Activated Carbon from Different Waste Materials for the Removal of Toxic Metals

Abstract

Heavy metal enters into the ecosystem from natural and anthropogenic sources. Heavy metals are toxic which leads to various types of diseases in the liv- ing organisms. Hence, the removal of heavy metals from water is very essential to minimize the toxic effects of heavy metals. This chapter explains the sources, toxic effects and treatment methods of various heavy metals. Adsorption technique seems to be the best technique for heavy metal remediation. Activated carbon (AC) is the promising adsorbents for the removal of heavy metal from water. Hence, this chap- ter mainly focused on AC derived from different wastes like agriculture wastes, biological wastes, fruit wastes, vegetable wastes, plastic wastes and electronic waste (e-waste) materials for heavy metal removal. Various adsorption influencing conditions which were optimized for heavy metal removal are discussed in detail. A pos- sible mechanism for heavy metal removal is also given. A comparison of heavy metal adsorption capacity of AC derived from various waste materials is discussed in detail.