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A review on sustainable management of biomass: physicochemical modification and its application for the removal of recalcitrant pollutants—challenges, opportunities, and future directions

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Abstract

Adsorption is one of the most efficient methods for remediating industrial recalcitrant wastewater due to its simple design and low investment cost. However, the conventional adsorbents used in adsorption have several limitations, including high cost, low removal rates, secondary waste generation, and low regeneration ability. Hence, the focus of the research has shifted to developing alternative low-cost green adsorbents from renewable resources such as biomass. In this regard, the recent progress in the modification of biomass-derived adsorbents, which are rich in cellulosic content, through a variety of techniques, including chemical, physical, and thermal processes, has been critically reviewed in this paper. In addition, the practical applications of raw and modified biomass-based adsorbents for the treatment of industrial wastewater are discussed extensively. In a nutshell, the adsorption mechanism, particularly for real wastewater, and the effects of various modifications on biomass-based adsorbents have yet to be thoroughly studied, despite the extensive research efforts devoted to their innovation. Therefore, this review provides insight into future research needed in wastewater treatment utilizing biomass-based adsorbents, as well as the possibility of commercializing biomass-based adsorbents into viable products.

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Not applicable.

Abbreviations

AB158:

Acid blue 158

AB25:

Acid blue 25

AB92:

Acid blue 92

AF:

Acid fuchsin

AO:

Acridine orange

AO7:

Acid orange II

AP:

Apple peel

AR14:

Acid red 14

ARG:

Acid red G

AV7:

Acid violet 7

AV17:

Acid violet 17

AY36:

Acid yellow 36

AY6:

Acid yellow 6

AY99:

Acid yellow 99

BB3:

Basic blue 3

BB41:

Basic blue 41

BET:

Brunauer–Emmett–Teller

BF:

Basic fuchsin

BG:

Brilliant green

BM:

Basic magenta

BP:

Banana peel

BPB:

Bromophenol blue

BR18:

Basic red 18

CB:

Cibacron blue

CBB:

Coomassie brilliant blue

CP:

Cucumber peel

CR:

Congo red

CS:

Cotton stalk

CV:

Crystal violet

DB CL-B:

Drimarine black CL-B

DB67:

Direct blue 67

DB86:

Direct blue 86

DO26:

Direct orange 26

DR:

Delonix regia Seed pod

DR12B:

Direct red 12B

DR31:

Direct red 31

DR81:

Direct red 81

DV51:

Direct violet 51

DY:

Direct yellow

EBT:

Eriochrome black T

EDO3GL:

Ever direct orange 3GL

FTIR:

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

IC:

Indigo carmine

IT FBL:

Indosol turquoise FBL

MAB:

Maxilon blue

MB:

Methylene blue

MG:

Malachite green

MGO:

Malachite green oxalate

MO:

Methyl orange

MR:

Methyl red

MV:

Methyl violet

NA:

Not available

NR:

Neutral red

OG:

Orange G

OP:

Orange peel

PCS:

Phosphoric acid-treated cotton stalk

pHpzc:

Point of zero charge

PP:

Potato peel

PR:

Phenol red

RB19:

Reactive blue 19

RB4:

Reactive blue 4

RB49:

Reactive blue 49

RB5:

Reactive black 5

RBO3R:

Remazol brilliant orange 3R

RhB:

Rhodamine B

RR:

Reactive red

RR RGB:

Reactive red RGB

RR120:

Reactive red 120

RR141:

Reactive red 141

RR2:

Reactive red 2

RR4:

Reactive red 4

RR45:

Reactive red 45

RY176:

Reactive yellow 176

RY42:

Reactive yellow 42

SAF:

Safranin

SB:

Sugarcane bagasse

SCS:

Sulfuric acid-treated cotton stalk

SO:

Safranin O

SY:

Sunset yellow

TB PG:

Turquoise blue PG

TZ:

Tartrazine

References

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Funding

The authors are grateful to the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for providing financial support through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (FRGS/1/2022/TK08/UM/02/3) and Universiti Malaya through GPF (GPF084A-2018).

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. Yan Ying Tan: data curation, formal analysis, writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman: writing—review and editing, resources, and supervision. Mohd Izzudin Izzat Zainal Abidin: writing—review and editing, funding acquisition, and supervision. Archina Buthiyappan: writing—review and editing, funding acquisition, and supervision. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Abdul Aziz Abdul Raman.

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All of the authors give consent for the publication of all identifiable details.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Ta Yeong Wu

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Tan, Y.Y., Abdul Raman, A.A., Zainal Abidin, M.I.I. et al. A review on sustainable management of biomass: physicochemical modification and its application for the removal of recalcitrant pollutants—challenges, opportunities, and future directions. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33375-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33375-x

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