Removal of Heavy Metals from Galvanic Industry Wastewater: A Review of Different Possible Methods

Anna Kowalik-Klimczak ()
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Anna Kowalik-Klimczak: Łukasiewicz Research Network–Institute for Sustainable Technologies, Pułaskiego St. 6/10, 26-600 Radom, Poland

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-21

Abstract: The galvanic industry requires considerable amounts of water and produces significant quantities of wastewater. Two types of wastewater are created in the processes of the galvanic application of metal coatings: used galvanic baths and wastewater generated while rinsing coated elements. The composition and amount of wastewater depend on the type of process, the plant’s operational system, and the quantity of water utilised to rinse the coated elements. In this article, the possibilities of using different techniques, such as chemical precipitation, coagulation and flocculation, ion exchange, adsorption, and membrane filtration, to remove heavy metals from galvanic wastewater were analysed and assessed. It was determined that the use of physicochemical methods (i.e., chemical precipitation, coagulation, and flocculation) to remove heavy metals has significant disadvantages, including operational costs connected with the purchase of chemical reagents and the emergence of metal complexes requiring management/utilisation. On the other hand, the processes of ion exchange and adsorption can be used only for wastewater characterised by a low heavy metal concentration, with organic matter preliminarily removed. In addition, waste polluted with heavy metals in the form of used regenerative baths and used sorbents is generated during these processes. In turn, the advanced techniques of membrane filtration allow for the removal of different types of organic pollutants and heavy metals. The processes of membrane wastewater treatment exhibit a range of advantages compared to traditional technologies, including the complete, environmentally friendly removal of permanent organic pollution, easy integration into conventional technologies, a limited amount of residue, a high level of separation, and a shorter process time. The efficiency of membrane wastewater treatment depends on many parameters, including, most of all, the composition, pH, and type of membrane, as well as process conditions. The possibility of using new types of membranes to remove heavy metals from spent galvanic baths was analysed, and the possibility of using the processes in wastewater treatment systems according to the circular economy model was assessed. The assessment of the efficiency of heavy metal removal in hybrid systems combining specific individual processes and the development of state-of-the-art material solutions to realise these processes may be an interesting direction of research in this field.

Keywords: heavy metals; galvanic industry effluents; wastewater treatment; chemical precipitation; coagulation/flocculation; ions exchange; adsorption; filtration membrane; sustainable water management; circular economy model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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