Adsorbents for water decontamination: A recycling alternative for fiber precursors and textile fiber wastes
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Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Science of the Total Environment
Abstract
The exponential growth in textile fiber production and commensurate release of textile waste-based effluents into
the environment has significant impacts on human wellbeing and the long-term planetary health. To abate these
negative impacts and promote resource circularity, efforts are being made to recycle these waste materials via
conversion into adsorbents for water decontamination. This review critically examines plant- and regenerated
cellulose-based fibers for removing water pollutants such as heavy metals, dyes, pharmaceutical and petro chemical wastes. The review reveals that chemical modification reactions such as grafting, sulfonation, car boxymethylation, amination, amidoximation, xanthation, carbon activation, and surface coating are normally
employed, and the adsorption mechanisms often involve Van der Waals attraction, electrostatic interaction,
complexation, chelation, ion exchange, and precipitation. Furthermore, the adsorption processes and thus the
adsorption mechanisms are influenced by factors such as surface properties of adsorbents, pollutant characteristics including composition, porosity/pore size distribution, specific surface area, hydrophobicity/
hydrophobicity, and molecular interactions. Besides, feasibility of the approaches in terms of handling and reuse,
environmental fate, and economic impact was evaluated, in addition to the performances of the adsorbents, the
prospects, and challenges. As current cost analysis is non-exhaustive, it is recommended that researchers focus on
extensive cost analysis to fully appreciate the true cost effectiveness of employing these waste materials. In
addition, more attention must be paid to potential chemical leaching, post-adsorption handling, and disposal.
Based on the review, fiber precursors and textile fiber wastes are viable alternative adsorbents for sustainable
water treatment and environmental management, and government entities must leverage on these locally
accessible materials to promote recyclability and circularity.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Textile fibers, Chemical modification, Post-adsorption application, Environmental sustainability, Circularity