Bionanocomposite adsorbents for the removal of water pollutants

Abstract

Biopolymers and clay minerals can be considered as a cheap and non-hazardous source of components for the preparation of low cost bionanocomposites that can receive application in environmental remediation. These materials have emerged in the last decade as a new group of advanced materials showing improved structural and functional properties, but also provided with the non-toxic, biocompatible and biodegradable character of the involved biopolymers1,2. Layered silicates of the smectite family are the most commonly used inorganic solids in the preparation of bionanocomposites3, and silicates with microfibrous morphology are becoming also an interesting alternative for this purpose4. Among many other uses, bionanocomposites began to receive application in the last years as biosorbents for the removal of pollutants from water. Thus, this presentation will give an overview on the contribution of our research group in the development of bionanocomposite materials and their application in the removal of a wide variety of water pollutants including dyes, pesticides, lanthanides and heavy metal ions. These biosorbents were based on abundant and well-known polysaccharides like chitosan5 or starch6, and also on another recently discovered biopolymer known as sacran7.