Nanotechnology and the environment: A European perspective

By D. Rickerby, M. Morrison. 2007

228 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract The potential positive and negative effects of nanotechnology on the environment are discussed. Advances in nanotechnology may be able to provide more sensitive detection systems for air and water quality monitoring, allowing the simultaneous measurement of multiple parameters and real time response capability. Metal oxide nanocatalysts are being developed for the prevention of pollution due to industrial emissions and the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide nanoparticles can be exploited to create self-cleaning surfaces that reduce existing pollution. However, while nanotechnology might provide solutions for certain environmental problems, relatively little is known at present about the environmental impact of nanoparticles, though in some cases chemical composition, size and shape have been shown to contribute to toxicological effects. Nanotechnology can assist resource saving through the use of lightweight, high strength materials based on carbon nanotubes and metal oxide frameworks as hydrogen storage materials. Other energy related applications include nanostructured electrode materials for improving the performance of lithium ion batteries and nanoporous silicon and titanium dioxide in advanced photovoltaic cells. It is important to develop an efficient strategy for the recycling and recovery of nanomaterials and methods are needed to assess whether the potential benefits of nanotechnology outweigh the risks. Life cycle analysis will be a useful tool for assessing the true environmental impacts.

Subfields: Materials Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering, Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9dfb49d7432c083b32f440e03559b78caa280084

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In Materials Chemistry

In Mechanical Engineering

In Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment

Citations in the corpus

A Review of Removal of Pollutants from Water/Wastewater Using Different Types of Nanomaterials (2014, background): “At this scale, materials possess novel and significantly changed physical, chemical, and biological properties mainly due to their structure, higher surface area-to-volume ratio offering treatment and remediation, sensing and detection, and pollution prevention [66, 67].”
Nanotechnology and Water Treatment: Applications and Emerging Opportunities (2008, background): “detection, and pollution prevention (Masciangioli and Zhang 2003; Rickerby and Morrison 2007; Vaseashta et al. 2007).”
Nanocellulose fibers for biosorption of cadmium, nickel, and lead ions from aqueous solution (2014, background): “The variety of inorganic nano structured materials has been explored for remediation of metallic ions but were recently associated with toxicity issues (Nel et al. 2006; Wiesner et al. 2006; Paul and Richard 2006; Rickerbya and Morrison 2007; Karn et al. 2009).”
The role of nanomaterials as effective adsorbents and their applications in wastewater treatment (2017, background): “Recently, there has been a remarkable potential for the remediation of environmental problems as a result of nanoscience and nanotechnology developments [32, 33].”
Nanotechnology and in Situ Remediation: A Review of the Benefits and Potential Risks (2009, methodology): “Laboratory tests have shown 99% removal of As using 12nmdiameter Fe oxide nano particles (Rickerby and Morrison 2007).”
Nanoparticles as Adsorbent; A Positive Approach for Removal of Noxious Metal Ions: A Review (2015, background): “Carbon and oxide based nanoparticles were reported as nano-adsorbents for the removal of various metal ions from wastewater, such as; Ni, Cr, Cr Cu, Cd, Co, Hg, Pb, As, As, Th, Eu, Sr, Zn and U (Dean et al., 1972; Stafiej and Pyrzynska, 2007; Sadegh et al., 2014; Rickerby and Morrison, 2007; Brumfie”