Magnetically Modified Agricultural and Food Waste: Preparation and Application

The annual food and agricultural waste production reaches enormous numbers. Therefore, an increasing need to valorize produced wastes arises. Waste materials originating from the food and agricultural industry can be considered as functional materials with interesting properties and broad application potential. Moreover, using an appropriate magnetic modification, smart materials exhibiting a rapid response to an external magnetic field can be obtained. Such materials can be easily and selectively separated from desired environments. Magnetically responsive waste derivatives of biological origins have already been prepared and used as efficient biosorbents for the isolation and removal of both biologically active compounds and organic and inorganic pollutants and radionuclides, as biocompatible carriers for the immobilization of diverse types of (bio)molecules, cells, nano- and microparticles, or (bio)catalysts. Potential bactericidal, algicidal, or anti-biofilm properties of magnetic waste composites have also been tested. Furthermore, low cost and availability of waste biomaterials in larger amounts predetermine their utilization in large-scale processes.