Removal and recovery of boron from various aquatic sources: A review

Abstract

Presence of boron into aqueous bodies occurs naturally by water leaching from ores or minerals. Sea water is also a big resource of boron. But, its high intake into the living cells causes severe diseases. Therefore, its concentration limit in water has been restricted. Also, boron and its compounds have profound applications. Therefore, we have reviewed in details all the methods of boron separation from aqueous streams as obtained naturally from environments or, process streams of boron ores and minerals. Here in this connection, the methods like solvent extraction, adsorption, membrane separation, evaporation, reverse osmosis and nanofiltration, capacitive deionisation, electrocoagulation, Donnan dialysis, membrane distillation, electrodialysis have been discussed. Also, the purification techniques of the recovered boron have been discussed in this report. Though there are many reviews available on boron removal and recovery, this report provides the details of the challenges and solutions of each method used in the processes. The future direction of the challenges has also been highlighted.