Clean and Green Bamboo Magic: Recent Advances in Heavy Metal Removal from Water by Bamboo Adsorbents

Adsorbents derived from bamboo, such as biochar, charcoal, activated carbon, and chemically modified bamboo, are recognized for their efficiency and cost-effectiveness in removing heavy metals from water. Despite this, there remains a gap in applying bamboo-based adsorbents for treating heavy metal-contaminated water sources, particularly regarding their physicochemical properties, adsorption mechanisms, and modifications. This review highlights the influence of factors such as specific surface area, pore distribution, pH, cation exchange capacity, elemental composition, and surface functional groups on the ability of bamboo adsorbents to adsorb heavy metals. It also discusses recent advancements in enhancing the properties of bamboo adsorbents through physical and chemical modifications and examines how variables like adsorbent dosage, water pH, temperature, initial concentrations of cations, and heavy metals affect heavy metal removal. The review categorizes the mechanisms of heavy metal adsorption into surface complexation, physical adsorption, electrostatic interaction, ion exchange, precipitation, and redox effect. While bamboo-based adsorbents have shown higher sorption capacity in laboratory settings, there is a need for more comprehensive studies to optimize their performance, scalability, and cost-effectiveness in real-world applications.