APPLICATION OF BIO-WASTE MATERIALS IN THE GREEN SYNTHESIS OF COMPOSITES FOR WATER PURIFICATION

Abstract

Treatment of the polluted water has become an issue of cardinal importance in the framing of the most recent strategies that define the way the environmental engineering and conservation are being looked upon. Adsorption techniques that involve solid adsorbents have been widely practiced to filter out the contaminants from the aqueous contents, and composites of biopolymer have attracted greater attention because they are inherently innocuous to the environment and can be classified as bio-degradable. Biopolymer-based nano-composites in particular have often been proved to be possessing better physical, chemical, and mechanical properties than those of the corresponding biopolymers as such, and also provide the advantages of both counterparts in the composites. This paper details versatile biopolymer-based composites of cellulose extracted from banana peel impregnated with zero-valent iron nanoparticles aimed at the discharge of an organ othiophosphate pesticide from aqueous contents. The prepared composites were characterised by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis. The synthesis of the adsorbents, their intrinsic adsorption characteristics, and effective applications are the focal point of this paper and are subjected to detailed analysis.