Nanomaterials-Based Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Strategies for a Sustainable Planet

Abstract

Water scarcity has emerged at the forefront of the world's most critical environmental concerns. In the future decades, the rapid population development in emerging regions will continue to raise the need for clean water from residential, agricultural, industrial, and energy perspectives. Clean drinking water is the most significant factor that influences the quality of life for humans. Nanomaterials are ideal for wastewater treatment due to their potential properties, which include small size, large surface area, high porosity, high catalytic activity, tailorable physical and chemical properties, ease of separation, and reproducibility. These favorable properties of nanomaterials make them an attractive candidate for wastewater treatment. This chapter comprehensively overviews a broad spectrum of nanomaterials in wastewater treatment, including different carbon allotropes (graphene, CNTs, MWCNTs, etc.) and metal oxide nanoparticles. Finally, the prospects of these new generation materials in water and wastewater treatment are also discussed.