Dual-functional natural rubber latex foam composites for solar-driven clean water production and heavy metal decontamination.

Solar steam generation (SSG) offers a sustainable approach to fresh water production. Herein, a novel dual-functional natural rubber/carbon black composite foam evaporator is presented for a cost-efficient SSG system that both produces fresh water and eliminates heavy metals present in the water. The composite foam is produced using the Dunlop process, and in its optimized form, it absorbed >96 % of sunlight. The foam evaporator exhibited a thermal conductivity of 0.052 W/m⋅K, a water evaporation rate of 1.40 kg/m2/h, converted 83.38 % of light to heat under 1 sun irradiation, and showed outstanding stability. The technology required to produce this composite foam is already available to make large-scale production feasible, while the natural raw materials are abundant. On the basis of its performance qualities, the rubber foam composite appears to be an excellent candidate for application as a viable solar absorber for SSG to produce fresh, clean water for commercial purposes.

Magnetic carbon nanofiber composite adsorbent through green in-situ conversion of bacterial cellulose for highly efficient removal of bisphenol A.

A magnetic carbon nanofiber sorbent was facilely synthesized from bio-based bacterial cellulose and FeCl3via impregnation, freeze-drying, followed by pyrolysis at 700 °C, without additional activation or nanofiber fabrication. The obtained material possessed intrinsic 3D naturally fibrous and porous structure with good magnetization. The adsorption results showed that the adsorption capacity of the prepared adsorbent towards bisphenol A (BPA) was as high as 618 mg/g, outperforming other adsorbents. Moreover, recycling the adsorbent for 10 consecutive cycles retained 96% of initial adsorption efficiency. The magnetic sorbent can maintain good magnetic properties even with recycling. Hence, the use of bacterial cellulose as a renewable carbon nanofiber precursor and FeCl3 as a source of magnetic particles, and a green pore generating agent in the present protocol, lead to a superior magnetic carbon nanofiber adsorbent with sustainable characteristics.