Chapter 12 - Desorption, Regeneration, and Reuse of Nanomaterials

Abstract

During the last few years, nanotechnology has been widely used in the separation and purification of environmental contaminants from aquatic media. Thus, desorption, regeneration, and reuse of nanomaterials has become an important part of the treatment technologies. Many efforts have been taken to recycle the used nanosorbents to concentrate the adsorbate, to regenerate the nanosorbent, and to reuse the regenerated nanoadsorbents. A review of the literature on regeneration and reuse of nanosorbents shows that little work has been done on this crucial topic. Regeneration has been carried out with mild acids and bases, and adsorbent materials have been reused in batch modes. In this chapter, we are going to discuss the desorption, regeneration, and reuse of nanosorbents with various eluents. Management of spent eluents in the regeneration process and the disposability of exhausted nanosorbent materials have been critically discussed.