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Silver nanoparticle filter for domestic wastewater reuse
Author(s) -
Gagneten Ana M,
Romero Natalí,
Reno Ulises,
Regaldo Luciana,
Kergaravat Silvina V,
RodenakKladniew Boris E,
Castro Guillermo R
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of chemical technology and biotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.64
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1097-4660
pISSN - 0268-2575
DOI - 10.1002/jctb.6710
Subject(s) - wastewater , chemistry , pulp and paper industry , organic matter , filtration (mathematics) , environmental chemistry , chromatography , nuclear chemistry , environmental engineering , environmental science , organic chemistry , statistics , mathematics , engineering
BACKGROUND Under scarcity of freshwater, the reuse and low‐cost technological solutions applied to wastewaters seek to reduce contamination to the users and freshwater biota. RESULTS A low‐cost cellulose membrane was doped with silver nanoparticles to filter urban wastewater (UW) from a city in Argentina. The total amount of coliforms and Escherichia coli in the filter decreased by 99.6% and 99.9%, respectively. The leak of silver from the filter was 275 ng L −1 , analyzed by square wave anodic stripping voltammetry. Silver nanoparticles tested on HepG2 and A549 mammalian cell lines showed no toxicity in a broad concentration range. Calculation of the organic matter provided by dead bacteria post‐filtration was 347 μg L −1 proteins, 148 μg L −1 nucleic acids, 57 μg L −1 lipids, and 53 μg L −1 polysaccharides, indicating high availability of organic matter. The retention of inorganic salts in the filter was 78.5% ammonia, 6.2% nitrates, 97.6% nitrites, and 19.2% phosphates. In post‐filtered UW, the Lactuca sativa germination test showed early seed germination between 90% and 95% in all the dilutions tested. In the range of 6.25% to 50.0%, filtered UW showed no significant differences in the hypocotyl but the difference was significant in the radicle length (mm) compared to the control made of synthetic media ( P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The development of a low‐cost filter based on cellulose membranes doped with silver nanoparticles allowed the reuse of wastewater for domestic purposes and garden irrigation. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI).