288

Bioremediation for Sustainable Environmental Cleanup

(Sakulthaew et al. 2017). Recently, chitosan-based clay composite showed high adsorption of

Cu (II) in the tune of 96.0 and 99.5%, respectively, at a pH of 6.5 (Sakulthaew et al. 2017). In

addition, intercalation polymerization generated organo-bentonite and polyacrylonitrile composite

showed the removal of Cd, Zn and Cu at the tune of 52.6, 65.4 and 77.4 mg g^–1, respectively

(Mukhopadhyay et al. 2020).

16.5 Future Research Need

In this chapter, nanotechnology-based remediation techniques for removing metal(loid)s pollutants

from the environment have been described thoroughly. These nano-structured materials have

shown great potential in the decontamination of heavy metal-contaminated media. Applications

of nanotechnology have immense potential for detecting polluted sites and their remediation

sustainably. All the nanoadsorbents discussed earlier have tremendous potential for the removal of

pollutants from the environment. Incorporating clay at appropriate doses with a variety of inorganic

polymers and biopolymers (or nanoclay) for the development of nanocomposites enhanced the

effectiveness of nanoabsorbents for the removal of pollution. Furthermore, the majority of research

demonstrated the efficiency of nanomaterials at the laboratory scale, with only a few attempts to

evaluate at the actual polluted locations. To continue the economic feasibility and sustainability

of nanotechnology for the removal of metal pollutants is the need of the hour. Furthermore, to

boost the sustainability of these remediation techniques, proper safety protocols and standardized

methodology should be developed. In addition, awareness should be generated for nanotechnology-

based remediation through more field-level applications. Sustainable agriculture, food availability

and nutritional security are among the century’s core sustainable development goals. Therefore, it

is critical to use the benefits of nanotechnology in accomplishing the feat by boosting plant nutrient

availability and lowering plant losses on agricultural soils. Approaches are needed to the synthesis

of nanomaterials that are more environmentally friendly and sustainable. Further, advanced tools

for ecotoxicological evaluation and safety measures should be developed. The establishment of

regulatory agencies at national and international levels is essential to monitor the diffusion of

nanoparticles in the environment and to implement nanotechnology-based approaches for improved

results, with the goal of minimizing negative consequences.

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