Nanocelluloses for Removal of Heavy Metals From Wastewater

Nowadays, water pollution has become a major problem in the world. Heavy metals represent the major toxic hazardous pollutants affecting ecosystems as well as living systems and human health. They are well-known for their high persistence, bioaccumulation, and nonbiodegradable nature. Over the past years, many strategies have been evolved to solve this environmental concern by removing these metals from potable and polluted water. However, these techniques suffer from several drawbacks, such as low efficiency, sensitive operating conditions, and an increased cost. Recently, cellulose nanomaterials have received increasing interest and are implied in a broad field of applications, including medicine, energy, cosmetics, and environmental remediation. Most particularly, cellulose-based nanomaterials have emerged as an attractive alternative to deal with metallic pollutants in both water and industrial effluents due to their high potential biosorption, environmentally friendly, economic advantages, regeneration ability, and high removal efficiency. Herein, we attempt to highlight the performance of nanocelluloses in their various forms (cellulose nanocrystals, nanofibrils, bacterial, and chemically modified ones) in the removal of heavy metals from wastewater.