Micro/nano-machines for spilled-oil cleanup and recovery: A review

Minh, Tam Do; Ncibi, Mohamed Chaker; Srivastava, Varsha; Doshi, Bhairavi

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129516

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…[132,133] Fuel-free motors or water-fueled motors are possibly good candidates in this regard. [134] The micro/nano motor-based methodʼs efficiency is restricted due to mass transfer resistance, and external means of mixing are required for enhancing the yields. The turnaround time of micromotors is another critical issue.…”

Section: The Lifespan Of the Multifunctional Micro-and Nanomotorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical review on micro‐ and nanomotors: Application towards wastewater treatment

2021

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Micro-and nanomotors are synthetic devices that can transform various sources of energy into motion. These devices perform specialized tasks as they propel themselves in response to stimuli. The application of self-propelled micro-and nanomachines in wastewater treatment has been of prime importance in the last decade. Compared to static decontamination systems, microand nanomachines can remove or degrade water pollutants in a much more rapid way owing to higher diffusion rates and fluxes. The present review focuses on the recent progress of micro-and nanomachines in wastewater treatment and provides an overview of their structural features, synthesis procedures, and propulsion mechanisms. We reviewed the applications of microand nanomachines to remove heavy metals, dyes, and organic pollutants from wastewater. We also discussed the challenges micro-and nanomotors face during wastewater treatment, thus providing a holistic approach to the article. This article highlights the shortcomings as well as the opportunities for microand nanomotors-based technology in wastewater treatment.

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Section: The Lifespan Of the Multifunctional Micro-and Nanomotorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical review on micro‐ and nanomotors: Application towards wastewater treatment

2021

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“…Although promising degradation methods based on biodegradation [3,4] or photocatalytic [5] processes have been reported, advanced oxidative processes (AOPs) based on the generation of strong oxidizing agents (e.g., hydroxyl radicals, sulfate radicals) have from organic pollutants to oil spill. [51] They have been applied both as sponge membranes in bioreactors [52,53] or stand-alone absorption platforms, where both their surface topography [54] or chemical composition [55][56][57][58] were studied, as well as exploring alternative composites for faster magnetic separation [59] or precise motion control by applying external magnetic fields. [60] However, it is important to note that for the examples previously mentioned, there was only a pollutant separation for recovery purposes, but no degradation process was undertaken either during the collection process or afterwards.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micromotor‐in‐Sponge Platform for Multicycle Large‐Volume Degradation of Organic Pollutants

Vilela

Guix

Parmar

et al. 2022

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The presence of organic pollutants in the environment is a global threat to human health and ecosystems due to their bioaccumulation and long‐term persistence. Hereby a micromotor‐in‐sponge concept is presented that aims not only at pollutant removal, but towards an efficient in situ degradation by exploiting the synergy between the sponge hydrophobic nature and the rapid pollutant degradation promoted by the cobalt‐ferrite (CFO) micromotors embedded at the sponge's core. Such a platform allows the use of extremely low fuel concentration (0.13% H2O2), as well as its reusability and easy recovery. Moreover, the authors demonstrate an efficient multicycle pollutant degradation and treatment of large volumes (1 L in 15 min) by using multiple sponges. Such a fast degradation process is due to the CFO bubble‐propulsion motion mechanism, which induces both an enhanced fluid mixing within the sponge and an outward flow that allows a rapid fluid exchange. Also, the magnetic control of the system is demonstrated, guiding the sponge position during the degradation process. The micromotor‐in‐sponge configuration can be extrapolated to other catalytic micromotors, establishing an alternative platform for an easier implementation and recovery of micromotors in real environmental applications.

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“…These insects practically induce locomotion by surface tension gradients by excreting “on the-fly” a surfactant that allows them to accelerate the motion on the water surface. Such a surface tension gradient can be generated by modification of the surface the object moves on, and such locomotion is commonly known as Marangoni propulsion [ 13 , 14 ]. The Marangoni effect is a mass transfer phenomenon between two fluids with different surface tensions, such as a solvent in water.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface

2022

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The self-propulsion of bodies floating in water is of great interest for developing new robotic and intelligent systems at different scales, and whenever possible, Marangoni propulsion is an attractive candidate for the locomotion of untethered micro-robots. Significant cases have been shown using liquid and solid surfactants that allow an effective propulsion for bodies floating on water to be achieved. Here, we show for the first time a strategy for activating a twofold functionality where the self-propulsion of a floating body is combined with the formation of a polymer thin film at the water surface. In fact, we demonstrate that by using polymer droplets with an appropriate concentration of solvent and delivering such drops at specific locations onto freely floating objects, it is possible to form “on-the-fly” thin polymer films at the free water surface. By exploiting self-propulsion, a polymer thin film can be formed that could cover quite extensive areas with different shapes depending on the motion of the floating object. This intriguing twice-functionality activated though a single phenomenon, i.e., film formation and related locomotion, could be used in perspective to perform complex operations at water surfaces, such as dynamic liquid packaging, cleaning, and moving away floating particles, monolayer films, or macro-sized objects, as discussed in the text.

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Micro/nano-machines for spilled-oil cleanup and recovery: A review

Cited by 24 publications

References 38 publications

A critical review on micro‐ and nanomotors: Application towards wastewater treatment

A critical review on micro‐ and nanomotors: Application towards wastewater treatment

Micromotor‐in‐Sponge Platform for Multicycle Large‐Volume Degradation of Organic Pollutants

On-the-Fly Formation of Polymer Film at Water Surface

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