Current Approaches of Nanotechnology for Potential Drinking Water Purification

Introduction

Affordable and clean drinking water became a major global challenge in 21st century as water is the origin of human civilization. The continuous increase in population, urbanization and industrialization are the main reason for the contamination of water (Qu, Alvarez and Li 2013). Water is an essential factor to sustain life, and an adequate, safe and accessible supply must be available to all. Improving access to safe drinking water can result in tangible benefits to health. Every effort should be made to achieve drinking water that is as safe as practicable. The era of water purification had begun since the first governmental act was passed in 1852 entitled; Metropolis Water Act of 1852 (Pradeep and Anshup 2009). The principal objective of wastewater purification is generally to dispose of human and industrial effluents without affecting human health or causing damage to the natural environment. Water is considered as contaminated if the level of introduced pollutants exceeds a certain permissible limit, making it unsuitable for human consumption. WHO produces international norms on water quality and human health in the form of guidelines that are used as the basis for regulation and standard setting, in developing and developed countries worldwide. Table 1 lists some of the major drinking water contaminants and their permissible limits according to WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality (WHO 2011) designed for the protection of public health and the management of the risk from hazards.