Issue 21, 2023

In situ modified nanocellulose/alginate hydrogel composite beads for purifying mining effluents

Abstract

Biobased adsorbents and membranes offer advantages related to resource efficiency, safety, and fast kinetics but have challenges related to their reusability and water flux. Nanocellulose/alginate composite hydrogel beads were successfully prepared with a diameter of about 3–4 mm and porosity as high as 99%. The beads were further modified with in situ TEMPO-mediated oxidation to functionalize the hydroxyl groups of cellulose and facilitate the removal of cationic pollutants from aqueous samples at low pressure, driven by electrostatic interactions. The increased number of carboxyl groups in the bead matrix improved the removal efficiency of the adsorbent without compromising the water throughput rate; being as high as 17 000 L h−1 m−2 bar−1. The absorptivity of the beads was evaluated with UV-vis for the removal of the dye Methylene Blue (91% removal) from spiked water and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) elemental analyses for the removal of Cd2+ from industrial mining effluents. The modified beads showed a 3-fold increase in ion adsorption and pose as excellent candidates for the manufacturing of three-dimensional (3-D) column filters for large-volume, high flux water treatment under atmospheric pressure.

Graphical abstract: In situ modified nanocellulose/alginate hydrogel composite beads for purifying mining effluents

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 7月 2023
Accepted
02 10月 2023
First published
02 10月 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale Adv., 2023,5, 5892-5899

In situ modified nanocellulose/alginate hydrogel composite beads for purifying mining effluents

D. Georgouvelas, H. N. Abdelhamid, U. Edlund and A. P. Mathew, Nanoscale Adv., 2023, 5, 5892 DOI: 10.1039/D3NA00531C

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