review · Sustainability
Water scarcity driven by population growth, climate change, and rapid urbanisation has increased the need for energy-efficient water purification technologies. Residual biomass from biological sources provides an abundant, low-cost raw material for developing adsorbents with minimal secondary environmental impacts. Natural precursor biomass contains useful functional groups, such as amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl groups, but unmodified forms often suffer from low adsorption capacity, weak mechanical resistance, and unstable surface chemistry. Consequently, research focuses on functionalisation and modification methods to engineer bio-based materials and nanocomposites from biopolymers. These engineered materials can support wastewater treatment tasks including the removal of micropollutants, the elimination of organic pollutants, membrane filtration, and oil-water separation. Mathematical models are also being applied to assist the design of these bio-based purification materials.
Clean drinking water is becoming increasingly scarce due to climate change and urbanisation. Using abundant agricultural and biological waste to create high-performing water filters addresses two challenges simultaneously: managing organic waste and removing hazardous chemical micropollutants from wastewater at low cost without introducing secondary environmental harm.
The work targets applications in wastewater treatment, oil and water separation, and industrial water filtration. Potential users include municipal water treatment facilities, industrial wastewater processors, and filtration membrane manufacturers. Given that the abstract focuses on synthesis methodologies, material modifications, mathematical modelling, and identifying ongoing challenges, this technology sits in the early-stage to applied laboratory research phase, needing further testing before near-market deployment.
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The demand for drinking water is a reality that plagues modern society and will worsen in the coming decades. Factors such as climate change, population growth, and intense, often disorderly urbanization are expected to limit the availability of this essential resource for life. With this justification, several technologies involving water remediation/purification have been improved to increase energy efficiency. One key approach involves the use of residual biomass derived from biological sources as adsorbents with valuable properties. This line of research supports waste management, and the materials are easily obtainable, especially on a large scale, with low costs and negligible secondary environmental impacts. In the early 2000s, it was demonstrated that these materials possess functional groups (amino, hydroxyl, and carboxyl) that are favorable for attracting certain pollutants that are present in wastewater. Generally, the unmodified precursor material has properties that are not favorable for adsorption, such as limited adsorption capacity, low mechanical resistance, and unstable surface chemistry. Therefore, there has been a strong investment in studies aimed at developing methodologies to produce bio-based materials with high properties supported by mathematical models aimed at water purification. This critical review describes the modifications, functionalization, and production of bio-based materials aimed at remediating wastewater via the adsorption process. Their use involves the elimination of organic pollutants, water/oil separation, the removal of micropollutants, and membrane filtration. The properties of bio-based materials from biopolymers and their synthesis methodologies are analyzed, with a focus on water remediation. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives are highlighted, highlighting the relevance of this group of adsorbents in minimizing the challenges and limitations present in the field of water purification and providing new, innovative solutions.
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DOI: 10.3390/su17052012
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