Treatment of Hazardous Engineered Nanomaterials by Supermagnetized alpha-Cellulose Fibers of Renewable Paper-Waste Origin

Abstract

Engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) are posing detrimental ramifications to human health in general and aquatic wildlife in particular. Herein, we report treatment of three types of ENMs, namely, CuO, CoO, and ZnO by a magnetic composite (Fe(3)O(4)NPs) with alpha-cellulose fibers of paper-waste origin (PW-alpha CF). The removal efficiency of Fe3O4@PW-alpha CFs for (CuO), (CoO), and (ZnO) was obtained to be 850, 946, and 929 mg.g(-1), respectively. The adsorption efficacy observed optimum at pH 6 to 7; thus, this system was based on hydroxyl groups of PW-alpha CFs. Also, to validate the real-world applications, the ENM removal capacity of Fe3O4@PW-alpha CFs was assessed in different water sources such as a river, pond, and wastewater (spiked together with CuO, CoO, and ZnO). Furthermore, unprecedented energy dispersive spectrometric (EDS) mapping was employed to illustrate the ENMs loading on Fe3O4@PW-alpha CFs and to reveal the role of Fe3O4 NPs surface in the deposition of heavyweight aggregates of ENMs. The robust integration of ENMs onto Fe3O4@PW-alpha CF surfaces rules-out the ENMs leaching back into the aqueous media. Hence, abundant availability and their functionalities such as hydroxyl groups, lightweight, high-surface area, and rapid magnetic separation, proved Fe3O4@PW-alpha CFs as an attractive bionanocomposite material for ENMs remediation and utilization in various applications.