A review on recent trends in the removal of emerging contaminants from aquatic environment using low-cost adsorbents

Emerging contaminants (ECs), a class of contaminants with low concentrations but significant harm, have received a lot of attention in recent times. ECs comprises of various chemicals that enter the environment every day. In today's modern lifestyle, we use many chemical-based products. These persist in wastewater and ultimately enter the water bodies, causing serious problems to the human and aquatic ecosystem. This is because the conventional wastewater treatment methods are inefficient in identifying and removing such contaminants. Aiming for a long-term, effective solution to this issue, Adsorption was proposed. Although several adsorbents are already present in the market, which have proved beneficial in removing such ECs, not all are affordable. This article reviews replacing costly adsorbents with agriculture-based biomass that are abundant, inexpensive, and biodegradable and possess excellent adsorption capacity. The objectives of this article is to look at adsorption as a viable treatment option for emerging pollutants, as well as sophisticated and cost-effective emerging contaminants treatment options.

Automated summary

Emerging contaminants, with low concentrations but significant harm, enter the environment daily due to the use of chemical-based products in modern lifestyle. Conventional wastewater treatment methods are inefficient in removing these contaminants, leading to the proposal of using agricultural biomass as a cost-effective alternative for adsorption.