Removal of Pollutants Using Electrospun Nanofiber Membranes

JONATHAND.CIMADORO; SILVIA GOYANES; LAURA RIBBA; NORMA B. D'ACCORSO

Industrial Applications of Renewable Biomass Products. Past, Present,and Future

SPRINGER

Año: 2017; p. 301 - 324

The abstract is published online only. If you did not include a short abstract for the online version when you submitted the manuscript, the first paragraph or the first 10 lines of the chapter will be displayed here. If possible, please provide us with an informative abstract.Climate change, population growth and rapid worldwide industrialization, is causing an uncontrollable increase in air and water pollution. Different factors, such as increasing water demand, stringent health guidelines, and emerging contaminants, cause traditional water and air treatment technologies to remain ineffective. In this context, nanotechnology could provide novel cost- and energy-efficient materials. In particular, membranes obtained through the electrospinning technique are a desirable candidate, thanks to its extraordinary permeability and selectivity due to its high porosity and surface area, respectively. Nanofibrous membranes based on polymers from the biomass have been proposed as next-generation environmentally friendly filter media. Among the most used polymers, we can find cellulose acetate, chitosan, and poly(lactic acid). The aim of the present study is to review the possible applications of the nanofiber mats for the removal of pollutants from water and air, including viruses, inorganic solutes, heavy metals, metal ions, complex organic compounds, natural organic matter, nitrate, and other pollutants.