Role of gum nanostructured hydrogels in water purification, desalination, and atmospheric water harvesting applications: Advances, current challenges, and future prospective

Gum polysaccharides can be obtained from different sources such as plant exudates and living organisms. They have fascinating properties such as abundant availability, nontoxicity, environment-friendly nature, and structural diversity. The modification of gum polysaccharides is very easy due to the presence of different functional groups in their structure. In the last few years, gum polysaccharides–based polymers, especially hydrogels, have attracted tremendous attention. They have found applications in different industrial processes such as wastewater treatment, atmospheric water harvesting, biomedical, agriculture, and sea water desalination. In addition, availability of fresh water is becoming a serious problem globally, especially in developing countries. It is caused mainly by the continuous increase in population and economic growth. This problem of water scarcity can be solved by the proper and efficient management of our water resources. That includes the highly effective treatment of industrial wastewater as well as finding new methods of water harvesting and desalination which are more economical and environment friendly. Gum polysaccharides–based hydrogels have shown their potential in different water management applications. This chapter discusses the advancements in the role of gum polysaccharides–based hydrogels in different wastewater treatment, atmospheric water harvesting, and sea water desalination applications.