Introduction - Nanotechnology and the Environment - page 2

and.contaminated.groundwater.with.tar.residuals. Those.historic.manufactured.gas.
plants.had.come.to.represent.hazardous.waste.rather.than.progress. Developments.
in. the. 1900s. provide. a. further. example. In. 1979,. suppliers. began. adding. methyl-
tertiary-butyl.ether.(MTBE).to.gasoline. in.the. United.States.to.replace.lead. as.an.
octane.enhancer. Later,.adding.MTBE.to.gasoline.fulilled.the.oxygenate.require-
ments.in.the.1990.Clean.Air.Act.Amendments.intended.to.reduce.smog.production.
The. use. of. MTBE,. however,. created. another. set. of. environmental. problems. Liq-
uid.and.vapor.leaks.from.underground.storage.tanks.have.led.to.widespread.MTBE.
contamination.in.groundwater. The.U.S..Geological.Survey.surveyed.water.quality.
in.nearly.all.50.states.in.the.1990s. Of.the.4023.groundwater.samples.collected,.10%.
contained.detectable.MTBE.at.an.average.concentration.of.280.micrograms.per.liter.
(µg/L).[3],.well.above.the.U.S..Environmental.Protection.Agency's.Health.Advisory.
of. 20. to. 40. µg/L. in. drinking. water. [4]. These. examples. illustrate. the. unintended.
consequences.that.can.result.from.rapid.industrial.progress.

. Potential RewaRds
Nanotechnology. offers. the. potential. for. tantalizing. rewards. Amid. the. hyperbole.
and. hype,. many. experts. believe. that. nanotechnology. may. offer. substantial. advan-
tages. Consider.the.following.examples.[2,.5,.6]:

• Energy savings. The. U.S.. Environmental. Protection. Agency. (U.S.. EPA).

has. cited. one. estimate. that. the. use. of. nanotechnology. could. reduce. the.
energy. consumption. in. the. U.S.. by. more. than. 14%. [5].. For. example,. the.
use.of.nanotechnology-based.materials.such.as.lightweight.composites.and.
thinner.paint.coatings.can.reduce.the.weight.of.airplanes.and.automobiles,.
and. thus. their. fuel. usage. Solid-state. lighting. may. use. energy. more. efi-
ciently. than. conventional. lighting.. Fuel. additives,. such. as. cerium. oxide,.
may.increase.diesel.fuel.eficiency.
Alternative energy supplies. . Nanotechnology. offers. the. potential. to.
decrease.the.cost.of.producing.solar.cells.to.enable.more.widespread.use.of.
solar.power. Advances.in.battery.manufacturing.using.nanotechnology.may.
allow.for.more.widespread.use.of.electric.vehicles. Finally,.with.respect.to.
hydrogen.fuel.cells,.nanotechnology.can.provide.more.eficient.fuel.storage.
methods.and.improve.eficiency.
Eficient use of raw materials. .Nanostructured.catalysts.may.decrease.the.
mass. of. catalysts,. particularly. platinum,. used. in. some. applications. The.
use. of. highly. effective. nano-sized. catalysts. also. can. increase. production.
and. decrease. waste. generation. Nanoscale. zeolite. catalysts,. for. example,.
are.used.now.in.petroleum.cracking. Some.nanomaterials.may.provide.sub-
stitutes.for.toxic.materials;.for.example,.nanotechnology-based.solders.can.
replace.lead-based.solders.
Environmental protection. Engineers.use.nanomaterials.in.wastewater.treatment.
and.environmental.remediation,.as.described.later.in.this.topic. Researchers.

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