Adsorbent materials for ammonium and ammonia removal: A review

Abstract

Ammonium (NH4+) and ammonia (NH3) are notorious hard-to-treat pollutants, leading to serious deterioration of aquatic ecosystems and significant risks to human health. While adsorption is a promising method to tackle this problem, finding suitable adsorbent materials which are abundant, low-cost and efficient remains a constant challenge. Thus, this review summarizes recent development of important adsorbent materials implemented for NH3/NH4+ removal. Advantages and disadvantages of representative adsorbent materials including bentonite, zeolite, clay, biochar, activated carbon, metal organic framework and their modified forms are compared, and the nature of their adsorption processes are di..