Adding value to aluminosilicate solid wastes to produce adsorbents, catalysts and filtration membranes for water and wastewater treatment

Geopolymers are a class of inorganic polymers that have attracted attention in recent years, especially in the construction sector, due to their promising mechanical properties, as well as simple and low-cost fabrication. These materials also stand out for being more environmentally friendly, not only because of their lower CO(2)emissions during production, but also because industrial by-products can be incorporated in their synthesis. Recent studies have investigated porous geopolymers, allowing expansion of their potential use to several other applications. Meanwhile, application of GPs to efficient water and wastewater treatments, such as nanofiltration and advanced oxidation processes, remains a challenge, especially due to high operational costs. Thus, this paper provides a comprehensive review of the current state of knowledge of geopolymers produced from aluminosilicate wastes, showing the main promising advances in their applications in three technological fields: (1) adsorption, (2) membrane filtration and (3) catalysis (as both catalyst or catalyst support).

Automated summary

Geopolymers are inorganic polymers with promising mechanical properties and environmentally friendly characteristics. They can be used in adsorption, membrane filtration, and catalysis, but face challenges in efficient water and wastewater treatments due to high operational costs.