In situ nanoremediation of soils and groundwaters from the nanoparticle's standpoint: A review

Anthropogenic pollution coming from industrial processes, agricultural practices and consumer products, results in the release of toxic substances into rural urban environments. Once released, these chemicals migrate through atmosphere water, find their way matrices such as sediments groundwaters, thus making large areas potentially uninhabitable. Common pollutants, including heavy metal(loid)s, radionuclides, aliphatic hydrocarbons halogenated organics, are known to adversely affect physiological systems animal species. Pollution can be cleaned up using techniques coagulation, reverse osmosis, oxidation biological methods, among others. The use nanoparticles (NPs) extends range available technologies offers particular benefits, not only by degrading, transforming immobilizing contaminants, but also reaching inaccessible promoting biotic degradation. development NPs is understandably heralded an environmentally beneficial technology; however, it now that ecological risks associated with being evaluated. This review presents recent developments engineered for situ remediation two paramount environmental matrices: soils groundwaters. Emphasis will placed on (i) successful applications nano-objects cleanup, (ii) potential safety implications caused challenging requirements [high reactivity toward pollutants] vs. [none biota], a thorough view transport evolution matrix, (iii) perspectives scientific regulatory challenges. To this end, most promising nanomaterials considered, nanoscale zerovalent iron, nano-oxides carbonaceous materials. purpose present give overview nanoremediators since they appeared 2000s, chemical modifications, mechanism action behavior understanding problematics (technical limitations, economic constraints institutional precautionary approaches) drive future full-scale applications.