Chapter 4: Heavy metal removal from contaminated water

After an era of revolution in the manufacturing industry, contamination of water has posed a threat to the health of its consumers. The effluent discharged from textile, leather, mining, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, paint and personal care products industries contains chromium, lead, cadmium, copper, arsenic, nickel, zinc, mercury, iron and manganese. The consumption of heavy metal-contaminated water leads to acute and chronic toxicity, neurological disorders, reproductive ailments, birth defects, organ damage and cancer. The investigated heavy metal removal techniques from contaminated water include flotation, chemical precipitation, adsorption, membrane filtration, coagulation and flocculation, ion exchange and electrochemical separation. The working mechanisms, advantages and limitations of the removal techniques are discussed in this chapter.