Application of spinel ferrite nanoparticles in water and wastewater treatment: A review

Several studies, which have been carried out on water and wastewater treatment with spinel ferrite nanoparticles (SFNPs) and spinel ferrite nanocomposites (SFNCs) confirmed their utmost importance. In particular, SFNCs used for water and wastewater treatments are very stable, easily regenerated and reused for a number of cycles without a loss of their properties; thereby leading to reduced treatment cost. In this review, the recent progresses and potential applications of SFNPs/SFNCs for the removal of organic and inorganic contaminants through adsorption routes are critically reviewed. Furthermore, the application of SFNPs for extraction of various pollutants present in water for quantitative determination at trace levels in water and wastewater are thoroughly reviewed. Finally, this review also addressed the possible techniques of recovery and reuse, toxicity, research gaps and the future perspective of SFNPs. Based on this review, it is possible to conclude that SFNPs and their derivative composites have unlimited capacity in addressing array of problems encountered in water and wastewater treatment. However, the practical application of SFNPs on a large scale still needs to be studied and evaluated. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.