Chapter 1
Metal Oxides as Decontaminants of Water
and Wastewater
Kingshuk Dutta
Abstract One of the most emerging threat to the present and future of the surface
and aquatic lives is the contamination of water and wastewater. The aquatic and
surface lives are severely affected through the contamination by detrimental
chemicals in recent years; and, as a consequence, the decontamination techniques
are attracting significant attention worldwide. In this regard, metal oxide
nanoparticles have been witnessing rapid emergent as a promising decontaminant
of water and wastewater. Decontamination by metal oxide nanoparticles is consisted
of mainly photocatalysis, adsorption and disinfection techniques. More precisely,
the metal oxide nanoparticles are enabled to function as nonophotocatalysts,
nanosorbents and bioactive nanoparticles, through the application of which various
problems, involving water quality, can be resolved or significantly ameliorated.
Herein, systematic emphasis has been provided on the progress in utilization of
various metal oxide nanoparticles for decontamination of water and wastewater.
Since, metal oxides have been used to decontaminate a wide variety and nature of
pollutants from water and wastewater; therefore, examples from each category have
be presented, along with the mechanistic view of the decontamination process
wherever necessary. It is interesting to note that almost all the metal oxides reviewed
herein follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and pseudo second order
kinetics, irrespective of the nature of contaminants adsorbed/removed. In terms of
contaminant removal efficiency, metal oxides have been consistently able to achieve
values of >95; and have, in some cases, reached 100% removal efficiencies.
Keywords Metal oxides · Water and wastewater decontamination · Photocatalysis ·
Adsorption · Disinfection · Dye and heavy metal · Salt and oil · Fluoride and
phosphate · Phenol and pathogen · Single and multicomponent removal
K. Dutta (*)
Advanced Polymer Design and Development Research Laboratory (APDDRL), School for
Advanced Research in Polymers (SARP), Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and
Technology (CIPET), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. Rajendran et al. (eds.), Metal, Metal-Oxides and Metal-Organic Frameworks for
Environmental Remediation, Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 64,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68976-6_1
1
Metal Oxides as Decontaminants of Water
and Wastewater
Kingshuk Dutta
Abstract One of the most emerging threat to the present and future of the surface
and aquatic lives is the contamination of water and wastewater. The aquatic and
surface lives are severely affected through the contamination by detrimental
chemicals in recent years; and, as a consequence, the decontamination techniques
are attracting significant attention worldwide. In this regard, metal oxide
nanoparticles have been witnessing rapid emergent as a promising decontaminant
of water and wastewater. Decontamination by metal oxide nanoparticles is consisted
of mainly photocatalysis, adsorption and disinfection techniques. More precisely,
the metal oxide nanoparticles are enabled to function as nonophotocatalysts,
nanosorbents and bioactive nanoparticles, through the application of which various
problems, involving water quality, can be resolved or significantly ameliorated.
Herein, systematic emphasis has been provided on the progress in utilization of
various metal oxide nanoparticles for decontamination of water and wastewater.
Since, metal oxides have been used to decontaminate a wide variety and nature of
pollutants from water and wastewater; therefore, examples from each category have
be presented, along with the mechanistic view of the decontamination process
wherever necessary. It is interesting to note that almost all the metal oxides reviewed
herein follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and pseudo second order
kinetics, irrespective of the nature of contaminants adsorbed/removed. In terms of
contaminant removal efficiency, metal oxides have been consistently able to achieve
values of >95; and have, in some cases, reached 100% removal efficiencies.
Keywords Metal oxides · Water and wastewater decontamination · Photocatalysis ·
Adsorption · Disinfection · Dye and heavy metal · Salt and oil · Fluoride and
phosphate · Phenol and pathogen · Single and multicomponent removal
K. Dutta (*)
Advanced Polymer Design and Development Research Laboratory (APDDRL), School for
Advanced Research in Polymers (SARP), Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering and
Technology (CIPET), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
S. Rajendran et al. (eds.), Metal, Metal-Oxides and Metal-Organic Frameworks for
Environmental Remediation, Environmental Chemistry for a Sustainable World 64,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-68976-6_1
1