Advances in Technologies for Boron Removal from Water: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Boron overabundance in aquatic environment raises severe concerns about the environment and human health because it is toxic to various crops and induces many human and animal diseases with long-term consequences. In response to the boron pollution of water resources and the difficulty of eliminating boron from water for production and living purposes, this article summarizes the progress in research on boron removal technology, addressing the following aspects: (1) the reasons for the difficulty of removing boron from water (boron chemistry); (2) ecological/biological toxicity and established regulations; (3) analysis of different existing processes (membrane processes, resin, adsorption, chemical precipitation, (electric) coagulation, extraction, and combined methods) in terms of their mechanisms, effectiveness, and limitations; (4) prospects for future studies and possible improvements in applicability and recyclability. The focus of this paper is thus to provide a comprehensive summary of reported deboronation processes to date, which will definitely identify directions for the development of boron removal technology in the future.