E-Waste Recycling Activities In Global Production And Removal Of Precious And Toxic Metals From Contaminated Water And Soil For Environmental Safety: A Review

Electronic waste components contain acids, toxic metals and hazardous compounds that may cause health problems and pollute our atmosphere. it is created from anything which is electronic: computers, TV’s, monitors, cell phones, vcrs, cd players, fax machines, printers, household equipment’s, like vacuum cleaner, microwave/ovens, washing machines, air conditioners, etc., and some smart devices, such as iPhone, iPad, watches, kindles, chromium tablet, etc. most electronics that are improperly thrown away contain some form of harmful materials, such as lead, copper, cadmium, mercury, beryllium, lithium, barium, nickel, chromium and carcinogenic chemicals which affect the environment and human life. These heavy metals can leach through the soil to reach groundwater which eventually runs to the surface water causing harmful effects to the entire biota either directly or indirectly. Many of these e-waste products can be reused, refurnished, or recycled. Therefore, in the present work, a critical review on environmental effects and removal of toxic metals derived from e-waste recycling activities have been planned. In the present work, the release of these toxic chemicals have been studied and possible remediation processes are discussed.