ABSTRACT
Toxic substances produce adverse effects on the environment at all levels of biological organization, and eco-toxicologists are struggling to tackle the outcomes of toxic substances, which include the recent research on remediation of heavy metals from the environment. Because of their tendency to form complexes, high reactivity, and increased biochemical activity, heavy metals remain persistent in the environment. They are transferred through aqueous media and become accumulated in land and water bodies, which makes them hazardous to living organisms and the environment. Therefore, to prevent their harmful impacts, it is important to eliminate them from the environment. Conventional techniques have been in use for removing heavy metals, however these techniques have some drawbacks. Remediation is the removal of pollutants or contaminants from the environment to safeguard human health and reinstate the environment. Various physical, chemical, and biological methods have been evolved for removing heavy metals from the soil and water. This chapter highlights different types of physico-chemical remediation methods with a special focus on the role of nanotechnology in the removal of heavy metals.
