THE POTENTIAL OF

NANOFIBERS AND
NANOBIOCIDES IN WATER
PURIFICATION
Madya Agustiyana
1108120071

OUTLINE
Introduction
Case & Theoretical basis
Fabrication
Conclusion

INTRODUCTION
Over 70% of the Earth surface covered with water.
97.5% of this water is salt water, leaving only 2.5% as
fresh water.
Nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen in the icecaps of
Antarctica and Greenland; most of the remainder is present
as soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers as
groundwater not accessible to human use
Less than 1% of the world freshwater (0.007% of all water
of Earth) is accessible for direct human uses

CONT'
Contaminated drinking water - main cause of diseases in
development countries
The importance of water disinfection and microbial control
cannot be overstated
Chemical disinfectants and membrane-based water
filtration systems control microbial pathogens.

CASE
2 significant obstacles in filtration are :
Biofouling and virus penetration
The accumulation of
microorganisms such as
bacteria, fungi and algae on
the membrane surfaces, with
the subsequent formation of
harmful biofilms and
operational problems.
Membrane permeability and membrane lifetime
are reduced and energy costs are increased.
High cost involved in controlling membrane
biofouling and subsequently buying new
membranes.

POTENTIAL SOLUTION = NANOFIBROUS FILTER MEDIA

What is the nanofibers ?

Nanofibers are solid fibers with diameters within the
nanoscale with a large surface area to volume ratio, and
when assembled in a non-woven mat, have a small pore
size. Due to the small diameter, polymer nanofibers
often possess far superior qualities to that of the
polymer in any other form.

High surface to

volume
Low basis weight
High permeability
Small pore size
Remove
unwanted particles
smaller than 0.3 m

HUMAN HAIR VS NANOFIBERS

ELECTROSPINNING

Needle-electrospinning process

Bubble-electrospinning process

EXPERIMENT & RESULT BASED ON PAPER

CONT
Polymer
Polyurethane (PU)
Polycarboate (PC)

Solvent
Dimethyl formamide
Dichloro-methane

Concentration
10 wt %
15 wt %

Dimethylformami

20 wt %

de:
tetrahydrofuran
Polylactic acid (PLA)
Polyethylene oxide

(1:1)
Dichloromethane
Isopropyle alcohol and

5 wt %
10 wt %

(PEO)
Polyvinylcarbazole
Polystyrene
Cellulose acetate

water
Dichlormethane
Tetrahydrofuran
Acetone, acetic acid

7.5 wt %
15 wt %
17 %

(CA)

CURRENT NANOSCALE APPLICATIONS IN WATER

NANOBIOCIDES
Metal and metal oxides e.g. nAg, ZnO, CuO, TiO2
Natural antimicrobial substances e.g. antimicrobial
peptides and chitosan

SILVER (Ag) NANOPARTICLE

Silver nanoparticles is considered to be the most toxic element
to microorganisms: Ag >Hg >Cu >Cd >Cr >Pb >Co >Au >Zn
>Fe >Mn >Mo >Sn
Considered an alternative to antibiotics
Antimicrobial filters, wound dressing material, water
disinfection, sensors, air filtration.

TiO2 NANOPARTICLE
Titanium dioxide kills bacteria and
viruses
Produce hydroxyl free radicals and
peroxide formed under UV-A irradiation
via oxidative and reductive pathways,
respectively
TiO2 is stable in water and cost effective
and can therefore be successfully
incorporated in thin films or membrane
filters for water filtration.

 Natural antimicrobial substances antimicrobial

peptides and chitosan
Chitosan nanoparticles show potential in
drinking water disinfection applications such as
antimicrobial agents in membranes, sponges
and surface coatings

CONCLUSION

Nanotechnology could potentially lead

to more effective means of filtration
that not only remove more impurities
than current methods but do so
faster, more economically and more
selectively.

REFERENCES