Producing bacterial nano-cellulose and keratin from wastes to synthesize keratin/cellulose nanobiocomposite for removal of dyes and heavy metal ions from waters and wastewaters

Considerable emphasis has been devoted to fabrication of bio-nanocomposites from natural waste resources and recruiting them for low-cost removal of pollutants from water resources. In this research, using dialdehyde cellulose nanocrystal (DCNC) and wool keratin, a highly-beneficial and recyclable biocomposite (Keratin/DCNC) was triumphally fabricated to remove Cd+2 and Crystal violet from water media. Beeswax recycling wastewater, as a culture medium, was exploited to produce bacterial cellulose (BC) at the lowest plausible cost, and keratin was extracted from wool wastes. The adsorption of the adsorbates was optimized and a complete study was carried out on the kinetic, isotherm and thermodynamic aspects of adsorption processes. The adsorbent showed excellent recyclability and maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 695.56 and 1166.67 mg/g for Cd+2 and Crystal violet, respectively. The results proved the favorability of the processes and indicated that Keratin/ DCNC has a high potential for being exploited for treatment of waters and wastewaters.