Cellulose-based biosourced materials for advanced air filtration: Synthesis, performance, and regeneration strategies

Air contamination from industrial emissions, fossil fuel combustion, and urbanization is a major global environmental and public health concern. Conventional air filters made from synthetic, non-biodegradable polymers pose serious environmental challenges. As promising eco-efficient alternatives, cellulose-based biosourced materials offer renewability, tunable structure, and functional versatility. This review provides a comprehensive overview of cellulose-based biosourced materials for air filtration applications. Recent advances in synthesis and structural design, filtration performance, adsorption mechanisms, and regeneration and recyclability strategies are highlighted. The fundamental mechanisms governing air filtration—sieving, inertial impaction, interception, diffusion, electrostatic attraction, van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonding, and chemical complexation—are discussed. Preparation methods, including freeze-drying, electrospinning, solution blow spinning, and thermomechanical processes, are reviewed, with descriptions of porosity control, functionalization, and scalability. Critical challenges to long-term durability and standardization for real-world implementation are identified. This review documents the advent of next-generation, eco-friendly, high-performance, and regenerable cellulose-based filtration materials that align with global sustainability and climate goals.