Precious metal recovery

Summary

As non-renewable resources, precious metals (PMs) are increasing in demand and consumption year by year, which has turned more and more attention to the recovery of secondary resources. However, the chemical stability of PMs makes the recovery conditions harsher, causing serious safety concerns that impede the development of resource utilization. Generally, the dissolution of PMs requires the action of strong oxides or strong ligands. This article focuses on the two key substances, provides a comprehensive overview of the research progress on PM recovery strategies from traditional technologies to novel photocatalytic dissolution, discusses the main challenges and corresponding countermeasures from the perspective of energy and the environment, and points out future research and development prospects.