Transforming waste particles into valuable adsorbents via amyloid-mediated molecular engineering

The high-value utilization of industrial solid waste using a facile and eco-friendly process is of great interest and significance in reducing environmental pollution and developing a green circular economy. Herein, we propose an amyloid-mediated molecular engineering strategy to transform particulate waste into valuable adsorbents for metal ions. Our method has the advantage of aqueous solution fabrication under mild conditions without the use of high-temperature hydrothermal methods and toxic chemical reagents. Amyloid-mediated molecular engineering manipulates the phase transition of bovine serum albumin (BSA) on particulate waste surfaces, resulting in a remarkable ~3.1 times improvement in the adsorption capacity of fly ash, a typical industrial solid waste for gold ions after modification with the phase-transitioned BSA (PTB). The resultant adsorption ability was 69–1,980 times higher than those of conventional and emerging adsorbent materials such as ion exchange resins, activated carbon (AC), covalent organic frameworks (COFs), and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). We further demonstrated the application of our PTB-modified materials in the recovery of precious metals from low-grade gold ore and electronic waste leachates. Consequently, this strategy could increase the value of waste materials nearly 27 times. In addition, this method is generally extendable to other conventional industrial adsorbents such as resin, clay, and Al₂O₃, and enhances their adsorption capabilities at least twofold. Overall, this work provides a simple and green approach for improving the adsorption performance of solid particles, and is expected to develop into a universal strategy for transforming waste particles into high-value-added products.