Nanotechnology for Water Purification – Current Trends and Challenges

Environmental pollution is a significant concern in both developing and developed countries. The pollution load in the environment accumulates as a result of anthropogenic activity [1]. Both organic and inorganic contaminants are hazardous to living things, and their incidence and persistence have risen dramatically in current years. Human activities, in certain ways, are straining oceans, rivers, and other inland waterways to the point that their quality is substantially damaged. Toxic chemicals such as heavy metals, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, pharmaceutical chemicals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, organic and inorganic solvents, pathogens and other pollutants reach water bodies, dissolve in them, drift in the water or sediment on the bed, follow-on water contamination [2]. Various approaches have been used to improve the quality of naturally available water to a quality appropriate for human use [3]. The use of cutting-edge nanotechnology in traditional engineering lays the door for practical advancements in innovative decontamination technology in this context.