Highly synergic adsorption/photocatalytic efficiency of Alginate/Bentonite impregnated TiO2 beads for wastewater treatment

[Display omitted] •Biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogel beads for wastewater treatment.•Biocomposite hydrogels based on clay, titanium dioxide, and biopolymer.•New non-thermal immobilization of titanium dioxide NPs on the surface of the biocomposite.•The designed system was found to be highly effective for MB and COD degradation. Green approaches have become a trend for solving ongoing aquatic environmental issues for the very fact that they utterly satisfy the triple lines of sustainability, i.e., environmental and social safeguards, and economic prosperity. Herein, an eco-friendly, and stable new adsorbent with combined adsorption and photocatalytic properties based on clay and biopolymers was successfully designed via a combination of a simple cross-linking way, followed by a non-thermal TiO2 impregnation for the uptake and degradation of water’s soluble pollutants. Emphasis was put on the morphology, pH- sensitive swelling behavior, and the photocatalytic performance of the prepared beads. Thereby, an exhaustive characterization was performed together with an evaluation of the photocatalytic efficiency of the color removal and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. The obtained results ratify the possibility of this biocomposite to have a positive impact in the challenging wastewater sector, by dint of its approved adsorption/ photocatalytic adeptness.