Access to sources of clean water is necessary for the existence of all living
beings on Earth. In freshwater environments, a wide variety of species, from minuscule
to mega, can be found. However, constant contamination of water bodies has changed
the freshwater ecosystems. Every year, the problem of water pollution gets worse,
which eventually affects the limited supply of freshwater resources. All the
anthropogenic activities have caused long-term negative effects on the delicate
structure of freshwater ecosystems. Wastewater can be treated in several ways before
being released into recipient water bodies. However, these conventional techniques are
unable to meet the necessary standards for wastewater treatment for a variety of
reasons. Furthermore, there is reason for concern regarding the efficacy of these
currently available conventional treatments. For environmental remediation, different
skillful technologies such as physicochemical reactions, filtration, adsorption, and
photocatalysis are employed to eliminate impurities from various environmental
matrices. Materials based on nanotechnology have superior qualities and are especially
useful for these kinds of procedures because of their low volume-to-surface area ratio,
which frequently leads to increased reactivity. Based on the information presented in
this chapter, it appears that using nanotechnology to treat wastewater could be
advantageous, efficient, and environmentally friendly. It is selective but effective to
clean only organic-based pollution. Additionally, due to their extraordinary adsorption
behavior, Nanomaterials (NMs) are verified as disinfectants, pathogen identifiers, and
antibacterial agents in environmental remediation.
Keywords: Disinfectant, Heavy metals, Industrial effluents, Nanoparticles, Nanotechnology, Remediation, Water pollution.
