Potential of zeolite as an adsorbent for the removal of trace metal(loids) in wastewater

To preserve the quality of life, numerous products containing inorganic and organic hazardous materials increased, which led to uncontrolled disposal of them to the environment. Among many contaminants, toxic metals can cause deleterious effects to the environment and target organisms even at trace levels. The removal of noxious contaminants from the environment is still a challenging task. Various studies have successfully documented the production of different adsorbents for eliminating emerging contaminants. Zeolite is one of the effective emerging contaminant removers in the environment due to its unique behavior toward the inorganic and organic contaminants. This chapter gathers literature about different zeolites, their properties, modifications, and removal capacities of toxic metal(loids) contaminants in the water matrixes. More importantly, the surface modification of natural zeolite to achieve better performance in removing emerging contaminants discussed. In addition, the adsorptive removal mechanism is also discussed in depth.