Adsorption technique for removal of heavy metals from water and possible application in wastewater-fed aquaculture

Abstract

The presence of various inorganic and organic pollutants in aquatic streams has readily increased as a result of industrialization and urbanization. Among the technologies available, adsorption has widely been used for the removal of various contaminants from aqueous media, and accordingly different adsorbents have already been prepared over the years. The choice of adsorbent for purification of a specific type of wastewater containing specific pollutants is mainly determined by the concentration and type of the pollutant(s) present in the wastewater, the efficiency/ cost ratio of the adsorbents and the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for the specific pollutant(s) of interest. In recent years, researchers have focused their efforts on the use of various low-cost biosorbents and also some synthesized polymer-based adsorbents for removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater. The purpose of this article is to provide comprehensive, up-to-date and critical information on the adsorption of different heavy metal pollutants by various types of biosorbents and polymerbased synthetic adsorbents. Further, the article describes the possible application of adsorption-based water remediation technology for wastewater-fed aquaculture.