Heavy metal contamination is one of the most important environmental issues. Therefore, appropriate steps need to be taken to reduce heavy metals and metalloids in water to acceptable levels. Several treatment methods have been developed recently to adsorb these pollutants. This paper reviews the ability of residuals generated as a by-product from the water treatment plants to adsorb heavy metals and metalloids from water. Water treatment residuals have great sorption capacities due to their large specific surface area and chemical composition. Sorption capacity is also affected by sorption conditions. A survey of the literature shows that water treatment residuals may be a suitable material for developing an efficient adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals and metalloids from water.

Heavy metal contamination in soils has become one of the most critical environmental issues. The most efficient in-situ remediation technique is chemical immobilization that uses cost-effective soil amendments such as phosphate compounds to decrease Pb, Cd and Zn accessibility in the contaminated soils. The present study examined the effectiveness of KH₂PO₄ in immobilizing Pb, Cd and Zn in three samples of contaminated soils collected from ZGH “Bolesław” (Mining and Smelting Plant “Bolesław”). Effectiveness was evaluated using the following methods: a toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP)-based experiment, sequential extraction, X-ray diffraction analyses (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM–EDS). The most efficient percentage reduction of total leachable metal concentration assessed by TCLP was observed for lead (50%–80%), and the least reduction was observed for zinc (1%–17%). The most effective immobilization of stable compounds assessed by sequential extraction was noted for lead, while the weakest immobilization was noted for cadmium. New insoluble mineral phases were identified by SEM-EDS analysis. Cd, Zn, and Pb formed new stable mineral substances with phosphates. The predominant crystal forms were dripstones and groups of needles, which were easily formed by dissolved carbon rock surfaces containing zinc ions. The alkaline nature of the soil and a large number of carbonates mainly influenced the formation of new structures.

The use of zeolites as sorbents has been investigated as a replacement for existing costly methods of removing organic contaminants from water solutions. Zeolites can be modified by inorganic salts, organic surfactants, metals or metal oxides in order to increase their adsorption capacity. The unique ion exchange and adsorption properties of zeolites make them very suitable for application in the removal of organic compounds such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenols and other complex petrochemicals. Many different studies have demonstrated their effectiveness in reducing the concentrations of organic contaminants as well as petroleum derivatives in water, which has been summarized in this paper.

The standard groundwater treatment technology is a simple, non-chemical reagent technology based on aeration and filtration processes. This treatment technology is resulted in the formation of groundwater treatment sludge (GWTS). Because one of the elements of sustainable development is the possibility of their reuse, that water treatment plant operators are looking for new ways of managing these sludges. At present, not all factors determining the adsorptive capacity of water treatment sludge are known. The explanation why the adsorption capacity of sludge with a similar structure and chemical composition may differ significantly will allow for their wider use as adsorbents. The information which must be known to ensure proper sludge management are the quality, chemical composition and texture characteristics of the GWTS. The sludges were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and N₂ adsorption/desorption isotherms. The results showed that the composition and properties of the GWTS depend primarily on the quality parameters of the raw water and the processes and reagents used in its treatment technology. GWTS contains mainly amorphous iron oxides. Sludges are characterized by a large specific surface area (145 m²/g). Due to composition and textural parameters, GWTS demonstrates good adsorption properties toward different compounds such as heavy metals and metalloids. In this article, the authors describe the relationship between properties of resulting sludge and the properties of groundwater, the treatment technology and backwash water treatment from rapid filters.

Groundwater treatment residuals (GWTRs) are safe waste materials generated during drinking water treatment. GWTRs are mainly deposited in landfills, but the preferred solution should be reused or utilized for some components. To ensure proper sludge management, it is important to provide quality, chemical composition, and texture characteristics of GWTRs. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate and compare the features of GWTRs collected from four water treatment plants. GWTRs were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD); scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersion spectroscopy (EDS); Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); thermogravimetric, differential thermogravimetric, and differential thermal analysis (TG, DTG, and DTA, respectively); X-ray fluorescence (XRF); inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OEP); specific surface area (S_BET) measurement; and determination of the isoelectric point (pH_IEP). According to the results, GWTRs are poor crystalline materials that are predominantly composed of ferrihydrite with minor calcite and quartz admixture. They formed heterogeneously mixed particles with irregular shapes. They were mainly composed of iron oxides (32–55%), silica (4–28%), calcium oxide (4–17%), and manganese oxides (0.3–4.0%). They were found to be mesoporous with a large specific surface area. Due to their composition and texture characteristics, GWTRs demonstrate good adsorption properties toward different compounds such as heavy metals and metalloids.