Life Cycle of Polymer Nanocomposites Matrices in Hazardous Waste Treatment

What is it about?

The strengthened international and national regulatory requirements on hazardous contaminants discharge drives the research and development efforts to find and optimize novel materials that could be used effectively in removing these contaminants from different waste streams and isolating them from the accessible environment. The evolution of nanosciences and nanotechnologies led to considerable improvement in hazardous contaminants separation and degradation technologies, where nano-materials (NM) and nanocomposites were proposed for sorptive removal, catalytic degradation, and disinfections. On the other side, polymers and polymer composites have been extensively applied in the management of hazardous wastes in membrane separation, sorption, and immobilization of radioactive wastes. To improve the performance and stability of these materials, hybrid polymer nanocomposites (PNC) were evaluated.this chapter, the life cycle of PNC applied in the management of hazardous wastes will be traced. The considered life cycle stages are design and preparation, applications, and management of contaminated PNC (end of life cycle). The main aim of this work is to summarize the current knowledge in the field by presenting PNC application in membrane separation, photocatalytic degradation, and sorptive removal of hazardous contaminants. The gaps in the application of these materials in radioactive waste immobilization will be highlighted. Finally the end of life cycle will be addressed by presenting thermal degradation and immobilization of PNC and identifying the challenges that associate them.

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