Development of polymeric and polymer-based hybrid adsorbents for pollutants removal from waters

In the past decades polymeric adsorbents have been emerging as highly effective alternatives to activated carbons for pollutants removal and subsequent recovery from industrial effluents. More recently, the development of polymer-based hybrid adsorbents has opened up the new opportunities of their application in deep removal of inorganic pollutants like heavy metals from waters. The present review focuses on preparation of these polymeric-based adsorbents, their physicochemical properties, adsorption characteristics and mechanism, as well as their application in water purification. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.