Natural polymer-based hydrogels for adsorption applications

Water is an essential component of life. However, due to the rapid industrial growth most of the water resources are getting polluted by the harmful and toxic contaminants from industrial effluents. These contaminants may lead to various life-threatening diseases. Therefore there is an urgent need for the development of new sorbing materials for the removal of these contaminants. Recently, natural polymer-based hydrogel in wastewater treatment has attracted the attention of researchers due to their distinctive chemical and physical properties such as hydrophilicity, swellability, modifiability, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and nontoxicity. Natural polymer-based hydrogels have been employed in the removal of a wide range of contaminants such as toxic dyes, heavy metal ions, pesticides, insecticides, and so on. This chapter deals with various types of natural polymer-based hydrogels and their applications in wastewater treatment.