New trends of heavy elements removal in wastewater: A comprehensive review on inorganic membrane technology

Azzam, Neamatalla M.; Ali, Sahar Saad; Mohamed, Gehad G.; Omar, Mohamed Mohamed Ahmed; Amin, Shereen Kamel

doi:10.21608/ejchem.2024.321481.10441

New trends of heavy elements removal in wastewater: A comprehensive review on inorganic membrane technology

Document Type : Review Articles

Authors

¹ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University

² Chemical Engineering Department,National Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.

³ Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Cairo University

⁴ egypt

10.21608/ejchem.2024.321481.10441

Abstract

All life on earth, even non-living things, depends on water. It is well known that the availability of clean water is depleting daily and that the fast development of industry and technology has increased the amount of hazardous wastewater released into the environment. Before being released into the environment, wastewater from industries, farms, and communities shall be treated since it may contain dangerous contaminants such as heavy metal ions, inorganic compounds, organic dyes, and pharmaceutical waste. Heavy metals contamination in water resources significantly threatens human health and the environment. Several processes have been developed to eliminate heavy metals from water, among which membrane-based technologies have gained considerable attention due to their effectiveness, selectivity, and scalability. This review paper focuses on the application of inorganic membrane technology for the removal of heavy elements from wastewater. It provides a comprehensive overview of diverse categories of inorganic membranes utilized for heavy metal removal from water, highlighting their principles of operation, advantages, limitations, and recent advancements.

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