European Food Safety Authority concluded that the in general food disclosure of
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a person of 60 kg is around 235 nanogram per
day (benzo[a]pyrene), 641 nanogram per day (benzo[a]pyrene + chrysene), around
1100 nanogram per day (benzo[a]pyrene + chrysene + benz[a]anthracene), and
approximately 1700 nanogram per day (benzo[a]pyrene + chrysene + benz[a]anthracene + indeno(1,2,3,c,d)pyrene) (EFSA 2008). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
are able to cause mutagenic cancerous activities as well as noncancerous health
effects like cardiovascular illness, lung failure, liver damage, and pulmonary disease
(Lakhani 2012). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are known to be soluble in
non-polar solvents and, hence, are easily captivated through the alimentary canal
of mammals. Once entered inside the human, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can
quickly disperse in various tissues with a striking capacity of localizing in internal
hydrocarbon molecules (Abdel-Shafy and Mansour 2016). Persistency of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons in the environment is well known along with their
bioaccumulation. Studies have shown that the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons observed in fish as well as in shellfish was surprisingly higher than their
amount in their environmental source (Tudoran and Putz 2012). The cell damage
caused by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can cause mutations, tumors, and
developmental malformations. The immune-potentiating produces higher secretion
of cytokines through immune cells that results into inflammation (Burchiel and
Luster 2001). All the above facts clearly indicate that the irregular use of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons is harmful to human life as well as environment.
5.6 Functionalized Nanomaterials
Environmental cleanup is one of the most challenging tasks to be done to make the
resources of water safe for use. Till date, numerous conventional wastewater treatment processes have been employed, like coagulation (Lin et al. 2017),
photocatalytic oxidation (Berberidou et al. 2017), Fenton oxidation (Cristóvão
et al. 2014), filtration (Noor et al. 2017), and adsorption (Caprariis et al. 2017).
Among the different removal technologies, adsorption is known to be most popular
owing to its effectiveness and easiness (Xiao et al. 2019). Besides this advanced
oxidation is another kind of technology that can show advanced removal performance. The advanced oxidation is associated with high level of security, better
oxidation tendency, and minimum toxicity. It is based upon consumption of
hydroxyl radicals generated in situ by the electrochemical process. Studies based
upon adsorption and oxidation have shown higher degradation and mineralization of
the contaminants (Shanker et al. 2017a, b).
Nowadays, the term heterogeneous catalysis based upon solar light or artificial
light source has been quite famous for environmental applications; wastewater
treatment, contaminantremediation, and water disinfection are some of it (Priya
et al. 2016; Sudhaik et al. 2018). Various transition metal oxides, polymers, carbon
nanotubes, graphene-based nanostructures, and other metal-based nanomaterials
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Rachna et al.
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by a person of 60 kg is around 235 nanogram per
day (benzo[a]pyrene), 641 nanogram per day (benzo[a]pyrene + chrysene), around
1100 nanogram per day (benzo[a]pyrene + chrysene + benz[a]anthracene), and
approximately 1700 nanogram per day (benzo[a]pyrene + chrysene + benz[a]anthracene + indeno(1,2,3,c,d)pyrene) (EFSA 2008). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
are able to cause mutagenic cancerous activities as well as noncancerous health
effects like cardiovascular illness, lung failure, liver damage, and pulmonary disease
(Lakhani 2012). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are known to be soluble in
non-polar solvents and, hence, are easily captivated through the alimentary canal
of mammals. Once entered inside the human, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can
quickly disperse in various tissues with a striking capacity of localizing in internal
hydrocarbon molecules (Abdel-Shafy and Mansour 2016). Persistency of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons in the environment is well known along with their
bioaccumulation. Studies have shown that the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons observed in fish as well as in shellfish was surprisingly higher than their
amount in their environmental source (Tudoran and Putz 2012). The cell damage
caused by the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons can cause mutations, tumors, and
developmental malformations. The immune-potentiating produces higher secretion
of cytokines through immune cells that results into inflammation (Burchiel and
Luster 2001). All the above facts clearly indicate that the irregular use of polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbons is harmful to human life as well as environment.
5.6 Functionalized Nanomaterials
Environmental cleanup is one of the most challenging tasks to be done to make the
resources of water safe for use. Till date, numerous conventional wastewater treatment processes have been employed, like coagulation (Lin et al. 2017),
photocatalytic oxidation (Berberidou et al. 2017), Fenton oxidation (Cristóvão
et al. 2014), filtration (Noor et al. 2017), and adsorption (Caprariis et al. 2017).
Among the different removal technologies, adsorption is known to be most popular
owing to its effectiveness and easiness (Xiao et al. 2019). Besides this advanced
oxidation is another kind of technology that can show advanced removal performance. The advanced oxidation is associated with high level of security, better
oxidation tendency, and minimum toxicity. It is based upon consumption of
hydroxyl radicals generated in situ by the electrochemical process. Studies based
upon adsorption and oxidation have shown higher degradation and mineralization of
the contaminants (Shanker et al. 2017a, b).
Nowadays, the term heterogeneous catalysis based upon solar light or artificial
light source has been quite famous for environmental applications; wastewater
treatment, contaminantremediation, and water disinfection are some of it (Priya
et al. 2016; Sudhaik et al. 2018). Various transition metal oxides, polymers, carbon
nanotubes, graphene-based nanostructures, and other metal-based nanomaterials
142
Rachna et al.