ABSTRACT
Water that is free from toxic chemicals and pathogens is essential to human health. Providing access to safe drinking water has been identied as one, and possibly the most important, of the grand challenges facing scientists in the twenty-rst century. The contamination of groundwater aquifers by toxic organic compounds is a widespread problem that prevents these potentially potable sources from being used for drinking water. The water with enough purity is also a critical feedstock in a variety of key industries including electronics, pharmaceuticals, and food. The world is facing tough challenges in meeting rising demands of clean water as the available supplies of freshwater are decreasing due to extended droughts, population growth, more severe health-based regulations, and competing demands from a variety of users (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2003).
