Valorization of Fibrous Plant-Based Food Waste as Biosorbents for Remediation of Heavy Metals from Wastewater—A Review

Abstract

Mobilization of heavy metals in the environment has been a matter of concern for several decades due to their toxicity for humans, environments, and other living organisms. In recent years, use of inexpensive and abundantly available biosorbents generated from fibrous plant-based food-waste materials to remove heavy metals has garnered considerable research attention. The aim of this review is to investigate the applicability of using fibrous plant-based food waste, which comprises different components such as pectin, hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin, to remove heavy metals from wastewater. This contribution confirms that plant-fiber-based food waste has the potential to bind heavy metals from wastewater and aqueous solutions. The binding capacities of these biosorbents vary depending on the source, chemical structure, type of metal, modification technology applied, and process conditions used to improve functionalities. This review concludes with a discussion of arguments and prospects, as well as future research directions, to support valorization of fibrous plant-based food waste as an efficient and promising strategy for water purification.

Adsorption of Heavy Metals: Mechanisms, Kinetics, and Applications of Various Adsorbents in Wastewater Remediation—A Review

“…It has been well-established that plant fiber components exhibit effective heavy metal removal from wastewater. The adsorption capacities are influenced by various factors, such as contact time, pH, concentration of heavy metals, adsorbent dosage, and temperature [13,22,238]. To better understand the adsorption behavior of these components, models of adsorption isotherms, kinetics, and thermodynamics have been utilized.…”

“…In general, complete or partial toxic heavy metals removal from wastewater and polluted water is essential to prevent potential health and environmental problems and ensure ecosystem sustainability [11,12]. The World Health Organization has established maximum contaminant or permissible limits for As, Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, Hg, Ni, and Zn in drinking water at 0.01, 2.5, 0.05, 0.003, 0.05, 0.1, 0.001, 2.0, and 5.0 mg/L, respectively [13]. Traditional methods for removing metal ions from effluents, such as chemical precipitation, lime coagulation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and solvent extraction, have limitations, such as insufficient metal removal, Waste 2023, 1 high reagent and energy requirements, and the production of noxious sludge or waste products that require proper disposal [13].…”

“…The World Health Organization has established maximum contaminant or permissible limits for As, Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Co, Hg, Ni, and Zn in drinking water at 0.01, 2.5, 0.05, 0.003, 0.05, 0.1, 0.001, 2.0, and 5.0 mg/L, respectively [13]. Traditional methods for removing metal ions from effluents, such as chemical precipitation, lime coagulation, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and solvent extraction, have limitations, such as insufficient metal removal, Waste 2023, 1 high reagent and energy requirements, and the production of noxious sludge or waste products that require proper disposal [13]. Therefore, it is necessary to devise efficient and environmentally friendly methods for reducing heavy metal content.…”

Dietary Fiber in Reducing of Elevated Blood Lead Concentration in Children

“…It is known that lead is largely accumulated in edible parts and fruits of plants growing in lead-contaminated areas (Knez, 2022;Zhou, 2022;Proshad, 2023;Du, 2023). This has led researchers to believe that treated fibrous plant-based food wastes could be excellent sorbents for eliminating several detrimental and poisonous compounds, such as heavy metals, from wastewater and aqueous solutions (Karim, 2023). It is a renewable and ecologically benign strategy based on a "circular bioeconomy" and "green chemistry" (Karim, 2023).…”

Effective Removal of Different Heavy Metals Ion (Cu, Pb, and Cd) from Aqueous Solutions by Various Molecular Weight and Salt Types of Poly-γ-Glutamic Acid

“…In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on biological approaches for treating metal-bearing effluents, with several of these methods progressing toward commercialization. Notably, biosorption has emerged as an up-and-coming alternative to traditional techniques for the removal of metal ions [ 20 ]. The removal of heavy metals such as Pb (II) and Hg (II) in wastewater was demonstrated in our previous study utilizing modified cellulose, an organic polymeric substance.…”