A Critical Review on the Sustainable Approaches for the Removal of Toxic Heavy Metals from Water Systems
C. Femina Carolin, T. Kamalesh, P. Senthil Kumar, Gayathri Rangasamy
Abstract
Heavy metal pollution results in enormous environmental impacts and significant human health problems. Because of their extreme toxicity and lack of biodegradability, heavy metal ions in water are considered problematic. Although the removal of various heavy metal ions from wastewater has been widely investigated, heavy metal contamination still requires effective and suitable remediation. With special attention on heavy metal removal, this study reviews recent advances, breakthroughs, and potential applications of various physical, chemical, and biological methods. Each treatment method has specific mechanisms of interaction with metal ions, which are described in this review. The discussion in this review leads to the conclusion that adsorption has the best potential which leads to the sustainable remediation of heavy metals. In summary, the review provides a new perspective on heavy metal reduction and encourages the development of innovative strategies for heavy metal removal. The main current problems and prospects in this field are highlighted in this review.