?Biopolymeric Magnetic composites for environmental remediation of aqueous effluents?

MARÍA FERNANDA HORST; MARIANA ALVAREZ; VERÓNICA LASSALLE

Biodegradable Polymers. Volume 1: Advancement in Biodegradation Study and Applications

Nova Publishers

Año: 2015;

The development of an efficient, clean and low cost technology to the remediation ofenvironmental problems is a great challenge of several scientists nowadays. In thiscontext hybrid materials composed of one polymeric and another magnetic phase havecurrently gained significant attention due to their ability for removal a wide gamma ofcontaminants by magnetic separation. The present chapter provides a summary of currentresearch activities on the synthesis of different kinds of magnetic-polymeric materialsand their application. In particular, it focuses on their potential employment inenvironmental remediation, as adsorbents of heavy metals, nutrients (PO43- and NO3-),dyes and hydrocarbons. An overview of the preparation methods of ferrogels, magneticcomposites and nano/microparticles is also presented. Inorganic oxides such as pure andmetal substituted iron oxides and biodegradable polymers (chitosan, gelatine, cellulose,gum Arabic and dextran) have been considered in this overview. Most important methodsof synthesis of each material have been analysed aiming to find a correlation between themethod and the final properties of the magnetic device. Besides, a systematic study aboutthe properties of these materials and the kind of environmental problem to be solved hasalso been performed based on available literature and the authors? own experience.