Cellulose-Based Advanced Materials from Algae for Aquatic Environment Sustainability: Prospects and Challenges

Faisal Al Nasser; Mohammed Ali Alnasser; Rashmitha Suresh

Authors

Faisal Al Nasser School of Engineering, Lincoln University College, Jalan SS 6/12, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Mohammed Ali Alnasser Trinity College, The University of Melbourne,100 Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia
Rashmitha Suresh Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sri Ramakrishna Engineering College, Coimbatore - 641022, Tamil Nadu, India

Keywords:

Algae, Cellulose, Advanced material, Sustainable materials, Aquatic environment

Abstract

Heavy metal pollution and organic pollutants are serious threats to aquatic ecosystems and require sustainable remediation technologies. Land-based plants and bacterial cellulose have limitations such as deforestation, high processing costs, and scalability issues. Marine macroalgae (e.g. Sargassum sp., Ulva sp. and Cladophora sp.) are a promising alternative because of their rapid growth, high native crystallinity, no lignin content, and no land-use competition. This review emphasizes advanced cellulose materials from algal biomass, and the classifications are divided into microcrystalline cellulose, nanofibrillated cellulose, and cellulose nanocrystals. Extraction methodologies such as chemical, mechanical, and enzymatic processes, and surface functionalizations are critically evaluated with their functional performance in heavy metal adsorption, dye filtration, and membrane separation for wastewater treatment. Important technological and economic bottlenecks, including phyla-dependent structural heterogeneity, preservation of native crystallinity during extraction, and commercial biorefinery feasibility via co-product valuation, are also discussed. Prospective applications of advanced materials from algae for a sustainable environment are also discussed. This paper presents future perspectives on the increase of algal nanocellulose production for sustainable aquatic environment restoration.

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