Applications of the biosorption process for nickel removal from aqueous solutions - a review

Abstract

Wastewaters and contaminants released to the aqueous environment increase due to developing industrialization and technology. These wastewaters should be treated before being discharged to water bodies. Also, reusable materials in wastewaters must be recovered by appropriate techniques. Discharge limits required by the authorities become more stringent with updated legislations. Nickel ions can be reusable by recovering it after the biosorption process. So, this will prevent the loss of raw materials in industries and it also affects the economy in a positive way. Conventional heavy metal removal processes may be costly and inadequate to meet the desired discharge limits and they exhibit low efficiencies. Eco-friendly and economical treatment technologies gain great importance in the removal and recovery of nickel from wastewaters. In this study, biosorption which is the subject of numerous studies and one of the heavy metal removal methods will be investigated, and nickel removal by this technique and the biosorption mechanism will also be elaborated with data from literature studies. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.