution, suggesting co-adsorption of uranium

and iron by the AC during filtration, as the leading rejection path. Up to 35% of
uranium from low concentrated solutions was rejected by ultrafiltration [4].
4.3.3 Extraction of Chromium, Copper, and Nickel
Maghemite (c-Fe2O3) nanoparticle (Fig. 4.2) synthesized by sol-gel method and

applied for the selective removal and recovery of heavy metals from industrial
wastewater [5]. It is found that maghemite nanoparticle is an effective and inex-
pensive option for the removal of heavy metals like Cr(VI), Cu(II), and Ni(II), by
considering its simple synthesizing method, high surface area, and magnetic
properties.
The removal efficiency for the metals was highly pH dependent. The percentage
of uptake of Cr(VI) decreased gradually with an increase in pH, whereas the per-
centage of removal of Cu(II) and Ni(II) increased with an increase in pH. The
adsorption of heavy metals reached equilibrium rapidly within 10 min.
It is also found that successive adsorption–desorption processes did not affect the
metal removal capacity. Mechanism studies using TEM, XRD, and X-ray photo-
electron spectroscopy suggested that the adsorption of Cr(VI) and Cu(II) could be
due to electrostatic attraction and ion exchange, and the adsorption of Ni(II) could
be as a result of electrostatic attraction only.
4.3.3.1 Extraction of Chromium Using MnFe2O4
The surface-modified MnFe2O4 nanoparticles were synthesized, as adsorbents of Cr

(VI). This nanoparticle adsorption is combined with magnetic separation as a new
method for the removal and recovery of Cr(VI) from wastewater [6]. It was not only
found to be an efficient adsorbent but also the fast removal of Cr(VI) from aqueous
solutions. The equilibrium time for Cr(VI) adsorption onto modified MnFe2O4
nanoparticles was as short as 5 min. The maximum uptake of 31.5 mg of Cr(VI)/g
of modified MnFe2O4 was obtained at pH 2, which was comparable with other
common adsorbents such as activated carbon and sawdust. Furthermore, the
recovery of these materials in a highly concentrated material form is also possible.
Thus, there is no separation difficulties associated with this adsorption-based
treatment technique although this technique is of high performance, high capacity,
and low space requirements.
The mechanisms leading to Cr(VI) adsorption by modified MnFe2O4 nanopar-
ticles were determined by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
to be a combination of electrostatic interaction and ion exchange. It was also found
that the modified MnFe2O4 nanoparticles are reused with no loss of sacrificing
adsorption capacity and the possible recycling of Cr(VI) without changing the
valence.
32 K. Chugh et al.
4.3.4 Separation of Europium and Yttrium
Europium (Eu) and yttrium (Y) are two rare earth metals widely used in sustainable
technology. Besides the difficulty in mining and a limited supply of this element,
they are mostly recycled. Most commonly, they are recycled from red lamp
phosphor, a powder that is used in fluorescent lamps such as neon tubes. The two
rare earth elements are then separated which is a complicated process. Even in a
high purity of these elements, there will still be traces of yttrium in the
europium-containing liquid and vice versa.
However, europium is recovered from the liquid mixture with UV light instead
of a solvent. Photochemical reduction of europium occurs when a mixture con-
taining trivalent europium ions is illuminated. During this process, an electron from
the ligand is transferred to the europium ion and Eu(III) is reduced to Eu(II). The
reduced species has to be removed from the solution in order to avoid photo-
chemical reoxidation or reactions with the hydroxyl radicals. By adding sulfate as a
precipitating agent, europium(II) sulfate is formed, which has a solubility, much
lower than europium(III) sulfate. Thus only EuSO4, the reduced species can easily
be filtered, while the yttrium remains in the solution [7]. Less than 2% of yttrium
removal was observed in all samples, and redissolution of the precipitates indicates
a europium purity of 98.5%.
4.3.5 Extraction of Precious Metals Using MNP-Tu
Thiourea modified magnetic magnetite nanoparticles (MNP-Tu) are an effective

nanoadsorbent with selective adsorption of gold(III), palladium(II), and platinum
(IV) in acid aqueous solution. The adsorption of precious metals takes place in a
short 30 min contact time. The highest adsorption efficiency of Pt(IV), Au(III), and
Pd(II) by MNP-Tu was about 94%, 99%, and 98%, respectively at pH 2 under
equilibrium conditions. The magnetic separation makes MNP-Tu readily to be
operated and minimizes the production of the secondary waste caused by the
nanoparticles themselves [8]. The Au(III) desorption efficiency reached to nearly
100% when the mixture contained 0.7 M thiourea and 2% HCl. It was found that
the MNP-Tu retained the original adsorption capacity of precious metals even after
seven consecutive adsorption–desorption cycles.
4.3.6 Sensor-Based Mineral Extraction
The minerals are extracted by using sensor-based methods and systems [9]. The
ore-bearing rock while being transported on a conveyor belt may be determined by
a high-frequency electromagnetic sensor and diverted accordingly to the waste pile
or the process queue. Sensor types include electromagnetic, laser breakdown, X-ray
fluorescence, gamma, and other sensor types used in the sorting of materials or
mineral ores. One or more high-frequency electromagnetic spectrometers (HFEMS)
may also be used. Reports relating to the minerals, such as the content or quality of
the mineral ore, can be generated in a few milliseconds by these sensors. The
mineral ores are then classified into the lower grade and higher grade streams. Then
the streams are sorted. Valuable material above the cutoff is accepted and passed to
the final product stream.
Thus, a system for extracting materials may include a primary sensing and
diversion mechanism, feed preparation system, higher grade sorter systems, lower
grade sorter systems, waste handling system, and product handling system.
4.4 Conclusion
The application of nanotechnology to mineral discovery, mining, extraction, and

processing has thus far received little attention. However, it is shown in this chapter
that nanotechnology is playing a vital role in mineral extraction. According to
Brundtland’s Commission, “sustainable development is that which meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
own needs” [10, 11]. Nanotechnology or green technology is essential for economic
and efficient extraction and processing of valuable minerals and elements from ores.
Acknowledgements This research was supported/partially supported by Dr. Karthiyayini. We are

thankful to our colleagues who provided expertise that greatly assisted the research.
References
1. Ayre J (2013) Turning gold ‘green’—non-toxic method for mining gold developed, clean
technica. https://cleantechnica.com/2013/05/15/turning-gold-green-non-toxic-method-for-
mining-gold-developed/
2. Liu Z, Frasconi M, Lei J, Brown ZJ, Zhu Z, Cao D, Iehl J, Liu G, Fahrenbach AC, Botros YY,
Farha OK, Hupp JT, Mirkin CA, Stoddar JF (2013) Selective isolation of gold facilitated by
second-sphere coordination with a-cyclodextrin. Nat commun 4:1855
3. Shrimp, 30,000 Volts Help UA Start-up Land $1.5 million for uranium extraction (2014),
University of Alabama News, www.ua.edu/news/2014/07/shrimp-30000-volts-help-ua-start-
up-land-1–5-million-for-uranium-extraction
4. Villalobos-Rodríguez R, Montero-Cabrera ME, Esparza-Ponce HE, Herrera-Peraza
EF, Ballinas-Casarrubias ML (2012) Uranium removal from water using cellulose triacetate
membranes added with activated carbon. Appl Radiat Isot 70(5):872–881
5. Hu J, Chen G, Lo IM (2006) Selective removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater
using maghemite nanoparticle: performance and mechanisms. J Environ Eng 132:709–715
6. Hu J, Lo IM, Chen G (2005) Fast removal and recovery of Cr(VI) using surface-modified
jacobsite (MnFe2O4) nanoparticles. Langmuir 21(24):11173–11179
34 K. Chugh et al.
7. Van den Bogaert B et al (2015) Photochemical recycling of europium from Eu/Y mixtures in
red lamp phosphor waste streams. Green Chem 17:2180–2187
8. Lin TL, Lien HL (2013) Effective and selective recovery of precious metals by thiourea
modified magnetic nanoparticles. Int J Mol Sci 14(5):9834–9847
9. Bamber AS, Houlahan DJ Extracting mined ore, minerals or other materials using
sensor-based sorting. United States Patent Publication Jan. 31, 2013 Sheet 7 0f 12 US
2013/0026263 A1
10. Diallo MS, Brinker JC (2011) Nanotechnology for sustainability: environment, water, food,
minerals and climate. In: Roco MC, Mirkin C, Hersham M (eds) Nanotechnology research
directions for societal needs in 2020: retrospective and outlook. Springer, Science Policy
Reports, pp 221–259
11. Diallo M, Brinker CJ (with contributions from: André Nel, Mark Shannon, Nora Savage,
Norman Scott, James Murday) (2011) Nanotechnology for sustainability: environment, water,
food, minerals, and climate. Nanotechnology Research Directions for Societal Needs in 2020,
Volume 1 of the series, Science Policy Reports. pp 221–259
Chapter 5
Nanotechnology in Energy Harvesting
R. Sugaraj Samuel, Shabeeb Razak, K. Venkatesh Prabhu,

Mohammed Shaheem and Kavita Jerath
5.1 Introduction
Saving energy is literally nothing less than making energy. We all can notice that
our present world had changed compared to ancient days. According to
International Energy Statistics, worldwide consumption of energy was up to
524.076 1015 Joules in the year 2012; however, only 537.266 1015 Joules
were produced worldwide [1]. There is a difference of 13.19 1015 Joules, which
means a lot of energy is lost in many ways such as friction, sound, heat, vibration,
etc.
5.1.1 Review on Existing Technologies and Techniques
Energy harvesting is nothing but process by which the energy is extracted from the
surrounding ambient sources like kinetic energy, wind energy, solar energy, etc.,
and we can store the extracted energy in many ways: few of the most common ways
are to store it in a capacitor or rechargeable battery to give electrical energy for
external application/devices like wireless network sensors and other small electrical
devices.
S. Razak K. Venkatesh Prabhu M. Shaheem K. Jerath


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_5
36 R. Sugaraj Samuel et al.
5.1.1.1 Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting
Piezoelectric harvesting chips or circuits can produce power as a result of

mechanical strain. There are several studies taking place in this field of piezoelectric
energy harvesting which deals with extracting energy from human body movement
for embedded gadgets and wearable hardware like phone, bags, pouch, MP3
players, etc., so that these devices can be charged just with our body motion such
as walking, sitting, etc., which are our common regular motion of our day to day
life [2].
Piezoelectric materials list:
• Quartz SiO2,
• Berlinite AlPO4,
• Gallium orthophosphate GaPO4,
• Tourmaline,
• Ceramics, and
• Barium titanate BaTiO3.
5.1.1.2 Electromagnetic Energy Harvesting
Electromagnetic induction is the basic operating principle for electromagnetic

generators; it is also known as Faraday’s law that, if an electric conductor is moved
in a magnetic field, electric current will be induced in the transmitter. Induced
voltage can be increased by adding up more number of turns in the coil or simply
by increasing the permanent magnetic field.
Various scientists have examined vitality of ideas for gathering energy from
systems utilizing this principle. Tesla Motors, an American automaker company,
was the first to introduce electromagnetic induction motors as a substitute for
motors using permanent earth magnets [3].
Selected materials:
Iron (99.95% pure Fe annealed in H),
Cobalt-iron (high permeability strip material),
Electrical steel, and
Ferrite (nickel zinc, manganese zinc).
5.1.1.3 Electrostatic Energy Harvesting
Electrostatic converters mostly look like a capacitive structure which consists of

two plates and a dielectric material, such as air, vacuum, etc., separating the two
plates (Fig. 5.1a) [4]. Due to vibration or relative motion between the two plates, it
creates a capacitance difference along with the electric charges (Fig. 5.1b).
5 Nanotechnology in Energy Harvesting 37
Fig. 5.1 a Piezoelectric energy harvesting beam and b MEMS varactors c in an energy harvesting
circuit [4]
Electrostaticconverters utilize conversion cycle made of charging and dis-

chargingof the capacitor and not an electret
Electrostatic converters convert mechanical power into electricity using electrets.
The well-known electrets:
• Teflon (PTFE/FEP/PFA) and Teflon AF,
• SiO2-based electrets (thermal oxidization of silicon wafers (+ LPCVD Si3N4)),
• CYTOP, and
• Parylene (C/HT).
5.1.1.4 Magnetostructive Energy Harvesting
Ferromagnetic materials like Terfenol-D, Galfenol, or pure elements like cobalt

exhibit a property known as magnetostruction. It is the conversion of magnetic
energy into kinetic energy by changing the shape or dimensions of the substances
during magnetization. In a magnetic material, due to the alignment of magnetic
moment in one direction, a magnetic domain is created. The switching of magnetic
domains causing the domains to rotate is the reason for magnetostruction.
Magnetostructive devices are used in monitoring railroad suspension.
Terfenol-D [5] is the widely used material. The three applications: (a) static load
sensor, (b) vibrational sensor, and (c) energy harvesting device are the examples
where Terfenol-D is used. This device is fixed to the corner of the machine. The
rake and pinion which is in the device converts the horizontal or vertical vibration
to rotator motion [6]. Bearing clutch is provided to rectify the up-down vibrational
motion of the railway track (Fig. 5.2). A gearbox is provided to amplify the rota-
tional motion obtained from gear and pinion. This amplified rotation is directly
supplied to dc generator.
Fig. 5.2 Vibration energy harvesting techniques [6]
5.1.1.5 Thermal Energy Harvesting
The thermoelectric effect is a phenomenon by which a temperature difference is

directly converted to electric voltage and vice versa, which results consequently in
charge flow. Energy carriers diffuse from higher concentration to lower concen-
tration regions. This thermal gradient is directly converted into electrical energy.
Thermophile is a device which converts heat into electricity. One commonly
used application of thermal energy harvesting is the automotive thermal generator
(ATG) which converts waste heat from internal combustion engines to electricity.
5.2 Different Approach
Nanotechnology plays an irreplaceable role in automobile industry. There is a

step-by-step progression in the study and development in how energy can be
harvested from automobiles. The main advantage is they promise the reduction in
fuel consumption with an improvement in engine efficiency. In addition, they
enable the cars to have less emission, thus causing very less impact on the envi-
ronment as compared to hydrogen and fuel-cell powered cars.
Fig. 5.3 Charging while in motion [9]
5.2.1 Energy Harvesting from Speed Breakers
Generating electricity from speed breakers is completely new idea which is

undergoing a lot of research worldwide. It is to save electrical energy and use it for
useful work. The main concept is to save nonrenewable energy from the vehicles on
the roads. All the moving vehicles possess kinetic energy, and this device converts
this kinetic energy to mechanical energy which is transferred to the generators.
When there is a large number of vehicles moving on the road, a large amount of
kinetic energy is lost, and this device helps in converting this waste kinetic energy
to rotational motion to the roller; a considerable amount of energy can be generated,
Fig. 5.3.
A roller is fixed between speed breakers. When a vehicle passes over the speed
breaker, the kinetic energy of the vehicle was transferred to the roller. This rota-
tional motion of the roller is supplied to the dc generator by means of chain gear
system with a speed ratio of 1:5, that is, one rotation to the roller is equivalent to
five rotation of the generator gear, and thus, the electricity is generated by the
rotation of the shaft by the gear. This electric current is stored in a rechargeable
battery which can be used for any other purpose like supplying energy for street-
lights, etc. [7].
5.2.2 Solar Roadways
The solar roadways generate clean renewable energy on roadways and any other
surface that can be walked or driven upon. All surfaces like walking or bicycle-
driven paths, plazas, playgrounds, pool surrounds, park and garden pathways, etc.
The idea is to replace all concrete and asphalt surfaces including roads and
streets with solar road panels. The sunlight that falls on these solar panels will
generate electricity. This electricity produced can be transferred and stored. The
highways alone will be able to produce the required electricity for powering the
streetlights and also be able to produce a remarkable amount of electricity for
surrounding commodities. Moreover, these roads can be heated to allow for the
clearing of snow and are equipped with integrated LED screens, which act not only
as street markings but can also display traffic and safety warnings directly on the
road [8].
5.2.3 Wireless Charging of Electric Vehicles
The solar roads will be engineered to contain a coiled electric supply which will be
capable of interacting with the coil in the car and subsequently charge the car while
in the move over that particular section of the road, without the necessity of
stopping the vehicle anywhere.
The electric supply for the coils will be accumulated by the proposed solar
roadways model and will be completely environment friendly. The proper imple-
mentation of this proposal will be possible only when all the vehicles are electric
powered, and there will be zero emissions from the transportation sector. This will
lead to a sustainable future by the use of renewable source of energy [9].
5.3 Conclusion
Energy plays a vital role in sustaining the growth of the industry as well as the
standard of living of a country, and it can be directly related to the per capita energy
consumption. As discussed earlier, it is feared that the conventional sources of
energies will deplete faster than we think as the consumption is increasing year by
year.
By the turn of the century, mankind will have to depend on nonconventional
sources for the generation of power, and these nonconventional methods involve
sources like solar energy, biogas, and wind energy. Here is where nanotechnology
acts as a savior. Better nanomaterials have been improving the efficiency of pho-
tovoltaic cells and production of cheaper simpler fuel cells. Electricity in fuel cells
from hydrogen has been made more efficient due to better catalysts.
Energy production from carbon was a tough challenge. Apart from energy
production, there were other transportation, storage, and transformational problems
faced. Nanoparticles with unique abilities have been already giving their contri-
butions with unprecedented control over size, structure, and organization.
Electricity can be generated without the need of any external sources by the use of
speed breakers. Although there are many other nonconventional methods present
for the production of electricity, this project is one step to the path of exploring the
possibilities of energy from many other nonconventional energy sources.
Acknowledgements We would like to express our gratitude to Prof. Dr. R.N. Saha,
Director BITS Pilani Campus who gave us the opportunity to apply the knowledge acquired at
college and gain further practical knowledge.
Our sincere heartfelt gratitude to Prof. Dr. Karthiyayini S., our project supervisor who helped us
at each step during the execution of the project. She guided and mentored throughout to ensure we
were able to complete our project within the specified time frame.
References
1. Koppelaar R (2012) World energy consumption—beyond 500 exajoules. The Oil Drum.
(16 Feb 2012)
2. Mitcheson et al (2008) Energy harvesting from human and machine motion for wireless
devices. Proceedings of the IEEE 96(9):1457
3. El Rayes K (2013) Vibrations based energy harvesting. VLSI Egypt Magazine. Published on 3
Dec 2013
4. Torres EO, Rincon-Mora GA (2005) Design How-To Energy-harvesting chips and the quest
for everlasting life. IEEE Georgia Tech Analog and Power IC Design Lab. 30 June 2005
5. Mech R, Kaleta J, Lewandowski D, Wiewiórski P (2014) Energy harvester based on
Terfenol-D for low power devices, Interdisc J Eng Sci 2(1):8–12. http://ijes.pwr.wroc.pl
6. Ali Ansar P (2016) Rolling mechanism based piezoelectric vibration energy harvester,
Education, 26 Aug 2016
7. Ajmal I, Ch’ng LK, Weng Tan, K (2014) Simulation of energy harnessing from speed-breakers
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Res J Sci Eng. Technol. (IARJSET) 2(1):161–163
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EV Talk, 29 July 2016
Chapter 6
Nanotechnology to Overcome Challenges
in Sustainable Manufacturing
Shyam Krishna and Kavita Jerath
Achieving sustainability encompasses many challenges for manufacturers around

the globe. Emerging nanotechnologies promise potential solutions to these
challenges.
Nanotechnologies are not tied exclusively to renewable energy technologies.
While researchers are exploring ways in which nanotechnology could help us to
develop energy sources, they also develop techniques to access and use fossil fuels
much more efficiently. Corrosion-resistant nanocoatings, nanostructured catalysts,
and nanomembranes have been used in the extraction and processing of fossil fuels
and in nuclear power [1]. There is no silver bullet—nanotechnology applications
for energy are extremely varied, reflecting the complexity of the energy sector, with
a number of different markets along its value chain, including energy generation,
transformation, distribution, storage, and usage. Nanotechnology has the potential
to have a positive impact on all of these—albeit with varying effects.
Examples
Nanomaterials could lead to energy savings through weight reduction or through
optimized function:
• In the future, novel, nanotechnologically optimized materials, for example,
plastics or metals with carbon nanotubes (CNTs), will make airplanes and
vehicles lighter, and therefore help reduce fuel consumption [2];
• Novel lighting materials (OLED: organic light-emitting diodes) with nanoscale
layers of plastic and organic pigments are being developed; their conversion rate
from energy to light can apparently reach 50% (compared with traditional light
bulbs = 5%) [3];
S. Krishna K. Jerath (&)


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_6
44 S. Krishna and K. Jerath
• Nanoscale carbon black has been added to modern automobile tires for some
time now to reinforce the material and reduce rolling resistance, which leads to
fuel savings of up to 10% [4];
• Self-cleaning or “easy-to-clean” coatings, for example, on glass, can help save
energy and water in facility cleaning because such surfaces are easier to clean or
need not be cleaned so often [5];
• Nanotribological wear protection products as fuel or motor oil additives could
reduce fuel consumption of vehicles and extend engine life [4];
• Nanoparticles as flow agents allow plastics to be melted and cast at lower
temperatures [4]; and
• Nanoporous insulating materials in the construction business can help reduce the
energy needed to heat and cool buildings [6].
To proceed further, we need to understand what sustainable manufacturing actually
implies. Sustainable manufacturing is the formation of manufactured items through
monetarily stable procedures that limit negative ecological effects while moderating
vitality and natural resources. Sustainable manufacturing also enhances employee,
community, and product safety.
Sustainable development seeks to optimize efficiency while minimizing envi-
ronmental impact and maintaining social equity. These are considered to be the
three pillars of sustainable development.
How could nanotechnology serve the manufacturing industry in becoming more
sustainable?
There are two ways to look at nanotechnology and sustainability, Fig. 6.1. First,
Manufacturers could use nanotechnology to develop products that optimize
resource usage. For instance, nanotechnology is leading to the development of
light-emitting diodes (LEDs), which have high efficiencies in energy consumption
while in operation. Computer batteries could be developed to last longer, thus
utilizing less energy while improving computer performance. Power transmission
systems could be improved to decrease the energy lost during transmission. [7]
Nanotechnology is leading to the development of high-efficiency fuel cells, which
may decrease dependence on fossil fuels. Second, manufacturers could use nan-
otechnology to green their practices. One approach is to install nanotechnology-
based solar panels. With this practice, the footprint of products is reduced since the
input energy has less environmental impact than their fossil fuel counterpart. For
example, since 81% of the energy used in the life cycle of a desktop computer is
attributable to materials processing, a greener energy source would reduce the
environmental footprint of a computer. Other approaches include using LEDs
instead of incandescent bulbs and using bottom-up manufacturing to minimize
material waste [8].
One example is the current and growing use of engineered nanomaterials for
self-cleaning glass in the urban environment. Such glass, used, for example, on the
6 Nanotechnology to Overcome Challenges in Sustainable … 45
Fig. 6.1 Role of nanotechnology in manufacturing industry
roof structure of St Pancras Station in London, is covered by a catalyst such as

titanium dioxide (TiO2) which breaks down dirt particles that can then be washed
away when it rains. Self-cleaning glass can reduce the use of water and energy
otherwise used in cleaning. On the other hand, there are concerns that the oxi-
dization of organic pollutants into acids generates carbon dioxide (CO2)—a
greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming. These emissions might not be
significant, yet a full life cycle approach would need to account for a broader
spectrum of impacts, starting from the environmental and social impacts of titanium
mining practices in developing countries and concluding with the environmental
consequences of the by-products of the intended reactions [9].
An approach is needed that makes the systemic, the complex, and incalculable at
least somewhat more tractable.
6.1 Challenges
6.1.1 Environmental Footprint of Manufacturing Industry
Industrial manufacturing has a heavy environmental footprint. First, it requires a

significant amount of materials, energy, and water. Second, it generates a lot of
wastes (gaseous, liquid, and solid) and toxic by-products that need to be disposed of
or converted into harmless products. Thus, many industries spend a significant
amount of financial and human resources in waste treatment and environmental
remediation. Green manufacturing encompasses a broad range of approaches that
are being used to:
• Design and synthesize environmentally benign chemical compounds and pro-
cesses (green chemistry) and
• Develop and commercialize environmentally benign industrial processes and
products (green engineering).
Nanotechnology is emerging as an enabling platform for green manufacturing in the
semiconductor, chemical, petrochemical, materials processing, pharmaceutical, and
many other industries [10].
6.1.1.1 Possible Solution
The Semiconductor Research Corporation, through the Engineering Research

Center for Environmentally Benign Semiconductor Manufacturing at the University
of Arizona, is exploring the use of nanotechnology to reduce the environmental
footprint of the semiconductor industry [11]. This includes the development of new
methods for layering microchips with nanofilms (e.g., selective deposition). Carbon
nanotubes and nanoclays also are being evaluated as flame-retardant additives for
polymeric materials. The hope is that these nanoparticles can someday replace toxic
brominated fire-retardant additives [12]. Fe-based nanocatalysts are providing new
opportunities to synthesize valuable chemicals with high yield (*90%) and reduce
waste generation. Zeng and colleagues (2010) have developed recyclable Fe3O4
magnetic nanoparticles that can catalyze the coupling of aldehydes, alkynes, and
amines to produce bioactive intermediates such as propargylamines. They were able
to recover the Fe3O4 nanocatalysts by magnetic separation and reuse them 12 times
without activation [13].
6.1.2 Cost of Manufacturing
For an item to be manufactured, the cost of manufacturing plays a key role as it

determines if the company is going to go ahead with mass production of that item or
not. The cost of individual components as well as the cost of the process of
combining the components (cost of production) to manufacture the final good adds
up to the cost of manufacturing. Many industries spend a lot of their resources in
research and development to reduce this cost, and nanotechnology can play a vital
role in reducing this cost and making manufacturing of goods more cost-effective
and sustainable.
One such example of nanotechnology reducing the cost of production can be
seen in the aerospace industry. Lighter materials will make air and space travel
more economical. Today, most airplanes are made from metal despite the fact that
diamond has a strength-to-weight ratio over 50 times that of aerospace aluminum.
Diamond is expensive and it is not reflective enough to take into any shapes.
Nanotechnology will let us inexpensively make shatterproof diamond (with a
structure that might resemble diamond fibers) in exactly the shapes we want. This
would let us make a strong Boeing 747 that its unloaded weight was 50 times
lighter. Today, travel in space is very expensive and reserved for an elite few.
Nanotechnology will dramatically reduce the costs and increase the capabilities of
spaceships and spaceflight. The strength-to-weight ratio and the cost of components
are absolutely critical to the performance and economy of spaceships: with nan-
otechnology, both of these parameters will be improved. Nanotechnology will also
provide extremely powerful computers to guide both the ships and a wide range of
other activities in space.
6.1.3 Waste Generated by Manufacturing
Waste has become a problem that the modern manufacturing industry has taken
seriously due to the scarcity of resources that has started to arise in the twenty-first
century. When processes are not streamlined and properly recycling methods aren’t
used, waste generation increases exponentially in any manufacturing process.
Waste minimization or pollution prevention is a relatively new application for
nanotechnology. Few groups have discussed let alone investigated using nanoma-
terials and nanotechnology to facilitate these efforts. One of the first ones to be
discussed was applications of nanotechnology for waste minimization and its
potential impact on environmental sustainability [14]. Although no real examples
were provided, a unique mechanism in which nanotechnology could reduce waste
production was identified. The driving force behind nanotechnology is the ability to
produce and manipulate substances at the nanoscale. This enables “bottom-up”
production which is inherently less waste producing than the traditional “top-down”
approach. Instead of making products by cutting away at bulk raw materials which
results in much undesired by-products, theoretically nanotechnology could be used
to build up raw materials into products using only the material that is needed. Waste
minimization is achieved through not only the reduction of raw material used but
also the reduction of waste or by-products for disposal.
Nanotechnology has helped solve this problem of waste generation; some

examples include the following:
• In the coating industry for hazardous waste minimization is in the area of
corrosion protection. Aluminum alloys are used extensively in several pervasive
industries, such as electronics and transportation; however, exposure to harsh
environments causes corrosion. To prevent corrosion due to thinning from
oxidizing agents reacting with exposed aluminum, chromating is employed.
Chromium (VI) compounds, mainly chromates, are either incorporated into
coatings, used as an additive in anodizing baths or used as pigment in painting
primers. However, Cr(VI) is a well recognized toxic compound and efforts 13
have increased to find effective substitutes. The benefits of using chromate are
its dual anodic and cathodic inhibition plus its activity throughout a wide
concentration range [15].
• In order to prevent decay, wood products are often treated with preservatives in
the furniture industry during the manufacture of wood-related products. This is
done via pressure treatment which forces the preservatives into the core of the
wood creating a chemical barrier against deterioration, ideally for the life of the
product. The types of preservatives used today fall into three categories:
water-borne, creosote, and oil-borne preservatives. The most common
water-borne preservatives include chromated copper arsenate (CCA), ammoni-
acal copper quaternary (ACQ), ammoniacal copper zinc arsenate (ACZA), as
well as the less-toxic, inorganic borate compounds. Wood containing creosote is
mainly coal tar creosote. Oil-borne preservatives include pentachlorophenol
(PCP) and copper naphthenate [16].
References
1. http://www.nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=40843.php
2. http://nanolei.blogspot.ae/2012/07/nanotechnology-and-environment.html3
3. Arunadevi B, Raja MA (2017) Nanoscience and nanotechnologies: review of emerging
intelligent technology variations in health, energy and water. Int J Adv Res Innovation, 1–10.
(ISSN 2347-3258)
6. http://www.understandingnano.com/nanotechnology-building-materials.html
7. https://www.nano.gov/you/nanotechnology-benefits
8. https://energy.gov/energysaver/led-lighting
9. Garvey N, Newell P (2005) Corporate accountability to the poor? Assessing the effectiveness
of community-based strategies. Dev Pract 15:389–404
10. Schmidt KF (2007) Green nanotechnology: project on emerging nanotechnologies (Pen 8).
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC
11. Shadman F (2006) Environment challenges and opportunities in nano manufacturing: (Pen 8).
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington DC
12. Kashiwagi T, Grulke E, ilding JH, Harris R, Award W, Douglas J (2002) Thermal degradation
and flammability properties of poly(propylene)/carbon nanotube composites. Macromol
Rapid Commun 23:761–765
13. Zeng T, Chen WW, Cirtui CM, Moores A, Song G, Li CJ (2010) Fe3O4 nanoparticles: a
robust and magnetically recoverable catalyst for three—component coupling of aldehyde,
alkyne and amine. Green Chem 12:570–573
14. Kassim TA (2005) Environmental impact assessment of recycled wastes on surface and
ground waters. Technology, Engineering & Environmental. Springer (16 Nov 2005). https://
books.google.com
15. NSTC (1999) Nanotechnology shaping the world atom by atom. National Science and
Technology Council, Committee on Technology, The Interagency Working Group on
Nanoscience, Engineering and Technology, Washington, DC, USA
16. Tsakalakos T, Ovid’ko IA, Vasudevan AK (2003) Nanostructures: synthesis, functional
properties and applications. Springer
Chapter 7
Nanotechnology to Sustain Biodiversity
Manoj Kannan, Shradha Sheeba Baiju, Shartaz Alam Hazarika

and Aneek Javed
7.1 Introduction
It is known that biodiversity is a natural or biological variation among the different

types of plants and animals either in the planet or in particular domain, in which a
high rank is contemplated as essential and prudent. Biodiversity comprises of all
kinds and forms of species such as blue whales to the microscopic bacteria,
Fig. 7.1. All the variety of plants around, animals present in a forest, and the
different forms of life such as animals, bacteria, birds, and much more are the
variations in nature, forms the ecosystem [1].
Biodiversity is of two types:
• Genetic biodiversity: The variation in genes or genetic level in species is known
as genetic biodiversity such as color, size.
• Ecological biodiversity: Diversity found in ecosystems, habitats, and their
communities is known as ecological diversity. Example a tropical forest and
temperate forest.
The different levels of Biodiversity are:
Genetic—The building block of heredity is genes. It can lengthen the life span or
create more potential ones. The variation in genetics enables an organism to adapt
to different condition [2].
Species—A group of organisms which consist of similar individuals who are
capable of interbreeding.
Ecosystem—Biotic and Abiotic factors of one particular environment constitute an
ecosystem [2].
M. Kannan (&) S. S. Baiju S. A. Hazarika A. Javed

e-mail: manojkannan@pilani.bits-pilani.ac.in

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_7
52 M. Kannan et al.
Fig. 7.1 Biodiversiity
Expanding control of environments by people is consistently changing them into

depauperate frameworks. Ecosystems determine the biogeochemical processes of
Earth system, which regulates the potential ecological consequences of biodiversity
loss and have aroused considerable interest. The results show that the human impact
on the environment from the local to global scale causes a decline in the diversity,
as well as the functional species of a particular trait, is replaced by another set of
species.
7.2 Importance of the Biodiversity
Every species plays a vital role in the ecosystem whether small or big, thin or fat
etc. it has a signature role of itself. “There is sufficiency in the world for man’s need
but not for man’s greed” this famous quote by Mahatma Gandhi pictures very
clearly that sustaining and using our resources wisely is one’s duty. Human
exploitation has created a drastic impact on our ecosystem. As a result, the greater
loss can occur for humanity in terms of species extinction, loss of ecosystem,
population etc. Freshwater species and its richness are under the threat of over-
exploitation, water pollution, flow modification, and the invasion of exotic species.
It helps in the maintenance of the ecosystem by recycling the storage nutrients,
7 Nanotechnology to Sustain Biodiversity 53
confronting pollution, steadying climate, protecting resources such as water, for-

mation of new soil and its protection. It provides provisions for many biological
resources such as medicines, timber, honey, and food for human beings. Other
social benefits are in the form of tourism, cultural value, education, and research
purposes. All species, either microorganisms or animals, are dependent on each
other [2].
7.3 Nanotechnology to Sustain Biodiversity
Nanotechnology deals with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nm, espe-
cially the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules. Nanotechnology
products process and applications can bring a significant change in our ecosystem
by saving raw materials, energy, and water by reducing greenhouse gases and
hazardous wastes [3].
7.3.1 Nanotechnology in Agriculture
Agriculture is the backbone of developing countries. Hence it is vital to enhance the

quality of agriculture and food industry tremendously [4]. Nanotechnology is
considered a potential solution enhancing the ability of plants to absorb nutrients,
molecular management of diseases, rapid disease detection, monitoring environ-
mental conditions, and enhancing the ability of plants to absorb nutrients or pes-
ticides etc.
Agriculture can be made better with the use of following (Fig. 7.2):
Nanogenetic manipulation of agricultural crops: Nanoparticles, nanofibres,
and nanocapsules are used for manipulating the genes. The concept is that the
materials must be able to trigger gene expression or it should control the release of
genetic material throughout the time in the plants. Also, one can make use of
nanofibre arrays for drug delivery and many other applications. Other materials are
carbon nanofibres, Chitosan nanoparticles, fluorescent labeled starch nanoparticles,
and nano-membranous coatings which on seeds allow the sensing and availability
of water to seeds [5].
Agricultural diagnostics, drug delivery, and nanotechnology: Nanomaterials
serve as carriers in drug delivery system. This ensures precise quantities of drugs or
nutrients or other agrochemicals required to be delivered. Nano silver is known to
have strong bactericidal and controls effectively the fungal growth. Zinc oxide
nanoparticles not only reduce the fungal growth but also inhibit the growth of
conidiophores and conidia of Penicillium expansum, which finally led to the death
of fungal mats. Silicon promotes the physiological activity and growth of plants and
induces diseases and stress resistance in plants. Carbon nanofibers are used to
strengthen natural fibers.
54 M. Kannan et al.
Fig. 7.2 Nanotechnology in biodiversity
Controlled release of nanofertilizers and nano-complexes: Fertilizer plays a

pivotal role in agriculture production The particles of fertilizers are coated with
nano membrane which slows and steady’s the release of nutrients. Nanofertilizers
are synthesized in order to regulate the release of nutrients depending on the
requirements of the crops, and it is also reported that nanofertilizers are more
efficient than ordinary fertilizer. Encapsulation techniques effectively control the
release of pesticides and herbicides. Carbon nanotubes are used as nano-emulsion
for controlled delivery system. Titanium dioxide increases the photosynthetic rate
[4, 5].
Nano-biosensors: Nano sensors combined with immobilized bioreceptor are
used for the detection of urea, glucose, pesticides etc. They also detect viruses,
bacteria, and fungi). Sensors are used for soil moisture detection and soil temper-
ature as they are very essential parameters for agriculture [5].
Nano-bio farming: Nanotechnology tremendously improve organic farming.
Computers, GPS systems, and remote sensing devices are used to measure highly
localized environmental conditions and other agricultural parameters like soil
moisture, temperature, seeding, fertilizer, etc., to enhance the organic agricultural
productivity.
7.3.2 Nanotechnolgy and Forest Preservation
Nurturing natural biodiversity and producing renewable materials such as food,

wood, water, and energy are essential for our daily life. Nanotechnology transform
the forest products into all the essential commodities from raw materials, to new
applications for composite and paper products, to new generations of functional
nanoscale biomass [5].
But progressive utilization of natural resources is a threat to plants, animals, and
other family members of our ecosystem. Basic survival of many wild plants and
animals depends on the forests.
Hence, nanotechnology must be sought for producing engineered wood, fiber-
based materials, nanofluidics and nanomechanics, nanochemicals, and nanobio-
materials. Thus sustainable research and development in nanotechnology is very
crucial in the production of forest-based materials for the society while improving
forest health and contributing to the further expansion of the biomass-based
economy.
7.3.3 Nanotechnology in Other Aspects of Biodiversity
Nanoremediation methods entail the application of reactive nanomaterials for

transformation and detoxification of pollutants. Nanoremediation has the potential
to reduce the overall costs of cleaning up largescale contaminated sites, reduce
cleanup time, eliminate the need for treatment and disposal of contaminated
dredged soil, and reduce some contaminant concentrations to near zero, and it can
be done in situ. Many different nanoscale materials have been explored for reme-
diation, such as nanoscale zeolites, metal oxides, carbon nanotubes and fibers,
enzymes, various noble metals, as bimetallic nanoparticles (BNPs), and titanium
dioxide. Nanoscale Fe particles are effective for the remediation and transformation
of a variety of environmental contaminants [6].
There are only a few quantitative analytical techniques for measuring
nanoparticles in environmental systems, and most of these are time-consuming and
require expensive equipment and expertise [6]. Nanotechnology provides potable
water and pollution free air. Zero-valent iron nanoparticles have been applied in soil
remediation [7]. Nano-coatings to avoid soiling of windows and other surfaces [8].
Although renewable energy is produced from renewable energy sources, they are
still limited due to high cost and limited efficiency. But there are solutions for
nanotechnology production and use of energy, without compromising our envi-
ronment. PV solar cells, Hydrogen production, storage and transformation into
electricity in fuel cells, supercapacitors and ultracapacitors, to store electrical
energy, like batteries are some of the significant development to preserve the impact
on the climate, biodiversity and quality of the air, water, and soil [9]. The appli-
cation of nanotechnology is further able to create an environmentally friendly
56 M. Kannan et al.
material, replacing many widely used toxic materials. For example, liquid crys-
talline display (LCD) computer screens that are more energy efficient and less toxic
than the conventional screen, cathoderay tubes (CRTs) which contain many toxic
materials.
7.4 Essential Research Expectations
Nanotechnological breakthroughs in the transportation, transformation, storage, and

final use of the energy are required. Enormous nanomaterials are invented and
manufactured all over the world. To understand and quantify the potential risks, the
mobility, bioavailability, toxicity, and persistence of these manufactured nanopar-
ticles need to be studied. Analytical tools to measure and monitor manufactured
nanoparticles in the environment must be designed and developed. Further research
is needed to develop and understand the mechanisms affecting the fate and transport
of manufactured nanoparticles. The study must be focussed on their interactions
with each other in water, soil, and sediments, suspended solids, and dissolved
organic material. Further how their interactions are influenced by different envi-
ronmental variables must be investigated. The application of nanotechnology in the
environmental field is not limited to the conditions where environmental contam-
ination has occurred. Hence, studies on the synthesis of green materials, coatings,
and biocides to prevent the release of hazardous substances into the environment
must be focused.
References
1. Pruss K (Fall 2011) A new view of species extinction comparing the value of two marine
mammal species. Dartmouth Undergraduate J Sci. https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-
Conservation/Biodiversity.aspx
2. Biodiversity, Ecological Society of America (Fall 1997) www.esa.org/esa/wp-content/uploads/
2012/12/biodiversity.pdf, http://www.conserve-energy-future.com/what-is-biodiversity.php;
Macer D (2013) Nanotechnology and biodiversity. In: Gordijn B, Cutter AM (eds) Pursuit of
nanoethics (chapter 7). Springer, New York, pp 82–94
3. Buzea C, Pacheco II, Robbie K (2007) Nanomaterials and nanoparticles: sources and toxicity.
Biointerphases 2(4):MR17–MR71
4. Prasad et al (2014) Nanotechnology in sustainable agriculture: present concerns and future
aspects. Afr J Biotechnol 13(6):705–713; Pramanik S, Pramanik G (2016) Nanotechnology for
sustainable agriculture in India. In: Ranjan S, Dasgupta N, Lichtfouse E (eds) Nanoscience in
food and agriculture. Sustainable agriculture reviews, vol 23
5. Agrawal S, Rathore P (2014) Nanotechnology pros and cons to agriculture: a review. Int J Curr
Microbiol App Sci 3(3):43–55
6. Karn et al (2009) Nanotechnology and in situ remediation. Environ Health Perspect 117
(12):1823–1831; Rizwan M, Singh M, Mitra CK, Morve RK (2014) Ecofriendly application of
nanomaterials: nanobioremediation. J Nanopart 2014(431787):7
7. Yunus IS et al (2012) Nanotechnologies in water and air pollution treatment. Environ Technol
Rev 1(1):136–148
8. Nanotechnology solutions for self-cleaning, dirt and water-repellent coatings. http://www.
nanowerk.com/spotlight/spotid=19644.php
9. Serrano E et al (2009) Nanotechnology for sustainable energy. Renew Sustain Energy Rev
13:2373–2384
Part II
Nanotechnology in Toxicological Impacts
Chapter 8
Toxicological Impacts of Quantum Dots
Manoj Kannan, Arzan Ali, Megha Matoo and Prajin Jacob
8.1 Introduction
Quantum dots (QD) are minute semiconductor particles that are only several
nanometers in size. They exhibit properties between that of bulk materials and
discrete molecules. Particularly, their optoelectronic properties depend on their size
and shape.
The properties include unique luminescence characteristics and electronic
properties such as continuous absorption and narrow emission spectra, high
brightness and photostability as compared to major organic dyes. They tend to
reemit colors based on the band gap after absorbing white light; hence, these can be
used in molecular toxicology for quantitative detection of biomarkers.
8.2 Physicochemical Properties [1]
➢ Structurally, QD consists of a metalloid crystalline core and a “cap” or “shell”

that shields this core (Fig. 8.1).
➢ The core of the quantum dots consists of a variety of metal complexes such as
semiconductors, noble metals, and magnetic transition metals.
➢ They exhibit unique luminescence characteristics and electronic properties such
as wide and continuous absorption spectra, narrow emission spectra, and high
light stability.
M. Kannan (&) A. Ali M. Matoo P. Jacob


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_8
62 M. Kannan et al.
Fig. 8.1 Structure of quantum dot
8.3 Applications of Quantum Dots
Quantum dots are used in biological applications [2].

❖ QD are used as markers for the cells or cell walls (CWs) in plant science due to
their unique optical properties. CdSe QDs bind themselves with the cellulose
and lignin of the cell wall by the interaction of C=C bonds, C–C bonds, and the
OH groups. This interaction leads to the illumination of the cell wall. Thus, it is
used in plant bioimaging [2].
❖ In animal bioimaging, labeling of live HeLa cells is done with the help of
QD-avidin conjugates [2, 3]. QDs are used to stain the membrane, while
Hoechst is used for the staining. Thus, the study is done from the color dif-
ference in the image.
❖ Another study was in prokaryote bioimaging, where QDs with different
emission wavelengths were coated on bacteria and analyzed from different
colored images.
8.4 Quantum Dots Toxicity
In plants, it is found that the glutathione levels (GSH) are reduced relative to the
oxidized glutathione (GSSG) in plants. Hence, oxidative stress on the plants is
caused by QDs [3]. Similar results were reported when water-dispersible CdSe/ZnS
QDs were injected into the plant, Arabidopsis thaliana [4].
In animals, some research suggested that injection of QDs could not only impair
mitochondria but also exert endothelial toxicity [3, 5].
In another study, the toxicity to zebrafish embryos of CdSe core/ZnS shell
quantum dots (QDs) was investigated [6]. It was showed that weathering processes
alter the toxicity of engineered nanoparticles. Severe degradation of the QDs
occurred in oxidative conditions. The effect of toxicity included pericardial, ocular
8 Toxicological Impacts of Quantum Dots 63
and yolk sac edema, non-depleted yolk, spinal curvature, tail malformations, and
craniofacial malformations.
When Cd-based semiconductive core as sensors was used for live imaging, one
alarming problem occurred was cytotoxicity of Cd2+ [7]. Hence, indium–gallium
phosphate/ZnS QDs (InGaP QDs), core sizes of 5.0 nm and a fluorescence emis-
sion maximum at 680 nm, were tested in primary nerve cell cultures and found to
have low toxicity.
In another study [8], it was suggested that cadmium ions (Cd2+) released from
the QDs cores are responsible for cytotoxic effects. They reported the intracellular
Cd2+ concentration in human breast cancer MCF-7 cells treated with cadmium
telluride (CdTe) and core/shell cadmium selenide/zinc sulfide (CdSe/ZnS) QDs.
The Cd2+ concentration was <5 nM when treated with CdSe/ZnS QDs and ranged
from 30 to 150 nM when treated with CdTe QDs. Also, it revealed that CdSe/
ZnS QDs were nontoxic, whereas the CdTe QDs were cytotoxic. The toxic effect is
due to Cd2+ and reactive oxygen species that cause lysosomal enlargement and
intracellular redistribution.
The most widely used constituent metals cadmium and selenium, in QD core
metalloid complexes, are revealed to cause acute and chronic toxicities in verte-
brates and are of considerable human health and environmental concern [1].
Fluorescence quantum dots (QDs) are used in drug delivery/activation and
cellular imaging [9]. Although pharmaceutical sciences are focusing to minimize
toxicity, undesirable side effects of drugs, there is no confirmation in zero haz-
ardous properties of QDs. Hence, toxicology studies require further investigation
and development in drug delivery systems. Additionally, nanotechnology also
displays yet another inherent risk for toxic cadmium, which will enter as a new
form of hazard in the biomedical field.
Light and fluorescence microscopy of paraffin-embedded sections revealed that
the QDs (fluorescent red granules) were deposited in vascular‐rich areas in the
organs including the linings of the hepatic sinusoids, red pulps of the spleen, renal
vessels, and glomerular vasculature of the kidneys. Pathological examination
showed no microscopic abnormalities in the liver and kidneys; however, sinusoidal
congestion and multinucleated giant cells were observed in the spleen [10].
The toxicity of CdSe/ZnS QDs was determined to be dependent on the coating
agents (mercapto‐undecanoic acid, cysteamine, thioglycerol, mercapto‐undecanoic
acid/thioglycerol, and cysteamine/thioglycerol) [11]. Also, mercapto‐undecanoic
acid‐QDs with concentrations greater than 1.5 lM were found to cause significant
DNA damage in WTK1 human lymphoma cells. Further, testing revealed that
mercapto‐undecanoic acid alone was severely cytotoxic. Cysteamine was weakly
genotoxic, and tri‐n‐octylphosphine oxide was cytotoxic and genotoxic.
Freshwater mussel Elliptio complanata were exposed to cadmium telluride
quantum dots of increasing concentrations. It was observed that uncoated CdTe
QDs were not stable in freshwater [12]. In mussels, Cd was accumulated principally
by the gills and digestive glands and the bioaccumulation factors of Cd from CdTe
were similar to that of dissolved Cd. The accumulation was observed in mussel
tissues and effects on metallothionein levels in mussels.
64 M. Kannan et al.
8.5 Quantum Dots Routes of Exposure
It was explicitly found that QD toxicity due to factors derived from both the
inherent physicochemical properties of QDs and environmental conditions. Also,
QD size, charge, concentration, outer coating bioactivity oxidative, photolytic, and
mechanical stability are each factor that, collectively and individually, can deter-
mine QD toxicity. Further, their functional coating and QD core stability figure are
known to play a vital role in QD toxicity in real-world exposure. Yet, QD stability,
aerosolization, half-lives, and their transport into environmental media are not
completely investigated. Hence, their exposure routes may be known only from
their physicochemical properties, size, morphology, etc. [1].
Potential routes of QD exposure are
➢ Environmental,
➢ Workplace,
➢ therapeutic administration, and
➢ diagnostic administration.
Inhalation and physical contact are the potential routes of QD exposure in work-
place. Their effect again depends on their size, under what conditions QDs aero-
solize and whether they form aggregates in ambient air. Although it was reported
that inhalation affects the lung and may lead to bronchial disorders [1], their risk
exposures through dermal absorption are unknown.
Environmental exposures are very difficult to understand. It mainly depends on
the fate and transport of QD. The QD coating, core interaction, and their envi-
ronmental transformation/degradation must be meticulously studied to determine
the level of the human health hazard.
The QD toxicity though therapeutic/diagnostic purposes are thoroughly inves-
tigated, there may arise some unpredicted effects. It may be that once QD kinetics
and dynamics are characterized, the risks posed by these exposures may be elim-
inated through quality control mechanisms as they are dealt in pharmaceuticals.
Environmental exposures of QDs are a significant source for its route and
exposure. It depends on the extent of their usage in society, their half-life time, and
their interaction with nature.
8.6 Conclusion
Quantum dots are widely used in medicine, energy, electronics, etc. Many more
novel applications using QDs may be invented in the years to come. All QDs are
not the same. Their physicochemical properties depend on size, charge, concen-
tration, outer coating interaction, stability, and degradation. Thus, their toxicity also
depends on these factors, the environment of their application, transformation, and
degradation.
8 Toxicological Impacts of Quantum Dots 65
References
1. Hardman R (2006) A toxicologic review of quantum dots: toxicity depends on physico-

chemical and environmental factors. Environ Health Perspect 114(2):165–172
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Lett 7:480 (A Springer Open Journal); Paës G (2014) Fluorescent probes for exploring plant
cell wall deconstruction: a review. Molecules 19:9380–9402
3. Jaiswal JK, Goldman ER, Mattoussi H, Simon SM (2004) Use of quantum dots for live cell
imaging. Nat Methods 1(1):73
4. Navarro DA, Bisson MA, Aga DS (2012) Investigating uptake of water-dispersible CdSe/ZnS
quantum dot nanoparticles by Arabidopsis thaliana plants. J Hazard Mater 211–212:427–435
5. Yan M, Zhang Y, Xu K, Fu T, Qin H, Zheng X (2011) An in vitro study of vascular
endothelial toxicity of CdTe quantum dots. Toxicology 282(3):94–103
6. Wiecinski PN et al (2013) Toxicity of oxidatively degraded quantum dots to developing
zebrafish (Danio rerio). Environ Sci Technol 47(16):9132–9139
7. Maysinger D, Ji J, Hutter E, Cooper E (2015) Nanoparticle-based and bioengineered probes
and sensors to detect physiological and pathological biomarkers in neural cells. Front
Neurosci 9:480
8. Cho SJ, Maysinger D, Jain M, Röder B, Hackbarth S, Winnik FM (2007) Long-term exposure
to CdTe quantum dots causes functional impairments in live cells. Langmuir 23(4):1974–
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9. Ghaderi S, Ramesh B, Seifalian AM (2011) Fluorescence nanoparticles “quantum dots” as
drug delivery system and their toxicity: a review. J Drug Target 19(7)
10. Goldman ER, Balighian ED, Mattoussi H, Kuno MK, Mauro JM, Tran PT, Anderson GP
(2002) Avidin: a natural bridge for quantum dot-antibody conjugates. J Am Chem Soc 124
(22):6378–6382
11. Hoshino A, Fujioka K, Oku T, Suga M, Saski YF, Ohta T, Yasuhara M, Suzuki K,
Yamamoto K (2004) Physicochemical properties and cellular toxicity of nanocrystal quantum
dots depend on their surface modification. Nano Lett 4(11):2163–2169
12. Peyrot C et al (2009) Effects of cadmium telluride quantum dots on cadmium bioaccumulation
and metallothionein production to the freshwater mussel, Elliptio complanata. Comp
Biochem Physiol Part C 150:246–251; Papp T, Schiffmann D, Weiss D, Castranova V,
Vallyathan V, Rahman Q (2008) Human health implications of nanomaterial exposure.
J Nanotoxicology 2(1)
Chapter 9
Nanotechnology in Pharmaceuticals
Shalin Shaji, Sarath Haridas, Jacob Siby Jacob and Manoj Kannan
9.1 Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is explored in biomedical and pharmaceutical. It is a combination

of various fields like biophysics, bioengineering, and molecular biology and their
combined disciplines. It has emerged successful in various medical fields.
Besides these, they have also emerged in gene delivery, brain targeting, tumor
targeting, and oral vaccine formulations. Nanotechnology provided successful
solutions even in pharmaceutical applications [1].
The use of nanosystems as smart drug delivery systems is a promising approach
for developing intelligent therapeutic systems. They are also used in medicine to
reduce infection in burn treatment, arthroplasty, etc. and as grafts for human skin.
9.1.1 Application of Nanomaterials in Pharmacy
Nanomaterials play an important role in pharmacy because of their size, due to

which the solubility and bioavailability, reducing toxicity, enhancing release, and
dosage are very accurate in using nanomedicine [1]. Further, various forms of drugs
like powder, emulsion, and suspension render enhanced performance. The advan-
tages of nanosizing like (i) increased surface area, (ii) enhanced solubility, (iii) in-
creased rate of dissolution, (iv) increased oral bioavailability, (v) more rapid onset
of therapeutic action, (vi) less amount of dose required, (vii) decreased fed/fasted
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variability, and (viii) decreased patient-to-patient variability created powerful

impact in cardiology, endocrinology, ophthalmology, oncology, and immunology.
Particles are the drug carriers in pharmaceutical industries. Nanoparticles in drug
delivery systems in medicines became crucial because they could easily travel to
those specified biological targets without any difficulty. They are easily absorbed by
cells and cellular tissues. Nanoparticles with desired surface and biological prop-
erties could be synthesized as well as functionalized with specific drugs [2].
The nanoparticles have been in many biomedical applications. Imaging, gene
therapy and delivery, real-time detection of biological and chemical species, anti-
cancer nanomedicines, drug delivery systems, cell targeting, nanosensor, and cancer
photodynamic therapy are some of them. Nanoparticles applications in magnetic
resonance contrast agents, biomarkers, magnetic targeting, immunoassays, diag-
nostics, nucleic acids purification, gene cloning, cell separation, etc. emerged very
successful and versatile.
Some of the features like size, surface chemistry, and oxidative stress functions
play important roles in nanotoxicity [3]. Hence, it is essential to understand the
toxicity over these features in reducing their harmful effects, thus allowing them to
be used in the curing of diseases. Besides, crystallinity, coating, and the longevity
of nanoparticles must also be studied.
Fig. 9.1 Pharmaceutical nanoparticles features

9 Nanotechnology in Pharmaceuticals 69
9.1.2 Characterization of Nanoparticles [4]
The particle features (Fig. 9.1) are as follows:

Size: Because of their small size, nanoparticles have a bigger surface-to-volume
ratio than larger particles. Therefore, more molecules of the chemical are present on
the surface, which may be one of the reasons why nanoparticles are generally more
toxic than larger particles of the same composition due to enhancement in reac-
tivity. By absorbing nanoparticle, it is found that larger than 1 lm were weakly
observed and nanoparticles larger than 3 lm were occasionally seen in lymphatic
tissues.
Free radical production: Most or all pathogenic particles produce free radicals in
the free cell system and this ability causes oxidative stress, which gives rise to
inflammation, cell destruction, and genotoxicity. The particle surface of free radi-
cals can activate the redox cycle and cause particle toxicity. Using electrophoreses
to analyze bound proteins extracted from plasma-treated nanoparticles is a useful
means of better understanding the interaction of nanoparticles with blood compo-
nents [4].
Chemical components: The nanoparticles offer both high surface areas per mass
and high chemical reactivity. Hence, there will be more interactions between them
and biological systems. As a consequence, more chemical and biological reactions
would occur at the surfaces of the nanoparticles.
Chemical components of the particle surface have important effects on
nanoparticles as they can react with metals. Iron can be affected by nanoparticles,
which increases the induction of ROS in the free cell system. The surface modi-
fication of nanoparticles can reduce toxicity. Researchers have also shown that the
toxicity of super paramagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles could be reduced by coating
them with pullulan [3]. On the positive side, these nanoscale particles offer us an
opportunity to target and deliver medicine to different parts of the human body, like
human brain, more easily than simple medicine particles [2].
Dosage: One of the most important reasons in pursuing nanotechnology is to
deliver drugs, and hence understanding the manner and extent to which the drug
molecules are released is important. Toxicity and other responses depend on the
prescribed dosage and substances used. Research has shown that a high dose of
nanoparticles in small or big particles could be harmful to health, which play
important roles in nanotoxicity. Other features such as crystallinity, coating, and the
longevity of particles have also been studied as important parameters [4].
9.1.2.1 Nanomaterials for Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology
Nanoparticles can be injected in veins in a colloid drug-releasing system. They can

also be injected in the muscle or used in oral or optical applications. Nanoparticle
adhesion is an important factor in bioapplication, drug absorption, and reduction of
70 S. Shaji et al.
drug clearance. Therefore, using mucus on nanoparticle surfaces can improve drug
absorption [3].
9.1.2.2 Metal Nanoparticles
Applications of metal nanoparticles have been dominated by the use of nanobio-

conjugates. Metal nanoparticles are used as probes for electron microscopy to
visualize cellular components, drug delivery, detection, diagnosis, and therapy.
Gold nanoparticles conjugated with specific oligonucleotides can sense comple-
mentary DNA strands, detectable by color changes [5]. Gold nanoparticles hybrid
with antibodies, enzymes, and nucleotides are used as biosensor assays, drug and
gene delivery systems, laser confocal microscopy diagnostic tools, and other
biomaterial-based imaging systems. Silver is a very effective antimicrobial agent.
So they are used in medical design, especially in dentistry. For example, nanosilver
crystals are used in bandages as antimicrobial agents, but the use of silver
nanoparticles depends on counteracting their positive (antimicrobial effect) and
negative (cellular toxicity) effects. In one study, it was observed that nanosilver
(12 nm) kills Escherichia coli [3]. Silver nanoparticles are used to prevent the
attack of a broad spectrum of microorganisms on prostheses, catheters, vascular
grafts, and human skin, and sometimes even used in medicine to reduce infection in
burn treatment, arthroplasty, etc.
9.1.2.3 Inorganic Nanoparticles
Inorganic nanoparticles are being enormously used in nanomedicine. But their

complete effects are yet to be investigated in detail. Concerns associated with
long-term tissue damage, toxicity, immunogenicity, carcinogenesis, and inflam-
mation need to be elucidated [5]. Then, novel inorganic nanoparticles whose sta-
bility, circulation times, and localization can be modulated without compromising
theranostic efficacies in order to optimize the demands of short-term therapeutic and
potential adverse effects due to long-term exposure must be invented.
9.1.2.4 Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Nanoparticles
ZnO nanoparticles are effectively used as UV filter in sun creams and textiles.
Recently, [5], it is known to penetrate into the skin of rats and rabbits. Particles with
a diameter of 50–100 nm can penetrate the skin because of the intracellular space of
the corneum stratum, which is about 100 nm and the distance between the two
layers is 0.5–1 nm.
9.1.2.5 Nanodiamond Particles
Diamond is used in coatings for synthetic heart valves, orthopathy designs, joint
substitutes, catheters, stent ortheopathic pins, and tooth roots. Diamond nanopar-
ticle coating on a hip implant increases strength but the release of nanoparticles as a
result of scratching or abrasion can cause problems for the body. In vitro experi-
ments with orthopathic pain coated by diamond-like carbon (DLC) implanted in
sheep showed the low bioactivity of diamonds. It is investigated that diamond
coatings used in artificial joints stimulate the lower immune system [5].
9.1.2.6 Magnetic Nanoparticles
Magnetic nanoparticles have been used in photogene, targeting drug delivery, cell
separation, cancer therapy, imaging, and magnetic hyperthermia for cancer therapy,
and also for tissue engineering [5]. They are broadly used as contrast agents for
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to their biological interactions at the cel-
lular and molecular levels. They are good carriers for drug delivery. Iron oxide
nanoparticles are applied in biological detection and treatment.
9.1.3 Liposomes
Liposomes have been extensively explored and most developed nanocarriers for
novel and targeted drug delivery. Drug molecules can be either entrapped in the
intercalated into the lipid bilayer of liposome or aqueous space, depending on the
physicochemical characteristics of the drug. Liposomes can be prepared with
enormous diversity in structure, composition, size, flexibility, and a variety of
surface modification approaches proving most intelligent carrier system for both
active and passive deliveries of bioactive. They have been successfully exploited in
cancer therapy, carrier for antigens, pulmonary delivery, leishmaniasis, ophthalmic
drug delivery, etc. Some of liposome-based formulations are already in market [6].
9.1.4 Dendrimers
Dendrimers are used for drug delivery because of very low size (1–5 nm), feasibility
to develop with defined molecular weight, very low polydispersity index (ratio of
weight average molecular weight (Mw) to number average molecular weight
(Mn) of polymer), good entrapment efficiency, and offering surface for functional-
ization. The important applications of dendrimers are solubilization, gene therapy,
dendrimer-based drug delivery, immunoassay, and MRI contrast agent [6].
72 S. Shaji et al.
9.1.5 Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon nanotubes are hexagonal networks of carbon atoms, 1 nm in diameter and

1–100 nm in length, as a layer of graphite rolled up into a cylinder. There are two
types of nanotubes: single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled nanotubes
(MWNTs), which differ in the arrangement of their graphene cylinders. These are
small macromolecules that are unique for their size and shape, and have remarkable
physical properties. Nanotubes offer some distinct advantages over other drug
delivery and diagnostic systems due to very interesting physicochemical properties
such as ordered structure with ultra-lightweight, high aspect ratio, high thermal
conductivity, high mechanical strength, high electrical conductivity, metallic or
semi-metallic behavior, and high surface area [6].
9.1.6 Quantum Dot
Quantum dots are used in vitro bioimaging for real-time monitoring or tracking of
intracellular process due to their broad UV excitation, bright fluorescence, narrow
emission, and high photostability. They are also considered as a good tool for
diagnostic purpose (MRI—magnetic resonance imaging,), in vitro and in vivo
detection and analysis of biomolecules, immunoassays, DNA hybridization,
development of nonviral vectors for gene therapy, transport vehicles for DNA,
protein, drugs or cells, time-graded fluorescence imaging of tissue, labeling of cells
and as therapeutic tools for cancer treatment [6].
9.1.6.1 Polymers in Drug Delivery Systems
A polymer must be biocompatible in using drug delivery system. Biocompatible

polymers used in drug delivery are often biodegradable with the formation of
nonharmful byproducts, such as nontoxic alcohols, acids, and other easily elimi-
nated low molecular weight products. The drug is released by erosion/degradation
or by drug diffusion through the polymeric material. Biodegradable polymer must
meet very specifically the following requirements for drug delivery systems [4]:
a. Biocompatibility backbone of the polymer and its degradation products.
b. Mechanical strength sufficient to meet the needs of specific applications.
c. Degradability with degradation kinetics matching a biological process such as
wound healing.
d. Processibility using available equipment.

e. Solubility in various solvents.
f. Chemical, structural, and applicational versatility.
g. Economically acceptable shelf life.
h. European Medicine Evaluation Agency (EMEA) or Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), USA.
Stimulus-responsive polymers exhibit large, sharp changes in response to physical
stimuli (such as temperature, solvents, or light) or to chemical stimuli (such as
reactants, pH, ions in solution, or chemical recognition). Responses also differ
depending on the changes in shape, volume, mechanical properties, or permeation
rates, among other things. These systems possess a variety of interesting applica-
tions for encapsulation, controlled delivery, or as intelligent switches.
9.1.6.2 Polymeric Micelles
Polymeric micelles are nanoscopic core/shell structures formed by amphiphilic

block copolymers. Both the inherent and modifiable properties of polymeric
micelles make them particularly well suited for drug delivery purposes.
Polymeric micelles and nanoparticles have been investigated extensively for
drug delivery.
Nanotechnology has had a significant impact on the science of drug discovery
and development. Some examples are as follows:
➢ Achieving intracellular delivery of drugs via the use of spontaneously forming
nanotubes.
➢ Submicron lipid complexes that allow intravenous administration of antifungal
agents with reduced toxicity.
➢ The existence of three commercial products in which nanoparticles are used to
increase exposure and reduce the sensitivity to fed/fasted effects.
➢ Submicron (ca. 200 nm) triglyceride emulsions that serve as a source of par-
enterally administered nutrition.
➢ The acceleration of wound healing via the use of silver nanoparticles as
antimicrobial agents embedded in dressings.
➢ The use of quantum dots in the diagnosis of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
In the task of the drug delivery, the first step is to identify the problem that
needs addressing like its validity and toxicity. Next is to determine the factor to
be changed to meet the desired modification. This may be in its solubility,
biodistribution, targeting, etc. The third step is to identify the drug delivery
technology that is most appropriate to solve the problem at hand. It is important
74 S. Shaji et al.
to remember that such approaches constitute only one of the many drug
delivery options that are available. Within nanotechnology, the choice then
comes down to one of the components and processings. That is, by what
method will the formulation be generated, e.g., comminution, self-assembly,
etc., and what materials, including the drug, will be used as major and minor
components. It is the combination of components and process that will deter-
mine what the actual formulation is. Once the formulation has been identified
and made, the fifth step is to use in vivo testing to determine if the original goal
of exposure or toxicity has been attained. In parallel with this task is charac-
terizing the formulation itself [4].
The best analytical program is to completely probe into all possible parameters and
factors like size, structure, drug release, interpretation of in vivo results, effect of
particle size on the biodistribution of injected nanoparticles, etc.
9.2 Conclusion
Research in nanotechnology has extremely high potential to benefit society through

applications in pharmaceuticals. Any new technology carries an ethical responsi-
bility for wise application and the recognition that there are potential unanticipated
risks that may come with the tremendous positive potential. The first step is to
inform the public about the advantages and challenges of nanotechnology. As
public awareness increases, so will interest in the understanding of nanotechnology
and new applications in all the domains. A major challenge is to identify the
appropriate nanomaterial for specific target for medical requirement. An ideal drug
carrier must be nontoxic, non-immunogenic, preferably biodegradable and adequate
biodistribution, allowing tissue targeting. With sufficient time and research, the
promise of nanotechnology-based medicine may become a reality.
References
1. Reddy SM, Reddy YB Application of nano materials in pharmacy and agriculture. Indian J Res
Pharm Biotechnol ISSN: 2321-5674(Print); 2320-3471(Online)
2. Singh S, Nalwa HS (2007) Nanotechnology and health safety—toxicity and risk assessments of
nanostructured materials on human health. J Nanosci Nanotechnol 7:3048–3070
3. Ai J, Biazar E, Jafarpour M, Montazeri M, Majdi A, Aminifard S, Zafari M, Akbari HR,
Rad HG (2011) Nanotoxicology and nanoparticle safety in biomedical designs. Int J Nanomed
6:1117–1127
4. Nanotechnology for drug delivery Dr. Roy Haskell, PhD Research Fellow Exploratory
Formulations Pfizer, Inc. 7000 Portage Road Kalamazoo, Michigan 49001 USA. http://www.
msd-life-science-foundation.or.jp/banyu_oldsite/symp/about/symposium_2005/soyaku/haskell.
pdf
5. Safari J, Zarnegar Z (2013) Advanced drug delivery systems: nanotechnology of health design
a review. J Saudi Chem Soc. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs.2012.12.009
6. Jain NK Pharmaceutical nanotechnology, pp 1–19 (online 22 June 2014)
Chapter 10
Toxicological Impacts of Nanoparticles
Amith Baby, Salman Nazeerudeen, Shiva Ranganath

and R. Sugaraj Samuel
Nanoscale materials exhibit unique and significantly superior properties over the
bulk materials due to their diameter, size, molecular alignment, and surface char-
acteristics. Hence, they are tremendously used in many applications like skincare
and consumer products, electronics, optoelectronics, photonics, biotechnology,
biomedical engineering and technology, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, environment,
composites, coatings, catalysts, etc. There are over 800 consumer products available
that contain nanomaterials, including pharmaceuticals, drug carriers, fillings in
medical materials, orthopedic parts, and composite repellent photosensitizers, dis-
infectants, cosmetics, sunscreens, and paints [1].
In spite of their numerous novel and useful wide applications, their toxic effect
on human health and the environment have attracted much attention. This study on
the toxic effects of nanostructured materials on biological systems including those
of humans and laboratory animals and even plants is called “nanotoxicology” [2].
The toxicity of the nanomaterials is divided into biological toxicity and environ-
mental toxicity.
Biological toxicity refers to the interactions of nanostructures with biological
systems. The nanomaterials enter into the human body through lungs and other
organs via food, drink, and medicine and affect organs and tissues such as brain,
liver, kidney, heart, colon, spleen, bone, blood, etc. Nanoscale particles inhaled in
daily activities move through nasal nerves to the brain. Interaction with biological
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78 A. Baby et al.
systems can give rise to either of the following toxic effects: Allergy, Fibrosis,
Deposition in different organs can lead to organ failure, Inflammation, Cytotoxicity,
Tissue damage, ROS generation, and DNA damage.
Environmental toxicity is nanoparticle (NP) pollution caused by deposition of
nanoparticle in groundwater and soil. The presence of nanomaterial in the envi-
ronment also affects the ecosystem. It is required to investigate the fate and
transport of nanomaterials to fully understand many biotic/abiotic processes such as
solubility/dispersibility, interactions between the nanomaterials and natural/an-
thropogenic chemicals in the ecosystem.
10.1 Sources of Nanoparticles
10.1.1 Natural Sources of Nanoparticles
Nanoparticles are produced in abundance from nature, by natural calamities like

volcanic eruptions, forest fires, dust storms, and erosion by photochemical reactions
and by plants and animals. Or from smoke, inorganic and organic chemicals from
industrial plants, fly ash, soil, rainwater, and dusts. Humans may become exposed
also as a result of nanomaterial contamination in air, water or the food chain, or
during the use of commercial products containing nanomaterials.
10.1.2 Nano Aerosol
Aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas. It includes

smoke, air pollutants, and perfume spray. A nanoaerosol, therefore, comprise of NPs
suspended in a gas and may be present as discrete particles, or as clusters of NPs.
10.1.3 Engineered Nanoparticles
For the vast applications like cosmetics, clothes, electronics, biomedicine,

Engineered NPs are designed and produced with very specific physical and
chemical properties. They are manufactured by various processes like evaporation,
combustion with small size and large surface area according to the requirement of
their products.
Nanoparticles are also found as Nano-agglomerate, which are a group of coarse
accumulations of nanoparticles held together by weak forces. They are also found
as Nano-aggregate where the heterogeneous nanoparticles are bound by strong
forces [3].
10 Toxicological Impacts of Nanoparticles 79
10.1.4 Nanomaterial Exposure
Nanomaterials can simply be inhaled. The other routes of entry are through our
digestive system and bloodstream through ingestion, skin, injected medicine, etc.
Another important source of nanomaterial exposure to humans is industrial man-
ufacturing processes.
The inevitable workplace exposure is from Man-Made Nanostructured Materials
Produced in Laboratory Processes or Mechanical Processes. During the synthesis
and fabrication of nanostructured materials (fullerenes, nanoparticles, nanopowders,
nanotubes, nanowires, nanorods, quantum dots, dendrimers, nanoclusters,
nanocrystals, and nanocomposites) by gas phase processes (flame pyrolysis,
high-temperature evaporation, and plasma synthesis); vapor deposition synthesis
(electron, thermal, laser beam evaporation); colloidal, or liquid phase methods in
which chemical reactions in solvents lead to the formation of colloids and
pilot-level industrial plants including grinding, milling, and alloying. A critical fact
to consider with engineered nanomaterials is that they can be synthesized in almost
any shape and size by materials scientists.
Another major source of nanomaterials is Combustion processes from Diesel and
automobile exhaust. Also emission from industrial manufacturing plants, power
plants, and smoking. Carbon nanotubes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals,
and fibers were found to be present in engine exhaust as a byproduct of diesel and
other emission.
A number of nanoparticles are released into the environment due to pollution.
10.2 Medical Uses of Nanomaterial
Nanoparticles are used as probes to investigate the cellular function without much
interference. Understanding of biological processes on the nanoscale level is a
strong driving force behind the development of nanotechnology (Fig. 10.1) [4].
Drug delivery: Nanoparticles are employed to deliver drugs, heat, light, or other
substances to specific types of cells (such as cancer cells). Particles are engineered
so that they are attracted to diseased cells, which allows direct treatment of those
cells. This technique reduces damage to healthy cells in the body and allows for
earlier detection of disease [5].
Therapy techniques: Researchers have developed “nanosponges” that absorb
toxins and remove them from the bloodstream. The nanosponges are polymer
nanoparticles coated with a red blood cell membrane. The red blood cell membrane
allows the nanosponges to travel freely in the bloodstream and attract the toxins [5].
Antimicrobial technique: One of the earliest nanomedicine applications was the
use of nanocrystalline silver which is an antimicrobial agent for the treatment of
wounds [5].
80 A. Baby et al.
Fig. 10.1 Effects of nanoparticles
Cell repair: Nanorobots could actually be programmed to repair specific dis-

eased cells, functioning in a similar way to antibodies in our natural healing pro-
cesses [5].
10.2.1 Exposure Through Human Body
The main routes of entry are through the skin, lungs, or intestinal tract causing
adverse biological effects.
The inhalation of nanoparticles in the form of aerosol, powders affects the
respiratory tracts. The nanoparticles get deposited in the respiratory tract and reach
the lungs and bronchioles by the process of respiration. Lung inflammation plays a
key role in development and aggravation of lung diseases such as asthma, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, silicosis/fibrosis, and during lung infections [6]
Particles that are not soluble or degradable in the lung will rapidly accumulate upon
continued exposure.
Exposure and absorption of nanomaterials can occur through the skin, through
cosmetics, sunscreens, and dusts. Metallic nanoparticles smaller than 10 nm could
penetrate the hair follicle and stratum corneum as well as sometimes reach the
viable Epidermis. A Large accumulation of soil particles is found in lymph nodes of
bear footed human associated with elephantiasis. Penetration of quantum dot NPs
into the skin resulted in skin abrasion especially of those involved with quantum dot
manufacturing and others NPs [7].
An epidemiological study researching the effects of chronic exposure to par-

ticulate matter smaller than 10 lm in nonsmoking subjects revealed a high inci-
dence of lung cancer.
Nanomaterials into intestinal tract can occur after uptake of daily food, drinks,
and medicines which causes cytotoxicity effects. Here, cytotoxicity means that the
nanoparticles prevent cell division, hinder cell proliferation, damage DNA, and
biological systems, and eventually lead to cell death by way of a biological process
called “apoptosis”. Apoptosis is a process of deliberate cell self-destruction in an
organism [4].
Some researchers [2] have shown that most of the nanoparticles can release
active oxygen and cause oxidative stress and inflammation by the RES (reticu-
loendothelial system). The effects on inflammatory and immunological systems
may include oxidative stress or pre-inflammatory cytotoxin activity in the lungs,
liver, heart, and brain. The effects on the circulatory system can include pre
thrombosis effects and paradox effects on heart function.
10.3 Toxicological Impacts of Nanoparticles
The inhalation of some metal fumes (e.g., zinc, copper) may lead to metal fume
fever, an influenza-like reaction [8]. Several metal dusts (e.g., platinum, nickel,
chromium, cobalt) can lead to asthma [8], while inhalation of other metallic dusts
can cause pulmonary fibrosis and ultimately lung cancer. The percentage of lung
cancers attributable to occupational hazards is about 15%, with exposure to metals
being a major cause [8].
Several studies have demonstrated cellular uptake of gold nanoparticle to be a
function of time, particle size, and concentration [9].
10.4 TiO2 and ZnO Nanoparticles
Zinc oxide NPs when studied for toxic effects on bacteria and mammalian cells, it
was found to cause cytotoxicity, cell membrane damage, and increased oxidative
stress [8]. ZnO nanoparticles penetrate into the skin, into deep zones of the lung
where they are surrounded and excluded by macrophages before epithelial damage.
The particles can attach to the epithelium (causing inflammation) and the entrance
to the interstitium where they have chronic effects on cells and have the ability to
move to the lymphatic nodes [3]. Zinc oxide NPs change cell morphology, causes
DNA damage, alteration in mitochondrial activity in human hepatocytes, and
embryonic kidney cells [8].
TiO2, also known as microreflector. But TiO2 absorbs about 70% of incident UV
and in aqueous environments, this leads to the generation of hydroxyl radicals
which causes oxidation. The TiO2 are semiconductors with gap energies of about
82 A. Baby et al.
3.23 and 3.06 eV respectively. Therefore it absorbs light of these wavelengths and
excites electrons from the valence band to the conduction band, generating single
electrons (e−) and positively charged holes (h+) as carriers. These electrons react
with oxygen and holes with hydroxyl ions or water to form superoxide and
hydroxyl radicals, cause toxicity of illuminated TiO2 and its possible effects on
DNA. Further study on commercial TiO2 samples by the authors demonstrated that
DNA in human cells is damaged by sunlight illuminated TiO2 [10, 11].
10.5 Carbon-Based Nanomaterials
The different forms of Carbon-based nanomaterials (CBNs) such as fullerenes,

single- and multiwalled CNTs (SWNTs and MWNTs, respectively), carbon NPs,
and nanofibers are available. The toxicity of CNTs causes lung cancer and
malignant mesothelioma of the pleura. It was showed that the toxicity order is
CB > CNFs > MWNTs.
10.5.1 Carbon Nanotube
Carbon nanotubes represent a complex matrix which agglomerates (carbon nano-

wires), non-tubular carbon, and metallic catalysts. The toxicity of the material on
human will depend on the partition and the arrangement of these particles in the
work environment.
Nanoropes, which are special nanotubes, can rotate around each other and make
a larger fiber. They tend to twist in the form of a rope, which causes a problem in
the lungs. Lung toxicity will occur at high doses of single or multiple-wall carbons,
but inflammation will occur in the lungs for low dose. Carbon nanotubes are toxic
to organisms at high dose and accordingly, health scientists have defined them as
dangerous.
Carbon-based nanomaterials have been reported in the literature as cytotoxic
agents [8]. Carbon-based nanomaterials are reported to possess size-dependent
cytotoxicity.
10.5.2 Fullerene
Fullerenes can be excellent sensors of free radicals. Fullerenes are modified and
used as drug delivery vectors, such as neuroprotective, antiviral, antibacterial,
antitumoural, antiapoptotic, and antioxidant agents. Non-functionalized fullerenes
C60 are highly distributed in all tissues, and long-term accumulation has been
observed in the liver, kidney, bones, and spleen [8]. It was reported that C60 NP
was accumulated along the nuclear membrane and in the nucleus. The C60 toxicity
would be due to lipid peroxidation caused by generation of free radicals in the cell
membranes. Further, in certain intracellular organelles, such as lysosomes, free
cytoplasm, and the nucleus, which suggests that intracellular sites could also play a
role in peroxidation. The researchers hypothesized that if the NP penetrate the
nucleus, this could damage the DNA [12].
10.5.3 Magnetic Nanoparticles
Bio adjusted super paramagnetic nanoparticles, 2–30 nm, with citric acid or methyl
carboxyl dextrin were tested on rats and showed that these nanoparticles cause
diarrhea and may lead to animal death while citrate itself does not cause toxicity [13].
10.5.4 Iron Oxide
In vivo studies have shown that iron oxide NPs remain in cell organelles
(endosomes/lysosomes), release into cytoplasm after decomposing. Magnetic iron
oxide NPs were found to accumulate in the liver, spleen, lungs, and brain after
inhalation. They further exert their toxic effect in the form of cell lysis, inflammation,
and disturbing blood coagulation system [8]. Also, reduced cell viability has been
reported as the most common toxic effect of iron oxide NPs in in vitro studies.
10.5.5 Copper Oxide
Copper nanomaterials are reported to possess toxic effects on the liver and kidney.
It causes severe impairment in liver, kidney, and spleen in experimental animals.
Highly reactive ionic copper is formed by oral administration and interacting with
gastric juice [8]. Then it gets accumulated in the kidney of exposed animals. In one
in vitro study, copper oxide nanoparticles are genotoxic and cytotoxic along with
disturbing cell membrane integrity and inducing oxidative stress.
10.5.6 Silica
Nanoparticles of silica cause the generation of ROS and subsequent oxidative

stress. Cytotoxicity and oxidative stress, as determined by increasing lipid
peroxidation, reactive oxygen species, and decreasing cellular glutathione are
reported [13].
84 A. Baby et al.
10.5.7 Silver
Silver nanoparticles enter the human body and accumulate in different organs,
crossing the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and reach the brain. They have been
detected in lungs, spleen, kidney, liver, and brain after exposing the rats to
silver-based NPs either via inhalation or by subcutaneous injection. They have
shown more toxicity in term of cell viability, generation of reactive oxygen species,
and lactate dehydrogenase leakage.
Beryllium. Exposure of even small dose of beryllium nanoparticles causes

hypersensitivity, and allergic reaction characterized by an inflammatory immune
response. Hypersensitivity can lead to chronic beryllium disease, where white blood
cells accumulate around absorbed beryllium particles and form granulomas leading
to anorexia, weight loss, cyanosis of the extremities, and heart enlargement [13].
Long-term exposure causes cancer in animals and increased risk of lung cancer in
humans.
Lead. When chronically exposed to lead dust (e.g., through sanding of surfaces
coated with lead) or insecticides, it circulates in the blood and is deposited in bone
and other tissue. It also circulates to most organs which leads to impairment of
mental functions, visual-motor performance, memory, and attention span, as well as
anemia, fatigue, lack of appetite, abdominal pain, and kidney disease, among others
[13].
Iron. When an excess amount of iron is administered to animals, an increased risk
of adenocarcinomas, colorectal tumors, hepatomas, mammary tumors, mesothe-
lioma, renal tubular cell carcinomas, and sarcomas was observed. In humans, it
caused sarcomas at the sites of deposition. Patients with hemochromatosis
(a genetic disease characterized by increased iron absorption) have an enhanced
susceptibility to liver cancer. The accumulation of iron in brain regions with
decreased function and cell loss has been observed in many neurological diseases,
such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, etc. Inhalation of iron dust causes
a respiratory disease called pneumoconiosis [13].
10.6 Conclusion
Nanoparticle toxicity depends on their synthesis and the physicochemical charac-

teristics. Due to their enormous growth in the application of almost all fields
including medical uses, the study of their toxicity is indispensable. Nanoparticles
may enter the human body through skin, lungs, intestines etc. Also, their interaction
depends on their size, surface properties, and functionalization. Hence, there must
be a regular systematic preventive procedure which will limit human exposure to
unwanted engineered nanomaterials in the environment to safe levels and a different
framework which balances the therapeutic benefit against the potential risk of harm
to human being. Surface modification of NPs and artificial control of NPs size and
shape, are effective ways to reduce the toxicity of NPs. Through the surface
modification of NPs, the inherent toxicity of NPs can be reduced, which also can
greatly improve the biocompatibility of NPs.
References
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Nanomed 6:1117–1127
Part III
Nanotechnology in Water
Remediation and Adsorbents
Chapter 11
Nanomaterials-Based Adsorbents
for Water and Wastewater Treatments
Iris Gopalakrishnan, R. Sugaraj Samuel and Karthiyayini Sridharan
11.1 Introduction
11.1.1 Water as a Resource
Water is very essential for all existence on earth. Water being a universal solvent, it
easily dissolves other substances. Rain showers, surface water, and other flowing
water dissolve various substances like gases, microorganisms, etc. and become
contaminated. The world running in the twenty-first century is facing a major
problem and a challenge because of water contamination. Contaminated water is
unsuitable for use. Water resources become contaminated from various sources
such as residential areas, commercial, industrial practices, agricultural practices, etc.
Parameters of wastewater vary widely and depend upon the source from which it is
generated. Commonly, they are pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms,
organic or inorganic. If wastewater is disposed untreated, these constituents create a
great threat to living beings and the environment. A variety of physical, chemical,
and biological treatment processes are used for wastewater treatment [1].
11.1.2 Role of Nanotechnology in Wastewater Treatment
Water contamination is one of the major problems which the world is facing today.
Water contamination not only affect the environment and human health, but it has
I. Gopalakrishnan K. Sridharan
New College, Chennai, India

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_11
90 I. Gopalakrishnan et al.
also impacts on economic and social costs. There are various technological methods
for cleaning the water. Nanotechnology has also proved to be one of the finest and
advanced ways for wastewater treatment. The reasons behind the success of nan-
otechnology are mainly due to unique properties of nanomaterials. Nanoparticles
have very high absorbing, interacting, and reacting capabilities due to its small size
with high proportion of atoms at the surface. It can even be mixed with aqueous
suspensions and thus can behave as colloid. Nanoparticles can achieve energy
conservation due to its small size which can ultimately lead to cost savings.
Nanoparticles have great advantage of treating water in depths and any location
which is generally left out by other conventional technologies. Since water treat-
ment using nanoparticles has high technology demand, its usage cost should be
managed according to existing competition in market. There are various recent
advances on different nanomaterials (nanostructured catalytic membranes,
nanosorbents, nanocatalysts, bioactive nanoparticles, biomimetic membrane, and
molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for removing toxic metal ions,
disease-causing microbes, and organic and inorganic solutes from water [2]).
11.1.3 Harmful Chemicals in Wastewater
Wastewater from many industries, including chemical manufacturing, battery

manufacturing industries, metallurgical, leather tanning, and mining, contains these
heavy metal ions [3]. Water is contaminated with heavy metal ions, such as Pb2+,
Cd2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, and Hg2+, which have high toxic and nonbiodegradable properties
that can cause severe health problems in animals and human beings. It is well
known that chronic cadmium toxicity is the inducement of Japan Itai-Itai disease.
The harmful effects of Cd also lead to a number of acute and chronic disorders, such
as renal damage, emphysema, hypertension, testicular atrophy, and skeletal mal-
formation in fetus [4]. These wastewaters with heavy metal ions are discharged into
natural water directly. It is not only a threat to the aquatic organisms, but also may
be enriched by precipitation and adsorption, and harm human health through the
food chain. Thus, the removal of such toxic metal ions from wastewater is
becoming a crucial issue.
11.1.4 Techniques Used to Eliminate Heavy Metal Ions
Heavy metal ions could be eliminated by several traditional techniques as follows:

• Chemical precipitation
• Reverse osmosis
• Electrochemical treatment techniques
• Ion exchange
11 Nanomaterials-Based Adsorbents for Water … 91
• Membrane filtration
• Coagulation
• Extraction
• Irradiation
Adsorption due to its low cost-effective, high efficiency, and simple to operate
for removing trace levels of heavy metal ions
Adsorption technology is regarded as the most promising one to remove heavy
metal ions from effluents among these techniques mentioned above.
Several types of materials have been researched to adsorb metal ions from
aqueous solutions, such as activated
• Carbons
• Clay minerals
• Chelating materials
• Chitosan/natural zeolites.
11.1.5 Current Methodology for Water and Wastewater

Treatment
Some of the most promising technologies of wastewater treatment involving

nanomaterials are as follows:
Adsorption is one of the most well-practiced techniques for water treatment.
Nanomaterials are good adsorbent in the treatment of wastewater. Hence, they are
used in many applications like catalytic, absorptive, catalytic membrane, bioactive
nanoparticles, biomimetic membrane, polymeric and nanocomposite membrane,
thin-film composite membrane, etc. Carbon nanotubes (CNT) are good absorbent of
various organic chemicals [5]. Organic compounds which have carboxylic,
hydroxyl, and amide functional groups also form hydrogen bond with the graphitic
CNT surface which donates electrons [6]. Various nanoscale metal oxides like
ferrous oxide, TiO2, and Al2O3 are effective, low-cost adsorbants for heavy metals
and radio nuclides [7]. Organics and heavy metals are also removed by dendrimers
(polymeric nanomaterials) [8]. Nanoadsorbents are used as powder, beads, or
porous granules.
Nanomembranes are made of nanofibres which remove very effectively the
microsize particles from the aqueous phase with reduced fouling propensity [9].
Such membranes are used for initial treatment and further proceeded to ultrafil-
tration or reverse osmosis. A large number of studies are done on creating multi-
function membrane by adding nanomaterials into polymeric or inorganic
membranes known as nanocomposite membranes. The addition of metal oxide
nanoparticles including alumina, silica, zeolite, and TiO2 to polymeric ultrafiltration
membranes has been shown to amplify membrane surface hydrophilicity, water

permeability, or fouling resistance [10]. Chlorinated compounds are degraded by
inorganic membranes with nano TiO2 [11]. The use of TiO2 immobilized on a
polyethylene support and a TiO2 slurry in combination with polymeric membranes
has proved to be very effective for degradation of 1,2-dichlorobenzene and phar-
maceuticals, respectively [12]. Nanostructured composite membranes successfully
reduced the fouling burden and improved the permeate flux [13]. Alumina–zirco-
nia–titania ceramic membrane coated with Fe2O3 nanoparticles was observed to
reduce the dissolved organic carbon better than the uncoated membrane enhancing
the degradation of natural organic matter [14].
Antimicrobial nanomaterials are used to inactivate certain viruses. For
example, nanosilver is used to inhibit bacterial attachment and biofilm formation on
the membrane surface [15]. It also inactivates viruses and can reduce membrane
biofouling [16]. Thin-film nanomaterial membrane incorporates nanomaterials into
the active layer of composite membrane via doping in the casting solutions or
surface modification. The nanoparticles on membranes affect the permeability,
which varies with their dimension and quantity added [17]. Many biological
inspired membranes are highly selective and permeable [18].
Nanocatalysts also remove contaminants from water due to their unique physical
and chemical characteristics. Zero-valent metal, semiconductor materials, and
bimetallic nanoparticles are widely used in water treatment as they increase the
catalytic activity at the surface. It enhances the reactivity and degradation of envi-
ronmental contaminants such as organochlorine-based pesticides, halogenated her-
bicides, azo dyes, polychlorinated biphenyls, and nitro-aromatics [19]. The catalytic
activity of nanomaterials and reusability of this particle (silver nanocatalyst,
N-doped TiO2, and ZrO2 nanoparticles) has been proved on laboratory scale for
various contaminants with efficient removal of microbial contaminants in water [20].
Bioactive nanoparticles are also important class of materials having immense
potential for wastewater treatment. Silver nanoparticles can be biosynthesized
extracellularly by bacteria Bacillus cereus. This strain was exposed to different
concentrations of silver salt AgNO3, MgO nanoparticles, and cellulose acetate,
which are very effective biocides [21].
Types of nanoparticles Types of pollutants

Nanoscale metal oxide Heavy metal radionuclides
Nanocatalysts PCB, Azodyes, Pesticides, etc.
Carbon nanotubes Organic contaminant
Bioactive nanoparticles Removal of bacteria and fungi
Biomimetic membranes Removing salts
Nanostructured catalytic Decomposition of organic pollutant, inactivation of
microorganisms
Few of the applications for wastewater treatment are discussed in the next
section in detail.
11.1.6 Adsorption
Adsorption is commonly used to remove organic and inorganic contaminants in

water and wastewater treatment. Nanosorbents provide a significant improvement
over conventional adsorbents with their extremely high specific surface area and
associated sorption sites, short intraparticle diffusion distance, and tunable pore size
and surface chemistry [22].
Nanomaterials for adsorption are used as sorbents for removing heavy metal ions
in wastewater. Nanomaterials should satisfy the following criterions:
• The nanosorbents themselves should be nontoxic.
• The sorbents present relatively high sorption capacities and selectivity to the low
concentration of pollutants.
• The adsorbed pollutant could be removed from the surface of the nanoadsorbent
easily.
• The sorbents could be infinitely recycled.
So far, a variety of nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, carbon-based material
composites, graphene, nanometal or metal oxides, and polymeric sorbents have
been studied in the removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions, and the
results indicate that these nanomaterials show high adsorption capacity.
11.1.7 Carbon‐Based Nanoadsorbents (Organic Removal)
Carbon-based nanomaterials [4, 23] are used widely in the removal of heavy metals
due to its nontoxicity and high sorption capacities. Activated carbon is used first as
sorbents but it is difficult to remove heavy metals at very low levels. But with
carbon nanotubes, fullerene and graphene are synthesized nanomaterials and are
used as nanosorbents.
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are used as nanosorbents initially and showed high
sorption efficiency of divalent metal ions. It was found that carbon nanomaterials
have significantly higher sorption efficiency compared with activated carbons
[24, 25]. But the solution conditions, including pH and metal ions concentrations,
could affect the adsorption characteristics of carbon nanotubes. Then, to enhance
the sorption capacities, CNTs are modified by oxidation, [26] combining with
other metal ions [27] or metal oxides [28], and coupling with organic compounds
[29]. Carboxyl-carbon sites are over 20 times more energetic for zinc sorption
than unoxidized carbon sites [29–31]. Carbon nanotubes are modified with
8-hydroxyquinoline and are used to remove of Cu2+, Pb2+, Cd2+, and Zn2+.
Adsorption parameters, such as the amount of carbon nanotubes used, temperature,
pH, ionic strength, and metal ion concentration, were studied and optimized. The
results show that most of the metals are removed from the aqueous solution. The
modification of CNTs with 8-hydroxyquinoline enhanced significantly the removal
process.
Wang et al. [4, 32] synthesized the few-layered graphene oxide nanosheets
through the modified Hummers method and used as sorbents for the removal of
Cd2+ and Co2+ ions from aqueous solution. These nanosheets are dependent on pH
and ionic strength, and the abundant oxygen-containing functional groups on the
surfaces of graphene oxide nanosheets played an important role on sorption. Also,
the magnetite–graphene adsorbents with a particle size of *10 nm give a high
binding capacity for As3+ and As5+, due to the increased adsorption sites in the
graphene composite [32].
11.1.8 Carbon‐Based Nanoadsorbents

(Heavy Metal Removal)
Oxidized CNTs have high adsorption capacity for metal ions. They absorb metal
ions through electrostatic interactions and chemical bonding. Thus, surface oxi-
dation can significantly enhance the absorption capacity of CNTs. They are nor-
mally tuned to target specific contaminants. Recently, it was found that sand
granules coated with graphite oxide were efficient in removing Hg2+ and rhodamine
b with efficiency compared to an activated carbon [33].
CNT nanosorbents can be regenerated and reused for several hundred times for
efficient removal of Zn2+ ions.
11.1.9 Metal‐Based Nanoadsorbents
Metal ions and radionuclides are effectively removed by metal ions like iron oxide,
titanium oxide, and alumina, where the adsorption is by diffusion along micropore
walls [34].
Dunwell group in Hongkong adopts a type of polymeric nanoparticles, which is
developed by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and has been successfully
applied for wastewater treatment (Fig. 11.1) [33]. The nanoparticles effectively
adsorb most of the intractable organic and inorganic contaminants present in
wastewater. The saturated nanoparticles containing the adsorbed contaminants are
then divided by using the vibrating membrane separation system. They are then
separately regenerated and reused for various purposes where they still retain their
absorption capacity [32].
Fig. 11.1 Nanoabsorbents for wastewater treatment and precious metal recovery [33]
11.1.10 Antimicrobial Nanomaterials
The antimicrobial nanomaterials can either directly interact with the microbial cells,
e.g., interrupting transmembrane electron transfer, disrupting or penetrating the cell
envelope, or oxidizing cell components, or produce secondary products (e.g., reac-
tive oxygen species (ROS) or dissolved heavy metal ions) that cause damage [35].
Synthesized nanoparticles naturally occurring chitosan and peptides, nanopar-
ticles of silver, TiO2 nanoparticles, and nanosized ZnO have many potential
applications in low-cost water disinfection systems by various mechanisms based
on their physicochemical properties.
11.2 Conclusion
Nanotechnologies have made great improvements for handling water contamination

problems and will clearly make further advancements in future. These methods are
more cost-effective, less time, and energy consuming with very less waste gener-
ations than conventional bulk materials based methods. Nanotechnology-based
treatment has offered very effective, efficient, durable, and eco-friendly approaches.
However, certain precautions are to be taken to avoid any threat to human health or
environment due to the nanoparticles.
Nanomaterials have a number of physicochemical properties that make them
particularly attractive for wastewater purification. Recent researches have indicated
that nanomaterials as sorbents are useful tools for heavy metal removal, due to their
unique structure and surface characteristics. These materials are capable to remove
heavy metal ions at low concentration, with high selectivity and adsorption
capacity. These properties of nanosorbents make them ideal materials for
wastewater treatment technology. Although nanosorbents, such as CNTs, nano-
metal or nanometal oxides, and other organic sorbents, are used successfully in
removal of heavy metal ions in wastewater, there still remain several problems;
wastewater treatment on a large-scale is the essential one. Besides, developing some
environment-friendly and inexpensive nanomaterials is also the key work. With the
nanotechnology developed, the exploitation of new efficient adsorption materials is
essential and will continue infinitely, and the future of nanomaterials in removal of
heavy metal ions in wastewater treatment is fairly bright.
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Chapter 12
Water Remediation by Nanofiltration
and Catalytic Degradation
R. Sugaraj Samuel and Karthiyayini Sridharan
One of the most important challenges in the world is to provide clean water.
Nanotechnology in recent years provides beneficial properties of nanomaterials that
render solutions to overcome the limitations in the conventional methods of water
remediation. Although the research is increasing tremendously in this field, the
latest advanced technology is not readily available in the markets. Numerous
methods are there in nanotechnology, like filtration, magnetic materials, catalytic
degradation, sensors, etc., for various aspects of water purification.
The basic ancient and simplest process for water purifying is filtration. In
nanofiltration, the focus is mostly on the membrane development to filter off various
contaminants in many stages. Thus, this chapter gives a comprehensive review on
the ongoing research and development activities on filtration and catalytic degra-
dation for remediations of contaminated wastewater, groundwater, and surface
water by nanotechnology.
12.1 Nanofiltration for Water Purification
Filtration refers to the removal of undesired constituents from water by the passage
of water through a porous barrier. The conventional water treatment process con-
sists of several stages. These include pretreatment, coagulation, flocculation, sedi-
mentation, disinfection, aeration, and filtration. The pretreatment stage removes
suspended solids. Coagulation and flocculation are carried out to precipitate dis-
solved impurities through sedimentation. The water is then filtered to remove any
K. Sridharan

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100 R. Sugaraj Samuel and K. Sridharan
suspended particles. One of the disadvantages of the conventional water treatment

method is that it cannot remove dissolved salts and some soluble inorganic and
organic substances [1]. Hence, nanotechnology is sought after for the water treat-
ment. This is done by using nanomembranes, nanoporous polymers, etc.
Desalination also is categorized under this method.
Membrane filtration is a pressure-driven process. The principle of operation is
generally composed of two phases, feed water phase and the product water. The
membrane is a barrier that separates two homogenous phases. It allows some
solutes to pass through but rejects the permeation of others (Fig. 12.1). The main
advantages of the membrane process for water treatment are that it does not require
chemicals, requires relatively low energy, and is easy to operate and maintain [2].
Each membrane has specific features for the selective permeation and rejection of
different solutes.
The separation of solutes of a fluid mixture is achieved when a driving force is
applied. The driving force could be a pressure difference (Dp), electrical potential
difference (DE), temperature difference (DT), or concentration gradient (Dc) [3].
Membrane processes can be classified as microfiltration (MF), ultrafiltration
(UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO). Membrane is distinguished by
pore size, transport mechanism, applied pressure, range of applications, etc.
Semi-permeable membranes have pores in the range 0.5 nm–5 lm. The membrane
pore size is a main factor determining whether a solute will pass the membrane.
Microfiltration membranes have 50–5000 nm pore size, ultrafiltration membranes
have 5–50 nm pore size, 0.6–5 nm are the pore size of nanofiltration membranes,
and <0.6 as pore size in reverse osmosis. Pressure required for smaller pores is
greater than that for larger pores. Generally pressure ranges from 0.1 to 70 bar.
Fig. 12.1 Membrane filtration process

12 Water Remediation by Nanofiltration and Catalytic Degradation 101
Nanofiltration removes monovalent ions, multivalent ions, viruses, bacteria, and

suspended solids. Also membrane must be selected with appropriate permeability to
remove the desired contaminant. Reverse osmosis requires intensive energy and
requires high pressure to force water through the membrane. Hence, it becomes
very expensive. However, it is found that adding porous nanoparticles to mem-
branes can dramatically increase the efficiency with which water can be filtered.
Under similar pressure, water goes twice as much through the membrane. This
increased permeability decreases the energy requirement by 20% in desalination.
Also it increases the water productivity by 70% [4].
Natural organic matter and inorganic pollutants in surface water were treated
effectively by nanofiltration because this operation is possible at low osmotic
pressure [4]. Organic molecules of large molecules can be filtered through mem-
branes of comparative pore sizes and the inorganic salts are removed by charge
effect of the membranes and ions.
12.1.1 Nanofiber Membranes
Electrospinning is a simple, efficient, and inexpensive way to make ultra-fine fibers

using various materials (e.g., polymers, ceramics, or even metals) [5]. The resulting
nanofibers have high specific surface area and porosity and form nanofiber mats
with complex pore structures. The diameter, morphology, composition, secondary
structure, and spatial alignment of electrospun nanofibers can be easily manipulated
for specific applications [6]. Nanofiber membranes can remove micron-sized par-
ticles from aqueous phase at a high rejection rate without significant fouling [7].
Functional nanomaterials can be easily doped into the spinning solutions to fabri-
cate nanoparticle impregnated nanofibers or formed in situ [6]. For example, by
incorporating ceramic nanomaterials or specific capture agents on the nanofiber
scaffold, affinity nanofiber membranes can be designed to remove heavy metals and
organic pollutants during filtration.
12.1.2 Nanocomposite Membranes
A significant number of studies on membrane nanotechnology have focused on

creating synergism or multifunction by adding nanomaterials to polymeric or
inorganic membranes. Nanomaterials used for such applications include hydro-
philic metal oxide nanoparticles (e.g., Al2O3, TiO2, and zeolite), antimicrobial
nanoparticles (e.g., nano-Ag and CNTs), and (photo) catalytic nanomaterials (e.g.,
bimetallic nanoparticles, TiO2) [8]. The incorporation of zeolites improves the
hydrophilicity of membranes resulting in raised water permeability. Antimicrobial
nanoparticles (nanosilver, CNTs) and (photo)catalytic nanomaterials (bimetallic

nanoparticles, TiO2) are mainly used to increase resistance to fouling [9]. Gehrke
et al. [10] deposited photocatalytic TiO2 nanoparticles (P25, Evonik) on a metallic
filter material (microsieve) by a dip coating process. Another approach in research
focuses on bionanocomposite membranes with highly selective proteins immobi-
lized on their surfaces [11].
12.1.3 Self-assembling Membranes
A nanostructure membrane material, especially for gas permeation, is designed by

means of self-assembly of block copolymers (block copolymer membranes). Such
membranes belonging to the category of ultrafiltration provide enhanced selectivity
and permeate efficiency [9].
12.1.4 Aquaporin-Based Membranes
Aquaporins are pore-forming proteins and ubiquitous in living cells. Under certain
conditions, they form highly selective water channels that are able to reject most
ionic molecules. The combination of high water permeability and selective rejection
make them an ideal material for creating novel high flux biomimetic membranes.
To stabilize the aquaporins, they are incorporated in vesicles. Since stand-alone
membranes based on these vesicles are too mechanically weak for their intended
technical applications, like osmosis, they are embedded in a polymeric matrix or
deposited onto polymeric substrates such as nanofiltration membranes [12].
12.2 Mathematical Modeling for Nanofiltration
The NF membranes are selected according to the application based on the mem-
branes properties. Its properties lie between the RO membranes and UF mem-
branes. Hence, certain aspects like charge effect, size, etc., are to be considered.
Thus, the solution lies in the mathematical modeling of this diffusion process [4].
Nernst–Planck equation is the basic equation considered for the membrane filtration
process. The following is the Nernst–Planck equation
dc zcDp dw
J ¼ Dp F þ Kc cV;
dx RT dx
where J = Ion flux based on membrane area (mol m2/s), Dp = Hindered diffusivity
(m2/s), c = Ion concentration in the membrane (mol m−3), x = Distance from the
membrane (m), z = Valence of ion, R = Gas constant (J/mol/K), T = Absolute

temperature (K), F = Faraday constant (C mol−1), Kc = Hindrance factor for
conversion, w= Potential difference, and V = Solvent velocity (m s−1).
12.3 Nanomaterials
Nanomaterials which could be used in water purification and desalinations include

metal, metal oxides nanoparticles, graphene, and carbon nanotubes.
The zeolite membranes, a kind of porous inorganic membrane due to their
excellent chemical and thermal stabilities, provide a rigid ceramic structure suitable
for separating the small water molecules (0.26 nm) from larger salt ions. For
example, the hydrated size of Na+ and Cl− ions is 0.72 and 0.66 nm, respectively.
Zeolite membranes show promise for desalination because of their ordered inor-
ganic structures [13].
Silver is the most widely used material. Its low toxicity and microbial inacti-
vation in water make it a vital material in water filtration process. It may be
incorporated into different types of polymers for the production of antimicrobial
nanofibers. Poly (-caprolactone-) based polyurethane nanofiber mats containing Ag
nanoparticles were prepared as antimicrobial nanofilters in a study. Different types
of nanofibers containing Ag nanoparticles are prepared for antimicrobial application
and exhibited very good antimicrobial properties. Water filters prepared by poly-
urethane’s foam coated with Ag nanofibers have shown good antibacterial prop-
erties against Escherichia coli (E. coli). Nanostructured TiO2 films and membranes
are used for disinfecting microorganisms in addition to the decomposition of
organic pollutants under UV and visiblelight irradiation. Due to its stability in
water, TiO2 are used to produce thin films or membrane filters [14].
Radially aligned CNTs filtration membranes remove bacteria and viruses in very
short time due to size exclusion and depth filtration. They are cost-effective and
used in water disinfection devices. It further reduces biofouling. A nanocomposite
membrane of single-walled CNTs and polyvinyl-N-carbazole showed high inacti-
vation of bacteria upon direct contact in a study. The single-walled CNTs cova-
lently bonded to thin film composite membrane surface also exhibited moderate
antibacterial properties. As CNTs are insoluble in water and not consumed, there is
no need for replenishment. However, as direct contact is required for inactivation,
long-term filtration experiments are needed to determine the impact of fouling on
the antimicrobial activity of CNTs. Addition of oxidized MWNT at low weight
percentage (up to 1.5 wt%) also increases the hydrophilicity and permeability of
polysulfone membranes [8].
Graphene sheets are also strong absorber, because of its black color, it absorbs at
the whole sun spectrum. The advantage of graphene is its low price and chemical
stability [8].
Nanofibrous alumina filters and other nanofiber materials also remove negatively
charged contaminants such as viruses, bacteria, and organic and inorganic colloids
at a faster rate than conventional filters [15].
Attapulgite clays are naturally occurring materials, in many places around the
world. Clay in the filtration process offers an economical and effective method for
reducing the amount of whey and other organic matter to make the wastewater safe
to drink [16].
12.4 Desalination
Desalination is also a membrane process. Synthetic membranes are the most widely
used membranes in the desalination process. Membrane processes such as ultra-
filtration as (UF), nanofiltration (NF), and reverse osmosis (RO) are emerging as
key components of advanced water purification and desalination technologies. NF
prevents the passage of larger and undesirable molecules such as viruses, bacteria,
metals, and salts from raw or untreated water by either thermal-driven or
pressure-driven technologies. In thermal process, water is evaporated and collected
by condensation. In a membrane process, pressure is applied to force the raw water
through a membrane that retains the dissolved salts. Reverse osmosis
(RO) membranes can retain all the salt, whereas other membrane processes, such as
nanofiltration (NF), selectively retain some salts [3]. Pressure-driven membrane
technologies include reverse osmosis (RO), nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration, and
microfiltration [5]. Nanofiltration can remove some total dissolved solids and is
successful at removing solids, as well as dissolved organic carbon.
Desalination done by Long Beach method consists of two-stage nanofiltration
processes. In the first stage of filtration, seawater is pumped under high pressure
through nanofiltration membrane, which blocks the smallest 12% of salt molecules.
This seawater with only smallest 12% of salt molecules, in the second stage—is
pumped under lower pressure through second nanofiltration membrane, which
blocks the passage of almost all remaining salts.
In nanofiltration to desalinate water, nanofiltration in combination with reverse
osmosis could effectively render brackish water potable, Fig. 12.2, [3].
Fig. 12.2 Long beach method of desalination

12.5 Nanoparticles for Catalytic Degradation

of Water Pollutants
Nanoparticles are used as catalysts to chemically degrade the pollutants. Reactive

surfaces are applied in water treatment as semiconductor-based (e.g., titania, zinc
oxide, ferric oxide) membranes activated by UV or sunlight to engage in redox
processes for the degradation of organic compounds. For example, the degradation
of organic pollutants in wastewater by advanced catalytic oxidation processes
(AOPs) is useful for cleaning industrial wastewater for which existing technologies
are inefficient or cost-prohibitive. Nano-sized particles are particularly attractive for
catalysis due to their high reactivity and attributed to enhanced surface area [17].
Catalytic particles either dispersed homogeneously in solution or deposited onto
membranes structures. Nanoparticles of metal oxides [18] and semiconductors are
of great attention due to novel properties compared to their bulk materials [19].
In bulk semiconductor materials, only the hole or electron is normally available
for interaction; however, in nanoscale materials, both are available at the surface
allowing for high efficiency interactions. The mechanism by which oxidation of
organic molecules in water is initiated at the particle surface is not yet fully
understood, but theories include direct photo oxidation by the electron hole
(positron), indirect oxidation through hydroxyl radicals produced in water.
Suspended nanophotocatalysts are applied for remediation of contaminants; the
suspended state provides maximum surface area and activity. However, there exists
a difficulty in the suspended processes are nanocatalyst recovery and regeneration
(or disposal) of spent material. Some approach is to coat the catalyst with magnetic
iron oxide nanoparticles, which can be removed by magnetic nanoparticles [19].
Catalysts coatings on polymeric membranes enhance photodegradation while
eliminating the complexity of catalyst recovery. Nano-TiO2 requires ultraviolet light
for excitation but is sensitized to visible light by dyes with transition metal ions.
Nano-TiO2 and fullerene derivatives have low human toxicity, high stability, and
selectivity and low cost. Self-cleaning RO membranes with the addition of titania
nanoparticles becomes both photocatalysis and ultra-hydrophilicity upon UV
application. Polysulpone supported self-cleaning polyamide (PA)/titaniamembranes
through interfacial polymerization, which contains a layer of silicon dioxide between
layers of cross-linked PA and titania that is prepared to restrict the degradation of
some organic parts of the membranes. Flux recovery after 15 h of operation (with
water cleansing and UV exposure every 3 h) is greater than 98% for these photo-
catalytic membranes, significantly higher than standard water treatment membranes.
Titania nanopowders are also applied to ceramic membrane surfaces, such as silica
93–94, alumina 95, zeolites 96, and activated carbon 97, which are more stable than
polymers under UV light and in the presence of reactive oxygen species.
Nanoscale zerovalent and bimetallic iron detoxify organic and inorganic pollu-
tants in aqueous water [20]. Nitrate is a stable and highly soluble ion with a low
potential for co-precipitation or adsorption so that removal of nitrates using con-
ventional water treatment is difficult. At present in drinking water, it is either not
removed or it is removed using ion exchange resins. The former presents health
risks, and the latter is expensive. Hence, recent research [3] focuses on identifying
the most promising catalysts (e.g., bimetallic metal catalysts such as Pd-Cu) to use
for the reduction of nitrate and other oxidized compounds and to gain fundamental
understanding of the reactivity and selectivity of these new catalytic materials [21].
12.6 Summary
Nanotechnology would also provide novel opportunities to develop more efficient

and cost-effective nanostructured and reactive membranes for water purification and
desalination. NF processes will remove >99% of hardness, but substantially reduces
removal of sodium and chloride ions. NF may also provide an excellent pretreat-
ment prior to reverse osmosis. A few nanomaterials used for the purpose is dis-
cussed briefly. The fundamental idea of membrane modeling is introduced. Long
beach method is briefed as an example of desalination method.
Catalytic degradation is another process used for removing the pollutants from
water for purification. The simple technique of degradation proved very successful
in removing the water pollutant. Their coatings in membranes showed a variety of
organic pollutants removal in a very effective manner.
NF is an established as well as a significant technology that is employed for
water softening and removal of both granular and dissolved pollutants in various
sectors of the industrial and municipal water treatment sectors.
References
1. Voortman WJ, Reddy CD (2005) Package water treatment plant selection. Part 1, Guidelines,
WRC Report No. 450/1/97; and filtration industry analyst, desalination—a snapshot, pp 3–7
2. Mulder op. cit., Moitsheki JL (2003) Evaluation of the performance of nanofiltration
membranes in detrimental ion rejection and to monitor fouling and membranes with their
subsequent chemical cleaning. Master’s thesis, Potchefstroom University, Potchefstroom,
South Africa: Sonune A, Ghate R (2004) Developments in wastewater treatment methods.
Desalination 167, 55–63
3. Hillie T, Munasinghe M, Hlope M, Deraniyagala Y (2006) Global dialogue on nanotech-
nology and the poor—Meridian Institute, nanotechnology, water, and development. http://
www.merid.org/*/media/Files/Projects/nano-waterworkshop/NanoWaterPaperFinal.ashx;
Mohsen MS, Jaber JO, Afonso MD Desalination of brackish water by nanofiltration and
reverse osmosis. Desalination 157(1–3):167
4. Graham-Rowe D (2008) Business impact purifying water with nano. 29 Sep, 2008; Shon HK
et al.: Nanofiltration for water and wastewater treatment. Drink Water Eng Sci 6, 47–53, 2013
5. Cloete TE, Kwaadsteniet Md, Botes M, Lopez-Romero JM (2010) Nanotechnology in water
treatment applications. Caister Academic Press, Poole
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(14):1151e1170
7. Ramakrishna S, Fujihara K, Teo WE, Yong T, Ma ZW, Ramaseshan R (2006) Electrospun

nanofibers: solving global issues. Mater Today 9(3):40e50
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desalination and purification—final technical report, Nanotech, UNESCO. www.unesco.org/
fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/FIELD/Cairo/Desalination%20Final%20UNESCO%20report.pdf
9. Gehrke I, Keuter V, Groß F (2012) Development of nanocomposite membranes with
photocatalytic surfaces. J Nanosci Nanotechnol 12:9163–9168
10. Gehrke I, Geiser A, Somborn-Schulz A (2015) Innovations in nanotechnology for water
treatment. Nanotechnol Sci Appl
11. Gehrke I (2013) Environmental friendly recycling of strategic metals. Fraunhofer UMSICHT
Annual Report. www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/content/dam/umsicht/en/documents/annual%
20reports/2013-annual-report.pdf. Accessed 24 July 2014
12. Tang CY, Zhao Y, Wang R, Hélix-Nielsen C, Fane AG (2013) Desalination by biomimetic
aquaporin membranes: review of status and prospects. Desalination 308:34–40
13. Kazemimoghadam M (2010) Desalination 251:176–180
14. Amin MT, Alazba AA, Manzoor U (2014) A review of removal of pollutants from water/
wastewater using different types of nanomaterials. Adv Mater Sci Eng 2014:85–99. (Hindawi
Publishing Corporation, Cairo)
15. Nanotechnology for water purification (2010). Retrieved 19 April 2016 from http://phys.org/
news/2010-07-nanotechnology-purification.html
16. Khider K et al (2004) Purification of water effluent from a milk factory by ultrafiltration using
Algerian clay support. Desalination 167:147–151. http://www.desline.com/articoli/5700.pdf
17. Hinds BJ, Chopra N, Rantell T, Andrews R, Gavalas V, Bachas LG (2004) Aligned
multiwalled carbon nanotube membranes. Science 303:62–65; Lee HS, Im SJ, Kim JH,
Kim HJ, Kim JP, Min BR (2008) Polyamide thin-film nanofiltration membranes containing
TiO2 nanoparticles. Desalination 219:48–56
18. Srivastava A, Srivastava ON, Talapatra S, Vajtai R, Ajayan PM (2004) Carbonnanotube
filters. Nat Mater 3:610–614
19. Raval HD, Gohil JM (2010) Nanotechnology in water treatment: an emerging trend. Int.
J. Nuclear Desalin 4(2):184–188; Pendergast MTM, Hoek EMV (2011) A review of water
treatment membrane nanotechnologies. Energy Environ Sci 9–172
20. Tratnyek PG, Johnson RL (2006) Nanotechnologies for environmental cleanup. Nano today
1:44
21. Xu H et al (2005) Structural changes of bimetallic PdX/Cu (1-X) nanocatalysts developed for
nitrate reduction of drinking water. In: Proceedings of Materials research society symposium,
vol 876E. http://pubweb.bnl.gov/users/frenkel/www/MRS/MRS-2005-1.pdf
Chapter 13
Magnetic Nanomaterials and Their Use
in Water Treatment
Kavita Jerath
Nanoparticles (NP’S) are of extreme interest currently for a variety of applications,

not only for their miniature sizes but mainly because their physical properties vary
dramatically from their bulk counterparts.
The case of magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) is especially interesting as the size of
this MNP is almost comparable to the size of a magnetic domain and these can be
manipulated by using magnetic fields. Usually MNP’s consist of two components, a
magnetic material like iron, nickel, and cobalt and a chemical component that has
functionality. MNP clusters that are composed of a number of individual magnetic
nanoparticles are known as magnetic nanobeads with a diameter of 50–200 nm [1].
Magnetic nanoparticle clusters are a basis for their further magnetic assembly into
magnetic nanochains [2].
Since their size is comparable to magnetic domain size, it results into two
important types of magnetic behavior in MNP’s, namely (a) Single domain ferro-
magnetic (FM) NP’s and (b) Supermagnetic (SPM) NP’s.
Like bulk ferromagnets, an array of single domain magnetic NPs can exhibit
hysteresis in the magnetization versus field dependence. A traditional bulk ferro-
magnet experiences an increase in magnetization with increase in field as the
domains grow via domain wall movement to result in a net magnetization.
However, in an array of single domain particles, the moment of each particle
interacts with its neighbors and the field to align in the field direction. The mag-
netization at which all the moments are aligned in both instances is referred to as the
saturation magnetization (Ms). The decrease of the external field to zero in both
cases results in the sample retaining a measurable amount of magnetization. The
magnetization present after saturation and the subsequent removal of the field is
referred to as the remnant magnetization (Mr). The reversal of the field (in the
direction opposite to the remnant magnetization) causes the magnetic moments to
K. Jerath (&)

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110 K. Jerath
randomize again, and the field required to bring the net magnetization back to zero
is called the coercivity, Hc [1]. The key difference between the magnetic behavior of
a bulk magnetic material and a collection of single domain FM NPs arises from the
mechanism by which the magnetization is cycled through the hysteresis loop. In a
bulk material, the magnetization increases in response to the field via domain wall
nucleation and rotation as well as the rotation of the magnetization vector away
from the easy axis of magnetization. In a single domain nanoparticle, domain wall
movement is not possible and only coherent magnetization rotation can be used to
overcome the effective anisotropy (K) of the particle [2]. Thus, the maximum
coercivity of a given material as a function of particle diameter actually falls in the
single domain range.
The critical diameter for a magnetic particle to reach the single domain limit is
equal to
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
36 AK
RSD ¼
lo MS2
where A is the exchange constant, K is the effective anisotropy constant, and Ms is

the saturation magnetization [3, 7]. For most magnetic materials, this diameter is in
the range 10–100 nm, though for some high-anisotropy materials, the single domain
limit can be several hundred nanometers [3].
For a single domain particle, the amount of energy required to reverse the
magnetization over the energy barrier from one stable magnetic configuration to the
other is proportional to KV/kBT where V is the particle volume, kB is Boltzmann’s
constant, and T is temperature [4]. If the thermal energy is large enough to over-
come the anisotropy energy, the magnetization is no longer stable and the particle is
said to be superparamagnetic (SPM). That is, an array of NPs each with its own
moment can be easily saturated in the presence of a field, but the magnetization
returns to zero upon removal of the field as a result of thermal fluctuations (i.e., both
Mr and Hc are zero). This behavior is analogous to conventional paramagnets, only
instead of individual electronic spins displaying this fluctuating response, it is the
collective moment of the entire particle, hence the term “superparamagnetism” [5].
The temperature at which the thermal energy can overcome the anisotropy energy
of a NP is referred to as the blocking temperature, TB [4]. For an array of NPs with a
distribution in volume, TB represents an average characteristic temperature and can
be affected by interparticle interactions as well as the timescale over which the
measurement is performed due to the magnetic relaxation of the particles [6].
Keeping these caveats in mind, TB as the general transition from ferromagnetism to
superparamagnetism is one of the most important quantities that define the mag-
netic behavior of an assembly of particles. Figure 13.1 shows a schematic illus-
trating the difference in the magnetization versus field behavior of an array of single
domain magnetic NPs in the blocked state (Fig. 13.1a) and an array of SPM NPs
(Fig. 13.1b).
13 Magnetic Nanomaterials and Their Use in Water Treatment 111
Fig. 13.1 Schematic illustration of a a typical hysteresis loop of an array of single domain
ferromagnetic nanoparticles and b a typical curve for a superparamagnetic material [7]
13.1 Types and Properties of Magnetic Nanoparticles
The three main types of magnetic nanoparticles are oxides, metallic, and metallic
with a shell. Ferrite is the most used of all the oxide magnetic nanoparticles. At a
certain size, these particles undergo superparamagnetism, which means that there is
no net magnetization.
The second type of magnetic nanoparticles are metallic; this type includes iron or
cobalt nanoparticles. The third type of magnetic nanoparticles is metallic with a
shell. For instance, there is a cobalt nanoparticle with a graphene shell. The gra-
phene shell is made of carbons, protecting the reactive core. This not only increases
the nanoparticle’s magnetization, but it keeps it more stable than the other two
types.
Nowadays, the water treatment has become the most worried topic all over the
world. Increase in population and industrialization has resulted in the contamination
of the water (reservoir and groundwater). Therefore, it is necessary to purify and
recycle the industrial as well as the municipal wastewater. Nowadays, researchers
have been using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) since they possess properties like
high surface area and being supermagnetic in nature. The magnetic property of
separation is useful by applying external magnetic field to them. Therefore, MNPs
are being used for removal of toxic heavy metals/elements like cations, natural
organic matter, biological contaminants, and organic pollutants, nitrites, fluoride,
and arsenic from the contaminated water. The MNPs can be synthesized by various
methods like chemical route, mechanical grinding, etc., among the available dif-
ferent technologies, adsorption by MNPs is one of the best due to its easy handling,
low cost, and high efficiency. Because of the easy separation by applying a mag-
netic field and the very large surface to volume ratio, MNP’s are used for treatment
112 K. Jerath
of contaminated water [8]. In this method, the NF membrane, since it has relatively
high rejection capacity of specific divalent substances under lower pressure, it
achieved better permeate flux compared to RO membrane. Furthermore, the salt
rejection of the NF membrane can be up to 79% and the COD value in the permeate
is as low as 35 mg L−1. Therefore, NF seems more suitable for large-scale industrial
practice and all product water by NF and RO desalination satisfied the State
Reutilization Qualification [9].
Chemical synthesis of Co-doped ZnO nanoparticles was successfully achieved
with crystalline and wurtzite-like structure to targeting waterborne bacteria [10].
Nanomagnetite has also been used for arsenic removal from drinking water.
When approached as open source nanotechnology, the kitchen synthesis of mag-
netite nanoparticles can become a new way to advance and faster technology
transfer to the underdeveloped world. Open source principles can be applied to
provide and improve accessibility to the technique, especially in water treatment
applications [11].
The experimental results showed the effectiveness of Fe3O4-MCP for the
removal of methylene blue dye. The kinetic data were adequately fitted by the
pseudo-first-order kinetic model. It was expected that the obtained Fe3O4-MCP can
be used as potential adsorbents for the removal of various toxic pollutants from dye
wastewater as the magnetic nanoparticles contain high surface area and large pore
size for dye molecules to be adsorbed on the surface of Fe3O4-MCP [12].
Similarly, thiol groups were modified on Fe3O4 impregnated on SiO2 through
silanization reaction for mercury removal from aqueous solution. The SiO2 shell
could protect the Fe3O4 core from being oxidized or dissolved in acid solution, and
super paramagnetic Fe3O4 nanoparticles core provided advantage of magnetic
separation of the sorbents. The Fe3O4impregnated on SiO2–SH showed excellent
adsorption behavior for mercury due to its high adsorption capacity, rapid ad-
sorption rate, and strong anti-interference. Moreover, the adsorbed mercury was
readily to be desorbed with HCl solution containing thiourea and the sorbents
exhibited good reusability. The XPS analysis suggested that the adsorption was
based on the ‘‘soft–soft’’ interaction between thiol group and mercury. This study
has not only proposed a method for mercury removal but also opened up new
avenues for the preparation and application of magnetic materials in environmental
remediation [13]. The effect of metal-doping of TiO2 nanoparticles on their pho-
tocatalytic activities toward removal of organic dyes was studied by a group of
researchers wherein they concluded that the X-ray diffraction showed anatase
structure for Ti pure, Ti2Zn, and Ti2 Cu samples. The crystallites sizes lie in the
range of 9–21 nm for TiO2 samples. UV-vis spectra for pure and doped TiO2
samples showed absorption peak for Ti pure in UV region and shifted to longer
wavelength by introducing the doping of metal ions (Cu2+ or Zn2+). The photo-
catalytic activities for the TiO2 samples investigated, as evaluated by photodegra-
dation of MO solution, were found to depend on the type of dopant introduced into
TiO2 lattice. The catalytic degradation rate under both UV and visible radiation
decreases according to Ti2Cu > Ti2 Zn > Ti pure. The incorporation of the doping
metal ions leads to diminish in the electron—hole recombination that improved the
photocatalytic activity under light irradiation. The kinetics of photodegradation of

MO over the studied catalysts followed a series of first-order reaction. Ti2Cu
showed the highest rate constant and the highest efficiency in COD determination
[14].
The efficiency of magnetic nanoparticles Fe3O4 (MNP) impregnated onto
NaOH-treated wheat straw was studied by removing methylene blue dye from
aqueous solution. Results indicated that adsorption is pH and temperature depen-
dent. The adsorption isotherm data were fitted to the Langmuir, Sips, Redlich
Peterson, and Freundlich isotherms. The adsorption capacity based on Langmuir
isotherm was found to be 1374.6 mg g−1. Adsorption followed pseudo-first-order
kinetics. The removal efficiency increases with temperature and hence the ad-
sorption process is endothermic in nature. The developed MNP–NWS has not only
demonstrated higher adsorption efficiency and fast kinetics but also shows addi-
tional benefits like ease of synthesis, easy recovery, absence of secondary pollu-
tants, cost-effectiveness, and environmental friendliness. They concluded that it
could be a promising advanced adsorbent in environmental pollution cleanup [15].
The photocatalytic reactivity for Cu2+ removal from aqueous solution was
studied and presented in the 7th World Congress. Nano-TiO2 immobilized on
diatomite was prepared successfully and TiO2 particles were well crystallized on
the surface of diatomite through calcinations at 700 for 2 h. The phase of
nano-TiO2 is anatase and the average crystallite size is 13 nm. The results which
obtained in dark evidenced that adsorption of Cu2+ on the nano-TiO2/diatomite are
strongly dependent on the solution pH. And the adsorption has a correlation with
the efficiency of photocatalytic reaction. The photocatalytic removal of Cu2+ was
investigated on the influence of parameters such as pH, amount of catalyst, and
concentration. The best removal is achieved at an optimal amount of 2 g/L and pH
of 5.0. The removal efficiency of 10 mg/L Cu2+ solution by nano-TiO2/diatomite
reaches 96.63% after irradiation for 3 h. Under the optimized conditions, the
removal of Cu2+ followed a pseudo-first-order kinetic model [16].
Finally, the synthesis of MNP’s and their environmental applications have been
studied in depth, and by developing different aspects of nanotechnology the broader
environmental impacts will also need to be considered. Such considerations might
include models to determine potential benefits of reduction or prevention of pol-
lutants from industrial sources. Nanoscience technology holds great potential for
the continued improvement of technologies regarding environmental protection.
MNPs due their easy separation properties have great potential in environmental
applications [17].
13.2 Conclusion
While nanotechnology is considered to be the new era by many scientists, infor-

mation related to the subject remains largely unknown to many of the folk’s
because of the novelty of the technology. But as we see, in the future, nanomaterials
114 K. Jerath
will be used in large amount for the purpose of water purification and treatment.
Therefore, this Eureka will be considered as a great milestone in the twenty-first
century. Membrane process like NF along with the magnetic nanoparticles is
becoming the standardized water purification technique for public utilities and
industries because it is flexible, intense, and relatively easy to operate and maintain.
Thus, further laboratory investigation and pilot scale testing will be needed to
integrate novel nanostructured membrane into existing water purification systems.
Also, the environmental destiny and toxicity of a material are the things to be taken
into consideration in material selection and design for water treatment system.
MNPs were powerful tool to remove heavy metal from drinking water with high
efficiency and low significant toxicity. MNPs are therefore suitable for the removal
of various heavy metals like As, Ni, Pb, Hg, Co, etc., compared to other disin-
fection technologies, MNPs disinfection is cost effective and easy to operate, with
bright future for its engineering application. The features of MNPs address the
challenges of drinking water safety in rural areas and developing countries were
lack of resources and appropriate technology in water treatment. It is particularly
suitable for small-scale water treatment system serving a population of between 500
and 1000 people and is an ideal emergent technology to provide clean water to
these areas.
References
1. Cullity BD (1972) Introduction to magnetic materials. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company,

Reading MA; Aharoni A (1996) Introduction to the theory of ferromagnetism. Oxford
University Press, New York; Morrish AH (1965) The physical properties of magnetism.
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2. Stoner EC, Wohlfarth EP (1948) Philos Trans R Soc London Ser A. 240:599–642
3. Skomski R, Coey JMD (1999) Permanent magnetism. Institute of Physics Publishing, Bristol
and Philadelphia
4. Néel L (1949) C R Acad Sci 228:664–671
5. Bean CP (1955) J Appl Phys 26:1381–1383
6. Majetich SA, Sachan M (2006) J Phys D Appl Phys 39:R407–R422
7. Frey NA, Peng S, Cheng K, Sun S (2009) Magnetic nanoparticles: synthesis, functional-
ization, and applications in bioimaging and magnetic energy storage. Chem Soc Rev 38
(9):2532–2542
8. Tambe Patil BB (2015) Wastewater treatment using nanoparticles. J Adv Chem Eng 5(3)
9. Feini LIU et al (2008) Performance of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes in metal
effluent treatment. Chin J Chem Eng 16(3)
10. Oves M et al (2015) Anti-microbial activity of cobalt doped zinc oxide nanoparticles. J Saudi
Chem Soc 19(5):581–588
11. Yavuz CT et al (2009) Pollution magnet. Environ Geochem Health32(4):327–334
12. Tan KA et al (2012) Removal of cationic dye by magnetic nanoparticle (Fe3O4) impregnated
onto activated maize cob powder (MCP) and kinetic study of dye waste adsorption.
J APCBEE Procedia 1:83–89
13. Zhang S et al (2013) Thiol modified Fe3O4 impregnated on SiO2 as a robust, high effective,
and recycling magnetic sorbent for mercury removal. Chem Eng J 226
14. Khairy M, Zakaria W (2014) Effect of metal-doping of TiO2 nanoparticles on their photo
catalytic activities toward removal of organic dyes. Egypt J Pet 23:419–426
15. Pirbazari AE et al (2014) Fe3O4 wheat straw: preparation, characterization and its application
for methylene blue adsorption. J Water Res Indus 7–8:23–27
16. Sun Q et al (2015) Nano-TiO2 immobilized on diatomite characterization and photo catalytic
reactivity for Cu2+ removal from aqueous solution. The 7th world congress on particle
technology (WCPT7)
17. Lunge SS et al (2014) Magnetic nanoparticles: synthesis and environmental applications. The
international conference on chemical, civil and environmental engineering (CCEE’2014)
Singapore dated on 18–19 Nov 2014
Chapter 14
Effects and Interaction of Some Metallic
Nanomaterials on Micro-organisms
Ahmad Shumayal, Rohan Saha and Manoj Kannan
14.1 Introduction
Metallic nanoparticles, because of their special properties and least dimensions,

have important applications in optical, magnetic, thermal, electronic and sensor
devices, SERS (surface enhanced Raman scattering), catalysis, etc. Every property
of nanoparticles are because of their small sizes. Over the last couple of decades,
the structure of the inorganic nanoparticles was significantly novel and had
improved physical, chemical, and biological properties, phenomena and usefulness
because of their nanoscale sizes, and have inspired much intrigue. Nanophasic and
nanostructure materials are drawing in a lot of consideration because of their
potential for accomplishing particular processes and selectivity, particularly in
natural and pharmaceutical applications.
The copper nanocrystals incorporate as an antimicrobial, antibiotic, and anti-
fungal agent when fused in coatings, plastics, textiles, in copper diet supplements,
in the interconnect for small scale or micro, integrated, or coordinated circuits, for
absorbing radioactive cesium, in super strong metals, amalgam, in nanowire,
nanofiber, in certain combination of applications.
Additional research is being done at different levels for their potential electrical,
dielectric, magnetic, optical, imaging, catalytic, biomedical, and bioscience prop-
erties. Copper nanoparticles are by and large quickly accessible in many volumes.
Scientists have also prescribed the utilization of silver and copper particles as
A. Shumayal R. Saha M. Kannan (&)


https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4_14
118 A. Shumayal et al.
predominant disinfectants for wastewater produced from clinics containing infec-

tious microorganisms.1
14.2 Effects of Copper Nanoparticles
14.2.1 Copper Nanoparticles
In the synthesis of copper nanoparticles, the bacterial activities are reduced2 by

dissolving copper sulfate in distilled water and then electrolyzed. The copper
nanoparticles are shaped at the cathode and they are removed carefully. Molecule
size is noted as 24 nm from XRD examination by utilizing Deby-Scherrer recipe
(Instrumental expanding).
14.2.2 Changes in Surface Area to Volume Ratio
The genuine properties of some nanoparticles like silver are very different funda-
mentally at nanoscale. One prime case of surface area to volume ratio at the
nanoscale is gold as a nanoparticle. At the macroscale, gold is an inert element,
which means it does not react with numerous chemicals, while at the nanoscale,
gold nanoparticles turn out to be extremely reactive and can be utilized as catalysts
to accelerate reactions. As the gold nanoparticle size diminishes and the surface area
to volume ratio expands, the probability of ferromagnetism increments. For
instance, the Plasmon resonance of spherical silver nanoparticles brings about the
molecule’s outstanding ability to diffuse blue light.
Nanoparticles are unique and fascinating because their chemical and physical
properties are not the same as their macro counterparts. Nanoparticles have
exceptional properties because of their little size. All nanoparticles regardless of
their chemical compositions have their surface area to volume ratios reaching
peaks. This causes nanoparticles’ physical properties to be ruled by the impact of
the surface particles and capping agents on the nanoparticles’ surface.
The high surface area to volume ratio in nanocrystals can prompt to unexpected
properties. A molecule with a high surface area has a more noteworthy number of
reaction sites than a molecule with low surface area, and in this manner, brings out
the results in high chemical reactivity. High surface area to volume proportion is
critical for applications, for example, catalysis. The change in properties of
1
N. Prakash, S. Jayapradeep and P. N. Sudha, “Investigation of Antimicrobial Properties of Silver
and Copper Nanoparticles Encspsulated in Chitosan,” First International Conference on
Nanostructured Materials and Nanocomposites, Kottayam, India, April 6–8, 2009, pp. 311–317.
2
T. Theivasanthi and M. Alagar, Archives of Physics Research, 1, 2, 2010, 112–117.
14 Effects and Interaction of Some Metallic Nanomaterials on … 119
materials is because of expanded surface area to volume ratios. Reactions happen at

the surface of a chemical or material; the more prominent the surface for the same
volume, the more noteworthy is the reactivity. The connection to nanotechnology is
that as particles get smaller, their surface area to volume ratios increases
significantly.
14.2.3 Copper Nanoparticles and Its Antibacterial Activities
Nanomaterials are main in the field of nanomedicine, bio nanotechnology, and in

that regard, nanotoxicology research is increasing extraordinary significance.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has endorsed enrollment of
copper as an antimicrobial operator which can lessen particular destructive
microorganisms connected to conceivably fatal microbial diseases.
Also, no research has found any microbes which are ready to create immunity to
copper as they regularly do with antimicrobial drugs. The rise of nanoscience and
nanotechnology in the most recent decade presents open doors for investigating the
bactericidal impact of metal nanoparticles. The bactericidal impact of metal
nanoparticles has been ascribed to their little size and high surface to volume ratio,
which permits them to interact closely with microbial membrane and is not because
of the release of metal ions in solution.
A cell wall is present outside of the bacterial cell membrane and it is basic and
important to the survival of bacteria. It is produced using polysaccharides and
peptides named peptidoglycan. There are comprehensively two distinct sorts of cell
wall in bacteria, called Gram-positive and Gram-negative. The names originate
from the reactions of cells to the gram stains, a test since quite a while ago utilized
for the grouping of bacterial species. Gram-positive bacteria have a thick cell wall
containing many layers of peptidoglycan. Conversely, Gram-negative microor-
ganisms have a generally thin cell wall comprising a couple of layers (on a lesser
side) of peptidoglycan.
Copper was utilized for its antibacterial qualities for a long time. Now, copper
nanoparticles have demonstrated antibacterial activities more than copper. Different
analysts and researchers have attempted to upgrade the antibacterial activities of
metals and metal oxides nanoparticles embracing different techniques, i.e., utilizing
capping agents while on synthesis, utilizing a mix of light energy with nanoparti-
cles, utilizing a mix of ultrasound wave with nanoparticles, utilizing a mix of
electric field with nanoparticles, and so on.
D. K. Tiwari and J. Behari3 detailed that the silver nanoparticles treated with
brief time introduction with ultrasound indicate an expanded antibacterial effect,
however, the time was insufficient to kill the bacteria with ultrasound only. It
demonstrated the synergistic impact of ultrasound and silver nanoparticles. The
3
D. K. Tiwari and J. Behari, Advances in Biological Research, 3, 3–4, 2009, 89–95.
ultrasound encourages the passage of silver nanoparticles inside the cells and the
antibacterial effect was improved with same concentration of nanoparticles in the
presence of ultrasound waves. The biocidal effect was more articulated when
contrasted with the activities of silver nanoparticles alone.
Omid Akhavan and Elham Ghaderi4 examined the impact of an electric field on
the antibacterial activity of silver nanorods against E. coli bacteria. It was found that
the developed silver nanorods indicate solid and quick antibacterial activity.
Applying an electric field toward the nanorods (with no electrical association
between the nanorods and the capacitor plates creating the electric field) advanced
their antibacterial activity. This showed the antibacterial activity of silver nanorods
can be improved by applying an electric field. This will be further explored in the
later section.
14.2.4 Results and Discussion About Copper Nanoparticles
Surface area to volume ratio of copper nanoparticles combined with electrolysis

method and chemical reduction method was ascertained and compared. It was
reported that changes in surface area to volume ratio of copper nanoparticles were
demonstrating more antibacterial activities. Further, it was published that utilizing
electrical power while on integrating of copper nanoparticles is expanding its
antibacterial activities. Activities of copper nanoparticles orchestrated in both above
strategy were likewise seen against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive mi-
croscopic organisms5.
14.3 Effects of Gold Particles
14.3.1 Introduction
Being a precious noble metal that catches everyone’s eyes, gold is without doubt
one of the most sought-after elements for both civilians and criminals alike. The
field of “Alchemy” is sufficient to summarize human’s obsession with wealth by
trying to convert anything, not gold, to gold.
This is better pictured analogously with say, a factory with laborer’s toiling all
day for you while simultaneously building and interacting with products which in
4
Omid Akhavan and Elham Ghaderi, Sci. Technol. Adv. Mater, 10, 015003, 2009, 5. Doi:
10.1088/1468-6996/10/1/015003.
5
O. Yamamoto, M. Komatso, Jun Sawai, and Zenbe-E-Nakagawa, Journal Materials science:
Materials in Medicine, 15, 2004, 847–851.
nature is totally different from themselves. Animate as opposed to inanimate,

humans to machines is the comparison that springs to the mind. Similarly, scientists
have all the more been interested in the interaction of biological entities with
inorganic matter which has been in constant interaction since time immemorial,
primordial soup. We buy mineral water which goes without saying that life has
sustained on this planet, with a well-organized and deposited minefield. Many
microorganisms can produce inorganic nanoparticles through intracellular and
extracellular methods. Various nanoparticles have been synthesized biologically as
opposed to mining, geotechnical engineering, and metallurgy to be specific.
However, it still remains financially and economically unfeasible as of today, to be
a gold-digger at the cellular level for this purpose. However, in the fields of
medicine and so on and so forth where a few nanoparticles can serve its purpose,
this is an explosive field. Various nanoparticles including but not limited to gold,
copper, silver, alloy, and other metal nanoparticles oxide nanoparticles consisting of
both nonmagnetic and magnetic oxide nanoparticles, sulfide nanoparticles, and
other miscellaneous nanoparticles have already been produced.
Very specifically, gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have a rich history in science
which backpedals to antiquated Roman circumstances where they were utilized to
stain glasses for styling purposes. AuNPs were at that point utilized for curing
different sicknesses hundreds of years back. The current time of AuNPs union
started more than 150 years back with the work of Michael Faraday, who was
conceivably the first to watch that colloidal gold arrangements have properties that
vary from mass gold. Biosynthesis of nanoparticles has merged to be bionan-
otechnology (the crossing point of nanotechnology and biotechnology) has got
significant consideration because of a developing need to create condition inviting
innovations in materials amalgamation.
It should be interesting to note that microorganisms can actually be used to
synthesize this element, although at a nanoscale level of some nanoparticles. This is
emerging as an ecofriendly method as opposed to mining, however, cannot be
produced in tons.
14.3.2 Identification of Microbes
Gold has properties which depend optically on its size in the presence of external
light. This has not been sufficiently studied to the point of its implementation in
Pathology diagnostics. Microbes, their products, and even the antibodies which are
produced in response to bacterial attacks can be studied using these size-dependent
properties of AuNPs. Ligands in general, from the world of inorganic chemistry,
investigated thoroughly by many researchers around and implemented in Allopathy.
Similarly, gold nanoparticles can also be functionalized either with some other
ligands or antibodies to target the microbe of interest. Sequences of nucleic acids
which are complementary to the pathogen’s DNA or RNA have also found to be
compatible with gold nanoparticles and thereby can detect the pathogen’s presence.
Fig. 14.1 AuNP conjugated

with DNA
An example of this is the ssDNA modified with thiol can effectively be used as tags
just like players can tag each other in a match of laser tag. In this case, the
thiol-modified ssDNA binds with the complimenting pathogen sequence (Fig. 14.1).
14.3.3 Synthesis of Nanoparticles by MicroOrganisms
We return to the concept of synthesis from introduction as it can be easily over-

looked especially in hindsight. Bacteria Rhodopseudomonas capsulate was tested
and found to be capable of literally manufacturing AuNPs of different sizes and
shapes. The significantly important factor which controls both the shapes and sizes
of AuNPs was the pH value6.
As microorganisms have a place with one of the greatest dangers to humankind.
Quick location and recognizable proof of microorganisms in ecological, nourish-
ment, and clinical specimens are required for well-being purposes, and in addition,
analysis of irresistible illnesses. Ordinary methods for microbial identification,
however, accurate and qualitative, are tedious, costly, and inadmissible for field
circumstances. Approach of novel systems including Nanotechnology has been
promising for the advancement of quick with minimal effort in techniques for fast
discovery and identification of organisms with higher affectability.
Gold nanoparticles locate a noteworthy place in healthcare, material sciences,
and in addition to diagnostics for their one of a kind optical and physiochemical
properties. We will be reviewing the latest developments of gold nanoparticle-based
assays for microbial interaction both direct and indirect.
6
Biosynthesis of gold nanoparticles using the bacteria Rhodopseudomonas capsulate. Materials
Letters 61 (2007) 3984–3987 Shiying He, Zhirui Guo, Yu Zhang, Song Zhang, Jing Wang, Ning
Gu.
With many incomplete dosage schedules and other evolutionary traits in bac-
teria, we today have multiple strains that are increasingly becoming resistant to
antibacterial medicines that have worked in the past. The often studied experi-
ments7 between ampicillin and tetracyclin is well known in biology. This is where
the functionalized AuNPs come in, to combat multidrug-resistant pathogenic bac-
teria. When these functional groups are carefully and delicately tuned on the
nanoparticle surface, it results in AuNPs that are effective against both
Gram-negative and Gram-positive uropathogens, including pathogens that are
resistant to many drugs. These AuNPs are safe as they show very low toxicity to
mammalian cells, and furthermore, the resistance to said AuNPs would not be seen
even after 20 generations. A strong structure with activity relationship helps to
providing guidance to rational planning and the ability to predict its activity with
effective antimicrobial nanoparticles. The biological system being extremely critical
requires the basic understanding of how the cell structure and morphology reacts to
inorganic elements with respect to its growth and functions.
Sastry and colleagues have announced the extracellular blend of gold nanopar-
ticles by parasite Fusarium oxysporum and actinomycete Thermomonospora sp.,
individually.8
They announced the intracellular blend of gold nanoparticles by organism
Verticillium sp. also. It was exhibited that the gold particles of nanoscale mea-
surements may readily precipitate inside bacterial cells by brooding of the cells with
Au3+ particles. Monodisperse gold nanoparticles have been orchestrated by utilizing
alkalotolerant Rhodococcus sp. under extraordinary natural conditions with basic
and somewhat raised temperature conditions. The combination of gold nanostruc-
tures in various shapes (round, cubic, and octahedral) by filamentous cyanobacteria
from Au(I)-thiosulfate and Au(III)-chloride edifices and examined their arrange-
ment components. Nanocrystals and nanoalloys were developed utilizing
Lactobacillus. Some other typical AuNP generators (microorganisms) are abridged
in the Table 14.1.
14.3.4 Results and Discussion About AuNPs
A significant part of the exploration in Nanomedicine is engaged in the utilization

of gold nanoparticles in imaging, diagnostics, and therapeutics. The requirement for
the coming of novel recognized procedures for microorganisms keeps on com-
batting the worldwide issues of infectious ailments, by and large and conceivable
7
Walia SK, Kaiser A, Parkash M, Chaudhry GR, Self-transmissible antibiotic resistance to
ampicillin, streptomycin, and tetracyclin found in Escherichia coli isolates from contaminated
drinking water. 2004; 39(3):651–62.
8
Biosynthesis of Nanoparticles by Microorganisms and Their Applications, Xiangqian Li,
Huizhong Xu, Zhe-Sheng Chen, and Guofang Chen, Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 270974, 16
pages.
Table 14.1 Some examples of nanoparticles synthesized by microorganisms

Microorganisms Products Shape Culturing Location Size
temperature (nm)
(°C)
Sargassum wightii Au Planar Not available Extracellular 8–12
Rhodococcus sp. Au Spherical 37 Intracellular 5–15
Rhodopseudonomonas Au Spherical 30 Extracellular 10–20
capsulate
Plectonema boryanum Au Cubic 25–100 Intracellular <10–25
Plectonema boryanum Au Octahedral 25 Extracellular 10 nm–
UTEX 485 6 lm
Escherichia coli Au Triangles, 37 Extracellular 20–30
hexagons
Candida utilis Au NA 37 Intracellular NA
Brevibacterium casei Au, Ag Spherical 37 Intracellular 10–50
Shewanella algae Au NA 25 Intracellular 10–20
Shewanella oneidensis Au Spherical 30 Extracellular 12 ± 5
V. luteoalbum Au NA 37 Intracellular NA
Yarrowia lipolytica Au Triangles 30 Extracellular 15
bioterrorism assaults specifically. There have been noteworthy headways in the

field of microbial discovery and distinguishing proof abusing special elements of
gold nanoparticles in the most recent decade. Be that as it may, the vast majority of
the work being completed in this field is in the underlying phase of improvement
and further disentanglement and commercialization of the examines are probably
going to be accomplished soon as the sciences of Nanotechnology moves from
earliest stages. Immunochromatographic strips for bacterial discovery are as of now
monetarily accessible and different applications are to a great extent being utilized
as a part of research for flag intensification purposes. Regardless, commercialization
of biosensors is by all accounts combined with the use of gold nanoparticles as a
flag improvement specialist.9
14.4 Effects of Silver Particles
14.4.1 Introduction
From centuries, silver is known for both its monetary value, especially for minting
currency coins and fabricating jewelry and ornaments. Nanoparticles of silver have
9
Muhammad Ali Syed, S. H. (2011). Gold Nanoparticle Based Microbial detection and identifi-
cation. Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology, 7, 229–237.
immensely more surface area in relation to the respective volume. Therefore,

miniscule amounts of silver nanoparticles can donate antimicrobial effects to
hundreds of square meters, if not effectively square kilometers of its host material.
And this is all that would matter at a cellular level.
Nanoparticles are today being utilized in the rapidly developing areas of
everything from nanomedicine to technology, through their use as a therapeutic
against infections, thereby comprehending the characteristics of nanoparticles and
their effects on bacterial diseases under clinical conditions. Among all the other
noble nanoparticles, silver nanoparticles have received special consideration pri-
marily due to their extraordinary physiochemical properties.
Silver nanoparticles (Ag NP) have already been tried in many fields of biological
sciences, especially in water treatment, as an antibacterial compound and drug
delivery systems. Various researchers have tested it against both Gram-positive and
Gram-negative bacteria since many bacteria have developed resistance against
antibiotics. Keeping this in mind, Ag NP offers attractive substitute as a modern
antibiotic owing to their nontoxic nature on the human body at low concentrations
and simultaneously exhibiting a wide range of antibacterium spectrum. No reports
of side effects have yet been reported.10
Silver, is a naturally mined component, is nonlethal, hypoallergenic, does not
aggregate in the body to bring about harm, and is viewed as safe for nature. Much
of the everyday items and merchandise like aeration and cooling systems, washing
machines, and iceboxes take advantage of the linings of silver nanoparticles for
their antimicrobial qualities. Infant articles, toys, exercise, and sportswear, suste-
nance stockpiling holders, HEPA channels, clothing cleansers, and so on are made
with silver nanoparticles. For example, in the field of medicine, items with silver
nanoparticles are extensively used in heart valves and different inserts, respiratory
face masks, wound dressings, and swathes.
Ag NP exhibit immense levels of toxicity when in various chemical forms to a
wide range of microbes and is quite established. Recently, Ag NP has been shown
to be a promising antimicrobial compound. It has been found that silver actually
offers much better toxicity than that of gold spheres (see footnote 6). Hence, further
exploration on this subject is required since no single element’s nanoparticle can be
declared to be self-sufficient on its own. Furthermore, no research has ever dis-
covered any bacteria which is able to develop immunity unlike with antibiotics.
14.4.2 Antibacterial Activities
Oxygen is vital for bacteria and so they depend on an enzyme to survive. When the
nanoparticles of silver meet the enzyme, they reduce its effectiveness and disable
10
Anti-bacterial Studies of Silver Nanoparticles T. Theivasanthi and M. Alagar, arXiv:1101.0348
[physics.gen-ph].
the microbe’s intake of oxygen, somewhat like choking the microbe. Additionally,
this has no harm on humans on such a low concentration. The cell membrane is
enclosed by a cell wall around the bacterial cell for further protecting the bacteria.
Cell walls are generally made of polysaccharides and peptides like peptidoglycan.
As reviewed earlier in the previous sections, Gram-positive and Gram-negative are
the two types of cell walls in bacteria depending on how they react to the Gram
strain, a very popular test employed to classify many species of bacteria.
Gram-positive bacteria possess cell wall made of multiple layers of peptidoglycan
which results in a thicker cell wall as compared to the Gram-negative bacteria
having a thinner cell wall with only a few peptidoglycan layers.
Standard Zone of Inhibition (ZOI) is a microbiology assay which is employed to
evaluate the antibacterial activity, in this case, of Ag NP by electrolysis. If this ZOI
is less than the size of the standard zone, the microorganism is considered to be
insensitive to the antibiotic. Similarly, if the ZOI is greater than or equal to the
standard zone, the microbe is considered sensitive to the antibiotic.
The sample of Ag NP in Escherichia Coli (E. coli) bacteria resulted in a diameter
of inhibition zone of 12 mm and Bacillus megaterium (B. megaterium) at 6 mm.
This simply means that the effect of Ag NP was more evident against the
Gram-negative bacteria owing to its thinner cell walls.
14.4.3 Enhancement of Antibacterial Activities
As a matter of fact, even though silver has shown antibacterial properties for many
centuries, it goes without saying, Ag NP has even better bacterial resistance than
silver. Many researchers have tried to enhance the antibacterial characteristics
through capping agents during the process of synthesizing via combining electro-
magnetic waves such as light energy, electric field, or ultrasound waves with
nanoparticles.
14.4.4 Research and Studies
Dhermendra K. Tiwari and J. Behari detailed that the silver nanoparticles treated
with temporarily with ultrasound, indicated expanded antibacterial impact yet this
time it was insufficient to kill the bacterial cells with ultrasound alone.11 It
demonstrated the synergistic impact of ultrasound and silver nanoparticles. The
ultrasound encouraged the intake of silver nanoparticles inside the cells and the
11
Advances in Biological Research 3 (3–4): 89–95, 2009, Biocidal Nature of Combined Treatment
of Ag-nanoparticle and Ultrasonic Irradiation in Escherichia coli dh5 a, Dhermendra K. Tiwari and
J. Behari.
antibacterial impact was more pronounced when compared on the other hand with
nanoparticles of silver alone. The biocidal impact was more articulated when
contrasted with the activities of silver nanoparticles alone.
Omid Akhavan and Elham Ghaderi researched the impact of an electric field on
the antibacterial action silver nanorods against E. coli microbes. It was found that
the developed silver nanorods indicate solid and quick antibacterial action.
Applying an electric field toward the nanorods (with no electrical association
between the nanorods and the capacitor plates creating the electric field) advanced
their antibacterial action. This demonstrated that the antibacterial action of silver
nanorods can be improved by applying an electric field.12 In perspective of the
above, we have attempted to upgrade antibacterial exercises of silver nanoparticles
for which we have made an endeavor merging the power of electricity in elec-
trolysis with Ag NP.
12
Enhancement of antibacterial properties of Ag nanorods by electric field, Omid Akhavan and
Elham Ghaderi, Sci Technol Adv Mater. 2009 Feb; 10(1): 015003.
Index
A E
Acid rain, 3, 15 Ecosystem, 51–53, 55, 78
Adsorption, 6–8, 28, 30-32, 90, 91, 93, 94, 96, Efficiency, 9, 17, 19, 21, 22, 31, 33, 40, 44, 55,
105, 111–113 71, 91, 93, 94, 101, 102, 105, 111, 113,
Air pollutants, 15, 78 114
Alphacyclodextrin, 28–30 Electric vehicles, 10, 18, 40
Anodizing, 48 Encapsulation, 54, 73
Anthropogenic, 78 Endocrinology, 68
Anthropogenic carbon emissions, 14 Energy harvesting, 35–38
Aquaporins, 102 Environmental remediation, 4, 6, 10, 46, 112
Attapulgite, 104 Extraction, 7, 27, 28, 30–33, 43, 91
B F
Bimetallic nanoparticles, 6, 55, 92, 102 Food processing, 21, 23
Bioimaging, 62, 72 Free radical, 69
Biomarkers, 61, 68
Biomass, 17, 55 G
Biomimetic, 90, 92, 102 Global warming, 14, 16, 19, 45
Glutathione, 62, 83
C Gold-amalgamation, 121
Canola oil, 22 Green method, 28
Capacitance, 36
Carbon dioxide, 5, 8, 13–15, 23, 45 H
Carotenoids, 21 Hoechst, 62
Cathode ray tubes, 56, 118 Hydrophilicity, 92, 101, 103, 105
Cerium oxide nanoparticles, 18 Hyperthermia, 71
Chitosan, 53, 91, 95, 118
Chlorofluorocarbons, 3, 13, 16 I
Coercivity, 110 Immunochromatographic, 124
Colloid, 69, 90 Impregnated, 101, 112, 113
Contaminant, 4, 7, 22, 55, 92, 101 Incandescent, 44
Cysteamine, 63 Irradiation, 91, 103, 113, 126
D L
Dendrimers, 8, 71, 79, 91 Leishmaniasis, 71
Desalination, 9, 100, 101, 103, 104, 106, 112 Lignin, 62
Diatomite, 113 Liposome, 71

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-71327-4
130 Index
Liquid crystalline display, 56 Piezoelectric, 36

Longevity, 68, 69 Plasmon, 118
Lycopene, 22, 23 Polydispersity, 71
Lysosomal, 63 Polymeric micelles, 73
Polysulfone, 103
M Polyurethane, 8, 103
Maghemite, 6, 31 Prokaryote, 62
Magnetite, 6, 32, 94, 112 Pullulan, 69
Magnetostructive, 37
Metalloid, 61, 63 Q
Methane, 8, 13, 15, 17 Quantum dots, 9, 61–65, 73, 79
Micelles, 7
Micronutrients, 23 R
Microscopic, 21, 51, 63, 120 Remediation technology, 4, 6
Remnant magnetization, 109
N Reverse osmosis, 90, 91, 100, 101, 104, 106
Nanocatalysts, 9, 46, 90, 92 Rhodopseudomonas, 122
Nanoclay, 23
Nano-coatings, 16, 17 S
Nanofiber, 8, 101, 103, 104, 117 Sensors, 19, 21–25, 33, 35, 54, 63, 82, 99
Nanoparticle, 5, 6, 27, 31, 32, 69–71, 78, 85, SERS, 117
101, 109–111, 118, 122–126 Sinusoidal, 63
Nanoporous, 9, 44, 100 Smart grid, 18, 19
Nanoremediation, 55 Solar, 9, 10, 17, 18, 35, 39, 40, 44, 55
Nanoscale zero valent iron, 6, 7 Supermagnetic, 109
Nanosorbents, 90, 93, 94, 96 Sustainability, 10, 21, 27, 43, 44, 47
Nanotechnology, 3, 4, 8–10, 16, 18, 19, 21–25, Synergism, 101
27, 28, 33, 38, 40, 43–48, 53–56, 67, 73,
74, 79, 89, 90, 96, 99–101, 106, 112, T
113, 119, 121, 122, 124 Temperate, 51
Nanowire, 117 Theranostic, 70
Thermoelectric, 38
O Thermomonospora, 123
Optoelectronics, 77 Thermophile, 38
Oxysporum, 123
Ozone layer, 16 U
Ultrafiltration, 31, 91, 100, 102, 104
P Uranium, 30, 31
Paramagnetic, 69, 83, 112
Pathogenic, 69, 89, 123 V
Permeability, 36, 92, 101–103 Verticillium, 123
Petidoglycan, 119, 126 Vitality, 21, 36, 44
Photocatalysts, 5, 105
Photocatalytic reforming, 17 Z
Photodynamic, 68 Zeolites, 8, 55, 91, 101, 105
Photosensitizers, 77

Karthiyayini Sridharan (Eds.) - Emerging Trends of Nanotechnology in Environment and Sustainability - A Review-Based Approach

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SPRINGER BRIEFS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8868

ISSN 2191-5547 ISSN 2191-5555 (electronic)

© The Author(s) 2018

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature

Dubai, UAE Karthiyayini Sridharan

Part I Nanotechnology in Sustainability

Part II Nanotechnology in Toxicological Impacts

Part III Nanotechnology in Water Remediation and Adsorbents

Shanelle Govekar, Ravi Kumar, Rajesh Suresh

Evolution of a new branch of science known as nanoscience has completely

S. Govekar R. Kumar R. Suresh K. Sridharan (&)

© The Author(s) 2018 3

(i) Nanomaterials are incorporated to completely mineralize most of the

1.3 Main Chapter

1.3.1 Nanomaterials and Their Environmental Applications

Fig. 1.1 Nanomaterials and their applications

1. Titanium Dioxide (TiO2)

1.3.2 Nanoscience Used in Pollution Detection

– Air pollution: Nanotechnology is used for air pollution remediation. It is done

– Water pollution: Nanoﬁltration (NF) membranes are used in water and

1.4 Green Nanotechnology [17]

Green nanotechnology must manufacture products with less energy, it must be

It is essential that in producing nanomaterials for all applications must be without

1. Diallo M, Jeffrey Brinker C (2010) Nanotechnology for sustainability: environment, water,

T. Vuday Sankar, Dhruvil Patel, R. Sugaraj Samuel

T. Vuday Sankar D. Patel G. Amaranath

© The Author(s) 2018 13

2.3 Global Warming

2.3.1 Causes of Global Warming

2.3.2 Ocean Acidiﬁcation

Fig. 2.1 Greenhouse gases trap heat in atmosphere

2.3.3 Smog and Ozone Pollution

2.3.4 Ozone Layer Depletion

2.4 Solutions and Recommendations

Nanotechnology coatings are considered to have an immediate effect in reducing

Fig. 2.2 Few strategies to reduce greenhouse effect

In a recent research [7], Nanocatalyst were synthesized by biomass which is very

2.4.3 NanoStructured Materials

Nanostructured materials, such as aerogels, a nanoporous superinsulating material

2.4.4 Improved Renewables

and Bioenergy (BICE2016). Springer Proceedings in Energy. Springer, Cham; Prakash E,

H. Kasi Viswanathan, Nikhil Reji Thomas and G. Amaranath

Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the global food system.

3.1 Nanotechnology in Food Industry

The number of food-related Nanoproducts is increasing rapidly, and examples

H. Kasi Viswanathan N. R. Thomas G. Amaranath (&)

© The Author(s) 2018 21

• A synthetic lycopene has been afﬁrmed GRAS (“generally recognized as safe”)

Fig. 3.1 Applications of nanotechnology in food industry

• Interactive food: Interactive food is to modify food to add micronutrients like

➢ basic understanding of food and animal feed for intelligent innovation

3.1.1 Nanotechnology in Agriculture

Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize in agricultural for increased

Acknowledgements First, we would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Prof. R. N. Saha,

Kritin Chugh, Ashish Kapur and Kavita Jerath

Evolution of a new branch of science known as nanoscience has completely

K. Chugh A. Kapur K. Jerath (&)

© The Author(s) 2018 27

(i) Nanomaterials completely mineralize most of the organics and are

4.3 Mineral Extraction

4.3.1 “Nanotechnology Gold Rush”—New Nontoxic