The establishment of clean safe water is one of the major challenges facing societies around
the globe. The continued urbanization of human populations the increasing manipulation of
natural resources and the resulting pollution are driving remarkable burden on water
resources. Increasing demands for food energy and natural resources are expected to continue
to accelerate in the near future in response to the demands of these changing human
populations. In addition the complexity of human activities is leading to a diversity of new
chemical contaminants in the environment that represent a major concern for water managers.
This will create increased pressure on both water quantity and quality making it increasingly
difficult to provide a sustainable supply of water for human welfare and activities.Although
protection of water resources is the best long-term solution we will also need innovative
novel approaches and technologies to water treatment to ensure an adequate superior quality
resource to meet these needs. Solving tomorrow's water issues will require unique approaches
that incorporate emerging new technologies.Great advances have been made in the area of
nanotechnology. Due to their unique physical and chemical properties nanomaterials are
extensively used in antibacterial medical products membrane filters electronics catalysts
and biosensors. Nanoparticles can have distinctly different properties from their bulk
counterparts creating the opportunity for new materials with a diversity of applications.
Recent developments related to water treatment include the potential use of carbon nanotubes
nanocompositae nanospheres nanofibers and nanowires for the removal of a diversity of
chemical pollutants. By exploiting the assets and structure of these new materials such as
increased surface area high reactivity and photocatalytic action it will be possible to
create technologies that can be very efficient at removing and degrading environmental
pollutants. Understanding and using these unique properties should lead to innovative
cost-effective applications for addressing the complexities of emerging needs for water
treatment and protection. Although still in the early stages research into the application of
nanotechnology shows great promise for solving some of these major global water issues. This
comprehensive text describes the latest research and application methods in this rapidly
advancing field.
