Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management 21 (2024) 100942

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Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enmm

Removal of heavy metals using cellulose-based materials: A mini-review

Naveen Chandra Joshi a, Aroma Joshi b, Debasis Mitra c, Prateek Gururani d, *, Niraj Kumar e,
Hemant Kumar Joshi f
a
Division of Research & Innovation, Uttaranchal University Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248007, India
b
Department of Food Science and Technology, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India
c
Department of Microbiology, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India
d
Department of Biotechnology, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India
e
Department of Electronics & Communications, Graphic Era (Deemed to be University), Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248002, India
f
Department of Applied Sciences (Chemistry), Nanhi Pari Seemant Engineering Institute, Pithoragarh, Veer Madho Singh Bhandari Uttarakhand Technical University,
Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Heavy metals are the main inorganic contaminants, and their presence in aquatic bodies causes many health and
Heavy metals environmental issues. Different man-made activities, such as agriculture, mining, industrialization, urbanisation,
Adsorption thermal power plants, and others, release heavy metals into the water system. These contaminants cause major
Cellulose and nanocellulose
health issues for humans and other organisms. Adsorption-based heavy metal removal from wastewater is a
Cellulose-based materials
feasible, adequate, and suitable method for treating a large amount of wastewater. Naturally occurring cellulose
is a potential candidate for various applications as a result of its excellent physico-chemical and mechanical
features. Several experimental investigations have been conducted in the context of the use of materials based on
cellulose for the adsorption-based removal of heavy metals from wastewater. These investigations attempt to
determine the extent to which cellulose-based materials may adsorb heavy metals from wastewater or water. The
use of nanocellulose-based materials in the adsorptive removal of heavy metals from aqueous media provides
some advancements like enhanced surface area, biocompatibility, and superior mechanical features. The present
article covers an adequate literature review for the potential of cellulose-based materials in the adsorptive
removal of heavy metals.

1. Introduction adsorption, ion exchange, electrolysis, precipitation, reverse osmosis,

Heavy metal poisoning has been associated with a number of health
problems in humans and other living organisms (Aziz and Kareem,
2023). These contaminants are introduced into the tissues and organs of
living organisms through contaminated water and food. Heavy metals
are released into water bodies through different anthropogenic activities
such as agriculture, industrialization, urbanisation, metallurgical oper­
ations, the use of fossil fuels and metal pipes, and many others (Tahir
and Alkheraije, 2023; Yu et al., 2023; Joshi and Gururani, 2023; Aziz
et al., 2023). Mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), chro­
mium (Cr), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), and cadmium (Cd) are the common
heavy metals. When the accumulation of these contaminants in the
bodies exceeds their limits, they are obviously hazards to living organ­
isms (Qasem et al., 2021). Heavy metals from contaminated water are
usually removed via a number of techniques, including coagulation,
ultrafiltration, and flocculation (Renu et al., 2017). The adsorption
process to remove heavy metals from wastewater is expected to be more
efficient and inexpensive (Hussain et al., 2021). Heavy metals present in
wastewater have been removed using a variety of adsorbents, which are
based on polymeric materials, natural materials, metal oxides, zeolite,
silica, charcoal, graphene, fly ash, agricultural wastes, activated carbon,
and others (Wołowiec et al., 2019; Ethaib et al., 2022; Yang et al., 2019).
The large amount of cellulose present in nature, infused with its func­
tional groups and biocompatibility, has contributed to the growth of
cutting-edge technologies based on cellulose for treating wastewater
(Rocky et al., 2023). Cellulose is a linear biopolymer predominantly
found in plants, algae, and fungi. It is comprised of units of glucose
linked via β-1,4-glycosidic linkages. Comprising at least one dimension
in the nanoscale range, nanocellulose is a type of cellulosic substance. It
may be allocated into three types: nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibrils,

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: prateekguru25@gmail.com (P. Gururani).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enmm.2024.100942
Received 26 December 2023; Received in revised form 20 February 2024; Accepted 18 March 2024
Available online 20 March 2024
2215-1532/© 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
N.C. Joshi et al. Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management 21 (2024) 100942

Fig. 1. Different sources of cellulose.

this article, we discussed the introduction of cellulose and its composite

materials, the process of adsorption of heavy metals, the use of materials
based on cellulose for treating wastewater containing heavy metals,
some significant current studies, and future perspectives. In this mini-
review, we have tried to cover adequate literature. We tried to give
maximum information in very few lines. This article will definitely be
beneficial for the readers, especially when they start original work in
this field. It would be especially beneficial to select cellulose-based
materials as adsorbents to remove heavy metals from water or waste­
water (Aziz and Mustafa, 2024).

2. Cellulose, nanocellulose and cellulose-based nanocomposites

Fig. 2. Structure of cellulose.

The term “polysaccharides” refers to a diverse group of polymeric

and bacterial nanocellulose. Each kind can be characterised by its cel­
substances based on sugar that serve as the structural foundation for all
lulose source, processing conditions, size, and function. The inclusion of
plants. They are composed of monosaccharide units and long-chain
many important functional groups in nanocellulose improves the
polymeric carbohydrates. The monosaccharide units are linked to each
adsorption of heavy metal ions present in wastewater (Si et al., 2022). In
other through glycosidic bonds. Cellulose is a very common and crucial

Fig. 3. Major applications of cellulose and nanocellulose.

2
N.C. Joshi et al.
Fig. 4. Applications of cellulose-based nanocomposites.
polysaccharide composed of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen. It is an
odourless, water-soluble, tasteless, and biodegradable biopolymer (Etale
et al., 2023). Structurally, cellulose is made up of glucose molecules.
The β (1 → 4) glycosidic bonds links form these units. The number of
glucose units in the polymer chains differs based on the cellulose source
(Mehandzhiyski and Zozoulenko, 2021). The main sources of cellulose
are plants, sugarcane bagasse, tunicate, marine algae, and bacteria.
Cellulose has admirable chemical and physical properties like great
mechanical and tensile strength, remarkable stability, low density,
chirality, and high biodegradability (Abdelhamid and Mathew, 2022).
Based on sources, cellulose is categorised into different categories:
wood, bacteria, algae, tunicate, plant-based etc., as shown in Fig. 1
(Seddiqi et al., 2021; Gupta et al., 2019). The basic cellulose structure is
presented in Fig. 2. Nanocellulose has been proven to have the potential
to be used for developing unique functional nanomaterials (Dufresne,
2013). Categorising chains of cellulose can increase the advantages of
cellulose further together, producing extremely sequenced regions.
These regions can be sequestered as nanoparticles, also known as
nanocelluloses. Through various cellulose sources, diverse forms of
nanocellulose may be developed, such as microcrystals, microfibrils, and
nanocrystals (Trache et al., 2020). In terms of producing nanocellulose
on a large scale, several recognised as well as novel technologies have
come to light. Nanocellulose-based materials are safe to use, recyclable,
and sustainable (Nasir et al., 2017). The main applications of cellulose
and nanocellulose are presented in Fig. 3 (Nasir et al., 2017; Poulose
et al., 2022; Thomas et al., 2018).
Nanotechnology may offer a potential solution for the basic needs of
humans and the issues of sustainability (Singh et al., 2020). Nanotech­
nology has received great attention in the fields of medicine, food, en­
ergy storage, water purification, and environmental issues (Shameem
et al., 2021). A nanocomposite material is composed of various types of
phases, each of which has at least one, two, or three nanoscale-sized
dimensions. The medical, food packaging, wastewater treatment,
pharmaceutical, electronics, and energy industries all present challenges
that can be addressed on entirely new scales via nanocomposites
(Omanović-Mikličanin et al., 2020). Nanocomposite materials provide
solutions to micro- and monolithic composites’ stoichiometry and con­
trol of elemental restrictions (Kalia et al., 2011). Cellulose-based micro
3
Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management 21 (2024) 100942
and nanofibers offer many improved properties, including renewability,
stiffness, high strength, low production cost, and biodegradability.
These materials are good to incorporate as reinforcement in composite
materials. It is due to their superior mechanical, thermal, and biodeg­
radation features. Since cellulose fibres are generally hydrophilic,
raising their surface roughness is important for producing composites
with enhanced properties (Jacob, 2022). The increased area of the
surface and enhanced thermal, mechanical, and optical attributes are
some of the characteristics of cellulose-based nanocomposites. For the
manufacturing of such materials, a variety of techniques are available,
including ball milling, injection moulding, electrospinning, melt extru­
sion, and compression moulding. The major applications of these ma­
terials are depicted in Fig. 4 (Sharma et al., 2019; Vardhan et al., 2019).
3. Heavy metals and adsorption
High atomic density and toxicity are associated with the term “heavy
metals.” It is said that almost all heavy metals are harmful to health,
beyond the limit. Even with very little exposure, some of them are very
hazardous. Cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), iron
(Fe), nickel (Ni), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), and mercury (Hg)
are the main heavy metals (Vardhan et al., 2019). Many natural and
anthropogenic activities, such as volcanic eruptions, forest fires, indus­
trial, domestic, mining, agricultural, etc., release heavy metals into
water bodies (Tchounwou et al., 2012). These heavy metals bio­
accumulate in the tissues and organs of humans and cause different
types of side effects, including apoptosis, respiratory problems, cancer,
poor growth, heart disease, memory loss, nervous system disorders, etc.
(Joshi and Gururani, 2023; Balali-Mood et al., 2021). Different chemi­
cal, physical, and biological techniques have been established to remove
heavy metals present in wastewater, including membrane filtration, ion
exchange, coagulation, adsorption, precipitation, electrochemical, and
biosorption (Joshi and Gururani, 2023). The adsorption method offers
benefits like accessibility, affordability, and environmental friendliness
(Zaimee et al., 2021). During the adsorption, a solution containing the
adsorbate gets adsorbed on the surface of the adsorbent. The adsorbate
gets linked through the van der Waals forces on the surface of the
adsorbent, which is known as physiosorption. The association of an
N.C. Joshi et al.
Fig. 5. Removal of heavy metals present in wastewater through adsorption process.
adsorbate with an adsorbent via chemical bonds is known as chemi­
sorption. In general, chemisorption is selective, irreversible, and
exothermic, and physiosorption is weak, reversible, and endothermic
(Hussain et al., 2021; Gupta et al., 2021; Dharmapriya et al., 2021;
Akpomie et al., 2015). The conditions that were necessary for the pro­
cess of adsorption are frequently denoted as the parameters related to
adsorption, specific temperature, contact time, adsorbent dose, con­
centration, and pH of adsorbates and co-existing ions. The rate and
effectiveness of adsorption of any specified adsorbent material can
therefore be increased by optimising the adsorption parameters (Joshi
and Gururani, 2023; Dev et al., 2022; Chen et al., 2022). Desorption is
the reverse reaction of adsorption, where the adsorbate is released. In
order for a material to function as an adsorbent, the adsorbate on the
surface must be separated after the reaction in order to create free sur­
faces to repeat the process (Zaimee et al., 2021). Adsorption capacity,
adsorption mechanism, and other basic information about the adsorp­
tion process are all important elements that are provided by isotherm
model fitting. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models are the com­
mon isotherm models used to correlate the equilibrium data of adsorp­
tion. In general, the Langmuir model explains the adsorption of heavy
metals on a homogeneous surface, which contains a definite number of
active sites with the same adsorption energy. The Freundlich model is
concerned with the adsorption of heavy metals on a heterogeneous
surface that contains active sites with different adsorption energies
(Abiodun et al., 2023). Furthermore, other isotherm models such as
Dubinin-Radushkevich, Temkin, Koble-Corrigan, Redlich-Peterson, and
Toth isotherms have also been used in the adsorption of heavy metals
from wastewater (Raji et al., 2023). Information on adsorption processes
and their potential rate-limiting steps may be found in adsorption ki­
netics. Identifying the optimal conditions and process parameters for a
large-scale removal method is important (Chen et al., 2022; Aslam et al.,
2022). The most common kinetic models for the kinetics of adsorption
processes are pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. On
the other hand, interfacial and particle diffusion models are most
4
Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management 21 (2024) 100942
frequently employed to identify the adsorption mechanism (Khamwichit
et al., 2022). The regeneration of adsorbents is essential for the overall
adsorption process. It is generally related to an economic and environ­
mental perspective. Regeneration reduces the cost of the adsorption
process and ensures safe disposal of the adsorbents. In such a process,
the adsorbents may be re-used several times (Vakili et al., 2019). The
overall removal of heavy metals present in wastewater through the
adsorption process is presented in Fig. 5.
4. Materials based on cellulose to remove heavy metals through
adsorption process
Biomass-derived adsorbents such as lignocellulosic plants, chitosan,
agricultural wastes, tea wastes, etc. have acquired loads of recognition
as they have wide availability, affordable cost, regeneration ability, and
high adsorption capacity (Wang et al., 2019). Cellulose-based materials
are very low-cost, widely distributed, and have very little economic
value. Some forms are fibres, shells, husks, stems, leaves, seeds, roots,
bark, and other parts (Varghese et al., 2019). There are very few ap­
plications of pure cellulose in comparison to its modified form’s wide
range of applications (Balali-Mood et al., 2021). Chemical modifications
enhance the adsorption capability of cellulose for heavy metals present
in aqueous solutions (Türkmen et al., 2022). Chemical alterations can be
used to enhance mechanical, microbial, and heat resistance and
adsorptive functions (Ahmad et al., 2015). Nanocellulose is a renewable
material with high mechanical strength, adsorption ability, and a broad
range of working possibilities. Adsorbents based on nanocellulose-based
materials are gaining recognition because of their biocompatibility,
large specific surface area, and superior mechanical properties. The
application of these adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals promises
to be more attractive and environmentally friendly (Si et al., 2022). With
the aim of developing an effective absorbent, it becomes essential to
understand the impact of the morphology on the removal of pollutants.
Nanocellulose has an aggregated shape, which decreases the specific
N.C. Joshi et al.
surface area of fibres (Norrrahim et al., 2021). In general, cellulose
molecules contain active hydroxyl groups. The adsorption of heavy
metal ions is greatly facilitated by these groups. The H+ ions are
replaced by metal ions in the adsorbent, allowing the cation exchange
process to proceed. Electrostatic interactions between the negatively
charged functional group and the cation cause the ion exchange. The
active hydroxyl groups can also be functionalized with other groups
through different physical and chemical methods. Therefore, there is a
greater possibility of taking up heavy metals from wastewater using
modified cellulose (Rahaman et al., 2021; Si et al., 2022).
The adsorptive removal of Cd (II), Cu (II), Ni (II), Zn (II), and Pb (II)
ions from cellulose and dibenzo-18-crown 6 (CEL/DB18C6)-based ad­
sorbents was reported by Fakhre and Ibrahim (2018). The combination
of DB18C6 and cellulose significantly and efficiently enhanced the
adsorption capacity and adsorbed comparatively greater amount of
heavy metals. DB18C6 appears to form a synergistic interaction with
cellulose, forming more balanced complexes with heavy metals, result­
ing in the adsorption of comparatively greater number of heavy metals.
The investigation of the adsorption-based removal of Cd (II) and Pb (II)
ions via succinic anhydride-cellulose nanocrystals, and sodic nano­
adsorbents was reported by Yu et al. (2013). The maximum adsorption
capacities of these materials were found to be 259.7, 367.6 and 344.8,
465.1 mg/g, respectively for Cd (II) and Pb (II) ions. Madivoli et al.
(2016) reported the use of citric acid-modified cellulose for the
adsorptive removal of Cd (II), Cu (II), Pb (II), and Zn (II) ions from
wastewater. The adsorption capacity of the modified cellulose was
found to be 21.6, 42.6, 18.06, and 8.3 mg/g for Pb (II), Cd (II), Cu (II),
and Zn (II), respectively. The adsorption-based removal of Cu (II), Cd
(II), and Pb (II) ions has been reported by Choi et al. (2020) via cellulose
nanofiber membranes functionalized with thiol. The adsorption poten­
tial of this membrane was 49.0, 45.9, and 22.0 mg/g for Cu (II), Cd (II),
and Pb (II) ions respectively.
Astrini et al. (2015) conducted an investigation for the determination
of the adsorption capacity of CMC/poly(acrylic acid)/monmorilonite
(CMC/PAA/MT) hydrogel to remove Zn (II) and Pb (II) ions. It was
observed that the removal of maximum heavy metal ions present in
wastewater could be achieved at pH 5.0. For Pb (II) and Zn (II), the
maximal adsorption capacity of the absorbent was 146.1 and 286.6 mg/
g, respectively. Song et al. (2020) conducted the removal of Cr (III) ions
via adsorption utilising carbon quantum dots and nano-fibrillated cel­
lulose (CQDs/NFC) from wastewater. Different pH environments have
been used to achieve maximum decontamination of wastewater. It was
found that the fluorescence effect of CDQs started decreasing with an
increase in the amount of adsorbed metal ions. This proposes that the
material can be functional for real-time observation related to adsorp­
tion performance. Zhao et al. (2019) utilised modified cellulose hydro­
gels for the removal of Cu (II), Pb (II), and Cd (II) ions from wastewater
via adsorption. The cellulose with cross-linkages was mixed with
acrylamide and acrylic acid to prepare a hydrogel. After performing the
experiments, they found that the maximal capacity of the modified
hydrogel to adsorb Cu (II), Pb (II), and Cd (II) heavy metal ions was
157.5, 393.2, and 289.9 mg/g respectively. Qiao et al. (2020) have
carried out an adsorption study based on superporous spherical cellulose
to remove Cu (II) and Co (II) ions. After successful adsorption experi­
ments, the maximum adsorption capacity of the material was found to
be 98.8 and 102.2 mg/g for Cu (II) and Co (II) ions, respectively. Li et al.
(2019) studied the adsorption of Hg (II) and Cu (II) ions using modified
porous cellulose beads (MCBs) and modified cellulose powder (MCPs) as
adsorbents. They found that both the adsorbents have tremendous po­
tential to adsorb Hg (II) and Cu (II) ions. The experimental findings
indicated that both MCBs and MCPs were found to be efficient adsor­
bents for the removal of Hg (II) and Cu (II) ions.
Wang et al. (2019) studied the effectiveness of carboxymethylated
cellulose fibre (CMF) for the removal of Cu (II) and Ni (II) ions from an
aqueous solution via adsorption. The experimental results have indi­
cated that CMF is an efficient adsorbent for both metal ions. In
5
Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management 21 (2024) 100942
comparison with Ni (II) ions, the selectivity of CMF was found to be very
effective for Cu (II) ions. Mubarak et al. (2022) studied activated car­
bon/carborundum/microcrystalline cellulose core shell nanocomposite
(AC/CB/MCC) and its adsorption potential towards As (III) and Cu (II)
ion adsorption. According to the result of their study, it was found that
the adsorption capacities of AC/CB/MCC towards As (III) and Cu (II)
ions were 422.9 and 423.55 mg/g, respectively. Putro et al. (2017)
investigated the adsorption abilities of nanocellulose/bentonite nano­
composite adsorbents in single and binary systems for the removal of Pb
(II) and Hg (II) ions present in an aqueous solution. All the systems
showed endothermic processes except bentonite. Bentonite is the only
system that exhibits exothermic activity. For the binary system, it was
recommended to modify the Langmuir model by including heat of
adsorption and fractional loading. Yu et al. (2019) investigated the na­
ture of hyperbranched polyamide functionalized cellulose (HPFC) as an
adsorbent and its ability to remove Cu (II) ions by adsorptive methods. It
has been found that HPFC has a maximum Cu (II) ion adsorption ca­
pacity of 138 mg/g. Additionally, it was shown that the pseudo-second-
order and Langmuir models were suitable for adsorption studies.
Godiya et al. (2019) studied the effectiveness of CMC and poly­
acrylamide (CMC/PAM)-based hydrogels for the adsorption of Pb (II),
Cu (II), and Cd (II) ions. This hydrogel can remove Pb (II), Cu (II), and Cd
(II) ions either with single or multi-ion adsorption systems having a
worthy correlation with the Pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir
isotherm models. Xiao and Hu (2017) supervised a study to remove Cu
(II), Cd (II), and Pb (II) ions in a similar manner. They apply and
investigate the cellulose/chitosan composites’ capacity to bind heavy
metal ions. The quantity of adsorbed ions was found to be 0.53, 0.28,
and 0.16 mmol/g for Cu (II), Cd (II), and Pb (II) ions, respectively, via a
synthesised composite at a pH of 5.0. Hokkanen et al. (2013) explored
the use of mercerized nanocellulose treated with succinic anhydride to
adsorb Ni (II), Zn (II), Cd (II), Cu (II), and Co (II) ions. The order in which
heavy metals were adsorbed by the absorbent was Cd (II) > Cu (II) > Zn
(II) > Co (II) > Ni (II), respectively. Afterwards, nitric acid and ultra­
sonic processing were employed to regenerate the modified nano­
cellulose. Zhu et al. (2017) studied the effectiveness of polyvinyl
alcohol-co-ethylene (PVA-co-PE) nano-fibrous membranes along with 1,
2, 3, and 4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) for the adsorption of Pb
(II), Cr (VI), Mn (II), and Cu (II) ions. It was found that the modified
nano-fibrous membranes after NaHCO3 activation exhibited notably
elevated adsorption ability toward both single and multiple ion combi­
nations. According to their finding, the modified nano-fibrous mem­
branes after NaHCO3 activation was the best alternative for removing
heavy metal ions. Guo et al. (2019) have studied the potential of cel­
lulose nanofibrils and carbon dots-based nanogels for the adsorption of
heavy metal ions present in wastewater. The nano-gel proved to be an
effective adsorbent for heavy metal ions as well as an optical sensor for
detecting heavy metals. It was found that nano-gel has a maximal
adsorption capacity towards Fe (III), Ba (II), Cu (II), and Pb (II) of 769,
212, 1246, and 2056 mg/g, respectively.
Rodrigues et al. (2019) examined the chitosan-g-poly(acrylic acid)
hydrogel to assess its adsorptive potential to remove Pb (II) and Cu (II)
ions. The maximum absorption capacity of the proposed material for Pb
(II) and Cu (II) ions was 818.4 and 325.5 mg/g, respectively, at pH 4.0 in
30 min. Li et al. (2020) examined the metal–organic frameworks that
had been modified by cellulose nanofiber (CNF), CMC, and ethylene
diamine tetraacetic acid (UiO-66-EDTA) for eliminating some selective
ions of heavy metal. On the basis of findings, the UiO-66-EDTA/CNF/
CMC aerogel exhibited significantly remarkable adsorption potential
towards Cu (II), Cr (III), Mn (II), Co (II), Zr (IV), Ni (II), Fe (III), Zn (II),
and Sn (IV) ions. Yao et al. (2016) examined the ability of cellulose
nanofibrils (CNFs) functionalized with an aldehyde group to adsorb Pb
(II) and Cu (II) ions present in aqueous solutions. This synthesised
absorbent was found to be cost-effective and highly efficient for the
removal of heavy metal ions. Some of the nanocellulose/cellulose-based
nanocomposites having graphene, metal oxides, conducting polymers
N.C. Joshi et al. Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management 21 (2024) 100942

Table 1 etc. are mentioned in Table 1.

Nanocomposites based on cellulose/nano-cellulose for removing heavy metals
via adsorption process. 5. Future approach and topical studies
Cellulose/nanocellulose- Heavy metal Adsorption References
based nanocomposites ions removed capacity (mg/g)/ Recently, cellulose has gained enormous attention all over the world.
maximum Cellulose is a naturally occurring organic plant-based material (Ahmad
removal (%)
et al., 2023). It has exhibited exceptional physical, chemical, and me­
Carboxymethyl cellulose Pb (II) 152 mg/g Fan et al. chanical characteristics. Currently, materials based on cellulose are a
(CMC)/Fe3O4 (2019)
widespread subject of research for the adsorption of heavy metals
Fe3O4/CMC/GO Cu (II) 199.9 mg/g Chen et al.
(2021) (Jamshaid et al., 2017). Heavy metals found in wastewater can poten­
Bacterial cellulose/poly Cd (II) 382.3 mg/g Li et al. (2021) tially be removed using cellulose or modified cellulose since it is an
(amidoxime) (BC/PAO) affordable, renewable, and biodegradable material. Since the hydroxyl
TEMPO-oxidized Hg (II) 140.3 mg/g Geng et al. groups are present, cellulose has a significant potential for easy modi­
nanofibrillated cellulose (2017)
(TO/NFC)
fication (Kaur et al., 2022). In recent years, a great number of products
Nanocellulose/GO (NCC/ Ni (II) 95.8 % Zhang et al. based on nanocellulose have been used to clean up heavy metal-
GO) (2021a) contaminated water or wastewater. Nano-cellulose has a huge surface
Polymer composite of Th (IV) 141.2 mg/g Sreenivasan area, is cost-effective, and is a reproducible material (Qiao et al., 2021).
Carboxylate et al. (2019)
Table 2 illustrates some significant current studies based on cellulose/
functionalized ethylene
glycol dimethacrylate nanocellulose adsorbents that can be used for the adsorption-based
(EGDMA)/cross-linked removal of heavy metals present in water or wastewater. These mate­
nanocellulose/graphene rials are still uncommon due to their recycling or regeneration processes,
oxide(EGDMA/NCC/ production costs, and processes for modification. Therefore, it has
GO)
ZnO/NCC Pb (II) 554.4 mg/g Alipour et al.
become essential to confront challenges related to these materials while
(2020) developing new adsorbents based on cellulose and functionalizing them
Polypyrrole/nanocellulose Cr (VI) 560 mg/g Alsaiari et al. on the surface. With the goal of adjusting the appropriate porosity ar­
(PPy/NCC) (2021) chitectures and adsorption capacities, additive types of adsorbent net­
Microbial Cellulose/ Cr (VI) 99.7 % Marghaki
works must be carefully selected in order to optimise the assembly
Fe3O4/PPy (MC/ Fe3O4/ et al. (2022)
PPy) process, functionality, and crosslinking.
Sodium carboxymethyl Pb (II), Cu 156.8, 35.7, 21.4, Zhang et al.
cellulose/reduced (II), Ni (II), 20.8 and 15.8 (2021b) 6. Conclusions
graphene oxide (rGO/ Mn (II), and mg/g
CMC) Co (II)
This article covered the introduction of cellulose and its composite
Cellulose/MnO2 Pb (II) and Cd 291 and 67.4 mg/ Fu and Xie
(II) g (2020) materials and their applications in the treatment of wastewater con­
taining heavy metals. It also covers some noteworthy recent studies and
potential future advancements. We investigated the possible uses of
materials based on cellulose for the removal of heavy metals from
Table 2
Some current studies (2022–23) based on the use of cellulose/nanocellulose-
aqueous solutions. The readers will undoubtedly benefit from this
based nanocomposites for the adsorptive removal of heavy metals. article, notably when they start conducting their own studies in this
area. When selecting cellulose-based materials as adsorbents to remove
Nanocomposites/materials- Heavy Adsorption References
based on cellulose or metal ions capacity (mg/g)/
heavy metals from wastewater or water, this would be very helpful.
nanocellulose removed maximum Ethical Approval: Not applicable.
removal (%) Consent to Participate: Not applicable.
Cellulose/EDTA Pb (II) and 438.3 and 287.2 Yang et al. Funding statement: Not applicable.
Cd (II) mg/g (2023)
Polydopamine Cr (VI) 210 mg/g Alzahrani CRediT authorship contribution statement
/nanocellulose (PDA/NC) et al. (2022)
Wheat straw nanocellulose Cu (II), Pb 88.75 %, 81.18 %, Kaur and Pal
(II), and Zn 86.84 % (2023)
Naveen Chandra Joshi: Writing – original draft, Data curation,
(II) Conceptualization. Aroma Joshi: Writing – review & editing. Debasis
Polypyrrole/cellulose Hg (II) 82.3 % Xiong et al. Mitra: Writing – review & editing. Prateek Gururani: Writing – review
nanocrystal (PPy/CNC) (2023) & editing, Supervision, Data curation, Conceptualization. Niraj Kumar:
GO/CMC Nd (III) and 661.21 and Abd-Elhamid
Writing – review & editing. Hemant Kumar Joshi: Writing – review &
Ce (III) 436.55 mg/g et al. (2022)
GO with microcrystalline Pb (II), Cd 680.3, 418.4, and Liu et al. editing.
cellulose and (II), and Cu 280.1 mg/g (2022)
hyperbranched polyamide- (II) Declaration of competing interest
amine(GO/HPAMAM)
Sodium alginate (SA)/CMC/ Cu (II) and 63.29 and 10.15 Angaru et al.
entrapped with fly ash Cr (VI) mg/g (2022)
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
derived zeolite stabilized interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
nano zero-valent iron and the work reported in this paper.
nickel (ZFN)(SA/CMC/
ZFN)
Data availability
Carboxymethyl cellulose As (V) 98 % Priya et al.
(CE) incorporated Fe–Al (2022)
layered double hydroxide/ Data will be made available on request.
reduced graphene oxide
(FAH-rGO/CE)
Acknowledgements

This paper has been supported by the Graphic Era Deemed to be

6
N.C. Joshi et al.
university.
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