Advances in Application of Natural Clay and Its Composites in Removal of Biological, Organic, and Inorganic Contaminants from Drinking Water

Natural clays are abundantly available low-cost natural resource which is nontoxic to ecosystem. Over the recent years, research on the modification of clay to increase their adsorbent capacity to remove other contaminants from drinking water other than metals is in progress. This paper reviews the recent development of natural clays and their modified forms as adsorbing agents for treating drinking water and their sources. This paper describes the versatile nature of natural clay and their ability to adsorb variety of contaminants ranging from inorganic to emerging, which are present in the drinking water. The properties and modification of the natural clay and its significance in removing a specific type of contaminant are described. The adsorbing efficiency of the natural and modified clay in the purification of drinking water, when compared to existing technologies, materials, and methods was found to be significantly higher or comparable.