Application of biological and green nanomaterials in wastewater treatment: techniques for effective removal of dyes, heavy metals and organics

Background/aim: Wastewater from industrial, agricultural and residential sources causes serious environmental and public health problems due to the dyes, heavy metals and organic pollutants they contain. Conventional treatment methods may not be sufficient to completely remove these pollutants. Therefore, the development of sustainable, environmentally friendly and highly efficient treatment techniques has gained importance. The aim of this review is to evaluate the use of biological and green nanomaterials in wastewater treatment and compare their effectiveness in terms of different types of pollutants (dyes, heavy metals, organics).

Materials and methods: In this study, detailed information is given on the removal of various pollutants from wastewater with green and biological nanomaterials, especially in the light of articles published in recent years in the literature. In the review, the structure, synthesis methods and application areas of especially biopolymers, metal, metal oxide, carbon-based, polymer-structured nanomaterials synthesized with plant extracts and microorganism-supported systems are examined. In addition, how these nanomaterials are integrated with mechanisms such as adsorption, photocatalysis, bioseparation and membrane filtration are discussed.

Results: Green and biological nanomaterials show high performance in the removal of various pollutants due to their low toxicity, high surface area and functional groups. Synthesis of these nanomaterials with biological agents both reduces environmental impact and increases the purification capacity of the material. However, more research and innovation are needed in terms of scale-up, long-term stability, reusability and cost-effectiveness.

Conclusion: Biological and green nanomaterials offer promising alternatives for sustainable wastewater treatment. The aim of this review is to summarize the current status of such materials and provide direction for future research. Multidisciplinary approaches and increased pilot-scale studies are needed to accelerate the transition to industrial applications.