The rise of collaborative consumption, peer-to-peer systems, and not-for-profit social enterprise heralds the emergence of a new era of human collectivity. Increasingly, this consolidation stems from an understanding that big-banner issues—such as climate change—are not the root causes of our present global predicament. There is a growing and collective view that issues such as this are actually symptoms of a much more vicious, seemingly insurmountable condition: our addiction to economic, consumption, and population growth in a world of finite resources. Nanotechnology and Global Sustainability uses nanotechnology—the product of applied scientific knowledge to control and utilize matter at atomic and molecular scales—as a lens through which to explore the interrelationship between innovation, politics, economy, and sustainability. This groundbreaking book addresses how stakeholders can actively reshape agendas to create positive and sustainable futures through this latest controversial, cross-sectoral technology. It moves beyond issues of efficiency, productivity, and utility, exploring the insights of 22 contributors from around the world, whose work spans the disciplines of science and the humanities. Their combined knowledge, reinforced with various case studies, introduces an exciting prospect—how we can innovate without economic growth. This new volume in the Perspectives in Nanotechnology series is edited by Dr. Donald Maclurcan and Dr. Natalia Radywyl. Dr. Maclurcan is a social innovator and Honorary Research Fellow with the Institute for Nanoscale Technology at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Dr. Radywyl is a social researcher and Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow in the Faculty of Life and Social Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne. This book is written for a wide audience and will be of particular interest to activists, scholars, policy makers, scientists, business professionals, and others who seek an understanding of how we might justly transition to sustainable societies.

Nanomaterials have been used for years in industries such as consumer products, textile production, and biomedicine, yet the literature outlining their use in environmental causes is limited. The safety, toxicity, transportation, and removal of this technology must be addressed as nanotechnology and nanomaterial use is expected to grow. Applying Nanotechnology for Environmental Sustainability addresses the applications of nanomaterials in the field of environmental conservation and sustainability, and analyses the potential risks associated with their use. It elucidates the scientific concepts and emerging technologies in nanoscience and nanotoxicity by offering a wide range of innovative topics and reviews regarding its use. This publication is essential for environmental engineers, researchers, consultants, students, regulators, and professionals in the field of nanotechnology.

Sustainable Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation provides a single-source solution to researchers working in environmental, wastewater management, biological and composite nanomaterials applications. It addresses the potential environmental risks and uncertainties surrounding the use of nanomaterials for environmental remediation, giving an understanding of their impact on ecological receptors in addition to their potential benefits. Users will find comprehensive information on the application of state-of-the-art processes currently available to synthesize advanced green nanocomposite materials and biogenic nanomaterials. Other sections explore a wide range of promising approaches for green nanotechnologies and nanocomposites preparations. Case study chapters connect materials engineering and technology to the social context for a sustainable environment. Applications and different case studies provide solutions to the challenges faced by industry, thus minimizing negative social impacts. - Provides information on the use of biologically mediated synthetic protocols to generate nanomaterials - Discusses a wide range of promising?approaches?for?green nanotechnologies and nanocomposites preparations - Presents novel fabrication techniques for bionanocomposites, paving the way for the development of a new generation of advanced materials that can cope with spatiotemporal multi-variant environments

This book illustrates how green nanotechnology is being used to promote sustainability, including applications in environmental remediation and energy optimization.

Nanotechnology is the twenty-first century revolution that has impacted each and every aspect of life despite its small size. As nanoscale research continues to advance, scientists and engineers are developing new applications for many different disciplines, including environmental applications. Nanotechnology Applications in Environmental Engineering contains innovative research on nanomaterials and their impact on the environment. It also explores the current and potential future applications of nanodevices in environmental science and engineering, showcasing how nanomaterials can be tailored to address some of the environmental remediation and sensing/detection problems faced today. While highlighting topics such as environmental science, nanomaterials, and membrane technology, this book is ideally designed for environmental scientists, nanotechnologists, chemists, engineers, and individuals seeking current research on nanotechnology and its applications in environmental engineering.

The world is facing great challenges in meeting rising demands for basic commodities (e.g., food, water, and energy), finished goods (e.g., cell phones, cars and airplanes) and services (e.g., shelter, healthcare and employment) while reducing and minimizing the impact of human activities on Earth's global environment and climate. Nanotechnology has emerged as a versatile platform that could provide efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally acceptable solutions to the global sustainability challenges facing society. This volume is devoted to the utilization of nanotechnology to improve or achieve sustainable development. Recent advances are highlighted and opportunities of utilizing nanotechnology to address global challenges in water purification, clean energy, greenhouse gas management, materials supply/utilization and manufacturing are discussed. Also, societal perspectives are addressed and an outlook of the role of nanotechnology in the convergence of knowledge, technology and society for achieving sustainable development is provided. This book offers a thematic collection of papers previously published in the Journal of Nanoparticle Research.

A first step in developing a clean and sustainable future is to think differently about everyday products, in particular how they influence energy use. Green Nanotechnology: Solutions for Sustainability and Energy in the Built Environment explores the science and technology of tiny structures that have a huge potential to improve quality of life wh

This book discusses nanotechnology, its benefits and risks affecting the environment we live in today, and is divided into three parts: Part-I dealing with Sustainability, Part-II describing Toxicological Impacts, and Part-III discussing Nanomaterial-based Adsorbents. The crucial challenge of sustainability in various environmental elements is a global problem. This draws upon various issues of nanotechnology which impact sustainability of food, clean environment, green house gases, raw materials extraction, manufacturing and automobile industry. Growth in the production of nanomaterials to suit any of these applications is commendable. However, this does not negate the growth in their toxic effects. The nanotoxicity research in areas like medicine and agriculture industry is reviewed in detail in this book. Part-II discusses the toxic nature of widely used nanomaterials. Nanomaterials are enormously used in environmental remediation due to some of their distinct properties. These properties are described and discussed. Part-III of the book highlights the highly reactive and adsorbent properties of nanomaterials that enable them to be a competent agent in water and pollutant remediation. This book is mainly intended for researchers and students to acquire fairly comprehensive understanding and appreciation of nanotechnology dominance in sustainability challenges, with the aim to give the anticipatory governance of nanomaterials in our society and environment.

Biogenic Sustainable Nanotechnology: Trends and Progress covers green synthesis methods and materials from biological origin, including microorganisms, cells, plants and how their enzymes or extracts are used for to promote a greener environment, the minimization of generated waste, and the implementation of sustainable processes. The green synthesis of nanostructured material presents an extremely captivating and challenging approach for all researchers due to the presence of phytochemicals agents in extracts, such as carbohydrates, flavonoids, saponins, proteins, amino acids, chromone, steroids, phytol and terpenoids. This book covers phytochemicals and how they can act as good reducers, surfactants, structure directors and capping agents. This book focuses on the green synthesis of nanomaterials with various biological systems, with a particular emphasis on mechanisms of nanomaterial synthesis, spectroscopic characterizations, and their applications in a variety of industry sectors. This will be an important reference source for materials scientist, bioengineers and environmental scientists.