Water is an important component of the universe and it plays a vital role in the proper functioning of the Earth's ecosystem. Unfortunately, when fertilizers, human and animal waste, plastics and toxic industrial chemicals enter water bodies, they cause water pollution. Polluted water may contain highly toxic heavy metals and synthetic chemicals, which are harmful to both human health and the environment. Most existing water treatment materials are non-biodegradable, difficult to recycle and prone to secondary contamination. Therefore, there is a need to find new alternative materials to solve the problem of water pollution. The marine environment is a unique resource containing enormous biodiversity, representing the richness of different habitats and the variability of life forms. Marine-based biomaterials are abundant, environmentally friendly and renewable biomaterials that are considered to be highly efficient functional materials for water treatment.
Common marine biomaterials in water treatment
Marine biomaterials are the most promising biomaterials for water treatment due to their remarkable mechanical strength, abundant functions, moderate surface area and chemical stability. Several common marine biomaterials used in water treatment are described below.
Chitosan, the most abundant marine mucopolysaccharide, is derived from chitin by alkaline deacetylation, and has various biological properties such as hydrophilicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxicity. In addition, chitosan has amine and hydroxyl functional groups in structure. Due to these characteristics, chitosan has been used as an effective material for the removal of wastewater pollutants. For example, studies have shown that chitosan can be used as a coagulant or flocculant in polluted wastewater for the adsorption of heavy metals or metalloids (Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Fe(III), Zn(II), Cr(III)) for the removal of dyes from industrial wastewater (e.g. textile wastewater) and for the removal of other organic pollutants such as organochlorine pesticides, organic oxides or fat and oil impurities [1].
Alginate is a naturally occurring anionic polymer, usually produced by brown algae and decomposed by heterotrophic bacteria. Alginate is usually water-soluble, nontoxic, has excellent gelling properties and biodegradability, and is hydrophilic in nature due to extensive hydroxyl and carboxylic functionalities. Therefore, it is widely used in wastewater treatment. For example, the alginate gel and mineralized copper are alternately self-assembled on a thermally stabilized PAN/ PEI nanofiber membrane, and the resulting modified membrane shows great prospects in the decontamination of actual oily wastewater [2].
Agar is a natural gelatinous and mucilaginous substance obtained from red algae, consisting mainly of neutrally charged agarose and charged fraction agaropectin. Agar has many different uses. In addition to being used as a culture medium for several different microorganisms, it is also an excellent candidate material for water purification. For example, researchers have synthesized hydrogel biocomposites using graphene oxide and agar biopolymer (agar-GO). The material exhibits significant regeneration ability, which proves the effectiveness of its application in industrial textile wastewater treatment [3].
What can we do?
Alfa Chemistry believes that marine biomaterials will become a source of fascination for the water treatment industry. As a professional marine ingredient supplier, we are committed to developing new and improved formulations for customers in the water treatment industry to meet industry challenges. If you have any ideas or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
References
- Nechita, P. Applications of chitosan in wastewater treatment. Biological Activities and Application of Marine Polysaccharides. 2017, 1: 209-228.
- Li, S. S.; et al. Mineralized cupric phosphate/alginate gel alternately multilayer-wrapped nanofibrous membrane with robust anti-crude oil pollution for oily wastewater purification. Journal of Membrane Science. 2022, 121280.
- Ghislandi, M. G., et al. Wastewater treatment using recyclable agar-graphene oxide biocomposite hydrogel in batch and fixed-bed adsorption column: Bench experiments and modeling for the selective removal of organics. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects. 2022, 639: 128357.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.
