A systematic review on carbohydrate biopolymers for adsorptive remediation of copper ions from aqueous environments-part A: Classification and modification strategies

Copper is one of themost toxic heavymetalswhichmust be eliminated fromaqueous environments, according to the environmental standards. Carbohydrate biopolymers are promising candidates for synthesizing copperadsorbent composites. It is due to unique properties such as having potential adsorptive functional sites, availability, biocompatibility and biodegradability, formability, blending capacity, and reusability. Different types of copper-adsorbent carbohydrate biopolymers like chitosan and cellulosewith particular focus on the synthesizing and modification approaches have been tackled in this review. Composites, functionality and morphological aspects of the biopolymer adsorbents have also been surveyed. Further progress in the fabrication and application of biopolymer adsorbents would be achievable with special attention to some critical challenges such as the process economy, copolymer and/or (nano) additive selection, and the physicochemical stability of the biopolymer composites in aqueous media.