Can ‘biodegradability’ of adsorbents constitute an ‘Achilles’ heel’ in real-world water purification? Perspectives and opportunities

The use of agro-waste-based adsorbents as sustainable, renewable, and low-cost alternatives for the removal of ibuprofen and carbamazepine from water

“…Moreover, the biodegradability of organic adsorbents can be a major limitation for their use in contaminants removal as their stability is compromised after exposure to some microbial populations that may induce their biological degradation, and consequently alter the adsorption process. Conversely, the biodegradable nature of green organic adsorbents can alleviate the burden of their disposal after their complete exhaustion and makes them sustainable alternatives to synthetic non-biodegradable adsorbents [ 2 , 143 , 144 , 145 ]. Eventually, predicting the behavior of green adsorbents is crucial, particularly when large-scale practical applications are considered.…”

Natural and Natural-Based Polymers: Recent Developments in Management of Emerging Pollutants

“…Activated carbon, clays, layered double hydroxide hybrids, metal or metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are just a few which can be nominated as good candidates for environmental applications [5][6][7][8]. Among them, biopolymers have the advantages offered by biodegradability (important from a "green chemistry" approach, although this aspect represents a subject of debate, fine-tuning of this property being necessary [9,10]) and biocompatibility, being used with success in potable and wastewater treatment [11]. The nature of the biopolymers represents one of the key parameters of an efficient treatment [12].…”