Recent advancements in practices related to desalination by means of nanotechnology

Abstract

The commercially used proficiencies for desalination such as osmosis (forward as well as reverse) utilise synthetic membranes, which provide several restrictions such as decreased water flux, biofouling, low membrane life, reduced hydrophobicity and short salt removal. Therefore, to astound these kinds of limitations, nanotechnology has been fused with these techniques. Several nanocomposites have been operated in amalgamation with conventional techniques for improvising the outcomes. Nanocomposites possess various beneficial belongings such as extraordinary hydrophilicity, high photocatalytic and photo degradative activities along with brilliant self-cleansing and antifouling properties. The membranes grounded on nanocomposites in arrangement with desalination techniques not only boost the water flux but also aids in the exclusion of salt ions and are found to be substantially more stable in comparison to standard membranes. Also, these nanocomposite membranes are highly cost effective, flexible to operate and persist high salt elimination capacity which makes them further more worthy of incorporation with the desalination techniques. This paper primly concentrates on the recent nanotechnology-based practices to enrich the outcomes of desalination on the footings of nanocomposites, developed practicing distinct forms of nanomaterials. A classification for various forms of nanomaterials used for building nanocomposites have also been illustrated. Special emphasis has been given on the usage of nanocomposites constructed from several nanomaterials such as nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanoshells, nanofibers, nanocapsules, nanosheets and quantum dots, and how these nanocomposites have been utilised for desalination.

Keywords

• Nanotechnology
• Desalination
• Water flux
• Nanocomposites
• Antifouling