Chapter 6 - Treatment of Industrial wastewater through new approaches using Algae biomass

Abstract

Heavy metal contaminations produced by industrial activities are one of the major important issues which are faced by many countries, typically developing economies. Heavy metals, toxic chemicals, leather waste in industrial effluents are of particular major concern in recent times due to their persistence and recalcitrance in the aquatic environment. As a result of various consequences, industrial effluents treatment has reached a certain level which is becoming unmanageable nowadays. Previous studies have provided many innovative processes for the treatment of industrial wastewater containing heavy toxic metals, often involving toxicity reduction techniques to meet technology-based treatment standards. This chapter reviews the ability of various technologies to remove heavy metals from industrial wastewater. Ample natural materials such as agricultural waste, industrial by-products, and algal biomass have been suggested as potential bioabsorbents for the removal of heavy metals due to the presence of functional metal-binding groups. Especially, focus is given to innovative approaches. The investigation shows that new adsorbents and membrane filtration are the most frequently studied and widely applied techniques for the treatment of industrial effluents contaminated with toxic heavy metals. In general, the applicability, industrial wastewater characteristics, profitability, and simplicity of the plant are the major factors in choosing the appropriate method for contaminated industrial effluents treatment.