Abstract Water pollution is usually a result of human activities and it has become an issue of concern because of the toxic and carcinogenic effects associated with some pollutants which may affect all living organisms. Among all the water treatment technologies adsorption is considered the most effective technique due to its affordability, universal availability and ease of operation. Recent advances in nanotechnology have allowed the development of bionanocomposites based on clay minerals and biopolymers which have emerged as promising materials for the removal of pollutants from contaminated water. Their improved properties regarding the biocompatibility and biodegradability of biopolymers, the high surface area, increased number of active sites, and the excellent sorption capacity of clays make the use of bionanocomposites very attractive. This review focuses on the use of biopolymer-clays nanocomposites for environmental remediation. First, the physicochemical and structural properties of clays and biopolymers as well as the main characterization and preparation techniques are discussed. Subsequently, the main applications of bionanocomposites as adsorbent materials for the removal of emerging organic and inorganic pollutants from water samples are described.

中文翻译：

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生物聚合物-粘土纳米复合材料作为用于环境修复的新型环保吸附剂

摘要 水污染通常是人类活动的结果，由于某些污染物可能影响所有生物体的毒性和致癌作用，它已成为一个令人关注的问题。在所有水处理技术中，吸附被认为是最有效的技术，因为它经济实惠、普遍可用且易于操作。纳米技术的最新进展允许开发基于粘土矿物和生物聚合物的生物纳米复合材料，这些材料已成为从受污染的水中去除污染物的有前途的材料。它们在生物聚合物的生物相容性和生物降解性、高表面积、活性位点数量增加以及粘土优异的吸附能力方面的改进性能使生物纳米复合材料的使用非常有吸引力。本综述重点关注生物聚合物-粘土纳米复合材料在环境修复中的应用。首先，讨论了粘土和生物聚合物的物理化学和结构性质以及主要表征和制备技术。随后，描述了生物纳米复合材料作为吸附材料在去除水样中新出现的有机和无机污染物方面的主要应用。