Engineered Nanomaterials for Purification and Desalination of Palatable Water

Abstract

Despite more than two-thirds of the earth's surface being covered by water, people are facing inadequate access to potable water and are thus forced to use contaminated water from unhygienic sources. A major consequence of using contaminated water for preparing food or other daily uses is acute and chronic illness that is widespread especially in third-world countries. Apart from this, the scarcity of safe drinking water in many parts of the world and the increasing divide between availability and per capita utilization is creating a global problem. Since approximately 97% of water on the earth is saline, recycled water through desalination can help to cope with this problem. In this chapter, we look at the state-of-the art technologies driven with modern nanotechnology for water purification and desalination. The rapid development of nanoscience has enabled the implementation of promising processes for providing improved palatability and hygiene of drinking water. Recent technologies like ultra- and nanofiltration as well as reverse osmosis (RO) create new enthusiasm in the fields of water desalination and purification. Nanomaterials and nanotechnology-based solutions are now an integral part of the research to overcome the ever-growing problems in all aspects of science, and since many traditional approaches of water purification are based on molecule-level separation, it is reasonable to expect novel nano-engineered water treatment approaches. There are several new concepts for the desalination of nonpalatable water using engineered membranes/nanoparticles. Aquaporin nanocomposites, the combination of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with other metal oxides, and noble metal nanoparticles are some good examples in this field. Despite all these developments, there are still some limitations regarding scalability at an industrial scale. In this chapter, we analyze the recent developments in nanotechnology-based solutions for the purification of water to ensure safe drinking water for all. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.