Of recent, adsorption process has gained a lot of attention as a cheap and effective means of removing trace metals from wastewater prior to discharge into water bodies. Being flexible in design and operation, the process has enabled an optimal recovery of trace metals such that the treated effluents meet the desired standards for waste disposal. Mercury is a toxicant released into the environment from natural and anthropogenic sources. It is notorious for having an unusual tendency to bio‐accumulate and persist in the food chain. Presence of mercury in food, especially those of aquatic sources has drastic implications on human health. Therefore, efforts have been made to develop and optimize low‐cost activated carbon (AC) as adsorbents for scavenging mercury from aqueous effluents. Herein, how mercury accumulates across the food chain, its health implications, and the recent advancement in the use of low‐cost ACs as adsorbent for trapping mercury from wastewater are highlighted. Relationship between the mercury removal efficiency and the surface morphology of the adsorbents as well as the influence of prevailing experimental condition on the sorption process were addressed. Challenges and future prospects of the use of low‐cost adsorbents in addressing mercury pollution in the environment are discussed.

中文翻译：

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使用不同的吸附剂捕集离子汞

最近，吸附方法作为一种廉价有效的方法，可以在排放到水体之前从废水中去除痕量金属，因而引起了广泛关注。该工艺设计和操作灵活，已实现了痕量金属的最佳回收，从而使处理后的废水达到废物处理的所需标准。汞是从自然和人为来源释放到环境中的有毒物质。以生物蓄积和在食物链中持久存在的异常趋势而臭名昭著。食物中的汞特别是水源中的汞对人类健康具有重大影响。因此，已努力开发和优化低成本的活性炭（AC）作为吸附剂，以清除水性废水中的汞。这里，汞如何在整个食物链中累积，其对健康的影响以及使用低成本ACs作为捕获废水中汞的吸附剂的最新进展都得到了强调。研究了除汞效率与吸附剂表面形态之间的关系，以及主要的实验条件对吸附过程的影响。讨论了在解决环境汞污染中使用低成本吸附剂的挑战和未来前景。