Division/Committee: [ENVR: Division of Environmental Chemistry]

Population growth, rising water demands, degrading freshwater supplies, changing weather patterns, emerging contaminants, and stringent water quality standards have burdened existing water and wastewater treatment technologies and infrastructure. The escalating challenges of population growth, increasing water demands, deteriorating freshwater supplies, shifting weather patterns, the emergence of new contaminants, and the imposition of strict water quality standards have placed a significant strain on our current water and wastewater treatment technologies and infrastructure. The recent strides in nanotechnology present a crucial opportunity to develop sustainable, highly efficient, and cost-effective next-generation water and wastewater treatment processes (such as membrane separation, adsorption, and photocatalysis). In addition to treatment units, nanotechnology-enabled water and wastewater treatment also holds promise for disinfection and microbial control, as well as sensing and monitoring. This symposium is dedicated to exploring how nanomaterials in water and wastewater treatment systems can facilitate efficient separation, remediation, and detection to combat current and emerging contaminants without compromising human health and the ecosystem. Presentations are invited to delve into one or more aspects of the application of nanomaterials in water and wastewater treatment: 1) Synthesis, characterization, application, and regeneration of nano adsorbents (e.g., carbon nanotubes, nanofibers, nanoscale metal oxides, dendrimers, etc.), 2) Developing scalable and highly selective nanocomposite and nanofiber membranes with high permeability and antifouling properties is a critical area of research in water and wastewater treatment. These membranes can potentially revolutionize the field, and we invite contributions that explore their synthesis, characterization, and application, 3) Bioactive nanomaterials for water disinfection and microbial control, 4) Synthesis and optimization of photocatalytic nanoparticles, 5) Nanoparticle-based sensors for the detection of pathogens, heavy metals, and emerging contaminants. This symposium invites contributions on any of the above topics from researchers across academia, national laboratories, and industrial sectors to facilitate a well-rounded discussion of the field. Both fundamental and practical studies, experiments, simulations, and theory investigating these topics are encouraged. Research at any stage of development, including bench or lab scale to pilot scale, can be presented.

Sajan Silwal

Southeast Missouri State University

Appearances