APPLICATIONS AND IMPACT

OF NANOTECHNOLOGY ON
WATER

JOYITA CHATTERJEE
SCHOLAR NO : 212105102
SUBJECT CODE: NT-106
 INTRODUCTION
• Nanotechnology offers the potential of nanomaterials
for treatment of surface water, groundwater, and
wastewater contaminated by toxic metal ions, organic
and inorganic solutes, and microorganisms. 

• Here,we will focus on current research about different

nanomaterials (nanostructured catalytic membranes,
nanocatalysts,nanoadsorbents, etc) and their
application in water treatment, purification and
disinfection.
 ADSORPTION
Adsorption is the capability of all solid substances to attract to
their surfaces – the molecules of gases or dissolved
substances with which they are in close contact.

Solids that are used to adsorb gases or dissolved substances

are called adsorbents

The adsorbed molecules are usually referred to collectively

as the adsorbate.
 NANO ADSORBENT
Due to the high specific surface area of nanoadsorbents, they show a
considerably higher rate of adsorption for organic compounds compared
to granular activated carbon.

They have great potential for faster decontamination processes aimed at

removal of organic and inorganic pollutants ,ranging from heavy metals
to micropollutants.

Current research activities mainly focus on the following types of

nanoadsorbents:
1)Carbon-based nanoadsorbents, i.e. carbon nanotubes (CNTs).
2)Metal-based nanoadsorbents(Zinc).
3)Polymeric nanoadsorbents.
4)Zeolites.
 NANO MEMBRANES
• Nano-membranes are responsible for the
separation of particles from the wastewater.
• They can be very efficient in the removal of
dyes, heavy metals, and other contaminants .
• The nanomaterials used as nano-membranes
are nanotubes, nanoribbons, and nanofibers .
• The process used here is nanofiltration. It is a
method by which part of the feed passes
through semi-permeable membrane.
Fig: Flowchart for nano filtration
using nano membrane
 NANO PHOTOCATALYSIS
• In photocatalysis, there are two types of processes that
occur, namely mineralization and degradation of organic
pollutants.
• In the process of degradation, the organic pollutants are
splitting or decomposed into several products while in
the case of mineralization, the complete destruction of
organic pollutant took place into water, carbon dioxide
and some inorganic ions.
• The materials used in nano-catalysts usually are inorganic
materials such as semiconductors and metal oxides.
• The process of mineralization is shown in the next slide.
A semiconductor like TiO2 absorbs the light which is
greater or equal to TiO2 band gap width, it carries to
electron–hole pairs (e−–h+).

If the separation of charge is continued, the electron–

hole may travel to the surface of catalyst.
• Particularly, h+ vb react with water (surface-
bound) to generate the hydroxyl radicals.
• Simultaneously e− cb selected by oxygen to
produce the radical anion (superoxide radicals) as
designated below in equations.

• TiO2 + hν → (e − cb) + (h + vb) …… (1)

• O2 + (e − cb) → O2 …………………. (2)
• H2O + (h + vb) → OH + H + ……….(3)
• This method is the best for separation of oil
from oil contaminated water.
 NANO METAL OXIDES
• Nanoscale metal oxides are promising alternatives to
activated carbon and effective adsorbents to remove
heavy metals, arsenic and radionuclides.
• As well as having a high specific surface area, they
feature a short intraparticle diffusion distance and
are compressible without a significant reduction of
surface area.
• Some of these nanoscale metal oxides (eg,
nanomaghemite and nanomagnetite) are
superparamagnetic, which facilitates separation and
recovery by a low-gradient magnetic field.
Some interesting products are now emerging from developing
countries.
Nanosponge for rainwater
harvesting

•A combination of polymers and glass nanoparticles

that can be printed onto surfaces like fabrics to soak
up water.
•Rainwater harvesting is increasingly important to
countries like China, Nepal and Thailand. The
nanosponge is much more efficient than traditional
mist-catching nets.
 Nanomesh Waterstick
• A straw-like filtration device that uses carbon
nanotubes placed on a flexible, porous,
material.

• The waterstick cleans as you drink. Doctors in

Africa are using a prototype and the final
product will be made available at an
affordable cost in developing countries.
 REFERENCES
• https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/10/9/1764
/pdf
• https://periodicos.feevale.br/seer/index.php/r
evistaconhecimentoonline/article/download/1
706/2268/5384
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P
MC4294021/
• https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Rani-Bus
hra/publication/310771898/figure/fig1/AS:431
822577377280@1479965933772/adsorption-o
f-dye-on-ZnFe-2-o-4-clay-nanocomposite-repro
duced-from-ref-93-with.png
THANK YOU !