Clean water is very important for the good health of society. In South Africa, it is estimated that people need 20 to 50 litres of safe water daily for basic hygiene, drinking, and cooking. In recent times, water bodies have harboured harmful pollutants, including oil, heavy metal ions, and dyes. As a result, this has become a major global concern. Societies with limited clean water are often forced to utilise contaminated water or buy filtered water, which might be a problem for poor residents. The health consequences that are related to contaminated water include Guinea worm disease, dysentery, cholera, etc. The side effects associated with the utilisation of unclean water are gastrointestinal diseases such as cramps, vomiting, and diarrhoea. The wastewater disposed of by chemical industries contains toxic elements such as arsenic. Wastewater that is released directly without treatment causes serious damage to the environment. Chronic arsenic poisoning can lead to keratinisation of the skin and even cancer. Cellulose biomass materials have the potential to become the greatest bio-based materials used in wastewater treatment applications. There are two major reasons that validate this statement: firstly, cellulose is a low-cost material that is abundant in nature, and, secondly, cellulose is an environmentally friendly material. However, these are not the only reasons that validate cellulose as a good candidate for wastewater treatment applications. Cellulose has a unique structure a large surface area, good mechanical properties and is degradable, renewable, and biocompatible. Cellulose also has an abundance of hydroxyl groups on its surface. These hydroxyl functional groups allow cellulose to be chemically modified in various ways, which results in the fabrication of nanocomposites with tunable characteristics. Since arsenic pollution has become a serious global concern, this review uniquely provides a broad discussion of the work that has been accomplished recently on the fabrication of functionalised cellulose-based materials designed specifically for the removal of arsenic heavy metal species from wastewater treatment facilities. Furthermore, the functionalised cellulose materials’ arsenic adsorption capacities are also discussed. These adsorption capacities can reach up to a maximum of 350 mg/g, depending on the system used. Factors such as pH and temperature are discussed in relation to the adsorption of arsenic in wastewater. The removal of As(V) was found to be effective in the pH range of 3.0–8.8, with a removal efficiency of 95%. Moreover, the removal efficiency of As(III) was reported to be effective in the pH range of 6–9. However, the effective pH range also depends on the system used. The selective extraction of cellulose from various sources is also discussed in order to verify the percentage of cellulose in each source. Future work should be focused on how the chemical modification of cellulose affects the toxicity, efficiency, selectivity, and mechanical stability of cellulose materials. The use of cheaper and environmentally friendly chemicals during cellulose functionalisation should be considered.

There is a sizeable amount of sawdust produced from wood industries such as timber and furniture. In the past, sawdust has been utilized as a fuel source and in the manufacturing of furniture. Based on the limited use of sawdust, there is plenty of sawdust accessible from the industries. Sawdust is the material of choice due to its cost effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and biodegradability. However, if sawdust is not appropriately disposed or utilized better, it may have negative impact on the aquatic life and organic products. Hence, this review paper discusses the best possible methods or proper routes for the utilization of sawdust to benefit the environment, society, and the economy at large. Sawdust possesses superior capabilities as a reinforcing filler in various polymer matrices for advanced applications. This paper provides an in-depth discussion on sawdust hybrid composites in comparison to other natural fibres hybrid composites. The applications of various sawdust hybrid polymer composites for specific systems are also mentioned. Furthermore, the morphology and preparation of the sawdust/polymer composites and/or sawdust hybrid polymers composites are also discussed since it is well known that the properties of the natural fibre composites are affected by the preparation method and the resultant morphology. Based on the above, the current paper also plays a critical role in providing more information about waste to value added products.

In this study, the influences of natural fibres (sugarcane bagasse (SB) and sawdust (SD)) on the material properties of polybutylene succinate (PBS) prepared through melt compounding were investigated. The study further evaluated the effects of incorporating halloysite nanotubes (HS) and expandable graphite (EG) on the properties of PBS/SD and PBS/SB binary and PBS/SB/SD hybrid composites. The morphological analysis indicated poor interfacial adhesion between PBS and the fibres. The obtained findings indicated enhancements in the complex viscosity of PBS in the presence of natural fibres, and further improvements in the presence of HS and EG. The stiffness of PBS hybrid composites also increased upon the addition of HS and EG. Moreover, the crystallization temperatures of PBS increased in the presence of fillers, with EG showing better nucleation efficiency. However, the mechanical properties (toughness and impact resilience) decreased due to the increased stiffness of the composites and the poor interfacial adhesion between the matrix and the fillers, indicating the need to pre-treat the fibres to enhance compatibility. Overall, the material properties of PBS/SD/SB hybrid composites were enhanced by incorporating HS and EG at low concentrations.