Periwinkle Shell Composite Materials in Adsorption and Photocatalysis: A Review

Abstract

Large quantities of non-biodegradable waste effluents pollutants discharged globally have remained very challenging to adsorption removal or photodegradation treatment. They introduce a significant decrease in water flux, expensive treatment costs, and some with carcinogenic potential. Several options of different adsorbents from natural, synthetic, and agricultural waste have been applied in the removal of numerous contaminants from the effluent matrix without a panacea. There is therefore the research need in finding cheap, readily available, and cost-efficient naturally occurring materials for effluent treatment. Periwinkle shell and periwinkle ash is an emerging material among animal shells with promising adsorption potentials and photocatalytic capabilities for effluent treatment. A well-established background about the periwinkle shells and periwinkle ash was presented. Studies on periwinkle composites (PCM) in adsorption and photocatalysis, showed effectiveness in both neutral, acidic, and alkaline mediums in the removal of wastewater effluents. PCM possesses a large surface area, high porosity, and presence of functional groups on the surface of the activated material which denotes a promising low-cost material for the production of adsorbent/photocatalyst of high efficiency in the removal of waste effluents. In the last section, the outlook pointed out what should likely be the next steps required to advance periwinkle composite materials in waste effluent treatments.