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NANOTECHNOLOGY IN SOIL SCIENCE AND PLANT NUTRITION

Tapan Adhikari
  • Country of Origin:

  • Imprint:

    NIPA

  • eISBN:

    9789389130409

  • Binding:

    EBook

  • Number Of Pages:

    320

  • Language:

    English

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The book has 21 s addressing fundamentals and applied aspects of nanotechnology in soil science and plant nutrition research and written by explorers of a new frontier. The interpretation of subject matter in each is comprehensive, simple and lucid with relevant supporting data. This book would offer a platform for basic, fundamental and advanced learning for students. It would also be useful and informative to researchers from SAUs and ICAR institutes.

0 Start Pages

Preface A number of excellent books on general nanotechnology are currently available but, to date, none have been dedicated to the study in soil science and plant nutrition. This is important because the soil, as the ‘epidermis’ of our planet, is the major component of the terrestrial biosphere. This book is not just a review of academic research results however, it also constitutes a contribution to the wider and more important revolution that is taking place at the interface of agriculture and nanotechnology. The driving force for a more use of nanotechnology in agricultural practice and to soil management particularly, has come from the sustainable development agenda. Mankind learnt to make a large number of materials and even cast or shape them for desired functions or operations. Starting with stone implements man learnt to separate metals and make alloys. But in order to continue with such adventures, man needs more and more materials with controlled properties. Perhaps we are now living in the age Nobel laureate Richard Feynman dreamt of in 1959. He, in his now very famous speech delivered to the American Physical Society, said that why not mimic nature and produce smaller and smaller functional materials, which will be highly efficient. Although Feynman did not utter the words “Nanoscience’ or ‘Nanotechnology’ we see the advantages of making things small. We want to provoke your curiosity. The reader should feel invited to learn more about nanotechnology and to go later on beyond the content of this book. The way we have described the mechanism leading to the fascinating properties of nano particles, specialists in different fields will feel comfortable. We hope the readers will find this book inspiring and motivating to go deeper into this fascinating field of science and technology. We find the book enjoyable and informative and we hope that you will too. Preparation of any text involves frustrations in checking details and reconciling points of views, yet we have learned much about our science in writing for you. The purpose of the book is to provide an up-to-date introduction to the most important and useful concepts in the study of the nanotechnology. Information is presented from an analytical and interdisciplinary perspective from which we must view issues based on nanotechnology in order to deal successfully with them. We must do more than simply identify and discuss about the issues regarding nanotechnology. To be effective, we must think critically how to convert this nano-science into technology particularly applicable to agriculture. Critical thinking is so important that we have made it the focus of each chapter. Our goal is to help you think through the issue. In recent years our understanding of many aspects of the nanotechnology has greatly increased. This has ranged from our basic understanding of the subject and its possible application in soil and plant science, to appreciation of what is really necessary to apply technology safely for the welfare of the human beings. We believe a real strength of nanotechnology is the systematic and in-depth coverage of the multitude of subjects that comprise the field of nanotechnology. The goal is to provide an instrument of learning useful to educations and students today so that future generations of students will be more informed and able to make judgments concerning the nanotechnology based upon sound scientific knowledge. In writing this book, we have designed the text in such a way that the researchers will get a lot of ideas to conceive and work on it for the advancement of the subject. We are happy to inform that we tried our level best to capture the best leading scientists working in their respective lines on nanotechnology of our country. I hope that readers will certainly be benefited by this issue. With the help of this new emerging science, researchers can draw the line that separates them from the rest. It is the right time to sign up to draw their own line of distinction. This book has been written to provide an overview of many of the fundamental aspects that underpin all nanotechnology and to provide examples of how these principles are put into operation. Because nanotechnology is now such a huge, multi-everything activity we have not been able to include every single topic and every single process. Instead we have attempted to provide a mainstream account of the current state of nanotechnology that, we hope, will provide the reader with insight, inspiration and instruction in the skills and arts of the subject. References cited in the text are provided at the end of the book as notes for each chapter. We believe that it’s very important to cite sources of information used in the writing. These are provided to recognize those scholars whose work we depend upon, and so that the reader may draw upon these references as needed for additional reading and research. This book is the direct result of different scientists’ collective efforts and contributions. We owe our deep gratitude to all of these individuals and their organizations. We are hopeful that this book will find a place on many laboratory benches and libraries of different institutes. Creative suggestion for the improvement of this book is highly solicited from the readers.

 
1 Historical Development in Nano-Science & Nanotechnology and its Scope in Natural Resource Management
A. Subba Rao, S. Kundu and Tapan Adhikari

1.1 Introduction With the rise in the global population, the demand for increased supply of food has motivated scientists and engineers to design new methods to boost agricultural production. With limited availability of land and water resources, growth in agriculture can be achieved only by increasing productivity through good agronomy and supported with an effective use of modern technology. Advanced agronomical methods lay stress not only on boosting agricultural produce through use of more effective fertilizers and pesticides, but also on the hygienic storage of agricultural produce. The detrimental effects of modern agricultural methods on the ecosystem have raised serious concerns amongst environmentalists. The widespread use of persistent pesticides globally over the last six decades has contaminated groundwater and soil, resulting in diseases and hardships in non-target species such as humans and animals. The first step in the removal of disease causing microbes from food products or harmful contaminants from soil and groundwater is the effective detection of these damaging elements. Nanotechnology can augment agricultural production and boost food processing industry through applications of these unique properties.

1 - 8 (8 Pages)
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2 Conceptual Understanding of Nano-Science and Nano-technology
S. Kundu, Tapan Adhikari and A.K. Biswas

2.1 Introduction The word Nanotechnology has originated from a Greek word which means “dwarf” and nanometer is one billionth of a meter (1 nm = 10-9 meter). The nano-scale is not just another step toward miniaturization but a qualitatively new scale. The new behiviour of matter at nano-scale is dominated by quantum mechanics, material confinement, large interfacial volume fraction and other unique properties, phenomenon and processes. At nano-scale, physics, chemistry and biology converge towards the same principles and tools. Nanotechnology cannot be considered as a discipline in science or technology but it is domain in science and technology. Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary area, any scientist, engineer, medical doctor can do research on nanotechnology. Presently, it is more of a science and less of a technology because of a lack of proper tools for studying the properties of nano-material. There is an immediate need to convert this science into technology and get out of this transition stage.

9 - 24 (16 Pages)
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3 Synthesis and Characterization of Nano Particles
A.S. Khanna

3.1 Introduction The concept of nanoscience was first described in 1959 by physicist Richard P. Feynman in a lecture to the American Physical Society and it was Japanese researcher Norio Taniguchi who coined the term nanotechnology in 1974 to describe precision engineering with tolerances of a micron or less. Eric Drexler in 1986 in his book Engines of Creation, brought nanotechnology into the public domain.

25 - 36 (12 Pages)
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4 Effect of Nano-pigments on Coatings for Special Corrosion Protection Applications
A.S. Khanna

4.1 Introduction More and more industrial applications require self cleaned surfaces, water repellent, anti-dirt pickup and many other specific surface requirements. Introduction of nanotechnology has changed the coating scenario drastically. Hard, anti-scratch, hydrophobic coatings are achieved by the addition of small amounts of nano-pigments which help in creating hydrophobic surface. It is also possible to grow certain nano-fibers which on chemical treatment give surfaces which can either attract water or repel it. It is also possible now to create self healing coatings which can repair surface once they are damaged by scratch. Capacitance coupler pads have been devised to reach those corroding areas which are not covered by other corrosion protection methods. Stringent requirements of many modern industrial application resulted in developing coatings which can give special surface properties such as high hardness, scratch resistance, hydrophobicity, anti-dirt pickup etc.  This brief article presents a few new researches which provide one or more special properties to the surface.

37 - 42 (6 Pages)
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5 Mechanical Synthesis of Nano Rock Phosphate and its Application to Crops
Tapan Adhikari, S. Kundu, A.K. Biswas and Gopal Rathore

5.1 Introduction Phosphorus fertilization is a problem in acid soils due to the high fixation characteristics of these soils. Soluble phosphorus carriers such as triple super phosphate tend to get reverted into insoluble and slowly soluble forms, for e.g. iron and aluminium phosphates.  Some soils in Mauritius have been shown to fix up to 90% of applied phosphorus. The fixation characteristics as related to soil properties have been studied for some soils of Mauritius. Rock phosphate offers a good alternative or complement to triple super phosphate.  In volcanic soils of Chile it is recommended to apply rock phosphate in combination with triple super phosphate because of the high phosphorus-retention capacity of these soils.  However, in Western Australia it has been shown that rock phosphate response is low. Possible explanations are slow dissolution of rock phosphate due to the moderately acid pH (5.5 -6.5), low pH-buffering capacity, low calcium absorption in soil, which increases concentration of calcium in soil solution, and poor water holding capacity of these soils.

43 - 60 (18 Pages)
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6 Biological Nanoparticles for Higher Crop Production
J.C. Tarafdar

6.1 Introduction Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic or a molecular scale that deals with particle sizes between 1 and 100 nano meters at least in one dimension. Particles reduced to the nanoscale show some unusual properties which are different from what they exhibit on a macro scale, enabling unique systematic applications Tarafdar et al. (2012). The unexpected properties of nanoparticles are broadly due to the large surface area of the material, which dominates the contributions made by the very small quantities of the material. Nanoparticles, thus, take advantage of their dramatically increased surface area to volume ratio. Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the agricultural and food industry with new tools for the molecular treatment of diseases, rapid disease detection, nanofertilizer, enhancing the ability of plants to absorb nutrients etc. Nanotechnology opened doors to new ways of identifying and quantifying biomolecules through use of nanosensors and nanoprobes.

61 - 68 (8 Pages)
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7 Nano-induced Polysaccharide Powder and its Application in Agriculture
J.C. Tarafdar

7.1 Introduction Organic polymers can play important role in ecosystems by accumulating biologically important elements and also by retaining soil moisture after aggregating soil particles. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) play an important role in cell aggregation, cell adhesion, and biofilm formation that subsequently protect cells from a hostile environment. Furthermore, certain polysaccharides from microbial sources are surface active, and thus attempts have been made to use them as metal chelaters, emulsifiers and flocculants in industrial and environmental fields/domain. Such use of microbial polysaccharides has infused renewed interest in its production and characteristics.

69 - 76 (8 Pages)
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8 Biomaterial Based Nanoformulation for Agriculture
Vinod Saharan

8.1 Introduction Nanotechnology is the manoeuvring or self-assembly of individual atoms, molecules, or molecular clusters into structures to craft materials with new properties. The definition of nanotechnology is based on the prefix “nano” which is from the Greek word meaning “dwarf”. In more technical terms, the word “nano” means 10-9, or one billionth of something. The word nanotechnology is generally used when referring to materials with the size of 1 to 100 nanometres, which is true for metallic nano-material. In case of polymeric nano-material, size may reach 600 nm, as polymeric materials are larger in size compression to metallic material. Nano-materials have different properties from bulk materials as a result of their size. These differences include physical strength, chemical reactivity, electrical conductance, magnetism, and optical effects (Schmid, 2006).

77 - 86 (10 Pages)
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9 Fate and Behaviour of Metal-Based Nanoparticles in Soil
A.K. Biswas, Tapan Adhikar, K. Ramesh, S. Kundu and A. Subba Rao

9.1 Introduction Nanoparticles (NPs) are particulate matter with at least one dimension less than 100 nm (Christian et al., 2008). Although NPs are naturally present in the environment, manufactured NPs may have distinctive surface properties and chemistry in comparison with natural NPs (Handy et al., 2008). Manufactured NPs have a large area-to-volume ratio and size-dependent properties, which impart novel properties and behaviors that make them suitable for nanotechnology applications (Auffan et al., 2009). Range of applications for NPs has brought about a rapid development of the nanotechnology industry.

87 - 102 (16 Pages)
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10 Carbon Nanotube Based Nano-Sensors
C.D. Singh

10.1 Introduction A single-walled carbon nanotube (SW-CNT) is a nano scale tube formed by a cylindrical shell of single atomic layer of carbon atoms. Nanotubes have diameter of a few nm and length up to 100 nm so that they form extremely thin wires. The atomic structure of SWCNT can be formed by wrapping a stripe of single atomic layer of graphite sheet al.,ong a certain direction, and this direction determines the diameter and chirality of the nanotubes. Experimental and theoretical studies have found that these nano-meter sized CNTs have novel electronic properties, which can be metallic or semiconducting, depending on their radius or chiralities (Mintmire 1992, Hamada 1992, Saito et. al., 1992, Rao 1997, Wildoer 1998 and Odom et al., 1998).

103 - 114 (12 Pages)
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11 Use of Nano-Sensors in Precision Agriculture
C.D. Singh

11.1 Introduction Nanotechnology is the manipulation or self-assembly of individual atoms, molecules, or molecular clusters into structures to create materials and devices with new or vastly different properties. Nanotechnology can work from the top down (which means reducing the size of the smallest structures to the nanoscale e.g. photonics applications in nanoelectronics and nanoengineering) or the bottom up (which involves manipulating individual atoms and molecules into nanostructures and more closely resembles chemistry or biology). The definition of nanotechnology is based on the prefix “nano” which is from the Greek word meaning “dwarf”. In more technical terms, the word “nano” means 10-9, or one billionth of something. It is a very promising new branch of small-scale technology named for the unit of measure at which it operates: the nanometer. Nanotechnology enables us to create functional materials, devices, and systems by controlling matter at the atomic and molecular scales, and to exploit novel properties and phenomena. Consider that most chemical and biological sensors, as well as many physical sensors, depend on interactions occurring at these levels and you’ll get an idea of the effect nanotechnology will have on the sensor world.

115 - 130 (16 Pages)
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12 Wireless Nano-Sensor Communication Network in Agriculture
C.D. Singh

12.1 Introduction “Precision farming,” also known as site-specific management, describes a bundle of new information technologies applied to the management of large-scale, commercial agriculture. Precision farming technologies include, for example: personal computers, satellite-positioning systems, geographic information systems, automated machine guidance, remote sensing devices and telecommunications. If they function as designed, ubiquitous wireless sensors will become an essential tool for bringing this vision of precision farming to maturity.

131 - 144 (14 Pages)
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13 Transmission Electron Microscopy : Basics and Application in the study of Nanoparticles
K. Rajukumar

13.1 Introduction and Physical Principles A microscope is a tool that enables the user to see objects at a magnification greater than the actual specimen. Resolution and magnifying power are the two integral aspects of microscopy. Resolution is a measure of capability of an image forming system to separate images of adjacent objects. The resolving power (8) is numerically defined as d = 0.61l/n sin a, where,  l is the wavelength of the light, n is the index of refraction of the medium between the specimen and lens, a is half the angle of the cone of light from the specimen plane accepted by the front surface of lens and n sin a is the numerical aperture (NA). The NA represents the light gathering power of the lens aperture or in other words, the measure of obliquity of rays which the lens can accept and utlilize and is limited by blurring of image due to spherical aberration of the lens.

145 - 152 (8 Pages)
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14 Nanoparticles : Controllable Synthesis and Characterization
Jitendra Panwar

14.1 Introduction The fast growing field of nanotechnology presents great potential to influence various sectors in the areas of energy, environment, agriculture, health care and consumer goods. To overcome the demanding need of nano-based applications, various strategies to synthesize nanoparticles have been attempted. The major focus is to synthesize nanoparticles of desirable properties such as shape, size and compositions. Various strategies have been employed to synthesize nanoparticles. Foremost among these are physical and chemical methods which include sol-gel technique, solvothermal synthesis, chemical reduction, laser ablation and inert gas condensation. But altogether they suffer from process limitations like difficulty in controlling experimental conditions, feeble reproducibility, polydispersity, costly instrumentation and recovery as well as energy intensive and eco-hazardous processes. However, various factors like cost, speed, efficiency, biocompatibility etc. are still not concerned. Thus, finding a balance between scalability, price and applicability is still a true challenge. These limitations can be potentially overcome by using biological methods for nanoparticle synthesis.

153 - 174 (22 Pages)
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15 Clay Minerals in Nanotechnology Venture in Agriculture
Siddhartha S. Mukhopadhyay

15.1 Introduction It is important that we understand some terms like clay, mineral, clay mineral, activated clay, and nanocomposite clearly. In fact, “clay” is a soil separate consisting of particles of <2 µm (equivalent to <0.002 mm) in equivalent diameter (Brady & Weil, 2002; pages 18-19) in both USDA and International systems. While in nanotechnology, uniqueness of micro- and nana- aggregates is of crucial consideration. (In Chapter 8: The Colloidal Fraction (Brady & Weil, 2002) size dimensions of minerals are given eliminating any chance of confusion.) Now let us look at some definitions provided in the Glossary of the Clay Minerals Society (CMS) Nomenclature Committee – Clay Science Project (www.clay.org; August 2011).

175 - 190 (16 Pages)
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16 Synthesis of Nano Particles and their Application in Natural Resources Management
S. Kundu, Tapan Adhikari and A.K. Biswas

16.1 Introduction The stabilization of ultra fine as nano-particles in suspension is very important for both controlling the particle size and for developing process based application of these suspensions to achieve a desired result. Generally, two approaches, namely, Top Down and Bottom-Up approaches are followed for the preparation of ultra fine or nano particles. In the Top-Down method, production starts from the micro-scale and the particles size is reduced to nano-size through repeated impact and collision in high-energy ball mills. However, controlling of size, morphology, surface properties and electrostatic charge is often difficult. In the Bottom-up approach, production of nano-particles starts with the individual atoms and building up to a nano-structure by chemical processes.

191 - 199 (9 Pages)
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17 Application of Nanotechnology for Environmental Remediation
A.K. Biswas, Tapan Adhikari and S. Kundu

17.1 Introduction In industrialized nations the air is filled with numerous pollutants caused by human activity or industrial processes, such as carbon monoxide (CO), chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), heavy metals (arsenic, chromium, lead, cadmium, mercury, zinc), hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, organic chemicals (volatile organic compounds, known as VOCs, and dioxins), sulphur and other particulates. The presence of nitrogen and sulphur oxide in the air generates acid rain that infiltrates and contaminates the soil. The high levels of nitrogen and sulphur oxide in the atmosphere are mainly due to human activities, particularly burning of oil, coal and gas. Only a small portion comes from natural processes such as volcanic action and decay of soil bacteria. Water pollution is caused by numerous factors, including sewage, oil spills, leaking of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides from land, by-products from manufacturing and extracted or burned fossil fuels.

201 - 210 (10 Pages)
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18 Conceptual Understanding & Instrumentation used in Nano-Science and Nanotechnology
Purnima Swarup Khare

18.1 Introduction Nano – Science & Technology is design, fabrication and application of nanostructures or nanomaterials, and the fundamental understanding of the relationships between physical properties or phenomena and material dimensions at nano meter scales.

211 - 232 (22 Pages)
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19 Imaging & Spectroscopy - Two Pillars for Nano Materials Research
Tapan Adhikari and Samik Pal

19.1 Introduction Nano technology or Nano Science is a new branch of research though nano materials or Nano Structures are not new. In nature nano particles or nano materials are abundant .The idea of manipulation, production, controlling size and physico - chemical properties and application as well as making devices out of these nano materials is the subject of Nano Science & Nano Technology. As the name suggests, the domain of Nano starts from 10-9 m but especially the effect of nano structures exists mostly in the 1-100 nm regime where quantum - mechanical behiviour is prevalent. Molecules with more than 10 atoms fall into the nanometer range  and scientists were not able to visualize individual molecules and nano scale objects until the invention of some very powerful microscopes. Working in Nano domain requires two basic facilities -

233 - 262 (30 Pages)
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20 Nano-Fertilizers – Synthesis, Characterization and Applications
K.S. Subramanian and C. Sharmila Rahale

20.1 Introduction    Fertilizers play an important role in improving soil fertility and productivity of crops regardless of nature of cropping sequence or environmental conditions. It has been unequivocally demonstrated that one third of crop productivity is dictated by fertilizers besides influencing use efficiencies of other agri-inputs. In the past four decades, nutrient use efficiency (NUE) of crops had hardly exceeded 35-50%, 18-20% and 30-35 % for N, P and K, respectively, despite our relentless efforts. The remaining nutrients stay in soil or enter into the aquatic environment causing eutrophication. In addition to the low nutrient efficiencies, Indian agriculture is facing a problem of low organic matter, imbalanced fertilization and low fertilizer response that eventually caused crop yield stagnation (Biswas and sharma, 2008).The fertilizer response ratio in the irrigated areas of the country  has dcreased from 13.4 kg grain / kg nutrient applied in 1970’s to just 3.7 kg in 2005. In other words, more amounts of fertilizers is required to produce the same quantity of grain output. For instance, 27 kg NPK ha-1 was required to produce one tonne of grain in 1970 while the same level of production can be achieved by 109 kg NPK ha-1 in 2008. 

263 - 276 (14 Pages)
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21 Smart Delivery System – Prospects in Agriculture
K.S. Subramanian, A. Manikandan and M. Praghadeesh

21.1 Introduction Nanotechnology is an emerging field of science which is being highly exploited in the sphere of medicine where “nano” plays a vital role in delivery of drugs or chemical molecules to the point it is required in précised quantities in right proportions. Nanoscience infuses intelligence to the truck load of chemical constituents that are to be delivered at appropriate locations and cleave from the site after the task is complete. Such process will likely to reduce the cost besides ensuring environmental safety. Nanoscale devices with its unique properties make the agricultural system more smart and effective; such devices are capable of responding to different situations by themselves, thus taking appropriate remedial action with the need of external directions from humans. In short, these devices act as a detectors and if need arises serve as a solution/remedy for the particular issue. These smart delivery systems of chemicals in controlled and targeted manner can be considered synonymous to the proposed nano-drug delivery system in human (Patolsky et al., 2006). 

277 - 290 (14 Pages)
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22 Baseline Information on Safety, Toxicity and Adaptation of NPs in Soil and Aquatic Life
H.V. Murugkar

22.1 Introduction Nanotechnology has proved to have infinite potential in increasing the quality of life of the human population. There is however, a growing realization regarding the potential health and safety risks of associated with development, production and application of these nanoparticles. Nanoscale particles are produced from a variety of different processes. Nanoparticles are the end product of a wide variety of physical, chemical and biological processes, some of which are novel and radically different, others of which are quite commonplace. Nanometer sized particles are also found in the atmosphere where they originate from combustion sources (traffic, forest fires), volcanic activity, and from atmospheric gas to particle conversion processes such as photochemically driven nucleation. A large quantity of nanoscale particles are also produced during the various human activities, Welding can generate large quantities of nanoparticles usually in the form of a well defined plume of aggregated nanoparticles.

291 - 297 (7 Pages)
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