Publication Frequency Adjustment
2025-07-08
Low-cost Adsorbents: Review on Current Trends and Developments
Authors
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Relebohile Hlabana
Department of Life Sciences, Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa
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Saheed Oke
Department of Civil Engineering, Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa
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Thandi Gumede
Department of Life Sciences, Central University of Technology, Free State, Bloemfontein 9301, South Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v7i5.10365Abstract
Pollution from human activities causes water contamination that impacts aquatic ecosystems and threatens public health while endangering environmental sustainability. This highlights the need for water restoration and biodiversity protection using indigenous, low-cost, and sustainable technologies. Adsorbents currently used in wastewater remediation are evolving from traditional materials to more cost-effective options. This study is focused on tracking advancements and the evolution of adsorbents while maintaining ecological sustainability, and to identify gaps requiring further research. The review consolidated the ongoing work on adsorbents collected from Google Scholar and dated 2020-2025 to evaluate emerging trends and developments in low-cost adsorbents. The evolution of these materials demonstrates remarkable adaptability and multi-functionality, enabling low-cost adsorbents to address a wide range of water quality issues efficiently; however, there is a need to maintain minimal environmental impact. Multifunctional adsorbents derived from biomaterials, nanotechnology, and stimuli-responsive materials show promising potential for simultaneous removal of multiple pollutants. These adsorbents also facilitate tailored recycling and secondary applications of exhausted materials, thereby reducing secondary pollution. The integration of biomaterials, nanotechnology, and stimuli-responsiveness marks a significant advancement in creating more versatile and effective wastewater treatment technologies capable of tackling diverse challenges. Their notable features—such as high surface area for adsorption, responsiveness to environmental stimuli, and photocatalytic abilities—enable low-cost adsorbents to effectively eliminate pathogens, as well as organic and inorganic contaminants from wastewater. The study highlights current challenges related to real-world pilot studies, secondary pollution, and scaling up. It concludes that integrating low-cost adsorbents with enabling technologies can be the key to their successful deployment in practical pilot settings that are easy to scale up, ultimately supporting ecosystem health and enhancing ecological resilience.
Keywords:
Low-cost Adsorbents; Environmental Remediation; Wastewater Remediation; Ecosystem Restoration; Water Quality Maintenance; Aquatic Systems Protection; Ecological SustainabilityReferences
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Hlabana, R., Oke, S., & Gumede, T. (2025). Low-cost Adsorbents: Review on Current Trends and Developments. Research in Ecology, 7(5), 120–142. https://doi.org/10.30564/re.v7i5.10365
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Copyright © 2025 Relebohile Hlabana, Saheed Oke, Thandi Gumede
This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.
