wastewater treatment

1. NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS FOR WATER
PURIFICATION AND WASTEWATER
TREATMENT*
T. Ahmed, S. Imdad and N. M. Butt
Preston Institute of Nano Science and Technology (PINSAT).
Preston University, Islamabad.
Pakistan.
e-mail: toqeerahmed@preston.edu.pk
& nmbutt36@yahoo.com
************
Presentation at: International Conference on “Fresh Water Crisis and
Population Crisis”, PCSIR Labs., Lahore. 21-22 Nov. 2011.
[ * A research Project of Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS) ] 1

2. • Importance of Clean Drinking Water
• Impact of Water on Health
• Current Conventional Methods for Water Purification
• Nanotechnology Applications in Water Purification
and Wastewater Treatment
• PAS Research Project: Antibacterial Activity of Ag
Nanoparticles against Waterborne Pathogens:
• Phase-I: Bacteriological Water quality assessment
of drinking water supplies in Islamabad
• Phase-II: Efficiency of Ag NPs against isolated and
Identified water borne Pathogens
• Future Work 2
CONTENTS

3. 3
WATER IS LIFE
• 60-70% of human body contains water
• Brain contains 70 %
• Blood contains 82-83% water
• Lungs contain 90% water
• Average water in adult human body is 37 liters
• Each day humans must replace 2.4 liters of water
• At just 2% dehydration your performance decreases
by around 20%.
• We should drink at least 1½ litres of water a day.
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/propertyyou.html

4. IMPACT OF DRINKING WATER ON HEALTH
4
884 million People lack access to safe drinking water
supplies -approximately one in eight people
3.6 million people die each year from water-related
diseases
98 per cent of water-related deaths occur in the developing
world
84 per cent of water-related deaths are in children ages 0–
14
65 million People are at risk of arsenic poisoning in the
Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal .
84 percent illnesses are caused by contaminated water
http://www.wateraid.org/uk/what_we_do/the_need/5899.asp
Ref: UN report (2007), half of the world's hospital beds are
occupied by patients suffering from water-borne diseases.

5. IMPACT OF DRINKING WATER ON HEALTH Cont---
Ref: WHO Report (2007):
• 1.1 billion lack access to an “improved” drinking
water ; many more drink water that is grossly
contaminated (People are at Risk).
• 4 billion cases of diarrhea occur annually, of which
88% is related to unsafe water, and inadequate
sanitation and hygiene (People are getting diseases).
• 1.8 million people die every year from diarrhoeal
diseases, the vast majority children under 5 (people
are dying).
• WHO estimates that 94% of diarrhoeal cases are
preventable by increasing the availability of clean
water,and to improve sanitation and hygiene. 5

6. CURRENT PURIFICATION METHODS
The methods used for water purifications are:
• Physical / Chemical:
Chlorination, Activated carbon, UV light
• Biological:
Oxidation, Bio degradation
• Mechanical:
Settling, Sand or Screening & Filtering
Material
• Nanotechnology: Current Method
6

7. 7
PAS Reseach Project : (2011-2013)
NANOTECHNOLOGY APPLICATIONS IN
WATER PURIFICATION AND WASTEWATER
TREATMENT

8. 8
8
Nanotechnology?
“Nanotechnology is the study, manipulation ,control and
use of nanomaterials and their structures at nanoscale
sizes i-e sizes between 1 nanometer (nm) and 100 nm
. To give an idea of how small I nm is , the thickness of a
human hair or a sheet of paper is some 80,000 nm. (1nm
is one billionth of a metre.The sizes of atoms and
molecules are at nanoscale).
Source: ( Butt,N.M-2009 )

9. 9
9
9
9
9
0.1nm

10. 10
“There’s Plenty of Room at the Bottom”
Richard P. Feynman December 1959
10
10
10
The classic talk that Richard Feynman gave on
December 29th 1959 at the annual meeting of the
American Physical Society at the California
Institute of Technology (Caltech)
 I would like to describe a field, in which little has been
done, but in which an enormous amount can be done in
principle.
 Furthermore, a point that is most important is that it
would have an enormous number of technical
applications.
 What I want to talk about is the problem of manipulating
and controlling things on a small scale

11. Why Nanotechnology Is Important
1. At Nanosizes the surface to volume ratio is larger and the material
properties [Physical,Chemical,Mechanical,Electrical,Magnetic
drastically change as compared to bulk sizes].
2. At Nanoscale(sizes of atoms and molecules) laws of quantum
physics apply instead of Newtons Laws .
3. Adds value to the nanobased products.
4. Enhances the efficiency and performance of nanobased systems.
5. Is Another INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION with Important Applications
in Healthcare and in all kinds of industrial products.
6. Considered to have great Socio-economic and strategic influence
on society for next 40-50 years.
7. All countries are investing large budgets as national level
nanotechnology programs for benefits of the people.

12. 12
i. Medical and Health Care:
Anti-cancer drugs, Bio-sensors, Implants, Dental Pastes, Cancer
treatment, Targeted drug delivery, Pharmaceuticals, Nanodetergents
for hospitals
ii. Energy:
Solar, Fuel cell, Bio-fuels, Long life Batteries
iii. Automobiles:
Lubricants, Glass Coatings, Resins, Phosphors, Fog and
dust free wind screens and glass.
iv. Industry:
Ceramic, Insulation, Phosphors, Hard Materials, Mechanical,
Spray, Sensors
v. Computer/Information Technology:
Bio-molecules for electronics, Fast processing, Large Memories
vi. Defence:
Special Materials, Sensors, Intelligent Clothing, Bee size Drones( Israel),
Applications of Nanotechnology
Industrial Revolution at Door-steps, 2-3 trillion $ Marketing of
Nanoproducts and 3.1 million job creation by 2015

13. Applications of Nanotechnology --- Continued
Vii. Cosmetics:
Anti aging creams, Skin Creams, Sun creams
viii. Agriculture:
Food Safety, food preservations, Quality Assurance,
water purification
ix. Environment:
Filters, anti toxicants, Anti-pollutants
x. Textiles:
Special clothes, Bullet proof T-shirts,
Anti- smelling socks
xi. Sports:
Sunglasses, Rackets, Tennis and Golf balls, Hockey
sticks
xii. Aerospace:
Communication, High strength light weight
materials
Xiii. Nanotechnology in Oil and Gas Exploration
50% more exploration due to oil extraction,
diesel, oil cleaning, Sensors
************
13

14. Nanotechnology
Water Purification and
Environment
Antimicrobial
/ Biocides
Detoxification
of Pollutants Nanobiosensors
Nanomembranes
/ Nanofiltration
Nanodevices

15. 15
Summary of Nano-Technologies /
Nanomaterials used for water Purification

16. NANOTECH AND 'TEA BAG' TO
CLEAN UP DRINKING WATER
A novel way of purifying water on
a small scale using a sachet rather
like a tea bag (CNT), the bag
absorbs toxins, filters out and kills
bacteria, & cleans the water.
High Speed Water
Sterilization Using One-
Dimensional Nanostructures
“It can easily be used in
remote areas where
people don’t have access
to chemical treatments
such as chlorine.”

17. LOW-TECH CLAY FILTERS FOR WATER
PURIFICATION
17
The American Red Cross produced the
clay filter in Sri Lanka in January 2007
and has distributed some 10,000 units
so far, benefitting an estimated 50,000
Sri Lankans.
Women at a pottery factory apply a
coating of colloidal silver, a strong
anti-bacterial agent, to a clay pot that
will go into a water filter distributed
by the American Red Cross.

18. 18
SILVER - Nature's Water Purifier
1. Silver's importance as a bactericide has been
documented since the late 1800s, its use in
purification has been known throughout the ages.
2. Silver-based water purification units for the home
have been in use in Europe for more than 50 years.
3. Silver is playing a key role in efforts to prevent
outbreaks of Legionellosis (Legionnaire’s Disease).
4. After testing 23 methods of purifying water, NASA
has also chosen silver as the purifying agent on the
Space Shuttle program.

19. 19
NANO-SILVER - Against Microbes
1. Silver nanoparticles can be used as effective growth
inhibitors against yeast, Escherichia coli, and
Staphylococcus aureus (Kim et al., 2009).
2. In Vitro, Silver nanoparticles against HIV in human
beings were tested and inhibited the virus from
binding to host cells (Elechiguerra et al., 2005) .
3. Sondi and Salopek-Sondi, (2004) studied the silver
nano particles against Escherichia coli. SEM and TEM
were used to study the biocidal action of this nano
scale material. The treated Escherichia coli cells were
damaged, showing formation of “pits” in the cell wall.
4. Silver nanoparticle are highly active and showed
better biocidal results against the Gram negative
bacteria (Tiwari and Behari (2009).

20. 20
Silver ions are killing bacteria in direct contact. Silver
ions prevent bacterial growth in different ways:
1. Silver ions destroy enzyme which is important to
transport the nutrient into the cell.
2. Silver ion destabilize cell membrane, cell wall,
cytoplasm.
3. Silver ion disrupt cell division and reproduction.
SILVER - Mode of action

21. 21
NANO-SILVER -
Is it Harmful for human beings?
1. Nanosilver is safely used in dermal wound care.
Medicinal nanosilver clearly demonstrates that there
are no ill effects even when nanosilver is used
directly on wounds and broken skin.
2. FDA approved nanosilver dermal wound care
ointments and bandages are used in thousands of
hospitals everyday to promote skin repair.
www.vileda-professional.com/servlet/.../FAQs_update_100225%20JDL.pdf
Crosera M., et.al.: “Nanoparticle dermal absorption and toxicity: a review of the literature”, International
Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health, 82(9) (2009) pp 1043.

22. 22
ANTIBACTERIAL ACTIVITY OF Ag NANOPARTICLES
AGAINST WATERBORNE PATHOGENS

23. ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF Ag NANO PARTICLES
AGAINST WATERBORNE PATHOGENS
Research Project of
Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS)
(Grant : Pak Rs. 2.0 million)
Research Team at PINSAT, Preston University :
Prof. Dr. N. M. Butt, S.I (Fellow PAS) PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Dr. Toqeer Ahmed Malik, Assistant Prof. CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Ms. Saba Imdad RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

24. 1.To assess the water quality of water supplies of CDA to the Sectors
of Islamabad and to isolate and identify the waterborne pathogens
surviving in water supplies after treatment with conventional
methods as part of Phase –I.
2.To assess the sensitivity of major waterborne pathogens against the
different sizes of nano silver particle in Phase-II of the project.
3.To subsequently promote indigenous solutions for water purification
and treatment (Phase-II). Cheaper and commercially viable.
GOALS/OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

25. The proposed study in the area of nanotechnology for clean drinking
water will be conducted in two phases.
Phase-I: Water quality of different water supplies which are supplying
water to the inhabitants of related areas of Islamabad will be tested,
according to standard method (APHA, 2001).
Waterborne pathogens will be isolated and identified by API-20E method
(Murry et al., 1999).
Phase-II: Nano particles of silver will be tested against waterborne
pathogens and low cost water filters will be prepared by mixing the silver
nanoparticles with clay for water purification.
FUTURE PLAN: Leaching of silver nanoparticles in treated water and
toxicity level of silver will be assessed in a future study.
PROJECT PHASES

26. PROJECT PROGRESS:
1. Sampling for Water Quality Assessment
(Phase-I)
Water samples from 55 different CDA –water
supply sites in Islamabad
• Isolation and identification of bacterial strains by
API 20 E method.

27. RESULTS PHASE-I:
(Water Samples Collection)
Photos of CDA Water Supply Sites
Collection of water sample
at sector H-8/4- site , Islamabad
Collection of water sample at another
CDA site in Islamabad.

28. RESULTS PHASE-I
(Water Quality Analysis) at PINSAT Lab.
MPN Techniques for water quality Analysis
(Presumptive and Confirmed tests for Total Coliform)

29. Temperature and pH of Water Samples from different
CDA- water Supply sites in Islamabad.
55 water samples were analyzed and results showed that pH
varied between 7.10-7.30 in all types of supplies and temperature
was slightly lower than room temperature. The average
temperature range was 19-21 oC
pH Variation
Temperature Variation
T.W F. Plants W.S
17.5
18.0
18.5
19.0
19.5
20.0
20.5
21.0
21.5
22.0
Average
Temperature
(°C)
Water Sources
T.W F. Plants W.S
7.05
7.10
7.15
7.20
7.25
7.30
7.35
7.40
Average
pH
Value
Water Sources

30. Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Count (THBC)in
different Water Samples of Islamabad Region
THBCs were higher in water supply samples in Islamabad as compared to
TW and FP.
T.W F. Plant W.S
1.2
1.5
1.8
2.1
2.4
2.7
3.0
3.3
3.6
3.9
Average
THBC
log
10
Value
(CFU/ml)
Water Sources

31. Comparison of Total coliforms and E. coli in different
Water Sources of Islamabad Region
Total Coliform & E. coli
10
90.5
46
10
21
18
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
T.W F. Plants W.S
TC
EC
Water Sources
Average
MPN/100ml

32. EC = E. coli, W.S = Water supply, T.W = Tube wells,
F. plants = Filtration plants, THBC = total heterotrophic bacterial count,
TC = Total coliform
TOTAL AND INFECTED NUMBER OF WATER SAMPLES
IN ISLAMABAD REGION.
14% Total Coliform
13 % E. coli
Overall %age of different sectors of Islamabad was 14%.
18
26
11
13
18
9
2
3 3
2
3
2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
F.
Plants
T.W W.S F.
Plants
T.W W.S F.
Plants
T.W W.S F.
Plants
T.W W.S
Total THBC TC EC
No.
of
Samples
Parameters

33. Basic Identification Tests for Bacterial Strains
Indole Tests for E. coli
Citrate Utilization Test
Growth of E. coli on EMB Agar

34. Comparison of Enterobacter cloacae with Control

35. E. coli
K. pneumoneae
Enterobacter cloacae
P. aeruginosa Staph. aureus
WATERBORNE PATHOGENS FOUND IN WATER SAMPLES
35

36. NIBGE, Faisalabad/LUMS, Lahore(Dr. Irshad Hussain).
In Second phase, different particle sizes will be tested
against waterborne pathogens and low cost water filter
will be prepared by mixing silver nanoparticles with clay
for water purification. Different nanosize particles will be
made by Dr. Irshad Hussain, a specialist of Ag
nanparticle synthesis who is working at NIBGE,
Faisalabad and LUMS, Lahore.
RESEARCH PROJECT COLLABORATION

37. PREPARATION OF Ag NPs
Sample-I: Average particles size was 5 nm by Casein method.
Sample-II: Average particles size was 20 nm by Citrate method.
Sample-III: Average particles size was 7 nm by PHMB method.

38. Sample 1: Casein AgNps
Absorption maximum at 413 nm= 1.6,
approximate concentration= 1 µg/mL
300 400 500 600 700 800
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
Absorption
(a.u)
Wavelength (nm)
Casein Agnps

39. Sample 2 : Citrate AgNps
Absorption maximum at 397 nm= 2.838
Approximate concentration: 2.725 µg/mL.
300 400 500 600 700 800
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Absorption
(a.u)
Wavelength (nm)
Citrate Agnps

40. Sample 3 : PHMB AgNps
Absorption maximum at 417 nm= 0.88,
approximate concentration= 1.114 µg/mL
300 400 500 600 700 800
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
Absorbance
(a.u)
Wavelength (nm)
PHMB Agnps

41. ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF Ag NPs
AGAINST E. coli
Sample 1 and 2 : Showed best antibacterial activity against E. coli
0
7
0 0
0
12
0 0
11
12
0 0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1 2 3 C
30 ul
60 ul
90 ul
D
Z
I
(mm)
AgNPs samples with control

42. ANTIBACTERIAL EFFECT OF Ag NPs
AGAINST Enterobacter cloaceae
Sample 1 and 2 : Showed best antibacterial activity
against Enterobacter colaceae
0
9
0 0
10
11
0 0
11
13
0 0
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
1 2 3 C
30 ul
60 ul
90 ul
AgNPs samples with control
D
Z
I
(mm)

43. RESULTS PHASE-II:
1. Antibacterial effect Ag NPs as a
function of their sizes against
waterborne pathogens will be
examined.
2. Low cost water filters will be
prepared on the basis of the Phase-II
results.
3. Phase-II, is in progress

44. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. Pakistan Academy of Sciences (PAS), Govt. of
Pakistan.[ For Research Grant ].
2. Capital development Authority CDA), Islamabad.
[Cooperation for Water Samples ].
3. Dr. Irshad Hussain, LUMS, Lahore. [For making Ag
nanoparticles ].
4. Dr Abdul Basit , Chancellor,Preston University,
Islamabad.[ For University Support ].
5. Technical Staff of PINSAT working in the R & D
Laboratory [ For Technical Help ].

45. &
God Bless You.