Sensors for detection and monitoring of contaminants in wastewater

Wastewater contamination with hazardous materials poses a serious risk to the environment and public health and hence wastewater must be comprehensively monitored. Therefore, sensors have become essential instruments for identifying and measuring contaminants in wastewater. Sensors are of different types: chemical, electrochemical (nickel-based materials, carbon electrode with immobilized silver hexacyanoferrate nanoparticles), optical (cellulose membrane-based sensors, optical fluorescents), and biosensors (acetylcholinesterase, urease). Compared to the conventional electrochemical, optical and biosensors, real-time monitoring is more readily transportable, robust, affordable, and has a longer battery life. The future of wastewater monitoring is becoming more sensitive, smart, efficient, and resilient due to developments in sensor technologies and analytics, due to the involvement of real-time systems involving artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. These developments have the potential to improve the reliability and precision of contaminants detection even further, creating the path to more secure environmental procedures and successful public health protection.