Abstract:
Water pollution caused by emerging organic pollutants such as the halogenated organophosphate flame retardants, has
exacerbated the issue of water scarcity. An eco-friendly technology, e.g., the adsorption technique, requires the use of
affordable and safe adsorbents. Agricultural waste materials are promising adsorbents for wastewater remediation due to
their relative abundance, biodegradability, non-toxic and cost-effective properties. However, most agricultural wastes are not
ideal for adsorption in their raw forms and may require physical or chemical pre-treatments/modification, in order to increase
the materials’ compatibility and natural adsorption properties. Cellulose is an important constituent of plant residues that can
be used as a precursor for the production of greener and sustainable industrial nanomaterials. Therefore, in this review, a
discourse on the most recent approach/strategies for the modification of a range of agricultural wastes is presented. The
result from their applications showed agricultural wastes has great prospects as adsorbents. The challenges encountered in
the synthesis of plant-based adsorbents and the development of 3-D structured nanocomposites from cellulose, to circumvent
these difficulties is extensively reviewed. Furthermore, the prospects in the application of cellulose beads/ZnO
nanocomposites (CB-ZnO) derived from the maize tassel, for the adsorption of the halogenated organophosphate esters
from aqueous matrices are presented in this review
