Revolutionizing bioremediation: Advances in zeolite-based nanocomposites

Advances in green and eco-friendly nanotechnology provide an astonishing insight to fabricate biomaterials in the nanoscale range for successful bioremediation approaches. There has been great interest in applications of zeolite-based biomaterials due to their nontoxicity, ion exchange capabilities, mechanical strength, biocompatibility, biodegradability and high membrane permeability. Natural or synthetic zeolite nanoparticles along with biopolymers, have been widely used as nanocomposites to remediate toxic pollutants from the environment. The main groups of biopolymers include polysaccharides such as alginate, chitosan, chitin, cellulose and xanthan gum. These biopolymers are coated on zeolite nanoparticles via high-sensitivity design principles that can provide a promising solution for sustainable recovery and reclamation of the polluted ecosystem. In addition to biopolymers, the use of microorganisms and metals in the production of zeolite-based bio-composites improves the bioremediation applications of biomaterial that emerge as a promising field of nanotechnology for green, sustainable and economical production. This review article highlights the most recently documented practices of the last three years for the broad synthesis of zeolite based-biomaterials with emerging bioremediation applications, hence, carries a superior status among the already published articles within zeolite domain which are only confined to single topics such as adsorption of pollutants, catalytic oxidation of pollutants and bio-separation of pollutants and useful compounds. This review also aims to give a comprehensive knowledge on the selection of different biopolymers, metals and microbes with zeolite material which can be helpful in designing new models for the removal of emerging pollutants in the near future studies. Moreover, recent advances in the field of nanotechnology were explored in developing zeolite-based biomaterials to revolutionize bioremediation strategies, while also exploring the opportunities and challenges that come with their fabrication.