Haze has been a worldwide problem disturbing the daily life of human, and even causing a variety risk to human health. However, haze particles, normally named "air pollutants" and "toxic wastes", were firstly used to remove heavy metals from wastewater with a high efficiency. The morphology of haze particles with a mean diameter of 5.2 μm and predominant anions on the surface were heterogeneous and uneven, which is favorable for adsorbing heavy metals. Environmental factors played an important role in the removal rates and K_(obs) of heavy metals. The removal of Cr (VI), Cd (II) and Pb (II) by haze particles could be well described by pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Heavy metals were removed in the order Pb (II) > Cd (II) > Cr (VI). X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS) results indicated that the removal mechanism of Cr (VI), Pb (II) and Cd (II) by haze particles was a physical adsorption process, leading to an occurrence of the regeneration, especially for cationic ions. This study demonstrated the potential application of haze particles as effective remediation materials for heavy metals contamination, as well as contributing to utilizing waste materials and protecting the environment for sustainable development.
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