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Surface waters

What are probable scenarios for nanoparticles in surface waters?

Due to the leaching of contaminated soils, an accidental spillage or deposition of particles transported by air, nanoparticles may potentially be releasedin surface waters. So the processes of ultrafiltration could turn out to be useful to guarantee the harmlessness of water. Solubility, stability or aggregation condition the migration of nanoparticles present in surface waters. Hence, when they are introduced in the water environment, nanoparticles are not evenly distributed in the environment. The likelihood of an organism to make contact with a nanoparticle isn’t the same in the whole system of exhibition.

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Ultrafiltration process for drinking water.

Different ceramic "nano" processes are developed in laboratory to eliminate or to filter pollutants as arsenic, mercury [J. Mertens et al., Water Research 88 (2016) 844-851 / T. Bora et al., Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 14 (2014) 613-626 / M.U. Sankar et al., Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences 110 (2013) 8459-8464].

Membranes constituted by networks of crossed polymers are also tested for the desalination of the sea water. This new process would for example allow to reduce of 25 % the cost of the drinking water obtained by desalination.