text: Polishing refers to treatments made in further advanced treatment steps after the above methods (also called "fourth stage" treatment). These treatments may also be used independently for some industrial wastewater. Chemical reduction or pH adjustment minimizes chemical reactivity of wastewater following chemical oxidation. Carbon filtering removes remaining contaminants and impurities by chemical absorption onto activated carbon. Filtration through sand (calcium carbonate) or fabric filters is the most common method used in municipal wastewater treatment.