Microporous and Mesoporous Materials in Decontamination of Water Process

Water pollution is the main threat that confronts humanity today. The daily human activity introduces different pollutants in hydric sources that modify water quality. This represents a high production of water that is not appropriate for different applications like human consumption. Among the water pollutants more common are dyes, herbicides, pesticides, alkanes, halo alkanes, aliphatic compounds, alcohols, carboxylic acids, aromatic compounds, detergents, surfactants, inorganic compounds (heavy metals), harmful gases, and pathogenic bacteria (bacteria and virus). These pollutants can be found in underground and surface water, and therefore can produce adverse effects on the environment and human health. These effluents can be treated with different procedures such as biological and chemical treatments, among others. However, in some cases, these processes are not appropriate for compliance legislation. Thus, adsorption with special materials such as carbon aerogels and advance oxidation processes such as photocatalysis are widely studied nowadays.