Effective Heavy Metals Removal from Water Using Nanomaterials: A Review

Abstract

The discharge of toxic heavy metals including zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and cadmium (Cd) in water above the permissible limits causes high threat to the surrounding environment. Because of their toxicity, heavy metals greatly affect the human health and the environment. Recently, better remediation techniques were offered using the nanotechnology and nanomaterials. The attentions were directed toward cost-effective and new fabricated nanomaterials for the application in water/wastewater remediation, such as zeolite, carbonaceous, polymer based, chitosan, ferrite, magnetic, metal oxide, bimetallic, metallic, etc. This review focused on the synthesis and capacity of various nanoadsorbent materials for the elimination of different toxic ions, with discussion of the effect of their functionalization on the adsorption capacity and separation process. Additionally, the effect of various experimental physicochemical factors on heavy metals adsorption, such as ionic strength, initial ion concentration, temperature, contact time, adsorbent dose, and pH was discussed.

Agricultural waste of sugarcane bagasse as efficient adsorbent for lead and nickel removal from untreated wastewater: Biosorption, equilibrium isotherms, kinetics and desorption studies

“…Environmental pollution through industrialization and the excessive use of chemicals all over the world has led to the release of toxic pollutants including heavy metals. The presence of heavy metals in the environment is a serious problem to be addressed in the world today due to their high toxicity, mobility in the environment and non-biodegradability [ 1 , 2 ]. Heavy metals which originates from the mining, electroplating, refinery and other industrial wastewater can cause potential damage to the ecosystem, human and animal health even at low concentration [ [3] , [4] , [5] ].…”

Synthesis and Characterization of Amorphous Iron Oxide Nanoparticles by the Sonochemical Method and Their Application for the Remediation of Heavy Metals from Wastewater

“…Therefore, one of the most promising technology for the elimination or remediation of Pb and Cr, heavy metals from fly ash aqueous solution is nanotechnology [16,17]. Due to the unique physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles at nanoscale [18], they are widely used for wastewater treatment [19] and environmental clean-up [20].…”

“…Due to the unique physical and chemical properties of nanoparticles at nanoscale [18], they are widely used for wastewater treatment [19] and environmental clean-up [20]. However, numerous metal oxide nanoparticles like alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) [16,21] zinc oxide (ZnO) [22], titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) [23] and iron oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) [19,24] have been shown to have promising potential as a nanoadsorbent for environmental clean-up. Out of all the above mentioned nanoparticles, IONPs in their amorphous form are most preferred candidate for heavy metal remediation.…”

Facile Fabrication of ZnMgAl/LDH/Algae Composites as a Potential Adsorbent for Cr(VI) Ions from Water: Fabrication and Equilibrium Studies

“…Moreover, the Gaussian energies of LDH-A1 and LDH-A2 are 1.39 and 4.17 kJ/mol, respectively which are characteristic values for the physisorption reactions. 36 …”