Nanocomposites for Heavy Metals Removal and Recovery

The exponential growth in the world population, recent industrialization, and various agricultural and household activities lead to higher water pollution levels in terms of toxic metal ion contaminants. Toxic metals such as mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, and many more have poisonous properties, making the contamination of heavy metals dangerous for the environment and human health. Researchers have developed various treatment techniques and processes to remove these pollutants, such as chemical precipitation, ion exchange, flotation, adsorption, and chemical deposition. However, these traditional methods are associated with high capital and operational costs, lower efficiency, low saturation capacity, and the disposal of residual metals. To overcome these problems, nanocomposites have emerged as a versatile and promising solution for eliminating and recovering heavy metals from polluted water. With their unique properties, different nanocomposites, including metal oxide-based, carbon-based, and polymer-based composites, have been studied for their effectiveness in targeting specific heavy metals. This chapter reviews the application of nanocomposites for removing and recovering heavy metals from contaminated water in detail.