Recent Advances in Cadmium (Cd)-Containing Wastewater Treatment: From Conventional Methods to Emerging Technologies

Cadmium-containing wastewater (CCW) from electroplating, battery manufacturing, and mining threatens ecosystems and human health due to bioaccumulation and carcinogenicity. This review summarizes conventional chemical (precipitation, flotation, electrochemistry) and physicochemical (ion exchange, membrane separation, adsorption) methods for CCW treatment and highlights innovations distinct from previous reviews: it updates latest progress of conventional methods, explicitly explores synergistic advantages (coupling technology), and evaluates emerging green technologies (photocatalysis, hydrothermal methods) with mechanism elaboration. It compares technologies’ advantages, limitations, and applications, addresses single-tech challenges (high cost, secondary pollution), and proposes future directions, providing valuable insights for heavy metal wastewater treatment researchers and practitioners.