Sustainable Bio-Based Polymer Adsorbents for Water Remediation: A Systematic Review of Functionalization Strategies, Performance Enhancement, and Circular Economy Integration.

Authors

Segundo Rojas-Flores, Moisés Gallozzo-Cardenas, Santiago M Benites, Daniel Delfin-Narciso, Aníbal Alviz-Meza

Published in

Polymers. Volume 18. Issue 19. Sep 26, 2026. Epub Sep 26, 2026.

Abstract

Global water scarcity affects over 57% of the world's population, with industrial effluents discharging more than 200,000 tons of synthetic dyes and substantial heavy metal quantities annually. Conventional treatment methods remain energy-intensive and generate secondary toxic sludge, necessitating sustainable alternatives aligned with circular economy principles. This systematic review, conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, analyzes 4626 studies from the Scopus database (2010-2026) using bibliometric analysis (RStudio/bibliometrix), network visualization (VOSviewer), and interactive graphics (Plotly). The field exhibits exponential growth (R₀ = 96.5%, R² = 91.1%), with publications concentrated in Materials Science (16%), Environmental Science (15%), and Chemistry (14%). Cellulose- and chitosan-based adsorbents demonstrate exceptional capacities: 1604 mg/g for mercury (thiolated chitosan) and 2100 mg/g for Congo red (cationic nanocellulose). A critical knowledge gap remains the limited integration of underutilized biomass with synthetic polymers such as PVDF-addressed in only 5 publications-despite hybrid systems achieving 92% circular readiness and 95% resource recovery. Combined experimental and computational approaches enhance adsorption performance by 20-50%, with materials retaining over 80% reusability after 10 cycles. Compared with conventional technologies, bio-based alternatives reduce energy consumption by 40% and CO₂ emissions by 55% (0.043 kg CO₂e/m³), while transforming agro-industrial wastes into high-performance adsorbents. These findings position functionalized bio-based polymers as technically, economically, and environmentally superior options for advanced water remediation, contributing to sustainable wastewater treatment and resource recovery within circular economy frameworks.

PMID:
42884981
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 16 Oct 2026.

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