Recent advances of Clay/polymer-based nanomaterials for the treatment of environmental contaminants in wastewater: A review

Emerging contaminants (ECs) contamination is a pressing issue because of the extensive utilization of personal care products and antibiotics and the discharging of their effluent to water bodies. Consumption of ECs conditioning water has disturbed the biological activities of living beings, resulting in the bursting of several disorders. Several water treatment technologies, including advanced oxidation, biodegradation, precipitation, ultrafiltration, coagulation, and adsorption, have been applied to detect and remove environmental contaminants. Adsorption is found to be a prospective treatment approach due to its reduced energy usage, easier operation conditions, and economic viability. Commercially activated carbon is studied extensively as a pharmaceutical adsorbent; however, it is limited for large-scale application owing to powder form and high cost. As a result, several investigations for EC absorption have focused on using non-traditional, low-cost adsorbent clays and clay polymer-based composites. The present review discusses the fabrication of clay-based nanocomposite adsorbent using different chemical routes. The application of Clay/polymer-based nanocomposite adsorbent is also highlighted for removing ECs from industrial water. Additionally, the mechanical interaction of these adsorbents toward targeted ECs and the regeneration studies are explained accordingly. The review results suggest that the fabricated clay-based nanocomposite adsorbents exhibit notable adsorption capacities for the targeted ECs. Integrating these materials into water treatment processes demonstrates their potential for mitigating EC contamination, providing a cost-effective and operationally feasible solution.