Super-bridging fibrous materials for water treatment

Abstract To deal with issues of process sustainability, cost, and efficiency, we developed materials reengineered from fibers to serve as super-bridging agents, adsorbents, ballast media. These sustainable fiber-based considerably increased the floc size (~6,630 µm) compared conventional physicochemical treatment using a coagulant flocculant (~520 µm). The also reduced usage (up 40%) 60%). could be used in synergy coagulants flocculants improve settling existing water processes allow facilities reduce their capital operating costs well environmental footprint. Moreover, super-sized flocs produced ~13 times larger treatment) enabled easy removal by screening, eliminating need for tank, large costly unit. can effective solutions at removing classical (e.g., natural organic matter (NOM) phosphorus) emerging contaminants microplastics nanoplastics). Due size, Si- Fe-grafted easily recovered sludge reused multiple times.