Heavy Metals

There is a group of heavy metals best known for their tendency to cause serious environmental problems, such as mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and thallium (Tl), as well as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and chromium (Cr) among others.

What are the heavy metals?

There are many ways of defining the term “heavy metal”, one of them refers to the atomic weight and this would define a heavy metal as a chemical element included between 63.55 (Cu) and 200.59 (Hg); another way refers to metals with a density between 4 g/cm³ to 7 g/cm³ and also there is another classification referred to as the atomic number.

Not all high-density metals are especially toxic in normal concentrations (human beings need some of them). However, there are a series of heavy metals best known for their tendency to pose serious environmental problems, mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) thallium (Tl), as well as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and chromium (Cr). On occasions when speaking of pollution through heavy metals other slightly toxic elements are included such as beryllium (Be) or aluminium (Al), or something semimetal such as arsenic (As).

How can heavy metals affect us?

The danger of heavy metals lies in the fact that they cannot be degraded (neither chemically or biologically) and they tend to bioaccumulate and biomagnify (which means that they accumulate in living organisms reaching greater concentrations that end up in foodstuffs or the environment and that these concentrations increase as we go up the food chain), causing toxic effects of a very different nature. A vast number of physical (chronic pain, blood problems, etc.) and psychological (anxiety, apathy) effects have been detected in human beings.

Heavy metal emissions are associated with industrial processes such as large combustion plants, use of fossil fuels in transport, cement plants and waste incineration plants, among others.

How to remove heavy metals?

Bionatur has different varieties of absorbents to treat the problem of heavy metal emissions into the atmosphere.

By using these absorbents through Bionatur modular filters an effective solution is achieved for solving a complex problem.

Currently Bionatur already has several facilities where heavy metal emissions have stopped being a problem.

Our experience in this field is an advantage.