Edinburgh Napier University

  Unsatisfactory insubstantial infrastructure and restricted management systems increase the possibility of water stress and may lead to a predictable water crisis in many locations. The water stress arises due to massive urbanisation and industrialisation, which heavily pollutes the water resources worldwide, thus intensifying the requirement of clean water. Therefore, deteriorating quality of water is harmful to the environment, human life, and a nation’s economy. Furthermore, the non-biodegradability of metal ions degrades water quality. As a result, heavy metal ion pollution has become one of the most significant environmental issues worldwide. Agricultural run-off, industrial discharges, medical and pharmaceutical wastewater discharges are the major source of metal ion pollution. The diverse range of applications of metal ions in these fields has led to their widespread diffusion in the environment, thus raising concerns over their potential implications on our health and the environment. This chapter summarises various conventional remediation technologies available to eradicate heavy metal ions from wastewater. In addition, this chapter offers possible detection strategies, treatment methods to strengthen and purify the heavy metal ions in polluted industrial water, and methods to remove the contaminants present in wastewater for recycling purposes or release the water back to the environment.