An Overview of the Degradation and Removal of Pesticide Residues from Water and Agricultural Runoff Using Nanoparticles and Nanocomposites

Abstract

Abstract: A high percentage of the applied chemicals on farmlands find their way into the water bodies and groundwater through agricultural runoff and leaching/percolation. Therefore, multiple remediation techniques need to be employed to deter the menace of pesticide residue contamination. Therefore, this review aimed to compute the most suitable degradation conditions for the removal of pesticide residue from water and agricultural runoff using nanomaterials. The review touches on the aspect of adsorption and photocatalytic degradation methods using nanomaterials and the most prominent factors that affect the degradation process. Information from recently published articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings were carefully studied and analyzed. It was revealed that heterogeneous photocatalysis shows the capability of complete mineralization of organic pollutants under optimum experimental conditions. Moreover, it is crucial to consider experimental conditions that could be applicable in the field to achieve a better result. It has been observed that integrating nanoremediation with other degradation methods to create a hybrid technique may play a crucial role in removing pesticide residues from agricultural runoff. However, the detrimental effects of the nanomaterials if any on the environmental matrices need to be taken under consideration to avoid the menace similar to plastic pollution as a result of extensive production and application of nanomaterials.