Applications of robust nanotechnologies to contaminant removal
Novel methods using nanotechnology and biomaterials to clean polluted water and remove contaminants from other liquid media (sewage effluents, gasoline, waste slurries, blood, industrial effluents) are being developed for industrial and environmental application by a team of researchers (led by Professor Andy Cundy, Dr. Ray Whitby and Professor Sergey Mikhalovsky) from the University of Brighton's Schools of Environment and Technology and Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences.
Termed Nanoclean, the work programme has received over £200k of development money from regional development agency proof-of-concept funding and the European Commission to expand, develop and commercialise research on contaminant removal, nanoparticles and polymers. The aim of the Nanoclean project is to develop high throughflow, low-cost, nanoparticle- or reactive polymer-based filters which can be used to remove heavy metals, radionuclides and organic contaminants from contaminated waters and other liquids, either in an industrial waste stream or effluent treatment cycle, during storage or transport of liquids, or in the environment.
A range of polymer-based devices are being developed and various prototype devices have been produced, which contain highly reactive nanoparticles or organic chemical groups bonded onto the polymer surfaces, in order to strip a range of contaminants from different liquid media. The devices can be chemically fine-tuned to target specific ranges of contaminants, e.g. endocrine disrupting chemicals in sewage wastes, heavy metals in effluents, pesticides in natural and treated waters etc., or can be used as general, non-selective contaminant screening devices. Importantly, the devices can be produced in a range of geometries, allowing their use in a variety of configurations, e.g. they may be deployed as a high-throughflow filter, for liquids with various viscosities (e.g. water through to blood and oils), or as a bed reactor or pipe liner device, whereby contaminated liquid flows over the surface of a 2D (i.e. flat) device which rapidly strips contaminants from the overlying liquid.
The research and development programme builds on previous work showing the extremely high potential for nano-sized particles and so-called functionalized organic compounds to remove a range of common contaminants from liquid media, but combines this research with polymer and other material technologies to produce robust, non-toxic devices which can be safely, flexibly and effectively applied to a range of industrial and environmental problems. The high reactivity / capacity of these devices, their flexible application, and the lack of secondary waste products (e.g. post-treatment sludges) mean that they present a major technological leap forward from existing market solutions.
