Physico Chemical and Biological Treatment Techniques for Lead Removal from Wastewater: A Review

The release of untreated industrial effluent loaded with heavy metals especially lead ions seems to have adverse effects on various components of ecosystem. A variety of physicochemical methods for the treatment of lead-contaminated water have been used on a commercial level. But these methods are having a lot of limitations like reduced efficiency, costly due to input of a load of chemicals and not environment friendly. In lieu of this, major focus is given on the use of biological methods especially biosorption for treatment of industrial effluent. In this review, various sources and health effects of lead-contaminated water has been given. A variety of physiochemical methods for the treatment of industrial wastewater and also limitations have been discussed. Significance of various biological methods over other conventional treatments including the use of agricultural waste, plant- or animal-based sorbents and enlisting the list of microbes like bacteria, fungi and algae as sorbents for treatment of lead waste water including their mechanism of action have been reviewed. The factors which need to be optimized for maximum removal of lead ions to increase the efficiency of treatment have also been discussed.