Green Nanotechnology takes a broad systems view of nanomaterials and products, ensuring that unforeseen consequences are minimized and that impacts are anticipated throughout the full life cycle.
[citation needed] Nanotechnology is already used to provide improved performance coatings for photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal panels.
[9] Nanotechnology offers the potential of novel nanomaterials for the treatment of surface water, groundwater, wastewater, and other environmental materials contaminated by toxic metal ions, organic and inorganic solutes, and microorganisms.
[10][11] The present market of nanotech-based technologies applied in water treatment consists of reverse osmosis(RO), nanofiltration, ultrafiltration membranes.
[12] Nanotechnology is expected to deal more efficiently with contaminants which convectional water treatment systems struggle to treat, including bacteria, viruses and heavy metals.
This efficiency generally stems from the very high specific surface area of nanomaterials, which increases dissolution, reactivity and sorption of contaminants.
[citation needed] In 2017 the RingwooditE Co Ltd was formed in order to explore Thermonuclear Trap Technology (TTT) for the purpose of cleaning all sources of water from pollution and toxic contents.
Nanofiltration is a relatively recent membrane filtration process used most often with low total dissolved solids water such as surface water and fresh groundwater, with the purpose of softening (polyvalent cation removal) and removal of disinfection by-product precursors such as natural organic matter and synthetic organic matter.
[24][25] Nanofiltration is also becoming more widely used in food processing applications such as dairy, for simultaneous concentration and partial (monovalent ion) demineralisation.
Nanofiltration membranes have pore sizes from 1-10 Angstrom, smaller than that used in microfiltration and ultrafiltration, but just larger than that in reverse osmosis.
Low-cost nanostructured separation membranes methods have been shown to be effective in producing potable water in a recent study.
[28] There is also the case of the synthetically-fabricated nanometallic particles that produce antimicrobial action called oligodynamic disinfection, which can inactivate microorganisms at low concentrations.
[29] Commercial purification systems based on titanium oxide photocatalysis also currently exist and studies show that this technology can achieve complete inactivation of fecal coliforms in 15 minutes once activated by sunlight.
[30] The benefits of the reduction of the size of the metals (e.g. silver, copper, titanium, and cobalt) to the nanoscale such as contact efficiency, greater surface area, and better elution properties.
[29] The plants have been known to possess various phytochemicals (secondary metabolites) which help them to protect themselves, these phytoehemicals since time immemorial have been used by humans for their medicinal needs.
[38] One innovation of green nanotechnology that is currently under development are nanomachines modeled after a bacterium bioengineered to consume plastics, Ideonella sakaiensis.
[citation needed] In addition to water treatment and environmental remediation, nanotechnology is currently improving air quality.
For example, many industrial factories that produce large amounts harmful gases employ a type of nanofiber catalyst made of magnesium oxide (Mg2O) to purify dangerous organic substances in the smoke.
Van der Waals forces and π-π interactions also are used to pull molecules onto surface functional groups.
Car exhaust emission reduction is widely used in diesel fueled automobiles currently being one of the more popular applications.
[40][41] Additionally, research is currently being conducted to find out if nanoparticles can be engineered to separate car exhaust from methane or carbon dioxide,[39] which has been known to damage the Earth's ozone layer.
In fact, John Zhu, a professor at the University of Queensland, is exploring the creation of a carbon nanotube(CNT) which can trap greenhouse gases hundreds of times more efficiently than current methods can.
[42] Perpetual exposure to heavy metal pollution and particulate matter will lead to health concerns such as lung cancer, heart conditions, and even motor neuron diseases.
However, humanity's ability to shield themselves from these health problems can be improved by accurate and swift nanocontact-sensors able to detect pollutants at the atomic level.
Additionally, these nanocontact sensors are energy and cost effective since they are composed with conventional microelectronic manufacturing equipment using electrochemical techniques.
For example, since the nanoparticles are small enough to be absorbed into skin and/or inhaled, countries are mandating that additional research revolving around the impact of nanotechnology on organisms be heavily studied.
At the moment, scientists are unsure of what will happen when nanoparticles seep into soil and water, but organizations, such as NanoImpactNet, have set out to study these effects.