Scholarship 24/09527-6 - Lignina, Metais pesados - BV FAPESP
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LIGNIN NANOPARTICLES FROM BANANA PSEUDOSTEM AS ADSORBENT FOR THE REMOVAL OF HEAVY METAL IONS

Grant number: 24/09527-6
Support Opportunities:Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
Start date until: August 26, 2024
End date until: December 31, 2024
Field of knowledge:Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Forest Biomass Energy
Principal Investigator:Adilson Roberto Gonçalves
Grantee:Rosangela Almeida Maia
Supervisor: Bruno Dufau Mattos
Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisa em Bioenergia (IPBEN). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
Institution abroad: Aalto University, Finland  
Associated to the scholarship:20/01900-9 - Lignins from banana residues evaluated as chelating agents and controlled-release formulations, BP.DD

Abstract

Wastewater contains several pollutants and contaminants including organic pollutants, micro-pollutants, pathogens, plant nutrients, and heavy metals ions. These contaminants in wastewater cause serious environmental problems and mitigating them is crucial to increasing the amount of drinking water and minimize the damage caused in the environment. Heavy metal ions, primarily derived from industries, are significant pollutants in wastewater that are highly toxic and harmful to the environment, animals, and humans. Among the various methods that have been developed and used for removing heavy metals from wastewater, the adsorption process is the most attractive due to its effectiveness, low cost, and the versatility to use different adsorbents. Renewable materials have gained attention as adsorbents due to their abundance, low cost, and excellent properties. Lignocellulosic biomass, composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, is one of the most promising and sustainable materials for the development of products to replace those derived from fossil fuels. Among the available biomass types, banana crops produce a significant amount of residues, that are not fully exploited, with most of them remaining underutilized and improperly discarded, causing environmental issues. Among these residues, pseudostem is the most produced one, composed of 41.9% cellulose, 14.8% hemicellulose, and 14.02% lignin. Lignin is a heterogeneous aromatic polymer composed of three primary alcohols: p-coumaryl, coniferyl and sinapyl alcohols, which form p-hydroxyphenil (H), guaiacil (G), and syringyl (S) units. Its structure comprises different functional groups, including aliphatic hydroxyl, carbonyl, phenolic hydroxyl, and methoxyl groups, that plays an important role on the physical and chemical properties of the lignin, which make the macromolecule an excellent adsorbent for removal of heavy metals. Furthermore, the modification of lignin structure enhances its properties and affinity with the pollutants in water. In this view, lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) have emerged to promote the valorization of lignin, that possess most of the original lignin properties, displaying a higher surface area, better dispersion, diffusion, and tunable surface chemistry. Furthermore, using modified lignin to produce LNPs for adsorption enhances the efficiency of adsorption properties. Therefore, this project aims to modify soda lignin extracted from banana pseudostem via carboxymethylation method, followed by the production of lignin nanoparticles (LNPs) from carboxymethylated lignin and non-modified lignin to be used as adsorbents for the removal of heavy metals such as Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions. The lignin and lignin nanoparticles will be thoroughly characterized by NMR, GPC, FTIR, DLS, SEM, TEM, AFM, and XSP techniques, and their adsorption capacity will be evaluated to determine their efficiency in heavy metal ion removal from wastewater. This approach aims to enhance the valorization of lignin from banana pseudostem and develop sustainable and effective nano-adsorbent material for environmental remediation.

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