Nanotechnology applied to the decontamination of the water basins with pollutants

ALVAREZ VERA A; BAIGORRIA, ESTEFANIA; FRACETO LEONARDO

Temuco

Workshop; Workshop Online Latinoamericano en Nanobiotecnología; 2020

Universidad de la Forntera

Agricultural, livestock, domestic and industrial activities are a source of generation of various pollutants 1,2. Many of these pollutants are drained due to weather conditions or simply dumped into water basins. Pesticides such as carbendazim and some metalloids such as arsenic are frequent contaminants of surface and groundwater1-3. Both contaminants --present alterations in the environment and high toxicity in living organisms. In humans, they potentially can cause cancer, hepatic diseases, effects at the level of the central nervous system, among others. In this sense, the development of new technologies for the elimination or reduction of these pollutants in water basins is of great importance for the scientific community. The adsorption technique is a widely applied technique for aqueous decontamination and has great benefits2,3. It is economical, versatile, easy to operate and there is a wide range of adsorbents including polymers and nanoclays2,3. In this study, we present the development of different hydrogels composed of polymers (natural and synthetic) in association with nanoclays, as adsorbent material for the removal of carbendazim or arsenic from aqueous systems. The composite materials were characterized through different physical-chemical and morphological techniques and the performance as adsorbent of these pollutants was evaluated. The results showed a good performance of polyvinyl-alcohol/sodium alginate/bentonite hydrogels for arsenic removal from aqueous systems. In addition, promising results of chitosan/organo-clay hydrogels were found for the removal of carbendazim from water. These results open perspectives to use of these hybrid materials in water treatment.