Nanoparticles in the Earth surface systems and their effects on the environment and resource

Abstract

Nanoparticles (NPs) in the Earth surface systems have been a global concern due to their abnormal effects and their scientific significance and application value in environmental remediation and resource exploration. By means of comparative and comprehensive studies: (1) A description of the development of techniques for detecting NP characteristics and comparisons between those techniques are summarized; (2) the characters of typical NPs, including minerals at the nanoscale, nano organic matter, natural metal NPs, nanoinclusions, and NPs in soil and water are concluded; (3) the physical, chemical, microbial, and multigeological origins of NPs are revealed; and (4) the abnormal properties of NPs including the size, migration, aggregation, and adsorption effects and oxidation–reduction reactivity, are elaborated upon.The formation, migration, deposition, and accumulation of NPs in the Earth surface system are closely related to the environment evolution and resource enrichment, and therefore NPs have environment and resource effects. On this basis, the uses of NPs in environmental remediation and resource exploration are clarified: (1) uses of NPs and modified NPs and combinations of NPs and other remediation technologies are analyzed, and the main factors influencing the remediation effect, such as the soil characteristics, hazardous element species, and NPs themselves, are examined; (2) NPs originating from plutonic fluid and weathering can indicate the mineralizing mechanism and instruct the identification of concealed deposits. For gas and oil exploration, organic NPs can reflect hydrocarbon-generating processes and determine gas and oil occurrence states. Organic NPs are also widely involved in the mineralization process of metal elements and thus can indicate the coexistence characters of organic matter and metal.