Bio-Based Polymer Materials

Bio-Based Polymer Materials Use of Bio-Based Polymer Materials in Dye Removal from Aqueous Solutions Global climate change, rapid population growth and industrialization are depleting water resources, and existing sources are being polluted through careless use, creating a serious problem. Despite rapidly declining water resources, merely treating wastewater is not sufficient. Making treated wastewater reusable through a sustainable approach is equally important. Treating and reusing wastewater provides benefits to both the economy and the sustainable environment. Wastewaters containing potentially toxic contaminants are generated as a result of domestic and industrial activities. In particular, the discharge of industrial waste from the printing and dyeing industries into lakes, rivers and streams without treatment bears significant responsibility for water pollution. It is estimated that more than 10,000 different dyes and pigments are used industrially worldwide, and approximately 0.7 million tons of dye are synthesized annually. Given the pollution caused by dye waste produced in very large quantities, research into wastewater treatment is important. According to a report published by Fortune Business Insights, the global water and wastewater treatment market size was USD 281.75 billion in 2021, and the market share is expected to increase to USD 489.07 billion in the 2022-2029 period. Physical, chemical and biological methods are used for dye and/or metal removal from wastewater. Physical treatment methods include screens, sieves, sand traps, flotation tanks, equalization and sedimentation basins. Contaminants that cannot be settled or removed by physical treatment methods are removed from the environment using various chemicals. Coagulation, flocculation, disinfection and ion exchange are chemical-based removal methods. Of these, adsorption technique is cited as a preferred procedure for removing many different types of contaminants because it offers efficiency on an industrial scale, ease of application and low operating costs. The selection of adsorbent to be used in wastewater treatment by adsorption is very important as it affects application cost, adsorption capacity and selectivity factors. According to the adsorbent source, it is possible to classify them as natural (clay, zeolite, fly ash), synthetic (silica gels, resins, polymers) and bio-adsorbents (chitin, chitosan, yeasts, fungi and bacterial biomass, etc.). The use of polymeric adsorbents is widespread due to their good adsorption performance and relatively simple production process. In recent years, literature studies on bio-based polymers produced from biodegradable, safe and low-cost natural raw materials have become very common. In bio-based polymer production, materials with chitin, chitosan, cellulose, alginate, lignin and starch structures are used as raw materials, as well as polyethylene glycol (PEG) molecules for biodegradability properties. Multiple projects aimed at dye and/or metal removal from wastewater are being conducted at İzel Kimya Research and Development Center, with the goal of contributing to efforts to eliminate environmental pollution. References 1. S.F. Ahmed, M. Mofijur, Samiha Nuzhat, Anika Tasnim Chowdhury, Nazifa Rafa, Md. Alhaz Uddin, Abrar Inayat, T.M.I. Mahlia, Hwai Chyuan Ong, Wen Yi Chia, Pau Loke Show, Recent developments in physical, biological, chemical, and hybrid treatment techniques for removing emerging contaminants from wastewater, Journal of Hazardous Materials, Volume 416, 2021, 125912, ISSN 0304-3894, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.125912. 2. Russo, T.; Fucile, P.; Giacometti, R.; Sannino, F. Sustainable Removal of Contaminants by Biopolymers: A Novel Approach for Wastewater Treatment. Current State and Future Perspectives. Processes 2021, 9, 719. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr9040719 3. https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/water-and-wastewater-treatment-market-102632 4. N. Khan,ST Hussain, A. Saboor, N. Jamila, KS Kim, Int. J. Phys. Bilim ,8(33), 1661 (2013). 5. A. B. dos Santos, F. J. Cervantes, and J. B. van Lier, (2007), "Review paper on current technologies for decolourisation of textile wastewaters: perspectives for anaerobic biotechnology," Bioresource Technology, vol. 98, no. 12, pp. 2369–2385. 6. Ranade, V. V., Bhandari, V. M., (2014), "Industrial Wastewater Treatment, Recycling and Reuse: An Overview", Elsevier, Oxford, Chapter 1. 7. Crini, G., Lichtfouse, E. (2018), "Wastewater Treatment: An Overview.", Green Adsorbents For Pollutant Removal, pp.1-21.) Dr. Cemil Dizman Research and Development Director İzel Kimya Aleyna Turanlı Research and Development Researcher İzel Kimya