Review of Recent Sustainable Water Technologies for Heavy Metal Removal

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_21How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Wastewater Treatment; Sustainable Technology; Heavy Metals; Hybrid Systems; Water Sustainability

Abstract

Growing concerns about climate change, global warming, water scarcity and pollution have intensified the search for sustainable water treatment technologies. Among the most pressing challenges is heavy metal contamination, which poses severe risks to ecosystems and human health. This literature review evaluates recent advancements in water recycling, treatment, and purification technologies for heavy metal removal.

The findings suggest that adsorption-based methods, such as activated carbon, nanomaterials, and biochar achieve high removal efficiencies but face limitations related to saturation, regeneration, and cost. Membrane filtration methods provide effective separation yet demand substantial energy inputs. Bioremediation offers an ecologically sound solution, but with limited scalability. Electrochemical approaches, such as electrocoagulation and electrodialysis, demonstrate high efficiency and reduced chemical use; ongoing research focuses on optimizing electrode materials and system design to improve energy efficiency. Green precipitation methods using plant-based coagulants also show promise as sustainable alternatives for decentralized applications.

The review emphasizes the potential of hybrid and thermophysical systems that integrate multiple technologies to enhance performance, reduce operational costs, and strengthen environmental sustainability. Future research should focus on optimizing these hybrid systems, improving energy efficiency and exploring decentralized, modular solutions tailored for developing countries such as Mongolia, where water scarcity, mining activities, and infrastructure limitations make adaptive and low-cost technologies essential for achieving sustainability.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Bolormaa Purevjav
AU  - Bern Klein
AU  - Enkhzaya Chuluunbaatar
AU  - Gantuya Ganbat
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/25
TI  - Review of Recent Sustainable Water Technologies for Heavy Metal Removal
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Resources and Technology (RESAT 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 288
EP  - 304
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_21
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_21
ID  - Purevjav2025
ER  -