scholarly journals Sustainable Green Nanotechnologies for Innovative Purifications of Water: Synthesis of the Nanoparticles from Renewable Sources

Nanomaterials ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 263
Author(s):  
Szabolcs Bognár ◽  
Predrag Putnik ◽  
Daniela Šojić Merkulov

Polluting the natural water resources is a serious global issue, which is confirmed by the fact that today at least 2 billion people consume water from contaminated sources. The conventional wastewater treatment methods cannot effectively remove the persistent pollutants (e.g., drugs, organic dyes, pesticides) from the aqueous environment. Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a promising and sustainable alternative for water remediation. It is based on the interaction between light irradiation and the semiconductors (e.g., TiO2, ZnO) as photocatalysts, but these compounds, unfortunately, have some disadvantages. Hence, great attention has been paid to the nanotechnology as a possible way of improvement. Nanomaterials have extraordinary properties; however, their conventional synthesis is often difficult and requires a significant amount of dangerous chemicals. This concise topical review gives recent updates and trends in development of sustainable and green pathways in the synthesis of nanomaterials, as well as in their application for water remediation. In our review we put emphasis on the eco-friendly, mostly plant extract-based materials. The importance of this topic, including this study as well, is proved by the growing number of publications since 2018. Due to the current serious environmental issues (e.g., global warming, shortage of pure and quality water), it is necessary for the traditional TiO2 and ZnO semiconductors to be replaced with the harmless, non-toxic, and more powerful nanocomposites as photocatalysts. Not only because of their higher efficiency as compared to the bulk semiconductors, but also because of the presence of biomolecules that can add up to the pollutant removal efficiency, which has been already confirmed in many researches. However, despite the fact that the application of heterogeneous photocatalysis together with green nanotechnology is absolutely the future in water purification, there are some challenges which have to be overcome. The exact effects of the biomolecules obtained from plants in the synthesis of nanoparticles, as well as in the photocatalytic processes, are not exactly known and require further investigation. Furthermore, heterogeneous photocatalysis is a well-known and commonly examined process; however, its practical use outside the laboratory is expensive and difficult. Thus, it has to be simplified and improved in order to be available for everyone. The aim of our review is to suggest and prove that using these bio-inspired compounds it is possible to reduce human footprint in the nature.

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Karen Maria Dietmann ◽  
Tobias Linke ◽  
Markus Reischer ◽  
Vicente Rives

Nowadays, the contamination of groundwater and soils by highly hazardous and toxic chlorinated solvents is a global issue. Over the past years, different remediation strategies have been developed, involving injection of reactive solutions and/or particles. However, a major difficulty is the monitoring of injected particles during the injection and after secondary mobilisation by groundwater flow. This study is focussed on the development of directly traceable particles by combining fluorescein with Layered Double Hydroxides (LDHs). We present here the facile and easily tuneable synthesis of fluorescing LDHs (Fluo-LDH) via co-precipitation under supersaturation conditions. Their ability to mimic particle sizes of previously studied reactive LDHs, which proved to be able to adsorb or degrade chlorinated organic solvents from aqueous solutions, was investigated as well. Tests using a novel Optical Image Profiler (OIP) confirmed that the fluorescent LDHs can be easily detected with this tool. Even LDHs with the lowest amount of fluorescent dye were detectable. Together with the use of an OIP, which is capable of exciting the fluorescent material and collecting real-time pictures, this can provide a new, efficient, and cost-effective method for in situ tracing of injected particles in the subsurface.


Catalysts ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Zahir Muhammad ◽  
Farman Ali ◽  
Muhammad Sajjad ◽  
Nisar Ali ◽  
Muhammad Bilal ◽  
...  

Degradation of organic dyes and their byproducts by heterogeneous photocatalysts is an essential process, as these dyes can be potentially discharged in wastewater and threaten aquatic and xerophyte life. Therefore, their complete mineralization into nontoxic components (water and salt) is necessary through the process of heterogeneous photocatalysis. In this study, Zr/CrO2 (Zirconium-doped chromium IV oxide) nanocomposite-based photocatalysts with different compositions (1, 3, 5, 7 & 9 wt.%) were prepared by an environmentally friendly, solid-state reaction at room temperature. The as-prepared samples were calcined under air at 450 °C in a furnace for a specific period of time. The synthesis of Zr/CrO2 photocatalysts was confirmed by various techniques, including XRD, SEM, EDX, FT-IR, UV-Vis, and BET. The photocatalytic properties of all samples were tested towards the degradation of methylene blue and methyl orange organic dyes under UV light. The results revealed a concentration-dependent photocatalytic activity of photocatalysts, which increased the amount of dopant (up to 5 wt.%). However, the degradation efficiency of the catalysts decreased upon further increasing the amount of dopant due to the recombination of holes and photoexcited electrons.


Materials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Vilela ◽  
Catarina Moreirinha ◽  
Adelaide Almeida ◽  
Armando J. D. Silvestre ◽  
Carmen S. R. Freire

The development of efficient and environmentally-friendly nanomaterials to remove contaminants and pollutants (including harmful organic dyes) ravaging water sources is of major importance. Herein, zwitterionic nanocomposite membranes consisting of cross-linked poly(2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC) and bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) were prepared and tested as tools for water remediation. These nanocomposite membranes fabricated via the one-pot polymerization of the zwitterionic monomer, 2-methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine, within the BNC three-dimensional porous network, exhibit thermal stability up to 250 °C, good mechanical performance (Young’s modulus ≥ 430 MPa) and high water-uptake capacity (627%–912%) in different pH media. Moreover, these zwitterionic membranes reduced the bacterial concentration of both gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) and gram-negative (Escherichia coli) pathogenic bacteria with maxima of 4.3– and 1.8–log CFU reduction, respectively, which might be a major advantage in reducing or avoiding bacterial growth in contaminated water. The removal of two water-soluble model dyes, namely methylene blue (MB, cationic) and methyl orange (MO, anionic), from water was also assessed and the results demonstrated that both dyes were successfully removed under the studied conditions, reaching a maximum of ionic dye adsorption of ca. 4.4–4.5 mg g−1. This combination of properties provides these PMPC/BNC nanocomposites with potential for application as antibacterial bio-based adsorbent membranes for water remediation of anionic and cationic dyes.


Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eszter Rápó ◽  
Katalin Posta ◽  
Alexandra Csavdári ◽  
Boglárka Éva Vincze ◽  
Gyöngyvér Mara ◽  
...  

Organic pollutants, such as dyes, have a negative effect on the aqueous environment, therefore, their elimination from water bodies is a high priority. In this work, Eichhornia crassipes and Salvinia natans, both model plants with high phytoremediation efficiency, were exposed to various concentrations (Ci = 50–500 mg/L) of Eriochrome Black T (EBT). Their capacity to assimilate EBT was studied for 16 days of exposure, similar to natural conditions and by spectrophotometric monitoring of the dye concentration (EE. crassipes; 150 mg/L = 33%; ES. natans; 150 mg/L = 71.5%). The changes of the experimental parameters (pH—equalised by day 5, temperature, humidity, light intensity) were followed, and plant growth and biochemical responses to toxic stress effects (photosynthetic pigments, Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX)—decreased effect of P, Mg, Ca, S and K, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), defense enzyme) were examined. Furthermore, changes in oxidative- and photo-degradation of EBT in time and the solid-state properties (SEM, EDX, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy-FTIR) of the dye were investigated. Our results demonstrate that, despite the toxic stress, both species succeeded in reducing the dye-concentration of the water and S. natans proved to be more efficient in binding and removing organic dyes. With our findings, we proved that both plants alleviated the abiotic stress of dye contamination.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weitao Gong ◽  
Xiaorong Deng ◽  
Kaixun Dong ◽  
Lu Liu ◽  
Guiling Ning

The incorporation of pure organic dyes into the backbone of conjugated microporous polymers (CMPs) opens a new avenue for facile constructing metal-free heterogeneous photocatalysts with tailor-made properties. Herein, we presented...


Author(s):  
Mekdes Gerawork

Abstract Heterogeneous photocatalysis using nanocomposites is of great research interest in the treatment of industrial wastewater. The impregnated photocatalyst was produced by liquid state reaction of ZnO/CuO nanocomposite with extracted eggshells. The structure, functional group, metal composition, bandgap, and photocatalytic activity of the nanocomposites were characterized by using XRD, FTIR, AAS, and UV-vis spectroscopy, respectively in the absence and presence of eggshells. Photocatalytic degradation activities of the nanocomposites under UV light irradiation have been tested for a real sewage sample taken from Debre Berhan Textile Industry. From the results, the optimized degradation efficiency of the dye was 97.95% with 0.4 g dose of the photocatalyst, 120 min irradiation time, 120 °C temperature, and pH of 6.7. The results revealed that eggshell impregnated nanocomposite had better catalytic activity than the naked nanocomposite. This is due to the highly porous structure of eggshell biomasses and their sorption characteristics In conclusion when nanocomposites are supported by eggshell biomasses, they are excellent photocatalysts and consecutively it minimizes the contamination of organic dyes from textile effluents.


Author(s):  
G. Abdi

Heterogeneous photocatalysis is a technology widely applied to water purification and wastewater treatment under ultraviolet (UV) or even sunlight irradiation for the removal of a variety of environmental pollutants into harmless species. Application of membrane for immobilization of semiconductors and their suitability in photocatalytic degradation of dyes have recently been developed. Integration of photocatalysis with membrane processes significantly improve the membrane separation performance with reducing membrane fouling and improving permeate quality. This paper reviews recent progress in the photocatalytic membranes for wastewater treatment and water purification with an emphasis on the type of membranes, membrane fabrication, and applications in pollutant removal.


Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (21) ◽  
pp. 3810
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ilyas Khan ◽  
Mohammed Khaloufa Almesfer ◽  
Abubakr Elkhaleefa ◽  
Ihab Shigidi ◽  
Mohammed Zubair Shamim ◽  
...  

Proper treatment and disposal of industrial pollutants of all kinds are a global issue that presents significant techno-economical challenges. The presence of pollutants such as heavy metal ions (HMIs) and organic dyes (ODs) in wastewater is considered a significant problem owing to their carcinogenic and toxic nature. Additionally, industrial gaseous pollutants (GPs) are considered to be harmful to human health and may cause various environmental issues such as global warming, acid rain, smog and air pollution, etc. Conductive polymer-based nanomaterials have gained significant interest in recent years, compared with ceramics and metal-based nanomaterials. The objective of this review is to provide detailed insights into different conductive polymers (CPs) and their nanocomposites that are used as adsorbents for environmental remediation applications. The dominant types of CPs that are being used as adsorbent materials include polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (Ppy), and polythiophene (PTh). The various adsorption mechanisms proposed for the removal of ODs, HMIs, and other GPs by the different CPs are presented, together with their maximum adsorption capacities, experimental conditions, adsorption, and kinetic models reported.


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