Green Nanotechnologies for Responsible Manufacturing
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1106-PP03-05
Green Nanotechnologies For Responsible Manufacturing Ashok Vaseashta Graduate Program in Physics and Physical Sciences, NPLC, Huntington, WV, 25575 ABSTRACT Three aspects of sustainability using nanomaterials, viz. (a): responsible manufacturing by employing principles of “green chemistry”, (b): to drastically reduce waste discharge and emission by-products, and (c): to monitor, detect, and remediate the environmental pollution, are presented here. The synthesis of nanomaterials is accomplished by synthesis processes such as electrospinning, sol-gel, and MAPLE employing principles of “green chemistry”. Applications of nanomaterials which further promote sustainability and environmental friendly aspects are investigated. A brief discussion of fate and transport of nanomaterials in air, water, and soil; lifecycle analysis, and methodologies to conduct risk-assessment in the context of source reduction and conservation is presented.
INTRODUCTION From Malthusian doctrine of “The principle of population” to Rachel Carson’s congressional testimony, debates on pollution resulting from anthropogenic activities has been a challenging theme for policy-makers, researchers, and industrialists. A perpetual increase in population and consumption of fossil fuels to meet the current energy demand has led to increased pollution worldwide. Although the correlation between environmental pollution and global warming is debatable, the effects of pollution and its impact on human health are irrefutable. Pollution in large cities has reached an alarming level and is widely perceived to be a leading contributor to chronic and deadly health disorders and diseases affecting millions of people each year. In a recent study, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that over 3 million people suffer from the effects of air-borne pollution. Furthermore, reports from the World Energy Congress (WEC) suggest that continued fuel usage at its current rate will result in pollution creating irreversible environmental damage by 2025. Clinical studies show that inhaling particulate matter (PM) is associated with increased mortality rates that are further magnified for people suffering from diabetes, chronic pulmonary and inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, increased urbanization and use of fossil fuels contribute to pollution and emission of green house gases (GHG), widely believed to be responsible for global warming. A large sector of the world’s population have no access to fossil fuels, yet suffer from the adverse effects of pollution due to transport through air, water, and soil. Of the group of pollutants that contaminate urban environment are fine suspended PM, Nitrous Oxide (NOx), sulphur dioxide (SO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and ozone (O3) that pose the most widespread and acute risks. Environmental pollution in developing countries has reached an alarming level, thus necessitating studies and measures, such as cap-and-trade, carbon credit, purchasing pollution credit etc., to limit emission of GHG in the environmen
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