Sequestration of Heavy Metals from Industrial Wastewater Using Composite Ion Exchangers

Abstract

The transition from agrarian to an industrial society has witnessed several environmental concerns globally. In recent years, contamination of water bodies with refractory contaminants discharged from industrial wastewater significantly interrupted the ecosystems. The most important pollutants in surface and groundwater are arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel and zinc; the recalcitrant pollutant and bioaccumulate in the ecosystems as metal-organic complexes. The conventional techniques used for the removal of heavy metals are chemical precipitation, chemical oxidation, coagulation, evaporation, ion exchange, membrane separation, reverse osmosis, electrolytic and adsorption. However, composite ion exchangers have proven to be versatile and efficient for removing heavy metals from contaminated water. This chapter focuses on various materials (inorganic to nanocomposite) recently developed for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater, mechanisms and treatment performance.