Introduction to the special issue “Nanomaterials and their influence on the Planet”

Naturally occurring, incidental, engineered nanomaterials, and nanominerals have a significant influence on Earth and human health (Wu et al., 2022). These also present ecological factors connected to accumulating water contamination, emerging pollutants in nature, greenhouse gas production, and toxic effects of fuels and chemicals (Rodriguez-Iruretagoiena et al., 2022, Yokoo et al., 2022). This special issue of Gondwana Research assembles a set of contributions that provide an overview of nanoscience-based environmental applications and discoveries concerning phosphogypsum wastes, mineral mining, refining/production, and disposal of mining wastes; soil health; sediment influences to water quality; general contaminant remediation strategies; and atmospheric geochemistry changes. These processes result in massive nanoparticle generation which have highly significant environmental implications and human health consequences on local, regional, and even global levels (Li et al., 2022, Ren et al., 2022). Until recently, very little was known about nanoparticle fractions. Recent advancements and sophistications enable us to detect, collect and study these materials which are roughly 1 nm (0.001 µm) up to several tens of nanometers in size. These materials are known to behave differently (chemically, electrically, and mechanically), relative to their macroscopic equivalents. This is what makes nanoscience fascinating and difficult to predict, underscoring the importance of this emerging new field. This incorporates extensive and distant transportation downstream, and finally to seas such as is the case of acid mine drainages (Caraballo et al., 2022). In terms of human health, in all phases of mining, production/refining, use, and waste disposal, the associated nanoparticles can be acquired through oral ingestion, inhalation, and dermal absorption (Wu et al., 2022). There is also a current gap among what we so far know about the behavior of nanoparticles, and what remains to be determined. In addition, eco-friendly and green nano-sciences holds abundant promise to solve large-scale challenges offering results to these complications in the form of preventive and remedial tools to diminish contaminants from the ecosystem

• Autores: Silva, Luis; Shaoi, Longy; Yang, Cheng-Xue
• Tipo de recurso: Article of investigation
• Fecha de publicación: 2022
• Institución: Corporación Universidad de la Costa
• Repositorio: REDICUC - Repositorio CUC
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repositorio.cuc.edu.co:11323/14071
• Acceso en línea: https://hdl.handle.net/11323/14071; https://repositorio.cuc.edu.co/
• Palabra clave: Nanomaterials; Geochemistry; Planet; Influence
• Rights: openAccess
• License: Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 4.0 Internacional (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)