Research Progress on Heavy Metal Pollution Control and Remediation

Heavy metal pollution has become one of the most serious environmental problems in the world today. Due to the persistence and recalcitrance in the environment, the treatment of heavy metals is of special concern. In recent years, various methods for the removal of heavy metal from soil, waste water have been extensively studied. This paper has reviewed the current methods that have been used to control and removal heavy metals from the polluted soil, wastewater and some other substances. These technologies include chemical remediation, physics remediation and bioremediation. The chemical remediation methods include drip washing method, consolidation and stabilization method and ameliorant method. The ameliorant method is considered as the best method in the chemical remediation. The physics remediation methods include the revising soil method, microwave heat remediation method and the electrokinetic remediation method. Electrokinetic remediation method is one of the newest methods in the world. The bioremediation methods include the plant remediation, the animal remediation and the microorganism remediation. The plant remediation methods contain the plant extract, the plant volatilization and the plant stabilization. It is considered that the plant remediation is widely adopted for removal of the heavy metals from the soil and the microorganism remediation method is the hotspot in all the control and remediation technology.