Abstract
Size does matter. With global resources on the verge of depletion and all kinds of pollution on the rise, the better part of the population is slowly turning towards the smaller things for salvation, dubbed nanotechnology. Perhaps National Nanotechnology Initiative describes it best when declaring nanotechnology ‘as the manipulation of matter with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers’, such matter that possesses the ability to exhibit certain properties at the nanoscale. It is one of those feats of science that fits in every field of daily life; the sky is the limit when it comes to its benefits as it boasts immense potential in medicine, energy and food just to name a few.
"In thinking about nanotechnology today, what's most important is understanding where it leads, what nanotechnology will look like." - Kim Eric Drexler
That is the very essence of our research. In this paper we discuss the role nanotechnology in destined to play in our food industries. Today’s agricultural system is being affected badly through climatic changes, both natural and artificial. The bane of this system is polluted irrigation and groundwater reserves, rapidly changing climatic variables leading to uncontrolled plant growth and infertility. Our paper analyzes what nanotechnology can do to avert this crisis which will eventually lead to lesser and lesser food production, breaking down lives and economies. Its most amazing and rare properties can allow us to maintain and control our crops much better and efficiently at the most minutest of scales. In the end, this research paper recommends solutions to some of the problems faced while executing the technology, mainly toxicity and its environmental impact. Suffice to say, regulated use of nanotechnology can offer a promising future for us, provided its potential is completely understood and exploited.
Introduction
The 21st century has brought about a fast-paced revolutionary era that has produced incredible marvels in every field of science and humanity, including introductions of many new ones, yet it has presented seemingly unsolvable problems many of which have victimized our agricultural industries. These challenges include global warming resulting in uncontrolled farming, impure water for irrigation, soil infertility, accumulation and runoff of industrial and fertilizer chemicals resulting in toxicity and contamination; all of the above mentioned problems along with many others, have squeezed global food production and struck the economies of developing countries even more as agricultural production is the backbone of such countries’ economies.
In time, the demand for food is inevitably going to rise to feed the mouths of 9.8 billion people by 2050 [1]. Also, with the high prices and consequences of fossil fuels, countries will soon start viewing agricultural products as the new big thing in international trade. Furthermore, efficient and promising biofuels, especially algae, will become a global trend to serve as a petroleum-supplement owing to its rare and multi-use properties. For all this to become a reality, food production has to keep increasing with population growth, which will strain already weak agricultural systems and have a heavy toll on this land, which is, by every minute, becoming infertile. Innovative scientific solutions, like nanotechnology, pose possible solutions to increase farm productivity and reduce its environmental strain.
Richard Feyman was the first to describe the magnitude of nanotechnology’s potential in real-word applications, during his lecture, producing the infamous statement, “There’s plenty of room at the bottom.” [2] Nanotechnology can effectively filter irrigation water that has been contaminated through nanotechnology membranes. To have greater control over the plants’ growth nanosensors and nanobots can be employed to maintain healthy growth even in exceptional conditions like those presented by global warming. For better crop yield and fertiliser efficiency, nutrient delivery can be implemented with nanotechnology. Also, the conventional method of producing all the nanomaterials to build such technology has adverse environmental impacts as well as high production costs. In this context, plants can act as bioreactors and ‘green synthesize’ nanomaterials relieving burdens on other industries related to the process. Although such technologies have weak public support, there is a dire need for their acceptance as perhaps, right now, they are the only cost-effective, environment-friendly and productive means of meeting global demand for agricultural products.
Water Filtration:
- Water purification using nanotechnology exploits nanoscopic materials such as carbon nanotubes and alumina fibers for nanofiltration
- it also utilizes the existence of nanoscopic pores in zeolite filtration membranes, as well as nanocatalysts and magnetic nanoparticles
- Nanosensors, such as those based on titanium oxide nanowires or palladium nanoparticles are used for analytical detection of contaminants in water samples.
- It can be used for removal of sediments, chemical effluents, charged particles, bacteria and other pathogens.
- "The main advantages of using nanofilters, as opposed to conventional systems, are that less pressure is required to pass water across the filter, they are more efficient, and they have incredibly large surface areas and can be more easily cleaned by back-flushing compared with conventional methods," - Alpana Mahapatra and colleagues Farida Valli and Karishma Tijoriwala
- carbon nanotube membranes can remove almost all kinds of water contaminants including turbidity, oil, bacteria, viruses and organic contaminants.
- Although their pores are significantly smaller carbon nanotubes have shown to have an equal or a faster flow rate as compared to larger pores, possibly because of the smooth interior of the nanotubes.
- Nanofibrous alumina filters and other nanofiber materials also remove negatively charged contaminants such as viruses, bacteria, and organic and inorganic colloids at a faster rate than conventional filters.
- "Nanotechnology for water purification" in International Journal of Nuclear Desalination, 2010 ^ https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-07/ip-nfw072810.php
- In the near future, it has been estimated that average water supply per person will drop by a factor of one third, which will result in the avoidable premature death of millions of people
- Conventional desalination technologies like reverse osmosis membranes are being used but these are costly due to the large amount of energy required.
- Nanotechnology has played a very important role in developing a number of low-energy alternatives, among which three are most promising. (i) protein-polymer biomimetic membranes, (ii) aligned-carbon nanotube membranes and (iii) thin film nanocomposite membranes
- These technologies have shown up to 1000 times better desalination efficiencies than RO, as these have high water permeability due to the presence of carbon nanotube membranes in their structure
- Some of these membranes are involved in the integration of other processes like disinfection, deodorizing, de-fouling and self-cleaning.