Abstract
Industrialization such as metallurgy, papermaking, chemicals, electroplating and tanning is contributing to the pollution of ecosystems by chromium (Cr). Cr pollution has many sources and high toxicity. Indeed, Cr(VI) is a strong oxidizing agent and, as a consequence, Cr(VI) bioaccumulation may induce acute, subacute or chronic poisoning, mutagenesis, carcinogenesis and teratogenesis. Cr(VI) is usually very mobile and highly soluble in aqueous solutions, but Cr(III) is not. Cr(III) is relatively stable and less toxic than Cr(VI). Thus, some remediation techniques aim to reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III). Herein, we review bioremediation, photocatalytic remediation, electrochemical remediation and coupled remediation systems. We found that Cr(VI) remediation using coupled systems is relatively easier and more efficient, compared with other treatment systems. This review provides a basis for the development of high-efficiency Cr(VI) removal systems suitable for industrial applications.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers 41761092, 21866017 and 51878321) and the Applied Basic Research Foundation of Yunnan Province (Grant Number 2019FB015).
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Xuejun Pan put forward the conception for the review article. The literature search and data analysis were performed by Caiwen He and Lipeng Gu. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Caiwen He and Zhixiang Xu, and other authors (Huan He, Gen Fu, Fengxia Han, Bin Huang) critically revised the work. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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He, C., Gu, L., Xu, Z. et al. Cleaning chromium pollution in aquatic environments by bioremediation, photocatalytic remediation, electrochemical remediation and coupled remediation systems. Environ Chem Lett 18, 561–576 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-019-00960-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10311-019-00960-3