Chemical processing and waste management using SERS: a nanovative gateway for sustainable and robust bioremediation for agricultural lands

Chemical processing and waste management are of paramount importance in the field of agriculture. As the global population continues to grow, the demand for food production is increasing, placing significant pressure on agricultural systems. Chemical processing and waste management pose significant challenges to environmental sustainability and agricultural productivity. Traditional methods of bioremediation often fall short in providing efficient and robust solutions. However, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has emerged as a game-changing technology in the field of chemical processing and waste management. This review explores the application of SERS in chemical processing and waste management, focusing on its role in monitoring and assessing pollutants, optimizing remediation strategies, and ensuring sustainable practices. It also provides an introduction to the background of SERS particularly for environmental scientists and determines the recent literature regarding the detection of various types of environmental pollutants operating this system. The SERS signals were used to calculate the amount of heavy metal pollution including lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) with a limit of detection of 8 ppb for Pb and 9.3 ppb, respectively. The limits of detection achieved for SERS detection of ultralow concentrations of three dithiocarbamate fungicides showed the detectability at concentrations below 1 nM. Furthermore, soil and water remediation methods and the application of nano-bioremediation have been summarized. Additionally, it highlights the integration of SERS with advanced techniques, such as bioremediation and nanotechnology, to develop environmentally friendly and economically viable solutions for agricultural land remediation.