Controlled Fabrication of the Biomass Cellulose–CeO₂ Nanocomposite Membrane as Efficient and Recyclable Adsorbents for Fluoride Removal

Abstract

The biomass cellulose nanocomposite membrane is regarded as one of the most promising adsorbents for resource recovery and pollution control owing to the unique physicochemical properties. Herein, a recyclable biomass cellulose–CeO2 nanocomposite membrane (BCCM) is fabricated by in situ growth of CeO2 on the cellulose membrane (CM) surface and then employed for the elimination of fluoride from industrial wastewater. Structural characteristics of the BCCM were characterized by XRD and SEM. The adsorption experiment indicated that the maximum fluoride adsorption capacity of the BCCM was 48.0 mg/g. Kinetic and isotherm results elucidated that multilayer chemisorption dominated the BCCM adsorption process. Besides, the adsorption mechanism was also investigated by the energy-dispersive X-ray, FT-IR, and XPS analysis. More importantly, the BCCM has strong acid–base adaptability and can be used in extreme environments. This work provides an effective and environmentally friendly strategy to prepare other biomass nanocomposite membranes, which shows great potential for environmental remediation and chemical separation.