Nanotechnology in water treatment: an emerging trend

With advances in nanotechnology, different types of nanomaterial are emerging for applications in water purification and water treatment devices owing to their effectiveness against both chemical and biological contaminants. This paper discusses the application of nanoscale materials that are being evaluated or developed as functional materials for water treatment, e.g. nanomembranes (nanocomposite RO and NF and carbon nanotubes), metal nanoparticles, nanoadsorbents, magnetic nanoparticles, bioactive nanoparticles, carbonaceous nanomaterials, zeolites, dendrimers and nanofibres. Nanomaterials are intrinsically better in terms of performance than other substances used in water treatment because of their high surface area (surface/volume ratio). Owing to these characteristics, these may be used in future at large scale for water purification.