A review of activated carbon to counteract the effect of iron toxicity on the environment

Abstract

The increase in the level of iron concentration in drinking water due to natural and anthropogenic activities has become a major problem imposing a severe risk to human wellness. Mining and associated activities have qualitative and quantitative effects on the water regimes in and around the mines. People residing in the mining areas of Odisha, India, confronted a typical problem of iron contamination in water. Almost 60% of the surface water and 50% of the drinking water constitutes iron ions more than the permissible limit established by World Health Organization (W.H·O) i.e. 0.3 mg/L has been noted. Excessive iron accumulation may cause severe health problems such as hemochromatosis, diseases related to the heart and central nervous system, cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, nausea, etc. Available literature has been incorporated on iron remediation by adsorption technology. This technology has been widely accepted because it offers economic and environmental benefits such as low cost, availability, profitability, ease of operation, and high removal efficacy. Thus the feasibility of activated carbon prepared from various agro-wastes for eradication of iron ions by batch and fixed-bed adsorption has been critically reviewed in this paper.