Comprehensive review of polymeric nanocomposite membranes application for water treatment
Umme Hani
Abstract
Contamination of water has been reported to be a serious environmental challenge. Therefore, development of novel technologies to tackle this issue is of fundamental importance from an environmental perspective. Nanocomposite membranes, which are utilized to improve the separation properties of standard polymeric membranes, have recently been of remarkable attention for purifying water from different contaminants including microorganisms, chemical compounds, dyes, etc. The principal aim of this review investigation is to present the current advancements towards the application of nanocomposite membranes in water treatment. Important pollutants in water sources are presented and their detrimental environmental impacts are discussed in detail. Furthermore, utilization of nanocomposite membranes in industrial activities such as desalination, nanoparticle separation, dye removal, antibacterial applications, inorganic pollutants separation and natural organic materials removal are presented and discussed in this paper. This review has also been organized to recommend better insights about different mechanisms of membrane separation and major existed pollutants in water sources, which their removal can provide better opportunities for global population to achieve sustainable and clean water.