ReviewA comprehensive review on Cd(II) removal from aqueous solution
Introduction
Heavy metal ions as environmental pollutants have emerged as a focus of global concern in the last few decades, due to their irreparable effects on the environment. Cadmium, being one of the heavy metals, has been listed as a category-I carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a Group-B1 carcinogen by the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA). Cadmium makes up only about 0.1 mg/L of the earth's crust, which is a very trace quantity. But the problem lies in the fact that, as a chemical element, Cadmium cannot be biodegraded and its concentration in the environment increases steadily, largely as a result of anthropogenic activities [1]. The major sources of cadmium are corrosion of galvanised pipes, erosion of natural deposits, discharge from metal refineries, runoff from waste batteries, mining, smelting and refining of non-ferrous metals [2], manufacturing of phosphate fertilisers, recycling of cadmium-plated steel scrap, pigment manufacture, printing and the photographic industry. Contamination can arise from mine drainage water, wastewater from the processing of ores, overflow from the tailing pond, and rainwater run-off from the mine area.
The outbreak of the Itai-Itai bone disease in Japan in the year 1960 drew the attention of the general public and regulatory bodies to Cadmium that had been discharged to the environment at an uncontrolled rate for more than one century [3]. Cd is primarily toxic to the kidney; exposure is usually by the oral route [2]. Cd can also cause bone demineralisation, either through direct bone damage or indirectly as a result of renal dysfunction [3]. Overdoses of Cadmium cause spilling of proteins in the urine and disruption of potassium metabolism [4].
The World Health Organization, US Environmental Protection agency, and the EU Directive have set 0.005 mg/L as the maximum cadmium(II) concentration level in domestic water supplies [5], [6]. The US Environmental Protection agency has set 2 mg/L as the permissible discharge limit of Cadmium concentration to a wastewater body. Indian standard code IS 10500 has set the maximum permissible limit of Cd in effluents while discharging them to inland surface waters and public sewers as 2.0 and 1.0 mg/L respectively. Moreover, IS 10500 has set the maximum permissible limit of Cd in drinking water as 0.003 mg/L [6].
A number of processes or techniques have been developed for the removal of cadmium from wastewater discharges. These processes include: chemical precipitation, coagulation/flocculation, ion exchange/solvent extraction, cementation, complexation, electrochemical operations, biological operations, adsorption, evaporation, filtration, and membrane processes. A number of authors have presented various techniques available for cadmium removal from solution.
The present review article deals with the various techniques used over the past few decades for the removal of cadmium ions from wastewater. A comprehensive approach has been followed to cover all significant work done in this field to date, and a final evaluation has been made in order to conclude on the most efficient technique to date.
Section snippets
Precipitation processes
By far the most widely used process for the removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewater is chemical precipitation; approximately 75% of the electroplating facilities employ precipitation treatment [7], using either hydroxide, carbonate or sulfide precipitation treatment or some combinations of these treatments to treat their wastewater [8]. In precipitation processes, chemicals react with heavy metal ions to form insoluble precipitates. The precipitates formed can be separated from the
Conclusions
Cadmium removal from aqueous solution is one of the most pressing environmental problems throughout the world today. In order to achieve a cadmium free environment and to fulfil the stringent guidelines made by various government bodies, researchers have worked on various processes and are still working to achieve more economic and effective results. Processes such as chemical precipitation, coagulation/flocculation, ion exchange, adsorption, flotation, and membrane processes have been
Acknowledgments
The authors want to acknowledge the reviewers and the co-editor of the journal for their valuable comments, which have helped them to improve the standard of the paper to a great extent. The first author and the third author also want to thank Ministry of Human Resource Development, India for providing them scholarships under Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP).
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