1 Introduction
Our planet – earth seems to have entered into a new period of geologic history due to
the unprecedented effects of human activities on the environment. Ironically,
attempts to mount a unanimous global response to major environmental problems
have failed to reach a consensus among the governments of different countries.
Several global organizations, including the WHO, FAO, and World Bank have
promoted and encouraged the sustainable use of natural resources. Albeit
(fragmented) measures have been adopted across the globe, pollution of the various
ecosystems is on an increasing trend as a result of urbanization, deforestation,
industrialization, land degradation, etc. This has negatively impacted the realization
of basic human rights, such as those concerning universal access to safe drinking
water and the right to live in a clean environment (Singh and Singh 2017). Multiple
exciting technologies, developed over the decades and used in environmental remediation, are largely unable to cope up with the extent of pollutants released from
various sources (Paul and Jons 2016; Yang et al. 2019). Moreover, many of these
technologies are based on synthetic materials, leading to issues of recycling and safe
disposal (Unuabonah and Taubert 2014; Shemshadi 2012). Over the years, increasing attention has been paid to bio-based materials to address major environmental
problems, with special thrust on bioresources that are abundant, environmentally
benign, recyclable, and efficient. Among others, cellulose, chitosan, starch, and
lignin have been widely employed as alternatives to synthetic polymers. In this
context, besides the traditional use in the paper and pulp industry, biofuel, and so on,
cellulose has garnered considerable popularity in material technology due to its
abundance, recyclability, eco-friendly attribute, and amenability for surface
functionalization, paving the way toward a wide gamut of applications (Mokhena
and John 2020; Abitbol et al. 2016).
On a pertinent note, among others, nanocellulose (NC) (cellulosic structure in the
nanoscale) has gained tremendous research impetus for a plethora of uses. The
constantly growing popularity of NC, both in the academia and the industry, may
be bracketed together with the outstanding application of NC in medicine, tissue
engineering, material reinforcement, etc., as vouched by the increasing number of
articles in the scientific literature repositories. There have been constant efforts to
harness the remarkable properties of NC, including large surface area, desirable
tensile strength and stiffness, and abundance of –OH groups, which offer numerous
sites for surface modification and functionalization (Trache et al. 2020; Dufresne
2019). Interestingly, NC has opened up a number of plausible avenues to address
complex environmental challenges, such as wastewater decontamination,
encompassing the removal of various chemical and biological pollutants. Howbeit,
NC has only recently expanded its applications in the realm of environmental
remediation and captured spotlight use in wastewater treatment, water and air
purification, soil biosensing, heavy metal abatement, carbon sequestration, oil and
gas field drilling applications, etc. Thus, the content in this chapter is streamlined to
provide an insight into the basic understanding of the structure-function accord of
nanocellulose and the prospective applications in the environmental realm.
66
E. M. Abda and R. Konwarh
Our planet – earth seems to have entered into a new period of geologic history due to
the unprecedented effects of human activities on the environment. Ironically,
attempts to mount a unanimous global response to major environmental problems
have failed to reach a consensus among the governments of different countries.
Several global organizations, including the WHO, FAO, and World Bank have
promoted and encouraged the sustainable use of natural resources. Albeit
(fragmented) measures have been adopted across the globe, pollution of the various
ecosystems is on an increasing trend as a result of urbanization, deforestation,
industrialization, land degradation, etc. This has negatively impacted the realization
of basic human rights, such as those concerning universal access to safe drinking
water and the right to live in a clean environment (Singh and Singh 2017). Multiple
exciting technologies, developed over the decades and used in environmental remediation, are largely unable to cope up with the extent of pollutants released from
various sources (Paul and Jons 2016; Yang et al. 2019). Moreover, many of these
technologies are based on synthetic materials, leading to issues of recycling and safe
disposal (Unuabonah and Taubert 2014; Shemshadi 2012). Over the years, increasing attention has been paid to bio-based materials to address major environmental
problems, with special thrust on bioresources that are abundant, environmentally
benign, recyclable, and efficient. Among others, cellulose, chitosan, starch, and
lignin have been widely employed as alternatives to synthetic polymers. In this
context, besides the traditional use in the paper and pulp industry, biofuel, and so on,
cellulose has garnered considerable popularity in material technology due to its
abundance, recyclability, eco-friendly attribute, and amenability for surface
functionalization, paving the way toward a wide gamut of applications (Mokhena
and John 2020; Abitbol et al. 2016).
On a pertinent note, among others, nanocellulose (NC) (cellulosic structure in the
nanoscale) has gained tremendous research impetus for a plethora of uses. The
constantly growing popularity of NC, both in the academia and the industry, may
be bracketed together with the outstanding application of NC in medicine, tissue
engineering, material reinforcement, etc., as vouched by the increasing number of
articles in the scientific literature repositories. There have been constant efforts to
harness the remarkable properties of NC, including large surface area, desirable
tensile strength and stiffness, and abundance of –OH groups, which offer numerous
sites for surface modification and functionalization (Trache et al. 2020; Dufresne
2019). Interestingly, NC has opened up a number of plausible avenues to address
complex environmental challenges, such as wastewater decontamination,
encompassing the removal of various chemical and biological pollutants. Howbeit,
NC has only recently expanded its applications in the realm of environmental
remediation and captured spotlight use in wastewater treatment, water and air
purification, soil biosensing, heavy metal abatement, carbon sequestration, oil and
gas field drilling applications, etc. Thus, the content in this chapter is streamlined to
provide an insight into the basic understanding of the structure-function accord of
nanocellulose and the prospective applications in the environmental realm.
66
E. M. Abda and R. Konwarh