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Biochar and Biopolymer Based Nanomaterials for Microplastic Remediation: A Sustainable Approach for Environment
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Researchers reviewed biochar and biopolymer-based materials as sustainable microplastic remediation strategies, finding that materials like chitosan nanofiber sponges, graphene oxide-chitin composites, and metal-modified biochar achieve high removal efficiency through mechanisms including adsorption, electrostatic interaction, and physical entrapment, offering eco-friendly alternatives to conventional treatment methods.
Microplastic pollution in aquatic ecosystems has emerged as a critical environmental and health challenge, necessitating innovative and sustainable remediation strategies. Biochar and biopolymer-based materials have gained significant attention due to their eco-friendly nature, high adsorption capacity, and potential for degradation of microplastics. This review focuses on biochar and biopolymer-based materials for remediation of microplastics emphasizing their mechanisms of removal, material properties and catalytic enhancements. The major benefits of employing biochar and biopolymers in catalysis are their abundance, the presence of functional groups, and their capacity to trap electrons, their biocompatibility, and their low cost of production. Exploring the possible applications of these abundant byproducts would help to address the environmental issue while also emphasizing the additional economic benefits of their use. Various mechanisms, including filtration, adsorption, charge neutralization, and bridging, facilitate MP removal. Innovative materials like graphene oxide-chitin sponges, chitosan-glutaraldehyde nanofiber sponges, biodegradable oat protein sponges, and bacterial cellulose biopolymers have demonstrated high MP removal efficiency. Biochar, produced through biomass pyrolysis, shows enhanced removal capabilities, particularly when combined with sand or modified with metal ions. Composite biochar materials significantly improve MP immobilization through mechanisms like trapping, entanglement, and electrostatic interactions. These findings underscore the potential of biochar and biopolymer-based materials in effectively addressing microplastic pollution in aquatic environments, offering sustainable solutions for environmental remediation. These findings underscore the potential of biochar and biopolymer-based materials in effectively addressing microplastic pollution in aquatic environments, offering sustainable solutions for environmental remediation. Current challenges and future directions for upscaling and implementation are also outlined, with the goal of enabling practical environmental solutions.
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