Phenolic resins; effective materials for solid phase separation of metal ions

Abstract

Mineral processing, metal finishing, beverage, pharmaceutical, paper and fertilizer industries produce large amount of waste effluents containing chromium, zinc, cadmium, copper, nickel, lead, cobalt, arsenic, uranium, vanadium and other harmful metal ions which are the main contaminants to the ground as well as the sea water. Metal ions are non-biodegradable in nature and their intake at certain level is toxic for many biological systems. Recently this is an important debate of particular interest for the state of Odisha given the large scale mining and mineral processing industries that have come up and are likely to be set up in the future. While much of the industrial growth is unavoidable, appropriate preventive and remedial measures must be taken to avoid the most harmful consequences of such industrial activities. The increasing stringent environmental regulations and enforcement of discharge limits require effective decontamination and purification methods. This paper presents one such technology that has much potential for remediation of polluted water using solid phase extraction technique.