Highly porous microparticles made from cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) are capable of adsorbing organic molecules onto the surface which makes these materials excellent candidate for removal of organic water pollutants from water. One of the challenges of high porosity CNF aerogels for application in aqueous environment is their propensity to break down rapidly in aqueous environments. Here we explore a method to overcome this deficiency by enhancing hydrogen bonding capabilities of CNF materials by incorporation of citric acid into the CNF system. The resultant polymer composite matrix successfully maintains a robust 3D structure, without collapsing, even when rewetted and stored in water. When CNF gels are dried by lyophilization or supercritical CO<sub>2</sub>, wet stable micron size aerogels with high specific surface area are achieved. Incorporation of TiO<sub>2</sub> nanoparticles into the composite increases the recyclability of the respective adsorbents. A study of complete removal of dyes and pharmaceutical compounds from water by wet stable CNF aerogel will be presented in the poster.

Cellulosic microparticles for removal of organic pollutants in water

2019 Fall National Meeting

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