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Biodegradable bi-functional cellulose derivatives were synthesized to remove widespread underground water cations such as; Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Fe 2+ , Pb 2+ , and Cu 2+ . Firstly, graft copolymerization of cellulose with binary monomers such as acrylic acid (AA), and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (AMPS) with acrylamide (Am) were achieved using potassium persulfate as initiator. Then, cellulose/clay composites were prepared by graft copolymerization of cellulose using different montmorillonite concentrations such as 3, 6 and 9% weight/cellulose weight. The obtained Biodegradable grafted cellulose and their composites were used as adsorbents for the removal of Ca, Mg, Fe, Pb, and Cu ions individually from aqueous solutions. A possible reaction mechanism was deduced and the products were characterized by Fourier transfer infrared (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermal degradation by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The results obtained from this study revealed that as the content of clay increases, the uptake of cations increasing and the removal order of the composites were Pb 2+  > Mg 2+  > Fe 2+  > Cu 2+  > Ca 2+ . The biodegradability of grafted cellulose was increased by the addition of clay., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)