Current Cellulose Nanofibrils and Cellulose Nanocrystals as Water Purification Functional Membrane Materials

Abstract

This study highlights the beneficial role of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) as components in functional membranes. The approaches of the use of CNF and CNC as membrane materials for water purification have been studied extensively during the past decades. This is due to their inherent abundance, renewability, sustainability and unique properties such as high aspect ratio, high surface area, high crystallinity, and high mechanical properties. The performance of CNF- and CNC-based membranes especially in treating actual water samples were also highlighted in this review to give a better overview of the behavior of these nanocellulose as membrane materials. The challenges of using CNFs and CNCs and the need for improvements for the future development of membrane materials are also discussed.