Nanofiltration and nanostructured membranes – should they be considered nanotechnology or not?

Nanofiltration is frequently associated with nanotechnology - obviously because of its name. However, the term “nano” in nanofiltration refers - according to the definition of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) - to the size of the particles rejected and not to a nanostructure as defined by the International Organisation of Standardisation (ISO) in the mem-brane. Evidently, the approach to standardisation of materials differs significantly between mem-brane technology and nanotechnology which leads to considerable confusion and inconsistent use of the terminology. There are membranes that can be unambiguously attributed to both membrane technology and nanotechnology such as those that are functionalized with nanoparti-cles, while the classification of hitherto considered to be conventional membranes as nanostruc-tured material is questionable. A driving force behind the efforts to define nanomaterials is not least the urgent need for the regulation of the use of nanomaterials. Since risk estimation is the basis for nanotechnology legislation, the risk associated with nanomaterials should also be re-flected in the underlying standards and definitions. This paper discusses the impacts of the re-cent attempts to define nanomaterials on membrane terminology in the light of risk estimations and the need for regulation.

MUELLER Nicole;  VAN DER BRUGGEN Bart;  KEUTER Volkmar;  LUIS Patricia;  MELIN Thomas;  PRONK Wouter;  REISEWITZ Robert;  RICKERBY David;  RIOS Gilbert;  WENNEKES Wilco;  NOWACK Bernd; 

2015-12-02

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

JRC67018

0304-3894,   

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389411013501,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC67018,   

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.10.096,