Sustainable indium recovery from e-waste and industrial effluents: Innovations and opportunities integrating membrane separation processes

IF 8.3 1区工程技术 Q1 ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL

Desalination Pub Date : 2025-04-13 DOI:10.1016/j.desal.2025.118900

Fabricio Eduardo Bortot Coelho , Victor Rezende Moreira , Daniel Majuste , Virginia S.T. Ciminelli , Míriam C.S. Amaral

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Indium (In) is a critical element extensively used in electronics, including liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Global demand for In continues to rise due to its vital role in the green energy transition. However, In has limited global reserves, which are projected to deplete within 14–28 years. Additionally, the primary source of In is zinc production, where demand grows behind that of In. To ensure In supply chain sustainability, it is essential to recover In from secondary sources, particularly through e-waste recycling. This work reviews hydrometallurgical methods for indium recovery from LCD screens, with a focus on integrating membrane separation processes (MSPs) with the leaching and liquor purification stages for improving overall process sustainability. These MSPs, including pressure-driven (e.g. nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO)), thermal-driven like membrane distillation (MD), and osmotic-driven like forward osmosis (FO), can retain >99 % of In and other critical metals (e.g. Ga, Ge, Mo, Sn, Sr). Thus, MSPs can be applied for liquor concentration and effluents treatment, improving the efficiency of the succeeding liquor purification (e.g. by solvent extraction) while recovering up 80 % of water and > 95 % of purified acid, which can be reused, for instance, in the leaching and stripping stages. Therefore, the integration of MSPs in the In-recycling process potentially reduce reagent consumption and waste generation. Furthermore, bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) and membrane-assisted SX (e.g. membrane contactors) enhance the selective In extraction. Finally, the versatility and scalability of MSPs in handling acidic leachates and complex wastewaters can help achieve near-zero liquid discharge and reduce environmental impact and cost. These new sustainable solutions in hydrometallurgical and recycling processes advance progress towards a Circular Economy and the UN's SDGs.

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从电子废物和工业废水中可持续回收铟：整合膜分离工艺的创新和机遇

铟（In）是广泛用于电子产品的关键元素，包括液晶显示器（lcd）和发光二极管（led）。由于锂在绿色能源转型中的重要作用，全球对锂的需求持续上升。然而，全球储量有限，预计将在14-28年内耗尽。此外，铟的主要来源是锌的生产，其需求增长落后于铟。为了确保铟供应链的可持续性，必须从二手来源回收铟，特别是通过电子废物回收。本文综述了湿法冶金从LCD屏幕中回收铟的方法，重点是将膜分离工艺（MSPs）与浸出和液净化阶段相结合，以提高整体工艺的可持续性。这些msp，包括压力驱动（如纳滤（NF）和反渗透（RO）），热驱动（如膜蒸馏（MD））和渗透驱动（如正向渗透（FO）），可以保留99%的铟和其他关键金属（如Ga， Ge, Mo, Sn, Sr）。因此，MSPs可用于白酒浓缩和废水处理，提高后续白酒净化（例如通过溶剂萃取）的效率，同时回收高达80%的水和>；95%的纯化酸，可以重复使用，例如，在浸出和剥离阶段。因此，在回收过程中集成msp可能会减少试剂消耗和废物产生。此外，双极膜电渗析（BMED）和膜辅助SX（如膜接触器）提高了选择性提取In。最后，msp在处理酸性渗滤液和复杂废水方面的通用性和可扩展性可以帮助实现接近零的液体排放，减少对环境的影响和成本。在湿法冶金和回收过程中，这些新的可持续解决方案推动了循环经济和联合国可持续发展目标的进展。

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来源期刊

Desalination 工程技术-工程：化工

CiteScore

14.60

自引率

20.20%

发文量

619

审稿时长

41 days

期刊介绍： Desalination is a scholarly journal that focuses on the field of desalination materials, processes, and associated technologies. It encompasses a wide range of disciplines and aims to publish exceptional papers in this area. The journal invites submissions that explicitly revolve around water desalting and its applications to various sources such as seawater, groundwater, and wastewater. It particularly encourages research on diverse desalination methods including thermal, membrane, sorption, and hybrid processes. By providing a platform for innovative studies, Desalination aims to advance the understanding and development of desalination technologies, promoting sustainable solutions for water scarcity challenges.