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Advances in Biological and Chemical Removal of Heavy Metals from Water

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Water Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 17107

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Dr. Guohua Liu

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School of Environment and Natural Resource, Renmin University of China, 59 Zhongguancun Street, Beijing 100872, China
Interests: water pollution control; environmental biotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A great deal of heavy metal-contaminated industrial wastewater is produced worldwide, and most of these heavy metals are discharged into water environments. Untreated or substandard discharge has caused serious water pollution and threatened ecological environments and human health. Many studies have shown that excessive accumulation of heavy metals will affect the human brain, lung, kidney, liver and other organs, and that heavy metals are harmful to the nervous or immune system. Furthermore, some heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead and mercury also show mutagenesis and carcinogenesis. Therefore, it is very important that heavy metals are effectively removed from industrial wastewater using biological and chemical approaches before being discharged into water environments. In addition, the purification of heavy metal-contaminated water bodies using appropriate technologies should also be paid more attention for reducing the accumulation of heavy metals. Thus, I hope that the related researchers can provide excellent research findings about heavy metal removal from water through basic studies or engineering practice.

This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the current state of knowledge on technology development and application of heavy metal removal from water. New regular research papers, reviews and engineering case reports are welcome to this issue. Excellent conference papers about this topic are also welcome.

Dr. Guohua Liu
Guest Editor

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Keywords

heavy metal removal
industry wastewater
water environments
biological technology
chemical technology

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 3140 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Bioremediation of Wastewater Using Yeast Strains: An Assessment of Contaminant Removal Efficiency

by Nicoleta-Oana Nicula, Eduard-Marius Lungulescu, Gimi A. Rîmbu, Virgil Marinescu, Viorica Maria Corbu and Ortansa Csutak

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 4795; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20064795 - 8 Mar 2023

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3060

Abstract

The main goal of wastewater treatment is to significantly reduce organic compounds, micronutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and heavy metals and other contaminants (pathogens, pharmaceuticals and industrial chemicals). In this work, the efficiency of removing different contaminants (COD, NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, NH₄⁺, PO₄³⁻, SO₄²⁻, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺) from synthetic wastewater was tested using five different yeast strains: Kluyveromyces marxianus CMGBP16 (P1), Saccharomyces cerevisiae S228C (P2), Saccharomyces cerevisiae CM6B70 (P3), Saccharomyces cerevisiae CMGB234 (P4) and Pichia anomala CMGB88 (P5). The results showed a removal efficiency of up to 70% of COD, 97% of nitrate, 80% of nitrite, 93% of phosphate and 70% of sulfate ions for synthetic wastewater contaminated with Pb²⁺ (43 mg/L) and Cd²⁺ ions (39 mg/L). In contrast, the results showed an increase in ammonium ions, especially in the presence of Pb²⁺ ions. The yeast strains showed a high capacity to reduce Pb²⁺ (up to 96%) and Cd²⁺ (up to 40%) ions compared to the initial concentrations. In presence of a crude biosurfactant, the removal efficiency increased up to 99% for Pb²⁺ and 56% for Cd²⁺ simultaneously with an increase in yeast biomass of up to 11 times. The results, which were obtained in the absence of aeration and in neutral pH conditions, proved a high potential for practical applications in the biotreatment of the wastewater and the recovery of Pb and Cd ions, with a high benefit–cost ratio. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological and Chemical Removal of Heavy Metals from Water)

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12 pages, 2586 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of Humic Acids on the Removal of Arsenic and Antimony by Potassium Ferrate

by Ning Wang, Wenwen Li, Nannan Wang, Man Li and Hongbo Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(5), 4317; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20054317 - 28 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1580

Abstract

Although the removal ability of potassium ferrate (K₂FeO₄) on aqueous heavy metals has been confirmed by many researchers, little information focuses on the difference between the individual and simultaneous treatment of elements from the same family of the periodic table. In this project, two heavy metals, arsenic (As) and antimony (Sb) were chosen as the target pollutants to investigate the removal ability of K₂FeO₄ and the influence of humic acid (HA) in simulated water and spiked lake water samples. The results showed that the removal efficiencies of both pollutants gradually increased along the Fe/As or Sb mass ratios. The maximum removal rate of As(III) reached 99.5% at a pH of 5.6 and a Fe/As mass ratio of 4.6 when the initial As(III) concentration was 0.5 mg/L; while the maximum was 99.61% for Sb(III) at a pH of 4.5 and Fe/Sb of 22.6 when the initial Sb(III) concentration was 0.5 mg/L. It was found that HA inhibited the removal of individual As or Sb slightly and the removal efficiency of Sb was significantly higher than that of As with or without the addition of K₂FeO₄. For the co-existence system of As and Sb, the removal of As was improved sharply after the addition of K₂FeO₄, higher than Sb; while the latter was slightly better than that of As without K₂FeO₄, probably due to the stronger complexing ability of HA and Sb. X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to characterize the precipitated products to reveal the potential removal mechanisms based on the experimental results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological and Chemical Removal of Heavy Metals from Water)

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17 pages, 2333 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Phytoremediation Potential of Eichhornia crassipes for the Removal of Cr and Li from Synthetic Polluted Water

by Muhammad Umar Hayyat, Rab Nawaz, Ali Irfan, Sami A. Al-Hussain, Mehlil Aziz, Zafar Siddiq, Sajjad Ahmad and Magdi E. A. Zaki

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 3512; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043512 - 16 Feb 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2432

Abstract

Heavy metals like chromium (Cr) are hazardous pollutants for aquatic life in water bodies. Similarly, lithium (Li) is also an emerging contaminant in soil and water which later is taken up by plants. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the removal rate of Cr and Li by Eichhornia crassipes. The rate of the removal of Cr and Li by roots, stems, and leaves of E. crassipes were evaluated. The translocation factor (TF) and bioaccumulation factor (BAF) were also estimated. Roots of E. crassipes accumulated higher concentrations of Cr and Li as compared to the stems and leaves. BAF for Cr and Li showed that E. crassipes effectively accumulated the Cr and Li in the roots as compared to the stems and leaves. Statistical analysis showed that E. crassipes removed significant concentrations of Cr and Li (p ≤ 0.05). Thus, this study recommends that Cr and Li can be effectively removed by E. crassipes. High concentrations of Cr and Li could also be removed by E. crassipes. This technology could be used for the cleanup of the environment because it is eco-friendly and cost-effective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological and Chemical Removal of Heavy Metals from Water)

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14 pages, 1813 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Study of Biochar Modified with Different Functional Groups for Efficient Removal of Pb(II) and Ni(II)

by Chengcheng Liu, Jiaxin Lin, Haojia Chen, Wanjun Wang and Yan Yang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(18), 11163; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191811163 - 6 Sep 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1757

Abstract

The potential application of biochar in water treatment is attracting interest due to its sustainability and low production cost. In the present study, H₃PO₄-modified porous biochar (H-PBC), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-modified porous biochar (E-PBC), and NaOH-modified porous biochar (O-PBC) were prepared for Ni(II) and Pb(II) adsorption in an aqueous solution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis (BET), and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy were employed to characterize the as-obtained samples, and their capacities for Ni(II) and Pb(II) adsorption were determined. SEM showed that H-PBC retained the hierarchical porous structure of pristine biochar. FT-IR showed that H-PBC possessed abundant oxygen-containing and phosphorus-containing functional groups on the surface. BET analysis demonstrated that the surface areas of H-PBC (344.17 m²/g) was higher than O-PBC (3.66 m²/g), and E-PBC (1.64 m²/g), respectively. H-PBC, E-PBC, and O-PBC all exhibited excellent performance at Ni(II) and Pb(II) adsorption with maximum adsorption capacity of 64.94 mg/g, 47.17 mg/g, and 60.24 mg/g, and 243.90 mg/g, 156.25 mg/g, and 192.31 mg/g, respectively, which were significantly higher than the adsorption capacity (19.80 mg/g and 38.31 mg/g) of porous biochar (PBC). Pseudo-second order models suggested that the adsorption process was controlled by chemical adsorption. After three regeneration cycles, the Ni(II) and Pb(II) removal efficiency with H-PBC were still 49.8% and 56.3%. The results obtained in this study suggest that H-PBC is a promising adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological and Chemical Removal of Heavy Metals from Water)

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12 pages, 9576 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization and Mechanistic Study of Heavy Metal Adsorption by Facile Synthesized Magnetic Xanthate-Modified Chitosan/Polyacrylic Acid Hydrogels

by Liming Dong, Chengyang Shan, Yuan Liu, Hua Sun, Bing Yao, Guizhen Gong, Xiaodong Jin and Shifan Wang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(17), 11123; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191711123 - 5 Sep 2022

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 2909

Abstract

A simple method was used to synthesize magnetic xanthate-modified chitosan/polyacrylic acid hydrogels that were used to remove heavy metal ions from an aqueous solution. Xanthate modification of chitosan significantly improved adsorption performance: individual adsorption capacities of the hydrogel for Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), and Co(II) ions were 206, 178, 168, and 140 mg g⁻¹, respectively. The magnetic hydrogels had good regeneration ability and were effectively separated from the solution by use of a magnet. Adsorption kinetic data showed that the removal mechanism of heavy metal ions from the solution by magnetic hydrogels occurs mainly by chemical adsorption. The equilibrium adsorption isotherms were well-described by the Freundlich and Langmuir equations. Positive values were found for the Gibbs standard free energy and enthalpy, indicating an increase in the disorder at the solid–liquid interface during adsorption. Magnetic xanthate-modified chitosan-based hydrogels that exhibit high adsorption efficiency, regeneration, and easy separation from a solution have broad development prospects in various industrial sewage and wastewater treatment fields. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological and Chemical Removal of Heavy Metals from Water)

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12 pages, 2689 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Application of Phosphate Materials as Constructed Wetland Fillers for Efficient Removal of Heavy Metals from Wastewater

by Xiaodan Wu, Ni Hong, Qingjing Cen, Jiaxin Lu, Hui Wan, Wei Liu, Hongli Zheng, Roger Ruan, Kirk Cobb and Yuhuan Liu

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5344; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095344 - 27 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2263

Abstract

Constructed wetlands are an environmentally friendly and economically efficient sewage treatment technology. Heavy metals (HMs) removal is always regarded as one of the most important tasks in constructed wetlands, which have aroused increasing concern in the field of contamination control in recent times. The fillers of constructed wetlands play an important role in HMs removal. However, traditional wetland fillers (e.g., zeolite, sand, and gravel) are known to be imperfect because of their low adsorption capacity. Regarding HMs removal, our work involved the selection of prominent absorbents, the evaluation of adsorption stability for various treatments, and then the possibility of applying this HM removal technology to constructed wetlands. For this purpose, several phosphate materials were tested to remove the heavy metals Cu and Zn. Three good phosphates including hydroxyapatite (HAP), calcium phosphate (CP), and physic acid sodium salt hydrate (PAS) demonstrated fast removal efficiency of HMs (Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺) from aqueous solution. The maximum removal rates of Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ by HAP, CP, and PAS reached 81.6% and 95.8%; 66.9% and 70.4%; 98.8% and 1.99%, respectively. In addition, better adsorption stability of these heavy metals was found to occur with a wide variation of desorption time and pH range. The most remarkable efficiency for heavy metal removal among tested phosphates was PAS, followed by HAP and CP. This study can provide a basis for the application of HMs removal in manmade wetland systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological and Chemical Removal of Heavy Metals from Water)

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18 pages, 5057 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Removal of Pb²⁺ from Aqueous Solution by Using Navel Orange Peel Biochar Supported Graphene Oxide: Characteristics, Response Surface Methodology, and Mechanism

by Zuwen Liu, Shi Yang, Linan Zhang, Jinfeng Zeng, Shuai Tian and Yuan Lin

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(8), 4790; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19084790 - 15 Apr 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2316

Abstract

The value-added utilization of waste resources to synthesize functional materials is important to achieve the environmentally sustainable development. In this paper, the biochar supported graphene oxide (BGO) materials were prepared by using navel orange peel and natural graphite. The optimal adsorption parameters were analyzed by response surface methodology under the conditions of solution pH, adsorbent dosage, and rotating speed. The adsorption isotherm and kinetic model fitting experiments were carried out according to the optimal adsorption parameters, and the mechanism of BGO adsorption of Pb²⁺ was explained using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM-EDS), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Compared with virgin biochar, the adsorption capacity of Pb²⁺ on biochar supported graphene oxide was significantly increased. The results of response surface methodology optimization design showed that the order of influence on adsorption of Pb²⁺ was solution pH > adsorbent dosage > rotating speed. The optimal conditions were as follows: solution pH was 4.97, rotating speed was 172.97 rpm, and adsorbent dosage was 0.086 g. In the adsorption–desorption experiment, the desorption efficiency ranged from 54.3 to 63.3%. The process of Pb²⁺ adsorption by BGO is spontaneous and endothermic, mainly through electrostatic interaction and surface complexation. It is a heterogeneous adsorption process with heterogeneous surface, including surface adsorption, external liquid film diffusion, and intra-particle diffusion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Biological and Chemical Removal of Heavy Metals from Water)

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