Water contamination due to hexavalent chromium and its health impacts: exploring green technology for Cr (VI) remediation

Abstract

Cr (VI) compounds find wide uses in the industrial sector, such as wood preservation, tanning, chrome plating, and anticorrosive agents. Several kinds of both natural and industrial factors can lead to Cr (VI) contamination in wastewater. Human exposure to the hazardous metal ion Cr (VI) can lead to a variety of health problems. The Cr (VI) undergoes a transition into a lower oxidation state once it enters the cell, causing oxidative stress and harming the organelles. Not only do sugar-phosphate backbones, histones, and base pairing of DNA suffer from Cr (VI) induced genotoxicity, but chromosomes are also impacted. Because Cr (VI) is more hazardous compared to other metals, it needs to be removed from water and wastewater. It is feasible to remove Cr (VI) using physiochemical methods, but they are expensive and produce hazardous sludge. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an economical and eco-friendly Cr (VI) removal technique. Biological techniques including biosorption, bioreduction, and bioaccumulation are regarded as economical and environmentally beneficial techniques. The sources of Cr (VI), toxicity, and green technology for Cr (VI) removal were the authors’ main points of emphasis in this review.