Effect of carbon nanotube wastes on soil

Carbon nanotubes Various forms of nanotubes are added to a variety of products during their manufacture and biomedical applications to increase the strength of the materials without adding much weight. Nanotube manufacturing waste products and bio-solids that result from such applications as in water purification may find their way into wastewater treatment plants. These bio-solids cannot be released into water bodies and so they are often discarded by spreading on land. Similarly both carbon nanotubes and functionalized carbon nanotubes (with modifications to create chemical or biological changes to the nanotubes) are often used in medicines. Majority of the wastes emanating from these sources may also be disposed into soil. Data on the effects of the release of these nano materials on environment, particularly in high or low organic soils remains sparse. Effect on soil Results indicate that repeated applications of as-produced SWNTs can affect microbial community structures and induc