Nanotechnology and the Environment

Like the last Industrial Revolution, the nanotechnology revolution is likely to affect our environment. This volume provides a fundamental exploration of the properties of nanoscale materials, their fate and transport in the environment and in wastewater, and the implications for worker safety and the environment. Presenting a comprehensive overview of developing environmental regulations, this text also discusses the current and potential use of nanomaterials for environmental remediation.  A focus on six common nanomaterials offers a cohesive exposure of the most critical issues associated with nanotechnology, along with the framework for readers to understand and apply the information.

Nanotechnology and the Environment provides the fundamental basis needed to assess and understand the life cycle of nanomaterials. It begins with a general explanation of nanomaterials, their properties, and their uses and describes the processes used to manufacture nanoscale materials. Subsequent chapters furnish information on the analysis of nanomaterials in the environment and their fate and transport, including the effects of wastewater treatment on nanomaterials. The book discusses possible risks to human health and the environment and the environment, and describes developing regulations to manage those risks.

Given the potential risks, the book explores the apparent paradox of using nanomaterials in environmental remediation. The final chapter discusses frameworks for evaluating the balance between risk and reward as nanomaterials are manufactured, used and released to the environment.