Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Climate Action (SDG 13)
Heavy metal pollution and the role of inorganic nanomaterials in environmental remediation Michael B. Mensah 1 *, David J. Lewis 2 , Nathaniel O. Boadi 1 and Johannes A. M. Awudza 1 1 Department of Chemistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, PMB, Kumasi, Ghana 2 Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, M13 9PL, UK Contamination of water and soil with toxic heavy metals is a major threat to human health. Although extensive work has been performed on reporting heavy metal pollution globally, there are limited review articles addressing this pernicious phenomenon. This presentation reviews inorganic nanoparticles and provides a framework for their qualities required as good nanoadsorbents for the efficient removal of heavy metals from water. Different inorganic nanoparticles including metals, metal oxides, and metal sulfides nanoparticles have been applied as nanoadsorbents to successfully treat water with high contaminations of heavy metals at concentrations greater than 100 mg l−1, achieving high adsorption capacities up to 3449 mg g−1. It has been identified that the synthesis method, selectivity, stability, regeneration and reusability, and adsorbent separation from solution are critical parameters in deciding on the quality of inorganic nanoadsorbents. Surface functionalized nanoadsorbents were found to possess high selectivity and capacity for heavy metals removal from water even at a very low adsorbent dosage of less than 2 g l−1, which makes them better than conventional adsorbents in environmental remediation. Keywords: pollution, heavy metals, environmental remediation, inorganic nanomaterials, adsorption
P13
© The Author(s), 2023
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