The removal method of heavy metals from plating factory wastewater with economical materials was investigated. In advanced countries, removal of heavy metals in wastewater is normally achieved by advanced technologies such as precipitation-filtration, ion exchange, and membrane separation. However, in developing countries, these treatments can not be applied because of technical levels and insufficient funds. Therefore, the simple and convenient method is needed for the removal of heavy metals in wastewater. The removal of heavy metals by adsorption with economical materials suits this purpose well. Montmorillonite, kaolin, tobermorite, magnetite, silica gel and alumina were used as the adsorbents to treat sample solutions from plating factories that contained Ag, Au, Co and Ni metals. This removal method of heavy metals proved highly effective as removal efficiency tended to increase with increasing pH and decrease with increasing metal concentration.
