1
|
Ojha A, Tiwary D, Oraon R, Singh P. Degradations of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater with carbon-based nanomaterials: a critical review. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:30573-30594. [PMID: 33909248 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-13939-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Accepted: 04/11/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Although water occupies 75% of the earth's surface, only 0.0067% of the total water is available for human activities. These statistics further decline with the population growth and consequent multiplication in the amount of annual waste produced. The demand for clean and safe drinking water has always been a prime concern in the global scenario. Among various types of waste materials, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and pharmaceutical effluents have become a constant threat to the aquatic ecosystem and possess challenges worldwide. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a mixed group of emerging concern chemicals with the ability to mimic the mechanisms of biosynthesis, transport, and metabolism of hormones. These chemicals pose various health threats such as early puberty, infertility, obesity, diabetes, reproductive disorders, cancerous tumors, and related disorders (immune cells, hormones' activity, and various organs). On the other hand, pharmaceutical compounds such as antibiotics also harm the natural environment, human health, and soil microbiology. Their low concentration, ranging from a few ng/L to μg/L, gives rise to a micro-pollution phenomenon, which makes it difficult to detect, analyze, and degrade in wastewater treatment plants. Activated carbons (ACs) and other adsorbents, including naturally occurring materials (wood, keratin) are considered as nanomaterials (NMs) reference for the separation of organic pollutants. It is generally acknowledged that mass-transfer phenomena control sorption kinetics at the liquid/solid interface, with retention controlled by the sorbent/sorbate properties. Therefore, the type of interaction (strong or weak van der Waals forces) and the hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties of the adsorbent are two crucial factors. Besides, EDCs and pharmaceutical compound sorption on such kinds of nanoporous solids depend on both the molecule size and charge density. The applications of nanomaterials on non-conservative methods, like advanced oxidation processes or AOPs (e.g., photocatalysis and Fenton reaction), are contemplated as more apt in comparison to conservative technology like reverse osmosis nanofiltration, and adsorption, etc. One of the reasons is that AOPs generate free radicals (hydroxyls), which are strong oxidants for the demineralization of organic compounds and the extreme case that hydroxyl radicals can attack any kinds of pollutants with the generation of only water and carbon dioxide as final products. AOPs may imply the use of NMs as either catalysts or photocatalysts, which improve the selective removal of the target pollutant. Therefore, various literature reviews have revealed that there is a timely need to upgrade the efficiency of the remediation approaches to protect the environment against EDCs and pharmaceuticals adequately. There is currently a lack of definitive risk assessment tools due to their complicated detection and associated insufficiency in the health risk database. Hence, our present review focuses on applying carbon-based nanomaterials to remove EDCs and pharmaceuticals from aqueous systems. The paper covers the effect of these pollutants and photocatalytic methods for treating these compounds in wastewater, along with their limitations and challenges, plausible solutions, and prospects of such techniques.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ankita Ojha
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, 221005, India
| | - Dhanesh Tiwary
- Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, 221005, India
| | - Ramesh Oraon
- Department of Nanoscience and Technology (DNST), Central University of Jharkhand (CUJ) Cheri-Manatu, Kanke, Ranchi, Jharkhand, 835222, India
| | - Pardeep Singh
- Department of Environmental Science, PGDAV College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, 110067, India.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Jain M, Mudhoo A, Ramasamy DL, Najafi M, Usman M, Zhu R, Kumar G, Shobana S, Garg VK, Sillanpää M. Adsorption, degradation, and mineralization of emerging pollutants (pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals) by nanostructures: a comprehensive review. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2020; 27:34862-34905. [PMID: 32656757 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09635-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
This review discusses a fresh pool of research findings reported on the multiple roles played by metal-based, magnetic, graphene-type, chitosan-derived, and sonicated nanoparticles in the treatment of pharmaceutical- and agrochemical-contaminated waters. Some main points from this review are as follows: (i) there is an extensive number of nanoparticles with diverse physicochemical and morphological properties which have been synthesized and then assessed in their respective roles in the degradation and mineralization of many pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, (ii) the exceptional removal efficiencies of graphene-based nanomaterials for different pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals molecules support arguably well a high potential of these nanomaterials for futuristic applications in remediating water pollution issues, (iii) the need for specific surface modifications and functionalization of parent nanostructures and the design of economically feasible production methods of such tunable nanomaterials tend to hinder their widespread applicability at this stage, (iv) supplementary research is also required to comprehensively elucidate the life cycle ecotoxicity characteristics and behaviors of each type of engineered nanostructures seeded for remediation of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals in real contaminated media, and last but not the least, (v) real wastewaters are extremely complex in composition due to the mix of inorganic and organic species in different concentrations, and the presence of such mixed species have different radical scavenging effects on the sonocatalytic degradation and mineralization of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Moreover, the formulation of viable full-scale implementation strategies and reactor configurations which can use multifunctional nanostructures for the effective remediation of pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals remains a major area of further research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monika Jain
- Department of Natural Resource Management, College of Forestry, Banda University of Agriculture & Technology, Banda, Uttar Pradesh, 210001, India
| | - Ackmez Mudhoo
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Mauritius, Réduit, 80837, Mauritius.
| | - Deepika Lakshmi Ramasamy
- Department of Separation Science, School of Engineering Science, Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, FI-50130, Mikkeli, Finland
| | - Mahsa Najafi
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Muhammad Usman
- PEIE Research Chair for the Development of Industrial Estates and Free Zones, Center for Environmental Studies and Research, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khoud, 123, Muscat, Oman
| | - Runliang Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Guangzhou, 510640, China
| | - Gopalakrishnan Kumar
- Institute of Chemistry, Bioscience and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Stavanger, Box 8600 Forus, 4036, Stavanger, Norway
| | - Sutha Shobana
- Department of Chemistry & Research Centre, Mohamed Sathak Engineering College, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Vinod Kumar Garg
- Centre for Environmental Sciences and Technology, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, 151001, India
| | - Mika Sillanpää
- Institute of Research and Development, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam.
- Faculty of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Duy Tan University, Da Nang, 550000, Vietnam.
- School of Civil Engineering and Surveying, Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, West Street, Toowoomba, QLD, 4350, Australia.
- Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17011, Doornfontein, 2028, South Africa.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Hanif Z, Siddiqui MF, Park SJ. Hierarchical growth of nickel oxyhydroxide on bacterial cellulose hydrogel: role of water channels in hydrogel to form hierarchical structure. ASIA-PAC J CHEM ENG 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/apj.2415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zahid Hanif
- School of Mechanical EngineeringKorea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH) Cheonan Republic of Korea
- Advanced Technology Research CenterKorea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH) Cheonan Republic of Korea
| | - Mohd Farhan Siddiqui
- School of Mechanical EngineeringKorea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH) Cheonan Republic of Korea
| | - Sung Jea Park
- School of Mechanical EngineeringKorea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH) Cheonan Republic of Korea
- Advanced Technology Research CenterKorea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH) Cheonan Republic of Korea
| |
Collapse
|