ABSTRACT
Water, having the wonderful property of universal solvent, dissolves almost everything that comes in contact with it, from beneficial minerals, which gives a characteristic taste of water of a particular place, to unwanted/toxic/waste substances, in the form of industrial waste. These industrial wastes are often drained to either open land or in flowing rivers. In both ways, the environment is polluted severely. Situations are no better for dairy processing industries, where effluent contains soluble organic/inorganic materials along with other suspended solids making the effluent high for oxygen demand in terms of biological and chemical sources. Small curd particles, casein, fat, and whey present in dairy effluent make it looks thick, dark, and extremely smelly. Milk components being soluble in nature become difficult to separate the soluble wastes from the water. Application of nanotechnology for wastewater treatment is a new domain with much promising future for more effective clean water production. This chapter provides the reader an overall glimpse about various applications of nanotechnology in the wastewater treatment. From removal of organics/inorganics present in dairy effluent to disinfecting mechanism, nanotechnology promises us with the hope of abundant fresh water supply from effluents.
