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Of the variety of adsorbents available for the removal of heavy and toxic metals, activated carbon has been the most popular. A number of minerals, clays and waste materials have been regularly used for the removal of metallic pollutants from water and industrial effluents. Recently there has been emphasis on the application of nanoparticles and nanostructured materials as efficient and viable alternatives to activated carbon. Carbon nanotubes also have been proved effective alternatives for the removal of metallic pollutants from aqueous solutions. Because of their importance from an environmental viewpoint, special emphasis has been given to the removal of the metals Cr, Cd, Hg, Zn, As, and Cu. Separation of the used nanoparticles from aqueous solutions and the health aspects of the separated nanoparticles have also been discussed. A significant number of the latest articles have been critically scanned for the present review to give a vivid picture of these exotic materials for water remediation.

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With tremendous increase in development of nanotechnology, there is a developing enthusiasm towards the application of nanoparticles in diverse areas. Carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, quantum dots, dendrimers, iron oxide, silica, gold and silver nanoparticles are frequently used in different applications such as drug delivery, as ceramic materials, semiconductors, electronics, in medicine, cosmetics, etc. Some of these nanoparticles have shown major toxic effects on fauna, flora and human beings like inflammation, cytotoxicity, tissue ulceration and reduction of cell viability. SWCNT and MWCNT can induce oxidative stress and fibrosis in the lungs of rat and mice. SWCNTs can also induce oxidative stress to the nervous system in human beings. Inflammatory injury and respiratory distress can be observed due to TiO 2 nanoparticles with small diameter. Nanoparticles can also pose detrimental effects on plants such as decreased growth rate, genomic and proteomic changes, etc. Toxicity of nanoparticles arises because of their specific characteristics such as greater 'surface area to volume ratio' compared with bulk particles of the same chemistry. The objective of this review is to critically evaluate the current literature on the toxicity of nanoparticles.

Over the past few decades, removal and recovery of Lanthanum (La) have received great attention due to its significance in different industrial processes. In this review, the application of various adsorbents viz. biosorbents, commercial and hybrid materials, nanoparticles, nanocomposites etc. have been summarized in terms of the removal and recovery of La. The influence of various operating parameters including pH, dosage, contact time, temperature, coexisting ions, adsorption kinetics, isotherm and thermodynamics were investigated. Statistical analysis of the obtained data revealed that 60% and 70% of the authors reported an optimum pH of 4-6 and a dose of 1-2 g/L, respectively. It can be concluded on the basis of an extensive literature survey that the adsorbent materials (especially hybrids nanocomposites) containing carboxyl, hydroxyl and amine groups offered efficient La removal over a wide range of pH with higher adsorption capacity as compared to other adsorbents (e.g., biosorbents and magnetic adsorbents). Also, in most cases, equilibrium and kinetics were followed by Langmuir and pseudo second-order model and adsorption was endothermic in nature. To evaluate the adsorption efficiency of several adsorbents towards La, desorption and regeneration of adsorbents should be given due consideration. The main objective of the review is to provide an insight into the important factors that may affect the recovery of La using various adsorbents.