Application of biopolymers as a new age sustainable material for surfactant adsorption: A brief review

•Biopolymers are highly efficient environment friendly materials for surfactant adsorption.•Compatible composites can be easily fabricated for performance enhancement.•Maximum adsorption capacity is higher than the traditional adsorbents.•Biocompatible and non-toxic as most of them are used in food industry.•After surfactant adsorption, they can be further employed for the removal of heavy metals and refractory organic pollutants.•Further research required for large scale application. Wastewater remediation by biopolymers and biopolymer composites is one of the most interesting research topics in the current day scenario. Emerging pollutants abatement from wastewater is of great environmental significance. Surfactants constitute one of the most prominent classes of emerging contaminants. The present review article consists of mainly recently reported studies on surfactant removal by biopolymers like chitosan, alginate, tannin composites etc. Biopolymer based adsorbents have the potential to replace conventional adsorbents like silica, alumina, activated carbon. They may show competitive behaviour in terms of adsorption capacity, cost effectiveness, biocompatibility etc. Many interesting observations related to surfactant adsorption isotherm studies reported by various research groups have been covered in this review. Several biopolymer-surfactant interactions indicated by various authors have also been highlighted. Possibilities of unexplored biopolymers for the same purpose have been recommended. Further, engineering applications of surfactant-modified biopolymers for other pollutant remediation are also included.