Removal of Copper Ions from Wastewater: A Review

Yongming Liu, Haishuang Wang, Yuanyuan Cui and Nan Chen ()
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Yongming Liu: Shandong Provincial Geo-Mineral Engineering Co., Ltd., Jinan 250013, China
Haishuang Wang: MOE Key Laboratory of Groundwater Circulation and Environmental Evolution, School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China
Yuanyuan Cui: Shandong Geological Exploration Institute of China Geology and Mine Bureau, Jinan 250013, China
Nan Chen: MOE Key Laboratory of Groundwater Circulation and Environmental Evolution, School of Water Resources and Environment, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 5, 1-23

Abstract: Copper pollution of the world’s water resources is becoming increasingly serious and poses a serious threat to human health and aquatic ecosystems. With reported copper concentrations in wastewater ranging from approximately 2.5 mg/L to 10,000 mg/L, a summary of remediation techniques for different contamination scenarios is essential. Therefore, it is important to develop low-cost, feasible, and sustainable wastewater removal technologies. Various methods for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater have been extensively studied in recent years. This paper reviews the current methods used to treat Cu(II)-containing wastewater and evaluates these technologies and their health effects. These technologies include membrane separation, ion exchange, chemical precipitation, electrochemistry, adsorption, and biotechnology. Thus, in this paper, we review the efforts and technological advances made so far in the pursuit of more efficient removal and recovery of Cu(II) from industrial wastewater and compare the advantages and disadvantages of each technology in terms of research prospects, technical bottlenecks, and application scenarios. Meanwhile, this study points out that achieving low health risk effluent through technology coupling is the focus of future research.

Keywords: copper; wastewater; health; physical–chemical technology; biotechnology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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